Wondering where to eat in Petaluma without wasting money on a meal that isn’t worth it? As a local, these are my favorite Petaluma restaurants, the ones I recommend to my friends.
I’ve lived in Petaluma for more than 40 years, so I’ve had plenty of time to figure out where to get a great meal. One of the things I love about the city is that the entire town takes food seriously. The city’s agricultural roots, nearby farms, dairies, wineries and makers have created a restaurant scene that ranges from French bistros and Italian trattorias to Thai, Japanese, Mexican and even Scandinavian-inspired food.
But that variety can also make choosing where to eat a little overwhelming, so let me help. This is my personal guide to where to eat in my hometown of Petaluma in Northern California.
Helpful Guides to Plan Your Petaluma Trip:
My Top Hotel Picks (if you’re staying overnight)
- Petaluma Hotel ($$), for staying right in the middle of downtown.
- Metro Hotel & Cafe ($$), for a quirky, walkable boutique-style stay with plenty of personality.
- Hampton Inn Petaluma ($$), for a comfortable stay set in the restored 1892 Petaluma Silk Mill
Fun Day Trips from Petaluma
Where to Eat in Petaluma
Breakfast & Brunch Restaurants
Della Fattoria is where I go when I want a special brunch or lunch with the girls, and it’s also where my husband regularly picks up a loaf of pumpkin seed sourdough for home. Bread is the star here, with naturally leavened loaves made from organic flour, wild starter and long fermentation, along with seasonal Sonoma County ingredients.
I almost always order the Tuna Piadina, essentially a tuna melt served on pan-fried pizza dough with cheddar, pepperoncini, arugula and citronette. The avocado toast, huevos rancheros and salads are also excellent. And save room for the pastry counter—their chocolate chip cookie was named the best in Sonoma County in 2025.
✨ Also, I think that their funky, cool interior makes this one worth eating in rather than taking your food to go.
Get Directions: 143 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Pearl is one of those restaurants that has a special place in my heart because my husband and I used to come here almost every Sunday for brunch. We don’t make it quite as often now that he works Sundays, but it is still one of my favorite daytime places in Petaluma.
The small restaurant focuses on Eastern Mediterranean-inspired cooking with influences from North Africa, Southern France and Spain. And you’ll find it in the up-and-coming warehouse district.
I order the trout sandwich about 95% of the time, especially when the rotating version is alway something like a trout BLT with green tapenade, fromage blanc, bacon and heirloom tomato. Pete’s favorite is the shakshuka with chickpeas, peppers and tomato stew, baked eggs, griddled halloumi and pita. We sometimes stray, and it’s always delicious when we do, but these are the two we keep coming back to.
➞ PS: say hi to the co-owner for me, her name is Annette too 😊
Get Directions: 500 1st St, Petaluma, CA 94952
Best Lunch Restaurants
Stockhome is one of the more unique restaurants in Petaluma, combining Swedish food with Middle Eastern influences. It serves everything from Swedish meatballs and pickled herring to falafel and fried halloumi, and for this creativity it has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant.
I mostly come for lunch, and my regular order is the little gem salad with an add-in order of falafels. The salad is one of my favorites in town with its fried garbanzos, artichoke, Manchego, sunflower seeds and tahini buttermilk dressing. We also like the lamb and beef pita wrap, and Pete always orders the pommes frites because apparently he cannot go anywhere without French fries.
*Though they are open for dinner, I prefer it for lunch, when the bright, cheerful atmosphere really shines.
Get Directions: 220 Western Ave, Petaluma, CA 94952
Stellina Pronto or Stellina Alimentari
Stellina Pronto is technically more of a tiny Italian bakery, café and pizza shop than a traditional restaurant, but the food is good enough that it belongs on this list. It combines espresso, sweet and savory pastries, focaccia, wood-fired pizza, piadine and organic salads. Whereas their sister restaurant, Stellina Alimentari, mostly sells delicious Italian sandwiches. You really can’t go wrong with either.
On our last visit to Stellina Pronto we grabbed a Tuscan cobb salad from the case, ordered an eggplant Parmigiana piadine.
Both places have limited seating, so be prepared to take your food with you if the seating is full.
✨ If you just want a salad while exploring downtown, Lunchette also has delicious and fresh salads with the a similar quick-lunch situation. Their chickpea salad is a local favorite!
