Auro in Calistoga is a hidden gem

The story of Auro is complex on many levels. The new restaurant is one of the best in Wine Country, as a fine-dining destination with seasonally driven northern California cuisine accented by lots of impressive imported ingredients. But good luck hearing about it, because even though it’s tucked in the posh Four Seasons Napa Valley in Calistoga, it has an intentionally low profile.

Auro opened in early October, but its website is still just a placeholder. When I visited in November, the resort valet wasn’t sure where the restaurant was on the property, and there was no signage. After wandering a bit, I checked in at Truss Restaurant + Bar, the resort’s main restaurant, where a bartender directed me to a server, who finally led me to Auro, in a small room attached to Truss.

If you’ve been following the Four Seasons evolution since the 85-room hotel debuted in November 2021 after 11 years of construction, you’ll recall that this space was initially planned to be called Truss, too, but with a much more lavish presentation than the more casual Truss it sits next to. Confusing, yes.

But chefs changed, and so did the concept. Now current Chef Rogelio Garcia runs both spaces and has given us Auro and its five-course, ultra-fancy tasting menu ($165 per person, plus $95 for wine pairings).

All I can say is, wow. I’m so glad I persevered in my search. Dinner here is exceptional, from the half-dozen exquisite amuse-bouches to the two elaborately crafted desserts. The setting is very special, too, with the dining room nested next to the kitchen and separated by a floor-to-ceiling glass wall so we can watch the beautiful ballet of culinary talent at work with meticulous precision.

There are two tables in the kitchen as well, for an even more intimate immersion. It’s a real treat to see Garcia in action — he knows his stuff, having worked at top places like Cyrus when it was in Healdsburg, The French Laundry in Yountville and Traci des Jardins’ The Commissary in San Francisco.

You can get an idea of the menu by checking opentable.com, but it does change frequently, sometimes even on the fly, as the chef and sommelier base the night’s offerings on the printed list you receive. That makes it even more interesting in my book — servers and sommelier Derek Stevenson describe each course in such mouthwatering detail the menu becomes just a guide.

The food arrives with dizzying drama. A server presents a tray laden with hollowed-out gourd halves filled with duck eggshells and flowers alongside ceramic ramekins in the shape of duck feet. The shells hold a silky, spoonable “eggnog,” and the feet hold a chewy, savory chestnut nibble that makes me think of dim sum.

Another plate brings sparkling nubbins of smoked ora king salmon perched atop sweet-peppery nasturtium leaf and capped in mustard and pickled pearl onion. Then we get perfect tiny bites of rare A5 Wagyu dolloped in Golden Osetra caviar on a delicate oyster cracker.

There’s more. A white bowl looks like a still life, arranged with Tokyo turnips still wearing their lacy deep green leaves and tucked into a swirl of truffle Bergamino cheese from Italy. I have no shame and use my finger to steal the last swipe of the gorgeous cheese made from buffalo milk — the texture is like velvet mixed with marshmallows, and it tastes of chives kissed with cream cheese tang.

Another amuse could be a full-on appetizer — a bite of crispy chicken thigh dressed with fermented hot sauce and togarashi spice. In generally mainstream Napa Valley, it’s lovely how Mexico City-born Garcia isn’t afraid to wake us up with slaps of serious spice here and there.

The delights keep coming, and I wonder how the dinner price can be so reasonable for such luxury and impeccable, expensive ingredients. The first “official” course brings silky Japanese kampachi in a pond of brilliant, tart aguachile dotted with molded curls of avocado, cilantro and flowers.

Then it’s on to a honeynut squash velouté, a creamy soup decorated with bits of Spanish Cinco Jotas Ibérico Ham de Bellota, milky foam and Asian pear. Alongside are piping hot sesame seed Parker House rolls with cultured European butter plus another butter infused with sharp cheese.

A server brings out a gold tray laden with flowers, herbs and the largest crab I have ever seen. It’s a Norwegian king crab, imported live, and I can’t resist following the server back into the kitchen to see the chef prepare it — diners are allowed to step in if they ask. The crustacean ends up being divided into perfect bites, butter-poached and swimming in a rich shell broth studded with minced Calabrese saucisson (Italian pork salami) and potato.

Next up is even more premium A5 Wagyu from Kagoshima, Japan. This time, it’s a generous slab of sea-salt speckled sumptuousness framed by frilly greens, matsutake mushroom, bok choy and a swath of French Périgord black truffle Bordelaise poured tableside.

After all these bold flavors, desserts are thankfully restrained. A dainty triangle of pineapple quince sits with a bit of Chantilly meringue and lemon verbena, while a chocolate pavé is a bite-size bar of Gianduja chocolate and hazelnut.

For a final, sophisticated touch, we leave with mignardises — tiny indulgences of a canelé pastry, a miniature blackberry-lemon cheesecake nibble and a macaron made with cabernet sauvignon from the resort’s on-site winery, Elusa.

I have no idea why Auro is under the radar for our local fine-dining scene. But I’m betting that will change soon, as it should.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.