We have eaten here before and it was good. We came again for Easter dinner and, oh my goodness! There has been a staff change in the kitchen and it was a change for the better. Everything was so delicious and creative! We started with a quartet of deviled eggs that I thought was an interesting and cheeky nod to the holiday. Each one was different and beautiful. There was smoked salmon, caviar and I'm not sure what was on the other two but, they were delicious. We also had the Papas Bravas, and a stuffed artichoke that was so scrumptious I didn't want to share but, I did. For our main my husband and me both ordered the lamb shank. Mmmmmmmmmm! I arrived looking beautiful. I gave the shank bone a little tug and I slipped out with no resistance leaving the lamb retaining its shape. That's a good sign! The meat was soft and juicy. The potatoes underneath were velvety. The whole dish was so comforting and tasty. This was our favorite visit to Wickson. The whole place is run by women now and has such a joyful vibe. I think it makes for such a great experience when the kitchen and staff are happy. We felt so welcome and the food tasted like it was made by happy people who love what they do! The only thing that could make this visit to Wickson better was to get a room. Luckily we did! Thank you The Madrones and Wickson! We'll see you again soon!
Amanda Siciliano
The most delicious dinner I've had in a long time. It had a lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff. It was fun watching the chef cook in the big wood oven. She made sure to greet all of the customers personally. It was a wonderful experience. 10/10 would recommend.Parking: There are only about 10 parking spots, and they are shared between the inn and the restaurant. When we arrived there was plenty of parking, but when we left there was people parked along the road.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wood Oven Roasted Chicken
William Richards
Cozy, warm, great salads and pizzas. Good wine list too. Gals are friendly and efficient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sveta Poluektova
We had a wonderful lunch for our wedding anniversary in Nov 2023 at Wickson, starting with a bottle of Rosé of Pinot Noir and oysters. The highlight was the grilled octopus, in squid ink, with smashed potato and spinach. Compliments to the chef! Also enjoyed wood fired margarita pizza. Looking forward to our next meal in April 2024 for a birthday celebration, hope we can repeat the wine and grilled octopus ? ??
A must visit if you're in the area. Flavorful, colorful, seasonal food in a warm and rustically romantic setting. I almost never order soup for a meal, but theirs is exceptionally satisfying. We also had the Gabagool pizza and caesar salad, and continuous "wow(s)" were exclaimed. We can't wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elaine S.
UPDATED: Review to three stars (from original one star) because of how well the Chef and staff handled the situation and refunded me. We all have off days, and I appreciate that Chef Jen was willing to go above and beyond to make our experience better. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Oof man, I don't love to leave bad reviews, but my experience at Wickson was so disappointing tonight that I felt it was my duty to post a review, since the latest reviews are from a month + ago, and the quality has definitely diminished recently. For context, I've been to Wickson a few times. Once when it was a restaurant called Stone and Ember, which was phenomenally good (they had this delicious chicken pâté), and again when the restaurant became Wickson and was run by a couple of Bay Area chefs (forget their names but I believe they were formerly from Chez Panisse). It was so lovely then- we had a wonderful roast chicken dish and several other appetizers that were delightful. We left impressed and eager to come back, even though it's a trek for us (we live in the East Bay). Fast forward to tonight, and we were notified when checking in to our hotel at the Madrones that the chef had changed. Cause for pause, sure, but the menu still looked good so we decided to keep our reservation. Unfortunately, the food was so disappointing! We ordered the baked Brie with mushrooms. Brie came out lukewarm (not melty), and the mushrooms were good but fairly bland. The crostini toasts that came with the Brie were oddly hard- like not crisp and crunchy like a crostini but tough and hard-- like stale croutons. The entrees- the wood-fired roasted chicken (which we had had before at Wickson and was delicious) came out extremely burned- literally the entire skin was inedible because of how charred and bitter it was. The chicken meat itself was moist, but had little flavor without the skin (which had imparted bitterness even on the meat). The broccolini was bland (just tasted steamed or maybe blanched) with some salt and the mashed potatoes were just average. We also ordered the seafood pasta... which for $46 was also wildly disappointing! It was cioppino-inspired but bland, the onions in the soup were undercooked and still crunchy, the pasta wasn't al dente (overcooked/too soft), and it came with like 4 clams. For $46, I was expecting way more protein and mussels than the paltry amount that came with the bland tomato-noodles. Unfortunately, we were way too underwhelmed with all the food at this point to give the dessert a try. Sadly, we will not be returning to Wickson again. Service was average.