Get Directions: 23 Kentucky St, Petaluma, CA 94952
Lemongrass Thai is the restaurant I would point you toward when you want good Thai food without the downtown restaurant scene. It’s on the east side of Petaluma in a strip mall, and it is definitely not trying to be trendy.
My go-to is the basil eggplant stir-fry with vegetables and tofu. I also order the som tum salad, while chicken satay is what I like to get when my mom comes with me and crispy spring rolls make an appearance when Peter comes along. The menu has plenty of other familiar Thai choices, including pad Thai, pad see ew, curries, pumpkin curry and mango sticky rice.
This is one of those places where I wouldn’t judge the restaurant by its location. It’s comfortable, reasonably priced and mostly filled with locals rather than tourists.
Get Directions: 109 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
Dinner Restaurants
Street Social is tiny, chef-driven and one of my favorite Petaluma discoveries. We went here with some golf friends and it immediately became one of my top picks, which makes sense because the restaurant is known for eclectic, creative comfort food rather than sticking to one particular cuisine.
That changing menu is part of the fun. Dishes have included things like blistered Spanish octopus with Szechuan honey eggplant and Badger Flame beets and cucumbers with labneh, pickled blueberries and ice plant. You shouldn’t arrive expecting to order the same thing I did because the menu is designed to evolve.
The restaurant is very small, with only a handful of indoor tables and a few tables in the brick-lined alleyway of the Lan Mart Building, so this is one where I would plan ahead.
Get Directions: 29 F Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Sugo Trattoria is a casual Italian restaurant with a very personal connection for me. My husband and I actually owned this restaurant for 16 years before selling it to our general manager a few years ago, but that’s not the only reason why I love it. I love it because the food is incredible, the prices are reasonable and the restaurant can work for everything from an anniversary dinner to a casual girls’ lunch.
The restaurant combines traditional Italian cooking with Sonoma County ingredients, including everything from cheesy garlic bread to handmade pastas to fresh salads. During my shifts there, I repeatedly ate the bruschetta trio — where you choose three flavors from nine options (get the prosciutto, fig & brie!), the pistachio-crusted salmon with agrodolce sauce and the sliced filet mignon salad. But, the ever-changing ravioli and butternut squash risotto are other favorites. And I think Sugo has the best tiramisu in town!
✨ They are open for lunch too if that fits into your schedule better. Either way, you should know that the bruschetta trio is almost famous, so get one for the table.
Get Directions: 5 Petaluma Blvd S, Suite B, Petaluma, CA 94952
If you ask me for my favorite sushi restaurant in Sonoma County, I’m sending you to Sake 107. This Japanese restaurant and izakaya has been serving Petaluma since 2017 and combines traditional Japanese techniques with local farm-to-table ingredients.
We used to come here more often when we owned a restaurant downtown, now we save it more for special occasions, although I wish we went more often. I love sitting at the sushi bar because you get to watch all the action, while the dining room has a beautifully minimal Japanese style.
My usual order includes the Melts in Your Mouth Roll with spicy tuna, avocado and salmon with ponzu sauce, along with tuna tataki and agedashi tofu. But, everything I’ve eaten there is delicious!
Get Directions: 107 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
If you’re looking for a dinner that feels a little more special, Brigitte Bistro is one I’d put near the top of your Petaluma list. Chef and owner Nick Ronan has worked with chefs in London and Paris and previously ran restaurants in San Francisco. He named the restaurant after his late mother, Brigitte, and the intimate French bistro feels personal rather than overly fussy.
I’ll admit that French food isn’t usually my first choice, but this place surprised me in the best way. A couple of my favorite dishes were the black cod and pistachio tiramisu, but there are so many other yummy things to order.
✨ It’s not in historic downtown, but don’t let that stop you, it’s in the old Three Cooks Cafe spot where the sign still hangs there today.
Get Directions: 841 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Quiote is my choice when I want a quick, casual sit-down meal downtown. The restaurant takes a contemporary approach to Mexican cooking, with tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tostadas and other dishes built around fresh ingredients. I typically get the al pastor tacos or sopa hongos. And instead of the usual complimentary chips, Quiote serves a little bowl of watermelon tossed in Tajín, which I could happily eat an entire bowl of.
A little warning: The chefs at this place love a little spice, so many of the dishes can bring some heat with them. So, if you have a sensitive palate, like me, ask what to expect before ordering.
