St. Helena restaurant offers deluxe dining experience — in a yurt

The zipper sound is distinctive — it’s a true onomatopoeia of zziiipppprrrrr — and it has taken on new meaning for me since my recent dinner at The Charter Oak in St. Helena. I dined in a yurt in the upscale restaurant’s courtyard, and every time a server popped in to deliver another dish or glass of wine, there was that lovely vibration as he or she unzipped the canvas door.

The yurts, installed since late November, are fully enclosed, with the windows also zipped shut on chilly evenings, so we can’t see anyone approaching. This must be how a dog feels when he hears the sudden whirrrr of an electric can opener. Excitement. Anticipation of wondering what delicious delights might be coming his way.

The portable yurts first arrived as a test program in December 2020, provided via a partnership with American Express and Resy. Designed to allow cozy, outdoor dining during the cold months of COVID-19, they were slated to be retired in April 2021.

Yet as we all know, the pandemic continues, so the yurts came back this past November, fully owned this time by The Charter Oak and hand-built by the restaurant’s management team. The plan is to remove the 10 structures again this spring and reopen regular courtyard table dining, but also maintain the yurts as a permanent amenity.

“It’s worked so well, we’ve decided to bring them back every winter,” said chef-owner Christopher Kostow. “They provide really private, really cute space. And I was tired of eating in the cold on the patio, all bundled up and hunched over.”

Indeed, dining this way is entirely comfy. Overhead space heaters are tucked into skylights, spreading warmth beneath views of the moon. Butter-soft blankets hang on the wall if we want to cocoon, and canopies of dried flowers, branches and reeds offer a soothing, chic ambiance. The yurts are designed for intimacy, seating two to six guests, with one tent that accommodates 12 diners.

Besides being charming, the structures make financial sense. Even though The Charter Oak’s indoor dining area remains open at full capacity, the more customers who can be served, the bigger the boost to the bottom line.

“Plus, the ability to serve people outdoors also allows us to keep all our staff through the winter, without losing 40% of our dining space by closing the 60-seat courtyard,” Kostow said. “We don’t want to furlough or lose staff but keep them employed and earning income.”

People who dine in the yurts get another bonus: a special, prix-fixe “Legacy” menu from new Executive Chef Curtis de Fede. In late November 2020, COVID-19’s financial challenges forced de Fede to close his beloved Miminashi restaurant in Napa, after a successful four-and-a-half-year run.

There are more emotional layers to the story, too. Cameron Thompson was a 26-year-old Black cook at The Restaurant at Meadowood who was killed in a car accident in St. Helena on Sept. 28, 2019 (then The Restaurant, where Kostow worked and which he turned into a three-Michelin-star destination, burned down in the Glass fire on Sept. 27, 2020).

So 5% of the proceeds from the $135-per-person prix-fixe dinners goes to The Cameron Thompson Legacy Scholarship, supporting diverse students pursuing The Culinary Institute of America’s associate degree program. Kostow anticipates donating at least $100,000 this year.

The Legacy menu does seem a bit odd at first. You let Kostow and de Fede decide what to feed you — the selections change on the chefs’ whims — and the nine dishes hopscotch all over, in an eclectic theme that is difficult to define.

The experience starts at the outdoor hostess stand, where we are offered a steaming hot mug of herbal tea spiked with mint from Kostow’s nearby gardens. Inside our yurt, we’re presented with a flute of NV Chandon Etoile Blanc sparkling wine. And then the dishes come, thoughtfully coordinated into three courses so we get lots of flavors without spending hours on dinner.

For the first course: two fire-grilled oysters dressed in cultured butter and housemade Fresno chile hot sauce. A bowl of velvety chicken liver mousse glazed in sweet pear gelee, chrysanthemum blossoms and sea salt, scooped up with slices of crisp Shinko Asian pear dashed in white wine vinegar, EVOO and Maldon salt. A scoop of thick, rustic Dungeness crab dip bound with crème fraîche and cream cheese, sprinkled in nori powder alongside whisper-thin, housemade pumpernickel crackers.

Then there was homemade levain, crafted from Kostow’s 30-year-old sourdough starter; studded with chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds; and baked to a pillowy interior and crunchy crust. The bread is outstanding, slathered with housemade cultured butter.

For the second course: A hefty chunk of Napa cabbage, flame-grilled al dente, with crispy charred edges and drizzled with an excellent sweet-sour anchovy vinaigrette. Tender, sliced chuck steak permeated with lots of smoke, tossed with assorted alliums (onion, garlic, scallions and such) and resting on a pond of rich beef jus. And a bowl of cracked-wheat porridge like moist barley, smothered in meaty black trumpet mushrooms.

For beverages, your server will offer hot tea refills, perhaps another splash of sparking wine or guided pairings from the Northern California and Europe-centric wine list. But make note that The Charter Oak also has a wonderful policy — guests are welcome to bring a single 750-ml bottle of wine, per reservation, free of charge (every additional bottle incurs a $50 corkage fee).

There’s another treat awaiting. A tiny but potent Hennessy VSOP cognac Manhattan is included with dessert, rich with chocolate liqueur, housemade Angostura-style bitters and amaro. It’s just the elegant touch to partner with a slab of dense, moist white beet cake laced with lemon poppy-seed icing.

And then, another zziiipp as my server peeked in to see if my party was happy and set for the evening. No rush, he said; “our yurt is your yurt.”

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.