The Girl and the Fig Restaurant in Sonoma Review

Eating Some Country Fare and Cheese at The Girl and the Fig

“This is where the Bachelor ate at!” my fiancé Tom exclaimed from across the table at The Girl and the Fig restaurant. “That’s how I recognize this name.”

“Are you serious?” I responded with a laugh. “Go figure.”

The Girl and the Fig: Much More than that Restaurant from the Bachelor

We were sitting at a table in the back of The Girl and the Fig restaurant in Sonoma, California, recommended to us by some ladies on a winetasting tour in Napa we had done earlier that morning. Tom had himself convinced he had heard of the place before, but considering neither of us had been to Sonoma before, couldn’t figure out how. Now it turned out we were unintentionally following in the footsteps of our most guilty pleasure TV show: The Bachelor. More specifically, Ben the Bachelor, who was from Sonoma and whose “hometown” date in Sonoma had helped spark our desire to visit the city.

And now here we were sitting in the same restaurant he had gone to with Casey B. (Who he should’ve picked to be his wife. Just saying.)

The Ambiance of the Girl and the Fig

The Girl and the Fig is a warm, well-lit restaurant, a bit on the small side, but with so many tables crammed in it feels larger. Despite the close proximity of the tables to each other, the welcoming pastel colors of the restaurant and the friendliness of the servers don’t make it feel too cramped.

What Fig? It’s All About the Cheese

The restaurant doesn’t offer too extensive of a menu, but was perfect for a day of lunch in wine country because what it does offer is a bunch of wine and cheese. Yummy, scrumptious, and diverse cheese.

Tom and I ordered “The Works” cheese and meat platter for a starter and it was the highlight of our lunch. The Girl and the Fig has a separate cheese menu, which was a bit overwhelming so we decided to trust our server’s knowledge and let her choose three cheeses for us from the selection to be served as part of the platter. Her cheese selections arrived with an array of meat, spiced nuts, fruit spreads, apples, and homemade fig cakes; as soon as we had our first bites, we knew we had made a wise choice in letting her decide as each of the cheeses was unique with an interesting, lively taste.

The first cheese I tried looked like a slice of white cake and was called Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog. It was soft and had edible vegetable ash running through its center and had an almost musty taste too it. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of it on its own, but mixed with candied nuts it was incredible. The sweetness of the nuts and bitter aftertaste of the cheese blended great together.

The second cheese was hard and went well with meat on a piece of bread. It was called Petit Agour. I expected it to be bitter from how it looked, which more like a Swiss cheese, but instead it was buttery and nutty. This cheese was very versatile and also went well the nuts and fruit.

The third cheese was called Bohemian Creamery Cowabunga. It already sounded pretty awesome, but tasted even better. The cheese was creamy, soft, and mild with a hint of sweetness. Swirling through the Cowabunga cheese was a thread of goat milk caramel. The cheese paired really well with fruit and was my favorite of the three cheeses.

Entrees at the Girl and the Fig

After devouring the platter, our entrees arrived – to a bit of dismay from me since I was already super full from the cheese platter. I ordered the Coppa Baguette, which arrived with the layers of brie, coppa, sweet red onion, compote, and arugula colorfully displayed from the sliced in half baguette. It was a bit too sweet for me after all the cheese so I could have done without the onion and compote mixture. Another interesting aspect of The Girl and the Fig to note is that they have their own organic meat farm, ensuring the meat is fresh and specially cured at their farm before arriving at the restaurant.

And of course no meal in Sonoma is complete without a glass of wine, and The Girl and the Fig has a small, but high quality wine list offering vintages from the region. To go with my cheese and sandwich, I selected the Copain Voignier, a crisp, dry, white wine with a good balance of pear and grapefruit undertones. Tom got the Corkscrew Syrah to go with his Sirloin Burger, and he thoroughly enjoyed both. The Syrah was also an excellent recommendation from our server as it was light and a bit fruity while still having smoky undertones, making it a perfect lunchtime Syrah to pair with red meat.

The biggest downside to eating at The Girl and the Fig? The cravings I still get for the Cowabunga cheese.

The Girl and the Fig Quick Notes:

• Entree Price: Average is between $15-$25
• Location: In Sonoma’s downtown area at 110 West Spain St.
• Contact: 707-938-3634
• Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11:30am-10pm; Fri-Sat: 11:30am-11pm; Sun: 10am-10pm
• Quick Summary: Amazing cheese selections, decent entrees, organic meats, and local wine list in a warm and open restaurant at an affordable price for the region.