✨ Don’t expect a typical Mexican restaurant. Quiote has Oaxacan influences, so the food has a different personality from the more familiar Mexican spots around town. If you’re looking for more of a nachos, burritos and a basket tortilla chips kind of place, then head across the street to Mi Pueblo.
Get Directions: 121 Kentucky St, Petaluma, CA 94952
The Shuckery is Petaluma’s oyster-focused seafood restaurant, located next to Hotel Petaluma. Oysters are naturally the star, but you don’t have to be an oyster person to enjoy it. The menu also includes seafood, chowder, salads, small plates and other coastal dishes, along with cocktails and an all-natural wine list.
I’m not actually a huge fan of oysters, so I mostly sit at the bar and order all the other delicious things. My favorites include the cauliflower wings, which are slathered in buffalo wing sauce, along with seared scallops and ceviche. I know, the cauliflower wings aren’t seafood, but I can’t resist them every time I go.
✨ It’s common for locals to grab a drink in the lobby of Hotel Petaluma before dinner, especially during the holidays when it’s decorated.
Get Directions: 100 Washington St, Petaluma, CA 94952
Levant is also an example of how Petaluma’s restaurant scene has expanded beyond the cuisines you might expect to find in a Sonoma County town. Located in the former Trattoria Roma space downtown, it brings Middle Eastern favorites and more traditional family-style dishes to town.
Start with warm pita and a selection of mezze, like creamy hummus, labneh, smoky baba ghanoush and muhammara, then move into dishes like kufta, lamb with potatoes or mansaf with spiced saffron rice and fermented yogurt. For something a little different, look for dishes like Nabulsi cheese on flatbread, sea bass shawarma, maglouba vegetable rice or Sayadieh with salmon and sea bass.
Get Directions: 140 2nd St, Petaluma, CA 94952
Risibisi has been part of downtown Petaluma since 2006, when Marco Palmieri and his son Chase opened the restaurant. Marco is originally from Trieste on Italy’s Adriatic coast, and the restaurant was created to bring a modern Italian experience to Sonoma County. It has also earned a long list of recognition, including a Michelin Bib Gourmand for twelve consecutive years!
We go here a few times a year, and I’m not going to pretend that having a friendship with owner Marco doesn’t make the experience even more special. His hospitality is second to none, but I also keep coming back because the food is genuinely delicious. I almost always order the eggplant alla Parmigiana, along with the roasted beet salad and beef carpaccio.
Get Directions: 154 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Drinks & Dessert
Where to Grab a Drink in Petaluma
La Dolce Vita specializes in boutique wines from California, Italy and around the world, with more than 30 available by the glass. There are also gourmet appetizers, pizza, soup and small bites, so you can easily turn a wine stop into dinner or pop in before heading somewhere else.
I used to come here every Friday night when we owned our restaurant just a block away. We don’t make it quite as often these days, but when we’re having wine in town, this is still the place I always choose.
Sahar, the owner, is one of the reasons I keep coming back. She’s warm, incredibly hospitable and especially knowledgeable about wine, including Italian varieties. We usually grab seats at the bar so we can catch up with her and her sister, and sometimes we’ll order the bacon and roasted pear pizza to enjoy with our wine (which is almost always a glass of Miro Cellars Zinfandel for me).
Get Directions: 151 Petaluma Blvd S, Suite 117, Petaluma, CA 94952
If you’re a cocktail lover, Barber Lee Spirits is a great place to go before dinner. It’s a grain-to-glass distillery in a historic brick warehouse in downtown Petaluma, where the spirits are made on site using ingredients such as malted rye, heirloom corn, raw sugar cane, herbs and fruit.
The experience is more interesting than simply sitting at a cocktail bar because you can see the aging barrels around you and try spirits flights, cocktails, beer and wine. The current space is also part of the larger Taste Petaluma concept, where visitors can pair drinks with cheese, desserts and chocolates from other local makers.
Get Directions: 120 Washington St, Petaluma, CA 94952
I’ll admit that I don’t go here often because I am dedicated to my red wine, but if you like beer and want something completely different from the polished wine-country spots, go to Ernie’s Tin Bar. This is an old-school roadside bar on Lakeville Highway with a deliberately unpretentious personality, and it feels much more like a local institution than a place designed for visitors.
The focus is beer rather than elaborate cocktails, and the bar has a strong selection of local and craft beers. Outside food is allowed, food trucks sometimes appear outside, and live music has been part of the bar’s personality over the years.