Savannah Greco
Very cozy atmosphere, and lovely and attentive chef and team. The menu seems to rotate based on availability. We especially loved the focaccia, wood fired oysters (the best), and the celery soup. One of the most delicious meals I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer BeVard
Had an absolutely stunning meal at Wickson on January 28. The menu is lean (which I personally love--never trust a restaurant that's trying to have "something for everyone") The food was absolutely stellar-- from the house baked fresh bread to the wood oven roasted oysters, the warm house-marinated olives (could have eaten a pound of them) to the shockingly excellent caesar salad (the housemade boquerones and fennel breadcrumbs?! come. on.) and Dungeness crab cioppino (FILLED with fresh shellfish, a salt cod broth....one of the all-time greatest cioppino's)--everything was best in class. The wine selection is very well-curated and our excellent server made the perfect suggestion for our meal. The open-plan kitchen and nearly empty restaurant (everyone was watching the Superbowl playoffs) meant that we had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Chef Jenny--the one-woman show responsible for all the brilliant food at this intimate, very special restaurant. I could not recommend Wickson more. We will be back as soon as we're in the area again. And thank you, Chef Jenny, for an absolutely unforgettable dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amy E.
So good! We stayed at the Madrones this weekend. Unbelievable weather! In the midst of rain we had 72 degree day! Just lovely. But wait!!! Dinner at Wickson the first night. Two of us had the cioppino and other had short rib. So good! So, so good! Seated so we could watch the chef and sous chef in front of the wood fired oven. Cozy and entertaining! Food was most excellent! The bread with the balsamic warmed perfectly so you had a nice crisp on the outer layer. Great for dipping in the cioppino! Gotta get all that delicious sauce. The next night we had the Caesar salad and 2 had chicken and then another cioppino. Had the same waiter both nights and he was great! Suggested some wonderful wine both nights. Excellent service and excellent food! Thank you! We will be back!! I must add that we had the candy cap dessert and WOW! So unique!
Passed by here on the way back from Mendocino and what a jewel! It's located inside a beautiful Mediterranean style boutique hotel that I believe specializes in marijuana tourism. I didn't know there was such a things as marijuana tourism, but it certainly makes sense to have this restaurant downstairs! The ambiance is cozy, much like a tucked away Italian taverna. The staff seem really happy to work there, laughing and joking with each other. They play a lot of fun 90s and 2000s rock and pop tunes. They specialize in wood fired pizzas, but there are lovely surprises like inventive salads and octopus with a sauce that you soak up with your pizza crust. We especially enjoyed the grilled oysters which are hard to find on menus.
Narges Shahidi
Cozy and cute. Highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amber Senter
I stayed at the Madrones for a long weekend and ate at Wickson for every meal. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere, it was a lovely escape. Delicious, fresh, and locally sourced. The chef and staff are fantastic.Parking: Plenty of parkingWheelchair accessibility: Very wheelchair accessible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Marinated Olives
T Paltseva
Unique place with amazing food! We ordered Niçoise salad, 2 pizzas and the gambas ajillo, everything was stunning, so fresh and juicy. Thank you for the amazing experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
cyndorf
Inventive, delicious, wood-fired pizza, delivered straight from the pizza oven. (We only had pizza; so don't know about other dishes, but the ones we saw looked good.) Pleasant interior, with chef and pizza oven in view.
