Upscale Bear at Stanly Ranch in Napa puts fresh flavors into every bite

My car’s GPS couldn’t find the new restaurant Bear in Napa or even the 712-acre Stanly Ranch that Bear nestles on. Part of the Auberge Resorts Collection’s still-evolving property that also features 135 cottages and guest rooms, and a wellness center with a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and Roman-style tepidarium, Bear is not exactly easy to find.

The GPS insisted I turn off Highway 12 in Carneros and take Cuttings Wharf Road, which indeed leads to Stanly Crossroad. But it dead ends at a private residence, then sucks you into the bowels of narrow, curving vineyard roads around Bouchaine Vineyards and other remote properties. Take my advice and stay on Highway 12 to just west of Highway 121, then turn on Stanly Lane. “Lane” — that’s very important.

Also, if you visit Bear in the next several months, be prepared to see lots of resort construction, big trucks, minimal signage and, hidden behind all that and other buildings, the restaurant. I thanked the friendly workers in a golf cart who finally guided me out of a construction staging parking lot.

But know this: It’s well worth any small challenges to experience this remarkable restaurant. I don’t have a clue what Bear’s marketing statement means — “serving to connect creation with consumption” — but I know I very much enjoyed dining here, from the picturesque setting and engaging service to the excellent food and drinks.

With its metal roof, stone walls and wood trim, Bear looks like a modern farmhouse. The interior, designed by AvroKO (the designers of Single Thread restaurant), features a huge bar at the entry, snazzy open kitchen and a very nice patio set with lovely wood seating. It’s elegant but remains relaxed, which is nice for modern diners who want a fine meal without committing to hours or dressing up.

As with so many restaurants these days, pristine vegetables make up a major part of the concept. You walk past a lush culinary garden on the way to the restaurant, managed by farm director Nick Runkle and planted with colorful beans, peppers, squash, tomatoes, greens, herbs and edible flowers.

Indeed, the restaurant’s marketing materials promote a popular message for many plant-based restaurants: “a deep dedication to maintaining the health of local ecosystems through regenerative farming practices.” I like that idea, even if the average diner will care only that dinner tastes good.

An appetizer bowl of raw and preserved vegetables proves it doesn’t take fancy kitchen tricks to make a marvelous statement. A mosaic of pristine produce is mostly raw, accented with a few tart pickled items, encircling a ramekin of thick, creamy cashew-miso dip drizzled in olive oil ($17). I nibbled on multicolored, thin-sliced radishes, peppers, tomatillolike ground cherries, various crunchy root vegetables and bitter lettuces. I was so smitten, I took the leftovers home.

Given the large portions at Bear, sharing is a theme. A little gem lettuce salad feeds two, with a toss of razor-sliced heirloom radishes, tangy green strawberries, a delicate lavender vinaigrette and a finishing flourish of tarragon and peppery nasturtiums ($23).

A salmon crudo starter easily satisfied two of us, as my companion and I savored every last speck of the rich fish decorated with dehydrated wisps of silver skin, slivers of crisp green apple, dollops of yogurt, drizzles of yuzu kosho, trout roe and dill fronds ($20).

Add in a loaf of sourdough bread (you get an entire boule), and any of the appetizers would make a lovely full lunch for one. You gnaw through the crunchy golden crust, then slather the springy crumb with French-style cultured butter with pureed nasturtiums and buttermilk ($10). I dare you to not devour the entire thing.

Executive Chef Garrison Price keeps the menu lively and international throughout. In a sea of mostly predictable Cal-cuisine restaurants across Napa and Sonoma counties, it’s refreshing to find impactful ingredients in nearly every dish. Tartare, for example, features bison framed with colatura (essentially the Italian equivalent of Southeast Asian fish sauce) and crunchy puffed tendon chips that dissolve on the tongue with a meaty kiss ($22).

A signature kampachi dish takes twists, too. The raw, marinated yellowtail is served in a pottery bowl, garnished with fiery serrano pepper slices and finger lime zest. Here’s the surprise: It’s doused with macadamia milk for a cooling effect ($23).

Roasting tiger prawns over hot embers adds a bit of earthiness without too much smoke; the seafood is finished with sea bean chimichurri and lemon ($34). Sea scallops are dressed up with morel-miso butter and bright lime ($48). Too often, I find scallops mushy and somehow both fishy and bland, but this version won me over with its expert golden sear and sides of crisp snap peas, asparagus and tart, pickled ramps.

Price has had an eclectic career, working as executive chef of New York’s Mediterranean-inspired il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, New York’s “botanically-focused” il Fiorista restaurant and florist boutique combination, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Kauai Grill in Hawaii and José Andres’ China Poblano Mexican-Chinese fusion concept in Hawaii.

So I understand his success with unexpected recipes, such as new potatoes dressed with Fiscalini cheddar, toasted yeast and slightly sweet caramelized milk powder ($19) or divine sourdough bread ice cream with yeast caramel and powdered starter ($14). For some dishes, you simply have to trust him and go along for the discovery.

Diners wanting more mainstream meals can find them, too. The lunch burger is delicious, stacked with dry-aged beef, butter-tangy Toma cheese, garlic aioli and bacon jam on a milk-bread bun alongside crispy potatoes ($28).

At dinner, you can get a full-pound Berkshire pork porterhouse with dabs of fermented cherry mustard ($44) or a 22-ounce, 28-day dry-aged bone-in rib-eye ($82) that’s classic except for the accent of huitlacoche (which I love, as the Mexican “corn smut” fungus lends a beautiful mushroomlike, sweet and savory character).

For drinks, the wine list covers all the bases with its international and local selections, but this is the kind of place to dive into cocktails (all $20). My pick is the Praying Mantis that marries makrut lime-infused vodka, coconut-washed green chartreuse, lime and lemongrass.

With all its inventive culinary spins and relaxed luxury, Bear is high on my list of favorite upscale restaurants.

And, now that I actually know how to find the place, I’m even happier.

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.