Swiss Hotel Bar & Restaurant, Sonoma

The food is excellent, the setting charming, the staff friendly. Indoor and patio dining. One of my favorite places!

The Swiss Hotel is charming and Hospitable! Stayed a night with my friend and enjoyed shopping and wine tasting on the square. The staff was friendly and welcoming; they even had a rollaway bed all made up for us. I felt like I was staying at my grandma's house (and that is a very high compliment). We had dinner at the hotel and it was very good. They had a nice breakfast of fresh fruit, granola, bagels, coffee and juice for us in the morning. I live locally and I've eaten there before, though never stayed the night. I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like to stay over, and I can only say that they surpassed my expectations. I will definitely return.

Maybe I caught them on their worst day. We were recommended here by several different locals. 1)Waiters had giant sections on the patio. A waiter should never have more than four tables at dinner time in a real resaurant if you want to assure good service. Waiters running back and forth on the patio huffing and puffing. It was Chaos. Our waiter seemed poorly trained though not a bad person. She appeared to have seven tables. That is just poor floor management. At the same time there was some kind of big private party in the back which seemed to really be detracting from the quality of dinner service. You can only do so many things well. 2)Atosphere; It felt like the worst kind of tourist trap. Alot of that was generated again by the waiters running around like headless chickens. 3)The kitchen was also entirely undersized and under staffed to accomodate the number of tables. Kitchens should always be about 40% the size of the restaurant. Otherwise the result is very long food times. Our food took well over an hour. This is poor design and is not the staff's fault. 4) Food- Sadly it was not worth the wait and was nothing special. It was the most average food I have had at a real restaurant (i.e. not a chain or discount) in Sonoma or Napa Valley. 5) Wine program- The selections were from generic mass producers. Please don't serve me wine in a restaurant that I can get at any grocery store. My first by-the-glass wine was corked. I waited for almost thirty minutes from the time it was served before the waiter could get the next glass which was oxidized from being opened too long. I finally got a o.k. glass of wine after I was finished with my entree. Well trained and managed Bartenders check every bottle of wine they open and rotate their product properly. With so many amazing restaurants in Sonoma and Napa I am very sad to say this one did not make the grade this time. I think the people who recomended it haven't been there in a few years or don't go out much. Better luck next time and I will try to keep an open mind.

This is a great place for business get togethers. the menu is tried and tested, NOT experimental. I've never had a bad dining experience here, although i would not describle my experiences as extraordinary. Friendly staff, great drinks in the $$-$$$'s