Spot on.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We have eaten here before and it was good. We came again for Easter dinner and, oh my goodness! There has been a staff change in the kitchen and it was a change for the better. Everything was so delicious and creative! We started with a quartet of deviled eggs that I thought was an interesting and cheeky nod to the holiday. Each one was different and beautiful. There was smoked salmon, caviar and I'm not sure what was on the other two but, they were delicious. We also had the Papas Bravas, and a stuffed artichoke that was so scrumptious I didn't want to share but, I did. For our main my husband and me both ordered the lamb shank. Mmmmmmmmmm! I arrived looking beautiful. I gave the shank bone a little tug and I slipped out with no resistance leaving the lamb retaining its shape. That's a good sign! The meat was soft and juicy. The potatoes underneath were velvety. The whole dish was so comforting and tasty. This was our favorite visit to Wickson. The whole place is run by women now and has such a joyful vibe. I think it makes for such a great experience when the kitchen and staff are happy. We felt so welcome and the food tasted like it was made by happy people who love what they do! The only thing that could make this visit to Wickson better was to get a room. Luckily we did! Thank you The Madrones and Wickson! We'll see you again soon!
The most delicious dinner I've had in a long time. It had a lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff. It was fun watching the chef cook in the big wood oven. She made sure to greet all of the customers personally. It was a wonderful experience. 10/10 would recommend.Parking: There are only about 10 parking spots, and they are shared between the inn and the restaurant. When we arrived there was plenty of parking, but when we left there was people parked along the road.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wood Oven Roasted Chicken
Cozy, warm, great salads and pizzas. Good wine list too. Gals are friendly and efficient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a wonderful lunch for our wedding anniversary in Nov 2023 at Wickson, starting with a bottle of Rosé of Pinot Noir and oysters. The highlight was the grilled octopus, in squid ink, with smashed potato and spinach. Compliments to the chef! Also enjoyed wood fired margarita pizza. Looking forward to our next meal in April 2024 for a birthday celebration, hope we can repeat the wine and grilled octopus ? ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicory Salad, Blistered Shishito Peppers
A must visit if you're in the area. Flavorful, colorful, seasonal food in a warm and rustically romantic setting. I almost never order soup for a meal, but theirs is exceptionally satisfying. We also had the Gabagool pizza and caesar salad, and continuous "wow(s)" were exclaimed. We can't wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
UPDATED: Review to three stars (from original one star) because of how well the Chef and staff handled the situation and refunded me. We all have off days, and I appreciate that Chef Jen was willing to go above and beyond to make our experience better. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Oof man, I don't love to leave bad reviews, but my experience at Wickson was so disappointing tonight that I felt it was my duty to post a review, since the latest reviews are from a month + ago, and the quality has definitely diminished recently. For context, I've been to Wickson a few times. Once when it was a restaurant called Stone and Ember, which was phenomenally good (they had this delicious chicken pâté), and again when the restaurant became Wickson and was run by a couple of Bay Area chefs (forget their names but I believe they were formerly from Chez Panisse). It was so lovely then- we had a wonderful roast chicken dish and several other appetizers that were delightful. We left impressed and eager to come back, even though it's a trek for us (we live in the East Bay). Fast forward to tonight, and we were notified when checking in to our hotel at the Madrones that the chef had changed. Cause for pause, sure, but the menu still looked good so we decided to keep our reservation. Unfortunately, the food was so disappointing! We ordered the baked Brie with mushrooms. Brie came out lukewarm (not melty), and the mushrooms were good but fairly bland. The crostini toasts that came with the Brie were oddly hard- like not crisp and crunchy like a crostini but tough and hard-- like stale croutons. The entrees- the wood-fired roasted chicken (which we had had before at Wickson and was delicious) came out extremely burned- literally the entire skin was inedible because of how charred and bitter it was. The chicken meat itself was moist, but had little flavor without the skin (which had imparted bitterness even on the meat). The broccolini was bland (just tasted steamed or maybe blanched) with some salt and the mashed potatoes were just average. We also ordered the seafood pasta... which for $46 was also wildly disappointing! It was cioppino-inspired but bland, the onions in the soup were undercooked and still crunchy, the pasta wasn't al dente (overcooked/too soft), and it came with like 4 clams. For $46, I was expecting way more protein and mussels than the paltry amount that came with the bland tomato-noodles. Unfortunately, we were way too underwhelmed with all the food at this point to give the dessert a try. Sadly, we will not be returning to Wickson again. Service was average.
