Central Market

This has been a favorite dinner spot of mine for years. Came back again last night and was not disappointed. Managed to score reservations just a few hours before dinner at 7pm, yay!

Staff is lovely and accommodating. I adore the inside of this restaurant, with its brick walls and high ceilings. Bright, beautiful light coming in from giant windows. It can get loud, but the whole vibe is fun. Crown is mixed - families out celebrating and you'll also spy a few new dates. The bar is a great place to crash and eat. Santa-during-the-off-season spotted at the bar last night (wink), enjoying a meal on his own.

Let's talk about the menu. While I do not consume a lot of meat - the main courses of this eatery are meat-centric. BUT. The sides and salads are quite delicious and you won't leave hungry. Pastas also look well-appointed. We each ordered a salad to start, which were very generous portions. Huge salads, I would say. Tasty fresh greens and dressed well. Then we shared a pizzetta. Crispy and predictable. But the real gem was the chickpea farinata. OMG the flavors - and the texture! Kind of a thin, pancake-type flatbread that is crusted with fresh rosemary and sea salt. I literally could have eaten eight of those and called it a night.

Great wine list offered as well. Because who eats Italian flatbread without a delicious red? Not these people.

You will see a man walking around in an apron. That's Tony, the chef. He's wonderful to chat with, and open to sharing a recipe. Tony is a staple, as he is there every time I visit. Say hi, he's delicious.

What's happening with my go-to restaurant? Service was great and ambiance is as always excellent.
Food was not as great as in the past- salad ordered was excellent with blue cheese and lardons but from there until dessert I wondered which restaurant I was in??? Bucatini with shrimp smelled un fresh to the point that we returned the dish and asked for a redo with bolognese sauce - it was so so. Our other entree was pizza with mushrooms , no red sauce - bland and unfortunately unexciting but cooked well on the wood fire.
Dessert was delicious with cooked to order chocolate tartlet .
Hopefully it was just an off night and not a downward trend. We will give it another try .

Recently we attended a Ravenswood-Once and Future wine dinner hosted by a true Icon of California wine, Joel Peterson who once made the Ravenswood wines before being sold and now has the Once and future wine label.
The dinner consisted of several courses of food each paired with one or more wines. One of the courses was Striped Bass with fava Shoots, fava pods and fava beans. Delicious and served with two wines.. Another course was Liberty Farm Duck Cabbage Roll which was a bit unusual but tasted awesome. This was paired with two more wines. Another course was Black Angus Ribeye prepared a perfect medium rare and was delicious paired with two more wines.
It was a great dinner, excellent food, 30-35 year old wines, great service. Chef-owner Tony Najiola made it all happen. It was a night to remember.
Check the Central Market Website as Tony has started these wine dinners on Tuesday evenings.

Every time I come to Petaluma, I make a point of eating at Central Market at least once. But, this is a bad review for me because I've been ordering the same thing recently.

The grilled wagyu sirloin steak is... amazing. I've also had the short rib, but this sirloin is unreal. Perfectly cooked medium rare, juicy, tender, and served with a greens salad that is just incredible. Chef Tony stopped at my table to check on me too, and the whole staff is really great. My mouth is watering writing this... incredible. Can't wait to go back, but I don't know if I can order something else.

The vibe is laid back and relaxing, and just one of my favorite restaurants now.

This used to be my favorite restaurant in Petaluma, probably still is, but I haven't eaten at many new spots since I used to work downtown years ago. I love that the food is farm to table, so the menu usually changes often based on the season.

Ate here for dinner with my family on a rainy Friday night. The place was still pretty packed! We made a reservation but got seated at a high top by the bar. No complaints, my mom just sometimes has trouble getting into high seats because of her back and she's just older now. The bartender/our server Laura is the best. She gets 5 stars in my opinion. She is super friendly, and she is super attentive even though she covers the bar and 3 high tops. She explained everything on the menu we had questions about and was extremely helpful.

We shared the ocean trout crudo which was flavorful but definitely the "busiest" crudo I've had. It was on top of guacamole which is an interesting twist. Only complaint is that it comes with 3 pieces. Seems kind of small in my opinion. But it was fine since my mom doesn't like raw fish. 4/5.

The winter salad was delicious with salami, pecorino, provolone, anchovy, and a lighter dressing. Super good mix of flavor. 5/5.

The testarossa pizza was good but nothing crazy. 4/5.

The pork chop is as tasty as I remember it years ago!! 5/5.

The sea bass was cooked perfectly and so tasty. 5/5.

My wagyu sirloin steak was a little tough, but it's a sirloin. Not exactly as good as I remember it but still good. The fries were lightly crispy but mostly soft...overall 4/5 dish.

We were too full so skipped dessert this time. But Laura took time to explain almost every dessert they had that night. I can't express how great she was that night!!

Also, they used to serve complimentary bread years ago and it was SO good. They charge $3 now for a basic baguette-still good but the bread isn't the same as what I remember. I think it used to be sourdough loaf style bread...but the butter is delicious. The bread wasn't served warm though.

The place can get very loud since it's not a huge dining room. Something to look out for if you come with older people who have a harder time hearing.

Overall, I'd say this place hasn't changed much, and I'm glad!

Location and the environment seem to be inviting. Staff might be a little bit tired. Happy hour from 5 to 6 and the price for raw oysters is very good. Food in general is fine but not a place that I will remember the restaurant by the quality or the food that I had. One time experience is ok. Okay w me to come back.

Went here for dinner and had the best steak I think I've ever had. I ordered it rare and it came out perfect, which isn't common when ordering a rare steak anywhere. The salads were also amazing, as well as the macaroons we ordered for dessert. Truly an amazing culinary experience.

Went to the Tuesday "pop-up" Gumbo (Buster's) last night (Sep 5) with my bride.
Walked in, were guided to bar area where there were a bunch of menus, and then ordered.
We grabbed a couple of glasses of rose (they had white, rose, and red as choices).
We passed on making our our own glass of water.
Paid the bill.
Grabbed a number and chose a table. (geez, feels like Stockhome!)
Our server, Jennie, dropped off some bread (great!).
Then followed with our Italian Salad and our gumbo.
I had the the Seafood Gumbo. It was just the right amount of heat. My bowl had a good amount of shrimp, bb chicken, but light on the andouille and the crab. Not a problem. It was delicious. A lot better than my own!
My bride had the Chicken and Andouille and said "this was great. I'd come back!" Which is high praise.
We shared the Banana Foster for dessert. Mmmm.
Damn good eats! No waiting, and 15 tables was a pretty good turnout for an early stage pop-up I thought.

I'll be waiting for next weeks menu. I want to have a small order of the u-pick-em BBQ shrimp fer sure...

Just perfect service. Attentive but not overbearing. Friendly. Delicious farm to table. It's one of those placed where they know exactly which farm and purveyor everything comes from. We had oysters and mussels. The oysters were tiny but flavorful.

I had their famous short ribs which were piping hot, delicious and rich. My friend had the catfish which looked lovely.

Wine recommendations were perfect.

Delicious food, great atmosphere,
and our server, Raquel, was amazing
The menu offered a great selection
I would definitely eat there again.