SingleThread Farms Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where Northern California Soil Meets Japanese Precision

SingleThread Farms Restaurant occupies a considered space in Healdsburg, California, where the disciplines of farming, craft, and hospitality converge into a single, unhurried dinner. The restaurant holds a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating and a Wine Spectator Grand Award — recognition that reflects not just the cooking, but the entire philosophy behind the place.

The People at the Center

Chef Kyle Connaughton leads the kitchen, and his partner Katina — whom Kyle describes as "the heart and soul" of SingleThread — works the land that feeds it. Katina serves as both farmer and floral designer for the property, applying sustainable agricultural methods with a deliberate focus on restoring Northern California's native habitats. What arrives on your plate begins, quite literally, in her hands.

The Experience, From Rooftop to Table

In warmer months, the evening opens on the building's rooftop, where herb gardens and planter boxes frame a 360-degree view of downtown Healdsburg. Aperitifs are taken here before guests move downstairs to the main dining room — an open kitchen at its heart, where the preparation is visible and intentional, offering something closer to theater than performance.

The pottery lining one kitchen wall is not decorative. Every donabe piece is made by the Nagatani family of Iga, Japan — eighth-generation master potters who also produce nearly all of SingleThread's vases, bowls, and plates. The vessels are integral to Kyle's cooking process, carrying the same weight as any ingredient.

Omotenashi as a Guiding Principle

The Japanese philosophy of omotenashi — anticipating a guest's every need before it is expressed — runs through every aspect of the dining room. It shapes the service, the plating, and the pacing. The result is a style of Californian-Japanese hospitality that feels neither borrowed nor performed, but genuinely inhabited. This is fine dining where the attention to detail is structural, not ornamental.