Harvest Moon Cafe

Harvest Moon is my favorite restaurant for upscale dining in Sonoma. It is located on the town square, which is a great fit for the casual and romantic atmosphere. I’ve loved every dish I have ordered there. Everything is so fresh and delicious, yet not overly complicated.

Delicious! We had the bruschetta to start. They don’t tell you that it’s served with a huge square of salmon. It was very good. My husband had the streak, and the sauce was incredible. I had the mushroom pasta, and it was quite good. The desserts were not up to par, but my experience thus far is that none of the desserts in wine country are that good. Overall, an excellent meal.

Honestly one of the top three restraunts in sonoma excellent menu farm to table freshness a must try if you havent. There smore desert is something amazing!

Three stars for outdoor garden seating.
Service at placing order — Horrible. Allow me to explain. Woman who took order at the register was rude, and apparently had a difficult time receiving people of color. Why do I say this? When I went to correct part of our order, she gave nothing but rude attitude, accusing me of trying to switch the order. Really? I am out for a nice day in Sonoma; I can easily make Blackberry Mimosas at home.
We received 2 Monster Mimosas, which were incorrect. Both my sister in law and I placed our orders separately. Each of us repeated our orders, because this woman at the register was hardly wanting to speak to us. Now, a Monster Mimosa is a traditional mimosa with orange juice /​champagne, only here it is served in a large, bowled wine glass We each ordered BLACKBERRY MIMOSAS. Okay, so she did not hear either of us… a person does not make this kind of error TWICE if there is not something getting in the way — in this case, her poor attitude.
When I went back to correct the order, she was rude, condescending, and tried to tell me WE EACH placed orders for Monster Mimosas. We did not. We did not drink the incorrect orders. She made a big production out of making a mistake, trying to transfer blame to us; she asked the manager if the order could be changed. He was fine with it. It was obvious we did not drink any of the incorrect orders… the manager brought out the correct drink order, of two blackberry mimosas. Simple. We thanked him, and pointed out that we had not touched the incorrect drink orders.
He was kind.
Never treat a paying customer this way. Accept that you made an error, and correct it.
She was plenty friendly to all other patrons, who were not people of color. This is unfortunate because I shop a lot in the Plaza, and this ignorant woman needs to learn to get out of her own way, or discontinue working with the public.
The food: Kale salad was not great, but has potential; it needs a punch of flavor. The tomato soup was bland, and could use fresh herbs, and a more flavorful base.
The Blackberry Mimosas were a nice treat… the patio garden divine. The wait staff is wonderful, get rid of the woman-​child who works Saturday afternoon.
Treat customers better, and get over yourself. No one is perfect, accept that, learn from a mistake and move on — we observed how others were being treated by this person, and it was quite a difference from how we were treated. The table /​busing staff are also people of color — they were wonderful, cheerful, and had manners. This woman-​child could learn from them… the carry themselves with confidence, kindness, and pride, and take care to treat all others the same, equally with respect. That speaks volumes.
Other customers seated in the garden were great. It is not advisable to have your «front person» at the register be someone who has no idea how to be of service. We ARE ALL of service to one another in this world, race has nothing to do with this… if she does not understand that, then her karma will reflect this.

First time to this Sonoma favorite. Charming interior and friendly staff. Open kitchen with talented chefs. Food was all very good, with fresh local ingredients, enjoyed the carrot soup, bucatini, and rib eye… with a very nice wine selection.

This place is amazing. Went on a Friday night and they had an awesome covered heated patio. The service was very good, we had a very respectful server. The food was served in a timely manner, and was so delicious. 5 star food, 5 star staff, 5 star evening! Thanks Harvest Moon!

Terrible meals! First off I had the Smoked Sausage with Seafood Étouffée, and it was so OVER salted it burned my throat! The sausage was dry and had a mealy texture and bland flavor. As if all the salt wasn’t bad enough, I found a hair in the sauce! Yuk! The other two in my party had the ribeye steaks which were also very salty, as well as the spinach/​greens. Seriously? Whoever is seasoning/​prepping the food should NOT be a smoker, for smokers have no taste buds to test if the food is properly prepared or not. Oh, and then when our deserts came there was ANOTHER hair in the rice pudding! Seriously? How did this place receive a Zagat rating? With all the other restaurants in Sonoma Square I would recommend you go somewhere else! This was one of the worst meals I’ve ever had!

