1140 Main Street
Napa, CA 94558
707.251.5656
www.ubuntunapa.com
Ubuntu, the two-year-old vegetarian restaurant in Napa, has become a media darling. The New York Times wrote about it as though they had no clue vegetarian restaurants served anything other than tofu and wheat gluten. It was odd given that New York has a rather nice share of quality vegetarian restaurants that focus on what comes out of the garden.
Perhaps it's that Ubuntu is not just a restaurant but also a yoga studio that helps with the fascination. While I like the restaurant and have eaten there about a half a dozen times, vegetarians used to eating quality meals might find it doesn't quite live up to the hype. In any event, Ubuntu is good.
The strawberry pizza margherita (below) with hand-pulled mozzarella, three-day Napa strawberry soffrito, basils and saba was good, but nothing special. The strawberry soffrito was so light as to not add any flavor.
A much better choice was the creamy gnocchi with truffle oil (below).
For dessert, their vanilla bean cheesecake in a jar (below) is wonderful. During this meal it came with strawberries, at other times it's come with different fruits. It's nice and creamy and not at all dense and rich like most cheesecake.
Ubuntu serves quality ingredients, many from the restaurant's organic garden. It may not surprise vegetarians, but if the press is any indication, your carnivore friends may be amazed at what a vegetarian restaurant can be. 
