Layla in MacArthur Place has all the makings of a top restaurant

It’s a confusing time for restaurants. Many are trimming down, with more order-at-the-counter places for even high-end food (blame a lack of available staff). Top chefs no longer mind if clientele want take-out instead of dine-in, an act once considered an insult to meticulously prepared food. And some restaurants now exist only in name, operating virtually out of other eateries or commissary kitchens, offering delivery via Uber and Grubhub.

Then, there’s Layla, the sensational new restaurant at the MacArthur Place Hotel in Sonoma. Debuted this May as part of new hotel ownership out of Scottsdale, Arizona, and a ?$20 million property-wide renovation, it has everything to make it one of Wine Country’s most important restaurant openings of the year.

It’s headed by executive chef Cole Dickinson, the marvelously tattooed talent most recently of the high-end Acacia House in St. Helena and before that, a longtime protégé of chef and Bravo Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio.

It’s stunning, in a luxury farm kitchen vibe of cream, mocha, ivory and touches of mint, live trees amid the tables inside, and large windows overlooking the dining deck. There’s a complimentary valet, amuse-bouche and truffles, sugared gels and macarons after dessert.

And, oh yes, there’s the menu - it’s unusual, offering contemporary Mediterranean cuisine through breakfast, lunch and dinner. Updated often, the dinner fare is the main draw, for a stylish crowd that appreciates inventive cooking now crafted out of a new kitchen, doubled in size.

In general, I really like Layla, perhaps as much for that spectacular décor and smooth, personable service as the food itself. The recipes come with creative twists that invite the adventurous palate: slightly sweet baba ganoush dotted with walnuts, pickled raisin and sharp notes of black garlic; hummus spiked with piquillo pepper and crispy chickpeas; and za’atar-spiced tzatziki laced with fermented cucumber ($9 each or all three for $24). The bold flavors and touches of sour remind me of modern craft cocktails, actually, as I scoop the dips with generously herbed, grilled pita bread.

Still, this dining isn’t for everyone. Some of my dining companions have lamented the weirdness, and I’ve heard the same concern from other folks. Which is OK, because the best strategy here is to order a bunch of dishes, and share with a group (then be prepared to open your wallet wide - this is luxury nourishment, friends, and it’s expensive, with small portions).

By sharing, you’ll find that one person (me) falls in love with the Andalusian salmorejo soup that’s typically a purée of tomato, bread, oil and garlic, but here, arrives with toasted pepitas, smoked olive oil and juicy confit grapes ($12). Another person (not me, but a tablemate) may prefer the panzanella of big, ungainly chunks of tomato, a thick swath of kale pesto and bitter, blackened “charcoal” croutons ($14).

Plenty of other dishes are crowd favorites, however. Who doesn’t adore Parker House rolls, baked in-house, brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with flaky sea salt, then served with thin but indulgent chicken drippings plus a hint of sherry vinegar for drizzling ($7)? Presented in their baking skillet, the rolls are golden brown, fluffy joy. Patatas bravas disappear quickly, too, the crisp potato nuggets perfectly fried and built like a tiny Jenga fortress around a center of whipped garlic aioli, all set on a pond of slightly spicy smoked paprika tomato jam that’s been seasoned with lacto-fermented tomato water for a hint of pickle. ($13).

The papas are so good, in fact, that they are the perfect bar snack, enjoyed in the posh new lounge next to Layla alongside a drink like the floral-botanical Juniper & Thyme of Plymouth gin, strawberry, pomegranate and thyme shrub, lemon, aquafaba and Angostura ($14).

Even people who don’t usually like octopus, meanwhile, should give this excellent appetizer a try. The seafood is expertly sous-vide cooked to tenderness, with pleasing chew and a crispy seared edge, and brightened with preserved lemon, fennel and tangy green olive glistening with eggplant caviar ($21).

The short list of entrées are more approachable, and still bring good flavor. Concentrated tomato lends richness and texture to couscous tossed with baby shrimp and wilted spinach ($19), while plancha-seared salmon gets a bit of crunch from a bed of braised lettuce, a salty pop from caviar and a touch of zing from citrus beurre blanc ($32). This is first-rate carbonara, as well, the skinny bucatini pasta tossed with shards of guanciale and a snowfall of shaved egg and hard cheese that melts into the buttery hot noodles ($23).

The chef turns back to his creative side with the salt-baked sea bass (market price). The whole swimmer is wrapped in kombu before being salt encrusted, so when our server presents it tableside, he or she can simply peel back the crust instead of awkwardly scraping it away. The kelp holds in extra juices and flavors, and I love that the fish doesn’t taste over-salty as the traditional version often is. Rounding it out: salty caper chimichurri, grilled lemon, tiny greens and crisp shaved vegetables.

Sharing is the rule for desserts, since then you get to taste them all. Loukoumades are what every doughnut dreams of being: tiny, warm, not too sweet and dressed with tangy whipped lemon curd and candied pistachios ($10). Greek yogurt is delicious on its own, but here, it’s formed into a soft round atop cubed rhubarb and crowned in coconut sorbet ($11). Other current treats include s’mores-style chocolate-caramel tart ($12), and earthy Nicasio Square washed rind cheese with whipped honey, grilled grapes and toasted rye that makes a delicious, slightly sour crostini.

Sure, I miss the original Saddles steakhouse that was MacArthur Place’s restaurant these past two decades, yet really, only because of nostalgia. The 150-year old hotel property brimmed with old school Sonoma Victorian charm, and is now so architecturally reinvented that it was featured in, what else, Architectural Digest. The original Plexiglas horse that greeted Saddles visitors is retired to storage now, and the new, airy lobby is home to whimsical statues of long-haired sheep.

This is the new Sonoma, and it’s very welcome. And thankfully, not so new that we have to order at the counter.

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.