Cafe Champagne

Cafe Champagne Restaurant Review:

This charming hillside restaurant at Thornton Winery is a slice of Napa Valley just a little over an hour outside of L.A. The dining room’s tables and expansive windows exploit a welcome view of rolling vineyards. An adjoining patio offers romantic al fresco dining, where some top names from the world of jazz perform every summer. Starters include Hawaiian ahi layered with avocado and shiitake mushrooms in a soy-ginger sauce, and poblano chiles stuffed with Muenster cheese. Among entrées are crispy duck confit over a butternut squash risotto, pan-roasted salmon with forbidden black rice, and grilled filet mignon with a Cabernet demi-glace. While the wine list may not be voluminous, it extends well beyond the Thornton company or the Temecula appellation (whose winemakers, incidentally, are getting more ambitious every year).