Barns are symbols of farms. In effect, they are functional temples: the point behind the prayer of a small farm (oh god, please let the tractor start) is food.

At barndiva we re-define classic dishes with ingredients sourced wholly from sustainable purveyors. What can’t be grown for us within a few miles is artisanally produced in small batches on a farm somewhere else in the country. Except for our bespoke cheeses—which we search for all over the world—almost everything we serve at barndiva is grown, raised, fished, or handmade in America. Over 70% of our 150 selection wine cellar is from Sonoma and Mendocino and we have the largest 'by the glass' program in the County. Our well spirits are organic, while our infamous specialty cocktails—which change seasonally with our menus—use only the finest purees, fruits, and vegetables. We house-make all our herbal and spice infused syrups.

Honestly? All the noble social reasons to support sustainability come second to an infinitely simpler (and more powerful) principle: this kind of food tastes better. Our primary impetus was to create a place where all kinds of people would come to enjoy (and understand the importance of) the kind of food grown on small farms like ours. That was our starting point. But from the minute we opened our doors, something equally compelling and totally unexpected happened.

In building a space where one could drink and dine in style, a space with a joyous heart, we instantly found a community within our community—of friends, neighbors, chefs, vintners, growers, artists, shopkeepers, and visitors--who weren’t just looking for what could easily be construed as the next “elitist” food experience. They wanted something that was only tangentially connected to what kind of heirloom vegetable we had managed to procure or how happy the lamb we were serving had been before it met its demise. Look around you on any night at barndiva and you will see the most amazing cross section of people, all enjoying life, as they break bread together. However refined we make the food experience, however wonderful, sharing it with people makes is even better.

Perhaps what we all long for when we break bread is something the French call “Gout du revenez-y,” roughly translated, “The taste you return to.” The irony is that often our deepest food desires come from a place both very close (memory) yet sadly far away (a recipe lost to time). We forget that food is as much about people (who cooked for us and with whom we share it) as its color, texture, shape or smell. A great meal should have elements of both celebration and tradition, and the loss of either when we dine is profoundly felt on some level. At barndiva we prepare and beautifully serve you food and drink that is deeply familiar, yet new at the same time. Food and drink that celebrates life the moment it passes through your lips. We hope our guests will be so sated through flavor and texture, the design of the room, the swell of the music, that eating becomes only one part of a total encounter. Time passes more slowly, as you linger over a meal through a sun-lit afternoon, or over the course of a long, candle-lit evening.

We built a big mahogany barn with tall windows, filled it with flowers and art, surrounded it with thyme filled stone walls, a glass fountain and “old world” gardens. But as beautiful as barndiva is, this space, and the food and drinks we serve in it are only an entry point to a fully engaged, convivial familiarity we hope you take with you when you go. Nothing compares to the joy of re-discovering a food memory you may already possess—except perhaps finding it again in a beautiful and relaxed social setting, thus setting forth the wheel of memory and tradition yet again.

At barndiva we are interested in stimulating all the senses, both in ourselves, as we nurture this extraordinary business, and in our customers, who more often than not become friends.

If you want to inquire about booking all or a part of barndiva and the gardens for a private event, email jil@barndiva.com. For Reservations, strongly advisable at week-ends, please call 707. 431. 0100.

We appreciate the time you spent reading about barndiva. We look forward to greeting you soon.

Eat the View,

Barndiva

We are a family run business. For the past twenty years, when we haven’t been dry farming apples, figs and chestnuts on a ridge above the pacific, we have pursued excellence in the worlds of architecture and design, photography, journalism, food and hospitality. We have done this in LA, London, San Francisco, and always in Philo, California.

All our interests come together in Barndiva.

Barndiva was designed and built by Jil and Geoffrey Hales. Jil Hales designed and contracted the interiors as well as the initial concept of the menus. She does the floral arrangements, and develops Barndiva’s seasonal cocktails (though not necessarily in that order). She is currently handling private events.

Lukka Feldman returned from London to become Barndiva’s General Manager. His hand picked, engaging front of house staff is fully committed to Barndiva’s flavor profiled menu especially in its support of local sustainable farms and artisan food producers. Mr. Feldman is also responsible for Barndiva’s increasingly well- recognized (and expanding) wine list.

Jaime Dillion, Barndiva’s Chef de Cuisine, has been with us since we opened. He works with Mrs. Hales and Lead Sous Chef Kortney Herbert and pastry chef Scott Knoll to constantly expand Barndiva's seasonal menus in the lounge while developing a stunning private events menu portfolio. Jaime, first and foremost an artist, has an exciting if often unconventional approach to flavor profiling which has brought Barndiva growing acclaim since opening.