On a weekend trip to Napa, I was put in charge of finding a place to have lunch so we could hang out in town for awhile and try some new-to-us tasting rooms there, instead of just hitting up our usuals. I wasn’t too sure what to have for lunch, but then I ran across Compline, and they claimed to not only be a wine bar/restaurant, but also a wine shop, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try, and I booked us in.
We shared a bottle of wine with lunch and decided to order steak tartare, because we are obsessed with it ($18). Then I opted for the Compline Burger ($18), and my partner had the Oyster Po’ Boy ($18). We also had to try a side of the Duck Fat Fries ($10). The tartare was very nice and full of flavor, and the only small complaint I would have is that the size of the pieces were a bit large so it was slightly chewy. It was still a fantastic dish though. The burger was phenomenal, and honestly, if Compline were in San Francisco, this might be close to the top of my list. The homemade pickles on the side were a great touch, and the balsamic onions on top really added a hit of sweetness. My partner loved the Po’ Boy, which is more his style than a burger. The oysters were really well cooked, not at all oily, and the togarashi aioli was really a nice touch. And one can never go wrong with Duck Fat fries.
While having lunch, we overheard one of the employees (perhaps even an owner) talking about a blind wine tasting that they do on Sunday evenings, which we knew we may have to come back for at some point. Little did we know that we were going to spend way too long in Napa that Sunday, so we found ourselves sitting at the bar having a blind tasting which inevitably led to us just deciding to order food for dinner.
This time, we started with the smoked fish rillettes, and I ordered the duck breast and my partner decided on the crispy chinese chicken. We also decided to get a couple of sides: A cheesy polenta and some chanterelle mushrooms. As a starter, the rillettes were incredibly tasty, much like the steak tartare, and it made us really excited about the mains coming out.
The chicken seemed slightly confusing to me, as it ended up just being half a chicken deep-fried, and sadly, it was a bit dry, and I wasn’t too sure where the chinese part of it came in. The duck was better, but slightly under-seasoned and didn’t really wow me that much either. The sides were pretty amazing, as I love a well done cheesy polenta, and the chanterelles had just the right flavor. (In case you’re curious, we also had a guess on where the wines were from from the blind tasting, and sadly we were way off. Time for more classes I think!)
Compline ended up being a great place for lunch, and an okay place for dinner, with a pretty stellar wine list. I really enjoyed the service and atmosphere as well, and it’s definitely been added to our list for places to return to if we happen to be in the city of Napa. It’s definitely my style of place, and I’m looking forward to many more visits in the future.
Score: 4.5/5
Recommendation: Lunch with Burgers and/or Po’Boys and fries!
Compline
1300 First Street #312
Napa, CA 94559
