Where to Drink in Downtown Napa

In 2014, when Aubrey Bailey left her job at the world-famous French Laundry restaurant to open a bar in downtown Napa, expectations were low. “Everyone told me, ‘You’ll be back in six months,’” she says, laughing. Instead, Bailey’s Cadet Wine + Beer Bar played a major role in revitalizing Napa’s formerly sleepy downtown.

Over the last decade, more than 60 shops and 70 new bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, and breweries have opened in an area once dismissed as a stopover en route to the region’s storied vineyards. “It’s amazing to see the amount of growth downtown,” says Cadet co-owner Taylor Kindred. Last summer, Bailey and Kindred debuted Chispa, a bar focused on agave spirits whose elegant drinks and glam interior would be equally at home in global cocktail destinations like Mexico City or Manhattan. “We just want to give downtown Napa an amazing experience,” Bailey says.

Here, Kindred and Bailey share some of their favorite spots for everything from coffee to cocktails in Napa’s bustling downtown.

Angèle

“It’s such a romantic place,” Kindred says of this French-accented bar and restaurant in a restored mill overlooking the Napa River. A neighborhood mainstay since 2002, Angèle serves bistro fare like oysters, French onion soup, and roast chicken alongside house and classic cocktails, an expansive global wine list, and bottles from local and international breweries. “I love sitting at that bar with a lentil salad and the Clear Conscience cocktail,” Bailey says of a drink made with muddled cucumber, ginger, vodka, and fresh lime juice. Request an outdoor table under the thatched awning and striped umbrellas if weather permits, or sidle up to the bar in the cozy, wood-lined dining room.

Cadet

You may find yourself on the barstool next to the winemaker whose bottle you just ordered at this welcoming industry hangout just off Napa’s main drag. The friendly servers and are freshingly intergenerational and multicultural crowd get livelier as the night goes on, as locals who work in nearby restaurants and tasting rooms come for after-hours Champagne, Martinis, and draft beers from area breweries like Oakland’s Ghost Town and Santa Rosa’s Cellarmaker. Nearly 10 years after it opened, Cadet remains one of the only Napa bars reliably open after 11 p.m.—and until 1 a.m. on the weekends. “Never create something you want: Create something the community needs,” Bailey says of Cadet’s ongoing success. “The community needed a place to go out after your shift, and we’re so honored to serve them.”

Folklore

“This is a new addition to the area that we’re really excited about,” says Bailey of this hybrid record store, café, and cocktail and wine bar. “You can sit and have a cocktail or a wine with some age on it as you’re digging through the records.” The industrial space has an antique mirror behind its full bar, exposed wood beams, and mismatched pendant lights. Inventive house cocktails include the frothy Ojo de Tigre (reposado tequila, the Czech liqueur Becherovka, chocolate-walnut bitters, egg white, and fresh citrus), while the 200-bottle wine list spans spritzy Vinho Verde, vintage Brunello, and rare Rhone blends. There’s also a short menu of bar snacks like flatbread with smoked trout dip and charcuterie from nearby butcher the Fatted Calf.

Naysayer

The scent of freshly roasted coffee leads the way to this airy, white-walled café and roaster that counts Kindred among its many local devotees. Opened in 2022 by Beth and Chris Vecera, Naysayer sources beans directly from growers worldwide to use in pour overs and espresso drinks, plus seasonal specials like the Blackberry Sage E&T, an espresso gently sweetened with blackberry-sage-infused simple syrup and topped with tonic water. The café serves a small menu of snacks like yogurt mixed with Napa’s small-batch Local Eden granola plus thick-cut toast schmeared with smashed avocado and miso-whipped butter.

ZuZu

“It’s a love letter to Spain,” Bailey says of this buzzy downtown institution for paella, tapas, and globe-trotting wines and spirits. “When I’ve had a long day, I just want to sit at the bar with a Txakolina and some boquerónes.” The choose-your-own-adventure custom Gintonics menu features 16 gins from Spain, India, Japan, and beyond, plus a rotating list of eight or more tonics. Open since 2002, ZuZu is part of a fleet of bars and restaurants situated along Main Street and owned by local impresario Mick Salyer. The warmly lit space has chalkboard menus, rustic wood tables, and a bustling bar a stone’s throw from the Napa River.