Very cozy atmosphere, and lovely and attentive chef and team. The menu seems to rotate based on availability. We especially loved the focaccia, wood fired oysters (the best), and the celery soup. One of the most delicious meals I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had an absolutely stunning meal at Wickson on January 28. The menu is lean (which I personally love--never trust a restaurant that's trying to have "something for everyone") The food was absolutely stellar-- from the house baked fresh bread to the wood oven roasted oysters, the warm house-marinated olives (could have eaten a pound of them) to the shockingly excellent caesar salad (the housemade boquerones and fennel breadcrumbs?! come. on.) and Dungeness crab cioppino (FILLED with fresh shellfish, a salt cod broth....one of the all-time greatest cioppino's)--everything was best in class. The wine selection is very well-curated and our excellent server made the perfect suggestion for our meal. The open-plan kitchen and nearly empty restaurant (everyone was watching the Superbowl playoffs) meant that we had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Chef Jenny--the one-woman show responsible for all the brilliant food at this intimate, very special restaurant. I could not recommend Wickson more. We will be back as soon as we're in the area again. And thank you, Chef Jenny, for an absolutely unforgettable dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So good! We stayed at the Madrones this weekend. Unbelievable weather! In the midst of rain we had 72 degree day! Just lovely. But wait!!! Dinner at Wickson the first night. Two of us had the cioppino and other had short rib. So good! So, so good! Seated so we could watch the chef and sous chef in front of the wood fired oven. Cozy and entertaining! Food was most excellent! The bread with the balsamic warmed perfectly so you had a nice crisp on the outer layer. Great for dipping in the cioppino! Gotta get all that delicious sauce. The next night we had the Caesar salad and 2 had chicken and then another cioppino. Had the same waiter both nights and he was great! Suggested some wonderful wine both nights. Excellent service and excellent food! Thank you! We will be back!! I must add that we had the candy cap dessert and WOW! So unique!
Restaurantji Recommends
Passed by here on the way back from Mendocino and what a jewel! It's located inside a beautiful Mediterranean style boutique hotel that I believe specializes in marijuana tourism. I didn't know there was such a things as marijuana tourism, but it certainly makes sense to have this restaurant downstairs! The ambiance is cozy, much like a tucked away Italian taverna. The staff seem really happy to work there, laughing and joking with each other. They play a lot of fun 90s and 2000s rock and pop tunes. They specialize in wood fired pizzas, but there are lovely surprises like inventive salads and octopus with a sauce that you soak up with your pizza crust. We especially enjoyed the grilled oysters which are hard to find on menus.
Cozy and cute. Highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I stayed at the Madrones for a long weekend and ate at Wickson for every meal. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere, it was a lovely escape. Delicious, fresh, and locally sourced. The chef and staff are fantastic.Parking: Plenty of parkingWheelchair accessibility: Very wheelchair accessible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Marinated Olives
Unique place with amazing food! We ordered Niçoise salad, 2 pizzas and the gambas ajillo, everything was stunning, so fresh and juicy. Thank you for the amazing experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Inventive, delicious, wood-fired pizza, delivered straight from the pizza oven. (We only had pizza; so don't know about other dishes, but the ones we saw looked good.) Pleasant interior, with chef and pizza oven in view.