Valette

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Hometown Dream, Two Decades in the Making

Valette is the result of a promise made between two brothers on their father's porch, overlooking the Alexander Valley vineyards of Sonoma County. Chef Dustin Valette and his brother Aaron Garzini spent nearly two decades working toward a single goal: opening a restaurant in Healdsburg — the town where their great-grandfather once operated bakeries — that would serve as a canvas for local farmers, winemakers, and artisans. While Aaron built his reputation as a sommelier in Sonoma County, Dustin honed his craft in New York before returning home to bring the vision to life on Center Street.

The Food and the Farm

The cooking at Valette is rooted in seasonal Californian cuisine, shaped by what grows close by. Produce comes partly from the restaurant's own estate farm, located just 100 yards away. The menu moves through the region's best: Day Boat Scallops with Sonoma County wild fennel pollen, Liberty Farms Duck Breast with Frog Hollow Farms apricots and an apricot tamarind gastrique, Mt. Lassen Steelhead Trout mi cuit with dill pollen and Espelette vinaigrette, and coriander-crusted lamb spareribs finished with honey from Hector's Honey Farm. Charcuterie is house-cured, mustards are house-made, and bread comes from Costeaux — the sourcing is deliberate and local at every turn.

For those who want to hand over the wheel entirely, the "Trust Me" tasting menu — a minimum of five courses at $20 per course — lets the kitchen lead. Groups of seven or more are committed to a chef's five-course tasting menu built around Sonoma County products, seasonal fish, and sustainably raised meats, with an optional wine pairing featuring Valette's own vintage wines.

Wine, Recognition, and the Room

The wine program earned Valette a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a recognition that reflects the care Aaron Garzini brings to a list built around boutique, small-production bottles. Corkage is available for guests who bring their own, with one fee waived per bottle purchased from the in-house list.

Dinner is served indoors and on an outdoor patio, with seating that keeps the experience intimate — a maximum of ten guests indoors per reservation. The seasonal Californian kitchen closes out the meal with desserts like a salted brown butter ice cream, a spiced carrot cake with roasted carrot and vanilla crème fraîche, and a playful "ItsNotA Snickers Bar" with cocoa tuille and burnt caramel. Coffee is locally roasted by The Flying Goat.

Valette also offers a Wine, Dine, and Stay package for two — a five-course tasting menu, two bottles of Valette wine, and two nights at the Valette Guest Cottage — for those who want to make a full weekend of it in Healdsburg.