Get Directions: 5100 Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma, CA 94954
Lagunitas is the obvious Petaluma stop for beer lovers, but even if you aren’t a beer drinker, I still think it’s worth knowing about. The flagship Petaluma TapRoom serves Lagunitas favorites along with one-off brews that aren’t necessarily available elsewhere.
I’m not a beer drinker, but Pete and many of my friends are, so we end up here a lot. Luckily for me, they sell wine too, so everybody’s happy. We especially like coming for trivia and music bingo nights, and we’ve also been to a few of their concerts. The atmosphere is casual and outdoorsy, with a tented feel, and the kitchen serves food Friday through Sunday while food trucks are used on some weekdays.
Get Directions: 1280 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
If you’re looking for a dive-bar experience rather than a craft cocktail lounge, Mario & John’s is the place to know about. It’s a longtime neighborhood bar on East D Street, and its personality is much more straightforward and local than the newer drinking spots around Petaluma. This is a place for drinks and conversation rather than elaborate cocktail menus.
Get Directions: 428 E D St, Unit B, Petaluma, CA 94952
Crooked Goat Brewing has quickly established itself as one of the hottest, liveliest spots in downtown Petaluma, drawing a energetic crowd to its sprawling, dog-friendly space. Even though it’s famous for its rotating craft beer taps, it is also non-beer-drinker friendly—you can easily skip the IPAs and grab a local wine or a bubbly kombucha on tap instead.
Because the taproom doesn’t have an in-house kitchen, the setup is super relaxed: you can order food directly to your table from neighboring hot spots like Acme Burger or Stefano’s Pizza.
Get Directions: 110 Howard St, Petaluma, CA 94952
For Dessert
Angela’s is my go-to recommendation when you’re craving something sweet after dinner in Petaluma. The ice cream is made in-house in small batches using organic milk from grass-fed cows and more than 90% organic, locally sourced ingredients. They also make baked goods from scratch, with gluten-free and vegan options available.
The flavors change, which makes it fun to see what’s in the case, but if they have the dulce de leche brownie ice cream, get it. Seriously. The combination of rich caramel flavor and brownie is worth saving room for, even after a big dinner. Just know that this place gets busy after dinner, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait a bit for your scoop.
Get Directions: 134 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
Travel Tips for Dining in Petaluma
Make reservations for the popular spots. Brigitte Bistro, Sake 107 and the tiny Street Social are better approached with a plan, especially if you’re visiting on a weekend. The Shuckery welcomes walk-ins, but its small size means reserving a table can still be useful.
Don’t be surprised by service charges on the bill. Many of the restaurants add anywhere from a 1%-4% charge on the bill for such things as living wage and credit card fees.
Don’t assume every restaurant is open every day. Some of the best daytime spots have limited schedules. With that said many of the restaurants will be open for lunch and dinner, but closed on a Monday or Tuesday.
Traveling Soon? Use my Favorite Resources for Booking Your Trip!
Book Your Flight
Expedia is my favorite flight search engine, because it checks dozens of airlines so you can easily find the best fare deals. You can also select ‘Watch Prices’ to get an email alert when the prices change.
Book Your Accommodations
I use both Booking.com and Expedia for hotels, because each offers a couple different hotel choices and I like to compare the reviews on each one. If you have a group or are looking for more of a home atmosphere, head over to VRBO or AirBNB that has houses, apartments and even just a room for rent in every price range.
Book Your Rental Car
If love the freedom to explore like I do, driving from place to place is the best option! I always book with RentalCars.com (it’s part of booking.com) for the best prices and top brand options.
Book Some Fun Tours!
Viator and Get Your Guide are my go-to search engines for cool bucket list experiences! Each one can have different tours, so check both—why limit yourself, right?
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel can be unpredictable. Whether it’s a last-minute cancellation, an injury, or (ugh) theft, things happen. That’s why I recommend never leaving the country without travel insurance. Here are my faves: Safety Wing and World Nomads.
Get Packing & Travel Essentials Ready
Check out the Bucket List Journey Amazon Store to find all my favorite travel essentials. Everything from Packing cubes, to travel adapters and toiletry containers to walking shoes.
Flying International?
Get Cell Data Before You Arrive: I recommend using airalo for international travel. Also, book an airport transfer in advance (I use Kiwi Taxi). Lastly, check travel.state.gov for visa requirements and safety information.
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