Restaurant

Valette

Californian
LocaleTerroir: table overlooking the Russian River, Healdsburg, Sonoma County
LocaleTerroir AI-produced county- and industry-inspired placeholder image
344 Center Street
California
95448
Healdsburg Plaza
$$$
Monday–Thursday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM · Friday–Saturday, 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM · Sunday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Brothers Dustin Valette and Aaron Garzini opened Valette on Center Street in 2015, where their grandfather once did business. The open kitchen follows the Sonoma County season, from day boat scallops en croûte to a weekly-changing five-course tasting, and the California list adds international bottles. Dinner is served nightly.

Sommelier
Wine Pairing
Romantic
Bar Seating
Full Bar
Wheelchair Accessible
Outdoor Seating
LocaleTerroir: table overlooking the Russian River, Healdsburg, Sonoma County
just off healdsburg plaza

Valette

Healdsburg Plaza
•
Healdsburg
LocaleTerroir AI-produced county- and industry-inspired placeholder image
344 Center Street
·
Healdsburg
·
California
·
95448
Monday–Thursday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM · Friday–Saturday, 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM · Sunday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
CALLWEBSITERESERVE A TABLE
Sommelier
Wine Pairing
Romantic
Bar Seating
Full Bar
Wheelchair Accessible
Outdoor Seating
Wine Focus
A California list with a Sonoma County core and international bottles; Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Valette opened in 2015 on Center Street, just off the Healdsburg Plaza, in the space that had been Zin Restaurant. It belongs to chef Dustin Valette and his brother and business partner, Aaron Garzini, and the address is personal: their grandfather had a business on this spot some seventy-five years earlier. Valette grew up in Healdsburg, trained in kitchens including Aqua and Bouchon, and spent six years as executive chef at Dry Creek Kitchen before opening his own room. Wine Enthusiast named Valette to its Top 100 in its first year, and the restaurant now appears in the Michelin Guide; people do drive out to Healdsburg for it. In 2025 it marked its first decade. The brothers' aim remains to give local farmers, winemakers and artisans a stage.

Menu Highlights
Day Boat Scallops en Croûte
puff pastry, squid ink, champagne beurre blanc
Chef's Tasting Menu
five courses, weekly-changing
Coriander-Crusted Duck Breast
Forbidden rice, kumquat agrodolce
Kobe Beef Tartare
Périgord black truffle, egg yolk emulsion
American Wagyu New York Steak
Mr. Duncan's mushrooms, parsnip puree
Wine Pairing
Sonoma producers, deep selection

Dinner is served every night from 5 p.m., staying open until 9:30 on Friday and Saturday, in an intimate, warm dining room where the open kitchen sets the tone. The menu changes often and follows the Sonoma County season, so a return visit rarely repeats the last. The wine list keeps a California focus with a strong Sonoma County core, adding international bottles chosen to suit the food. Corkage is $25 for a standard bottle and $45 for a magnum, waived for each bottle bought from the list, which makes it easy to bring a special bottle and still explore. Book ahead for weekends and harvest season, and ask for a table within sight of the stoves, where the cooks' steady pace becomes part of the evening.

Drawn portrait placeholder of a man and a woman, LocaleTerroir sample

Dustin Valette

Chef & Co-Owner

Dustin Valette grew up in Healdsburg and trained in kitchens including Aqua and Bouchon, then spent six years as executive chef at Dry Creek Kitchen. He opened Valette on Center Street in 2015 with Aaron Garzini and The Matheson on the Healdsburg Plaza in fall 2021 with Craig Ramsey, both rooted in Sonoma County farms, ranches and producers.

Drawn portrait placeholder of a man and a woman, LocaleTerroir sample

Aaron Garzini

Co-Owner

Aaron Garzini co-owns Valette with chef Dustin Valette, and the two opened the Healdsburg restaurant together in 2015. Garzini started out as a teenager in the kitchen at Catelli's in Geyserville, and his hospitality-first approach to service has shaped the warm dining room ever since, in keeping with the brothers' aim of giving local farmers and winemakers a stage.

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