Compline is a Wine shop, Wine Bar, and Restaurant, all located within the same shopping area in downtown Napa right near the Napa Visitor’s Center. It’s been said to be a favorite among “industry folk” (meaning chefs, servers, bartenders, wine people, etc.).
Wine prices are quite reasonable since you can buy wine at the shop and just bring it to the restaurant.
The location is super central and the food is really, really good. Some of our favorites include the braised rabbit lumache, fried chicken, and raw vegetables with sweet potato dip.
The rabbit is braised in a fragrant sherry sauce, and the house made pasta has amazing texture.
The (Southern style) fried chicken (boneless!) is very flavorful and comes with polenta “grits” and collard greens.
The Last Time We Came
The first time we came to the restaurant in 2022 we met a server that knew our good friend Paul at Bergamot. The second time we went in 2024, we ordered a bottle of Corison wine. The server told us “did you know the winemaker herself, Cathy Corison, was just dining here about an hour ago? You just missed her. She comes pretty regularly. She always dines alone, she likes to get the lamb, and she‘ll have some wine.
Ah, what a missed chance for a “celebrity” sighting.
A few days earlier, we had visited Corison Winery for their Library tasting. The sommelier who took care of us told us more about the “legendary” Cathy Corison, how she forged ahead with her unconventional winemaking methods, and her incredible talent at continually executing such high quality, consistent wines.
Compline Restaurant - Third Time's the Charm
When we arrived at Compline, the server sat us down next to a lady who was dining by herself, having something that looked like lamb, and enjoying a lovely bottle of wine.
Bryan had seen photos of Cathy before at the winery, so he leaned over and asked “excuse me, but are you Cathy Corison?”
She looked pleasantly surprised and nodded, saying she was. We then told her how we visited her winery, planned on bringing several bottles back to Hong Kong, and how we were big fans.
She was so kind, so down to earth, and truly a lovely person. She said “you just made my day!”. We had a nice chat where she shared about winemaking, her business, and how her children are starting to help out and take over parts of the business.
It was SUCH a nice bonus to the day to actually meet Cathy that day, and it was a highlight of our day as well! I highly recommend stopping by Corison for a wine tasting (by appointment only). I’ll write a separate post about our visit!
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