If you’re looking to kick back in style, nothing beats dining your way through a vacation at the Four Seasons. And good news: the luxury-focused resort chain is embracing clean eating with more plant-forward options. For example, late last year, the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco added a fish-free salmon dish to the menu at its MKT Restaurant and Bar.
But if enjoying high-quality, plant-based cuisine with views of a beautiful vineyard sounds like a great way to relax, Four Seasons Napa Valley offers just that. There, you’ll find stunning views of the valley, luxury farmhouse-style accommodations, and plenty of activities (including cooking classes and hot air balloon rides), but the jewel in this resort’s crown has to be its Michelin-starred restaurant, Auro.
Auro
Plant-based fine dining at the Four Seasons Napa Valley
Opened in 2022, Auro is the only Michelin restaurant in the city of Calistoga, where Four Seasons Napa Valley is located. It has twice been awarded the coveted Michelin Star, once in 2023 and then again in 2024. “Each dish is finely tuned and harmonious,” reads the Michelin Guide. “Add in warm hospitality, and here is a meal that strikes a golden balance between modern tastes and old-school luxury.”
The key to all of that fine-tuning is executive chef Rogelio Garcia, who, in 2023, was nominated for best chef in California by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. Garcia worked his way up through the kitchen hierarchy from dishwasher to renowned head chef, and also appeared on season 15 of Bravo’s Top Chef.
The Michelin Guide praises Garcia’s skill at taking locally sourced ingredients and transforming them into fine dining excellence at the Four Seasons Napa Valley. The restaurant, which is a celebration of Californian food and ingredients, offers plant-based dishes on request.
“Each dish is thoughtfully crafted to be as exciting and satisfying as any other protein,” Garcia confirmed to VegNews. “By combining fresh ingredients with creative techniques. We also use the seasons to our advantage.”
Not just at Auro, but options are also always available on request at the Truss Restaurant + Bar, another onsite eatery. If you’re sticking with fine dining, however, Garcia recommends sampling Auro’s cauliflower polenta with black truffles. “It’s one of our most memorable dishes,” he says. “It’s simple yet packed with flavor.”
Auro
Auro prioritizes local, seasonal Californian ingredients
Auro has an onsite garden, which allows it to grow its own seasonal produce for all of its menu items. On top of this, it also sources mushrooms that have been foraged from the local area. To create maximum flavor, it also embraces techniques like pickling and fermentation. “This allows us to enhance flavors and textures in unexpected ways,” says Garcia.
Anything that can’t be grown on-site or foraged is sourced from Napa Valley’s “finest local farms and purveyors,” he adds. “These partnerships ensure our dishes showcase the valley’s freshest seasonal produce while supporting sustainable agriculture in our community.”
“Seasonality is everything we do. Our vegan dishes change with the seasons, allowing us to highlight the freshest ingredients, whether it’s spring peas, summer tomatoes, or fall squash. One of my favorites is the winter California citrus.”
Sustainability is key not only to the menu at Auro but also across the entire Napa Valley resort. It has incorporated food waste reduction programs across the site, and any surplus food is donated to local nonprofits. Its onsite pesticide-free vineyard also supports local biodiversity, and guests are offered nature educational tours, hikes, and free bike rentals.
In the future, there may even be a dedicated plant-based menu on the horizon. “We’d love to take this as a challenge and show off the beauty that the bounty of California has to offer,” says Garcia.
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
