This is the fourth post in our series on Sonoma California! Other posts in this series include Harvest Moon Sonoma, La Salette Portuguese Cuisine, and The Donum Estate.
I fell in love with the Sunflower Caffe the moment I walked into it. I can't quite put my finger on why. Perhaps it was the cheerful sunflowers displayed all over the restaurant. Perhaps it was the cafe's emphasis on healthy, fresh, organic ingredients.
I have a suspicion that it was their beautiful backyard garden sitting area that really drew me to the place. It was so quaint, so warm, so inviting. I wanted to just sit there forever.
In fact, I came here twice during my short one-week visit to Sonoma because I liked it so much.
Sunflower Caffe is located in historic Sonoma Plaza right in the middle of the square. The cafe focuses on breakfast and lunch, opening from 7AM to 3PM every day (though they do offer private dinner events in their gorgeous garden).
The cafe focuses on using local ingredients as much as possible, down to using salt from San Francisco, milk from Sonoma cows, and local organic eggs. I've tried multiple dishes, and everything was excellent.
The place is popular, and a line will begin forming around lunchtime, so be forewarned.
I needed some convincing, but the staff highly recommended the Vegan Wrap ($13.50), which turned out to be fantastic. This wrap is stuffed with all sorts of flavorful goodies, such as curry cauliflower, organic quinoa, dried pears, wild arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic onion jam and green beans all tossed in a really flavorful lemon parsley dressing and wrapped in a red tomato tortilla. It was enjoyable to eat, and I felt so good and healthy afterwards.
This special Eggs Benedict variation was very good, made with toast topped with poached eggs, guacamole, and a generous topping of hollandaise sauce.
I was quite envious of my friend who ordered the fantastic looking California Sandwich ($14.50), a gorgeous sandwich made with an organic brioche bun and filled with bacon, dressed organic greens (arugula, spinach), folded eggs, avocado "crush", and a chevre goat cheese sauce. She said it was delicious, and I can believe it.
I really enjoyed their homemade granola, which included all different sorts of seeds and dried fruit. It wasn't too sweet and had a lovely crunch.
I didn't order anything with meat, but their menu includes several creative looking meat sandwiches, such as a Smoked Duck Bahn Mi, a Five Dot Steak Salad (grass fed skirt steak), and Chicken Salad made with roasted hand picked chicken. There are even sweeter items for those with a sweet tooth, like various bakeshop pastries, Belgian waffles, and more.
All in all, it's a lovely place to spend time especially if the weather is nice. The outdoor patio is a lovely place to hang out and I enjoyed a nice, lazy afternoon sipping my coffee and crunching on my granola well after I was done with my vegan wrap.
Highly recommended!
421 First Street West Sonoma, CA 95476
On the Historic Sonoma Plaza
Open Daily 8am - 3pm
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