Harvest Moon Café is a small restaurant in DT Sonoma that serves amazing food! I selected this place based on reviews and wasn’t let down — way to go Unilocalers!
Well, i thought i had submitted this review while in Sonoma but apparently I did not.
I cant remember now what all we had but will say it was excellent and should not be missed if in the Napa /​Sonoma region.

We went to Harvest Moon on a Friday looking for a nice meal to cap off our stay in Sonoma. We were seated on the covered patio. The space has a lot of rustic charm and the heat lamps did a great job of keeping the cold November air out.
The menu is small but it had some choices for most every palate and dietary restriction.
We tried a great cheese and broccoli soup that will reset your expectations when you see that item listed on other menus. My dish was the the leg of lamb, which came carved and served a nice medium rare. My favorite dish was my wife’s tuna with a pomegranate granita. That pairing worked out very nicely.
For dessert we had a pear crisp with a ginger ice cream. I wish the ice cream was more «gingery» but otherwise we were happy with the choice.
Their wine list has some good selections both from the area and other regions of the world. Beer choices were few but they had enough styles to satisfy most customers.
Service was fantastic and the ambiance was great. I definitely recommend this place if you’re ever in the area

Good service.
Was seated out back which was remniscent of an outdoor tent event, not the cozy ambience you get on the inside.
Ribeye was succulent, little too much on the fatty side.
Shrimp was best dish for the night, well seasoned and tasty. Shrimp was crunchy yet juicy.
Soup was bland and had an unexpected taste.
Pasta extremely salty and a bit tough. Needs more boiling time.
Overall a B-.

The food was good. The service was not good. We sat on the patio, and there was quite a large group under a covered part of the patio. Maybe it was a group function and that’s why the service was lacking. We waited forever for someone to come over, waited for the water, waited a long time for the wine, and a long time for the food. The waiter seemed unapologetic… I didn’t get it. I had a nice spring salad and for the main course I had the grilled Niman Ranch rib eye steak with broccoli rabe, buckwheat polenta, tomatillo salsa and Zinfandel sauce. Again, the food was good. Maybe the service was a one-​off. Who knows.

Hands-​down one of the best meals we’ve ever had. Every dish, from appetizer to dessert, was spot on. Their menu changes nightly, so your mileage may vary, but here’s a taste of our experience.
I started with a perfectly-​cooked butternut squash appetizer topped with the most flavorful ground beef I’ve ever had. I could have died happy right there, but then came a generous portion of ribeye – topped with horseraddish pesto, swimming in a tangy zinfandel sauce – and I now know what truly amazing steak should taste like. My wife had sea bass in a creamy white sauce over quinoa, which she described as simply «incredible».
We were both fit to burst, but then our evil server (she was delightful, really) brought the dessert menu and hooked us with an impossible-​to-​choose-​from selection. We landed on a maple bundt cake topped with crème fraîche, candied pecans, and a scoop of house-​made pecan ice-​cream floating on a bed of whipped cream.
The Harvest Moon Café by itself made our trip to Sonoma worth it, and we would patronize them again in a heartbeat.

Farm to table through and through, Harvest Moon came recommended by several folks from the surrounding wineries. Though my brother and I didn’t have reservations, we managed to get seated right away near the front shortly after dinner service started.
To begin, we shared a salad of kale, butternut squash and pomegranate — the components were about as fresh as it gets, though the serving was on the smallish side for the price.
Mains included Sonoma braised rabbit leg, tender and lightly chewy with soft sweetness from the merlot-​based sauce. My grilled leg of lamb was pretty good albeit a little overcooked. Its accompanying herbed farro could’ve used more seasoning as well.
We finished with the bittersweet chocolate pot de crème, a derriciously dark chocolatey dish from start to finish.
For pairings, the selection of wines by the glass on the smaller side though clearly carefully curated as my Sixteen 600 2012 Syrah was great and matched well with the food.
So while the food overall wasn’t quite stellar, the ingredients all spoke for themselves and I certainly wouldn’t mind coming back to try more.

My wife was happy, need I say more?
Ok, get the tomatoes app yum… homemade bread, great wine.
We had the ribeye and fish selection.
Really good food. The place is small and can be a little noisy. I would eat here again.

