Goose and Gander @ St Helena

Wine industry insiders meet Wine Country tourists as well as locals dropping in for an after-work drink. Goose and Gander diners often start their night in the bar while waiting for a seat upstairs. 

The farm-to-table concept refers to a restaurant sourcing ingredients directly from local farms, ensuring fresher, sustainable, and seasonal food offerings for its customers. But Goose & Gander takes this one step further with its own 2-acre producing exclusively for its kitchen and bar.

The Martini House story dates back to 1923, when original owner Walter Martini built the Craftsman style bungalow as the home he and his wife, Dionisia shared for nearly 50 years. Martini, who possessed a fine tenor voice, was an opera singer with the Pacific Opera Company in San Francisco, where he appeared on several occasions with Enrico Caruso. In 1915, he and his wife moved to St. Helena to manage the historic William Tell Hotel across the street from the house. He often sang for his guests in the hotel bar and restaurant.

The Martini’s loved to entertain, and their friends regularly gathered for gourmet food, fine wine and music in the adjoining garden. When prohibition became law in 1920, Martini entered the more lucrative business of bootlegging wine and whiskey. Remnants of this operation were recently found in the home’s cellar.

Executive Chef Ignacio Beltran, a Michelin alumni, creates amazing rustic American food and mouthwatering bar bites all served in their dining room with a British pub feel, cherished basement bar or lush garden.

Master Gardener Shelley Kusch and her team at Garden Junkie provided all the aromatics like parsley, cilantro, chives, thyme, oregano, mint, rosemary, basil, and vegetables like tomatoes, stone fruit, cucumbers, parsnips, green beans, kale, braising greens, garlic, zucchini peppers, and lemons, from their two acre farm located in downtown Napa across the street from the Culinary Institute.

Shrimp Cocktail

Grated Horseradish, Cocktail Sauce, Lemon

Shrimp cocktail was the most popular hors d’œuvre in Great Britain, as well as in the United States, from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The cocktail sauce is essentially ketchup and horseradish, with a dash of Worcestershire sauce for some depth in taste. The shrimp used was boiled to death but the sauce rescued the appetiser.

Beet & Arugula Salad

Feta Cheese, Orange, Pistachio, Dijon Vinaigrette

A show-stopping and flavourful beet salad with arugula with balsamic vinaigrette. It’s gluten free, vegetarian and perfect for the weight-watchers or after a week of decadent living in Napa Valley. The nice touch was the California oranges, which were juicy and sweet. The feta cheese balanced the salad from being overly sweet.

Martini House Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms were the Martini House’s signature ingredient during the dinner parties, and the cream of mushroom soup was something delicious. Smooth and creamy, with a nice dash of marsala wine and Banyuls wine vinegar, this was something I would come back for. Here’s the recipe to this delicious mushroom soup if you want to recreate it at home.

12 OZ. Akaushi New York Strip

Charred Scallion Chimichurri, Preserved Meyer Lemon

Akaushi American Wagyu New York strip lands somewhere between Prime Black Angus and A5 Japanese Wagyu, offering a balance of lean meat and ample marbling. The Beeman Family, fifth-generation Texas cattle ranchers, was able to access the Akaushi breed thanks to a loophole in the Trade Act of 1994 when three bulls and eight Akaushi cows were able to leave Japan in a custom equipped Boeing 747 for the Texas heartland where they are still treated like a treasure to this day.  

Sautéed Mushrooms

Oyster Mushroom, Garlic, Sherry, Butter

Mushrooms made their appearance agin here, and the potpourri of fungi was mainly hand shredded oyster mushrooms sautéed simply with butter, garlic and a splash of sherry. Normally in a steakhouse, this would be drowning in butter. Here it was quite light and fluffy, the way I like it.

Garden Green Beans

Lemon, Butter

Another side for sharing was something I always order when it is available, French beans, which we fondly called “tortoise bean” 乌龟豆 because we always feed our pet terrapins when the ends of the beans. Then I realised they are actually called that name.

Purists would have frown upon the slicing up of the steak, but Darling and I were sharing. The perfect doneness and beautiful marbling shone through. Chimichurri originated in Argentina and is often used to flavour their asados. This one tasted like scallion oil and was totally unnecessary given the marbling and juiciness of the steak. The chopped preserved lemon helped to balance the greasiness. I asked for some fresh whipped horseradish, but decided that it did not go well with the plate.

Tiramisu

We were too full to order dessert, but when the waiter realised it was my birthday celebration, he asked the kitchen to prepare this slice of tiramisu with a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. There was a candle for the occasion too. I left a big tip for his kind gesture.

Goose and Gander is now one of my favourite restaurants in Napa Valley. Its location in the quiet neighbourhood just across the old Culinary Institute of America, the solid and high quality of the food served, and the overall hospitality were what made coming to Napa a relaxing short holiday.

Goose and Gander Napa
1245 Spring Street St. Helena, CA 94574
Tel : +1 (707) 967 8779 (Reservations)

Visited May 2025