About
Cafe Juanita is a italian restaurant located in the coastal town of Mendocino, California. It has been awarded a James Beard award for Best Chef Northwest in 2009 and 2010. The restaurant's menu features contemporary Northern Italian cuisine with Northwestern ingredients. Owner and chef Holly Smith has long produced the classiest Northern Italian innovations on the Eastside, now in sleekly updated midcentury quarters befitting the distinction and white-tablecloth ideal for special occasions.Reviews
Cafe Juanita offers an innovative and exquisite dining experience with its omnivore, pescatarian, or vegan prix fixe menus. Reviewers praise the impeccable taste, textures, and presentation of each course, highlighting dishes like A5 wagyu on crispy toast with jalapeño lime sauce, hand-cut tajarin pasta with caviar and creme fraiche fusion, and Iberico shoulder served medium rare. The attentive service and knowledgeable staff enhance the overall experience. While some find the price commensurate with the excellent service, others appreciate the separate vegetarian/vegan menu options. The ambiance is described as chic and modern, perfect for special occasions.
Superb - the simple name belies their innovative exquisite cuisine. Choose between omnivore, pesceterian, or vegan prix fixe menu (someone called it "prefix" on here - had to laugh) of 8 courses with optional wine pairings. Every course knocked it out of the park - taste, textures, and presentation. We were all very satisfied after 8 courses, big smiles on our faces. An incredible meal.
This is a very special restaurant and eating experience. First off, it is filled with a very happy and talented staff. They work well together as a team and take pride in what they do and the food they serve. The atmosphere was wonderful, which is why my pictures came out a little dark. Lol. They really pay attention to all the details. Now for the food...WOW! My husband chose the Omnivore menu, and I had the Vegitarian. I'm so glad we did as it gave us even more dishes to try. They just kept bringing out more dishes to enjoy. We took our time and ended up staying about 3 hours. What a great night we had!
Went here for date night! The entire experience was wonderful. The ambience was great and the food was delicious. We had the tasting menu and the best part was that they had separate vegan and vegetarian menus. Supplements were offered for an additional charge. I think the food presentation could have been a bit better for the price.
Cafe Juanita serves a well-refined tasting menu that makes it a local favorite. The food would probably be closest to progressive Italian with mostly local ingredients, but it’s executed excellently.
We start with A5 wagyu; the dish is a perfect display of such an excellent cut of meat. It’s served on a thin crispy toast and a light layer of cheese that complements the immensely satisfying and marbling. There is a subtle oily aftertaste too and it’s not overpowering. The jalapeño lime sauce is very light which is such a lovely balance without being interfering.
The hand cut tajarin is very thin, making the pasta course less about pasta but more about the fusion of pasta and creme fraiche. The caviar is a very apt addition that dictates the flavors in its richness and complexity.
The beet salad is one slice of beet topped with a cinder toffee like a honeycomb. A young lamb goat cheese is the diametric opposite, which has a lighter front but stronger aftertaste.
The brodo is quite special: it is made from a fragrant chicken stock but infused with a subtle hint of parimigiano. The egg yolk, perhaps cured to be semi hardened, adds a much needed creaminess and yolkiness, almost too stark with the clear broth. The orange zest is a good add that is not too overpowering.
The Iberico shoulder is prepared like beef, served medium rare and with a beef like jus, except the fatty parts are much more apparent at the cross sections to be chewier.
The asparagus is some of the best I’ve had, crisp and watery; the morels are juicy.
The panna cotta is fairly light. It comes with sweet juicy strawberries and a side of wild honey, making the panna cotta more a side piece in flavors. The 25 year balsamic is sweet and deep, adding a characteristic twist to the flavors.
This is a restaurant to visit on special occasions.
My experience at this restaurant was wonderful. The food is delicious and the wine pairings are excellent.
The customer service is excellent and they are so knowledgeable about the food and the region that any questions you have they can answer instantly.
However, the price is commensurate with the excellent service: two people with wine pairings will cost you about $800.
Valet parking is the only parking available.