Absolutely amazing restaurant! Had the most amazing corn chowder with pesto and rib eye with polenta.
Then the most important part of dinner, dessert! We had the maple cake glazed with cream cheese, candied pecans and ice cream & the smores. The smores are made at the restaurant from scratch. The graham cracker as well as the marshmallow are unbelievably tasty.
One of the best dinners I’ve had! Oh and did I mention the three bottles of wine we had the most amazing Stone Edge wine!

After wine tasting all day we decided to save calories by sharing dinner.
Appetizer: Paul’s farm mixed melons w almonds, mint, Parmesan & San Daniele Prosciutto. Loved it!
Main Course: Bucatini Pasta w mushrooms, walnuts, spinach, leeks, marjoram, lemon, crème fraîche, & pecorino Romano. Excellent!
Dessert: Lemon ice cream & ginger snap cookie sandwich w strawberries. Great light (ish) way to top it all off :)
Total bill was about $ 70. Great meal!

I came here with a couple of girlfriends around 5:30 PM on a busy Saturday. We didn’t have reservations, but were lucky that we got here just in the nick of time to snag a table. I definitely recommend making reservations for Harvest Moon, because the food is delicious and this restaurant seems very popular.
I had the roasted fennel salad, halibut carpaccio, hummus and wine. Everything was delicious! I probably ordered too much food, but I’m glad I got to try everything. The salad was simple, but well-​executed. The halibut carpaccio was fresh, light and satisfying. The hummus was the surprise winner of the evening! It was well-​seasoned and served with soft, buttery bread. And it was more than just a plate of hummus… it was one of the most flavorful, herbaceous hummus dishes I’ve ever had in my life.
If I were rating this restaurant just based on the food, then it would receive a solid 5 stars. I’m giving 4 stars because the restaurant isn’t very well-​lit… it’s just a little darker than I prefer, particularly when it comes to reading the menu. Also, the hostess and server didn’t seem particularly warm. I may have just felt self-​conscious since we walked in with no reservations. But when we asked if there was availability for a party of 3, the hostess seemed hesitant to answer, and then said that she had one table that might work. Again, I’m probably just a little paranoid. But there was a slight coolness to the service that struck me as odd.
Anyway, definitely make reservations before you come. The food here is amazing.

We were there for a special occasion and were not disappointed.
The service was pleasant, the atmosphere was rustic and charming and the menu selection was great.
Pasong, Our waiter, was very well-​versed with the menu items and wine selection.
We wanted to taste several and it wasn’t a bother to him and we really appreciated it!
He found us a wine that satisfied or pallets.
We started with a soba salad with yellowtail and a bacon Bacon Frese and soft cooked egg. They both were delicious for starters. The attention of the waitstaff was more than we expected.
One of us ordered venison, the other saltimbocca and me, The hand made fettuccine. All three were extremely delicious!
To end the night, we had a white wine and hazelnut tart with warm apricots.
Our waiter was extremely attentive, as well as others that helped around our table!
We would go back again and recommend this to anybody!

Delicious! We stopped by on a Friday evening with no rez. We were offered the small dining room inside or the front sidewalk. We loved having the front to ourselves and enjoying the lovely summer breezes at the little red table in front people watching. We had Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc, perfect! We ordered two apps, the beet tapenade & the Japanese Hamachi — both stellar!

I was looking forward to kicking off our Sonoma wine weekend with Harvest Moon. I’d done my research and the menu seemed ok, but folks seemed to rave about it so was confident about my selection.
Definitely a happening place. The restaurant layout was weird to me. The actual indoor space is tiny. There is no comfortable room to hang out if you have to wait for a table. Luckily we didn’t, and they accommodated our request to eat on the back patio, which by contrast is a huge, spacious area. It was nice to be away from the bustling and dark indoor space.
Our waiter was great, super attentive and friendly.
— Started with the abalone /​avo bruschetta. Interesting flavor combo but pretty fishy tasting. It didn’t bother me but could see some finding it off-​putting.
— We also tried the beet salad with fried salmon cake and short rib. Both delicious!
Washed down our meal with a few glasses of wine. All in all a successful evening! Props to HMC for serving up really great food at reasonable prices and in a non-​pretentious environment.