Carpe Diem @ Oxbow Market

Carpe Diem at Oxbow Market is CLOSED

I tried out Carpe Diem at Oxbow Market just to try something new there. I got the Quack & Cheese — small cup of noodles suppose to be like mac & cheese with duck confit and some bread crumbs. Wasn’t very hot, I thought the duck was cold. Not cheese enough either. $ 5 for it.
B. got a short rib slider $ 5 — he liked it, I found it dry from the one bite I got.
The smoked chicken tamale $ 5 looked good from what I could see.
Baby Kale Salad $ 8 — looked good, suppose to have blood orange vin, pomegranate, candied walnut, shaved asiago.
Might try again for the tamale & kale salad.

OMG their duck mac and cheese and pork bun taco are so so so good. the service is great. fast, friendly and not snooty at all. The ambiance is casual and we had a great 20 minutes there. Thank God I don’t live there or I’d be going back there everyday. Highly highly recommended.

Completely loved the Market incarnation of the beloved Napa staple, but can’t wait for the re-​opening on July 8^th. Final days on the paper plates and biodegradable cutlery. Get your fix of the current offerings before the end of the month (Tuesday).
Winter has come! The mighty return of the Ostrich Burger! Many a fan have waited too long for this magnificent creation. (Thanks HBO). Also glad the re-​open corresponds with Squash Blossom season.
Can’t wait to chill at the bar with bubbs, wine, cheese, charcuterie and friends of the best kind. Now with a full liquor license, cocktails abound.
Oh yeah, forgot about the Twix Bar! A must!

Yum!
This is a pop up store in the Oxbow market. If you haven’t been to the market, it’s a great place to taste a variety of foods, wines, and local chocolate/​olive oil makers.
They had a deal when we went for $ 18 — glass of wine, 2 tacos, and a salad. My party of 4 sat at the bar. Todd I think was the person who helped us. Very friendly, gave us great directions for local tastings in the neighborhood and things to see.
I forget the name of one of the tacos but it’s maid on this unique bread… The flavors inside are phenom!
Bottom Line — Great, casual place to get a meal and drink in before or after taking on the town.

On a recent trip to Napa for a wedding, we explored the Oxbow Market and treated ourselves to some bites at Carpe Diem. Good stuff!
The pork bun «taco» was delish… creative and fresh! The Quack-n-Cheese…total food porn!
Smallish pop-​up location in the Oxbow Market with a limited menu selection is the only reason I did only 4 stars, but a lovely setting in the market made Carpe Diem a great start to our culinary Oxbow tour.

Great small plates with odd but really tasty pairings. Great for a light meal in the mid day

I came here because the quack & cheese appealed to me and the line was relatively shorter than others. I stood to the side to wait for my food. I noticed the person who immediately ordered after me got their food first. I just thought maybe his food is faster or what not. The person after that first person got their food too, and then at another. I went up to the person taking orders and asked about my food. She said, «it’ll just be a couple more minutes.» She had to reprint my receipt and give it to the cook. Obviously she forgotten my order or threw away my receipt.
After waiting at least 15 minutes, I got my food. All my friends had already finished eating their food from other stands. Anyways, my cup was filled with duck confit, gruyère, & caramelized onions, all mixed with macaroni pasta. The flavors were great, and I loved the panko topping. There were about two big chunks of duck meat. What I didn’t like was the overload of the béchamel sauce. I like my mac & cheese to have a good balance between pasta & sauce/​cheese.
Overall, good food, but the experience could’ve been better.

Ughhh love love love!
Stopped by here on our way to work this morning and it has the best pork bun tacos ever!!! The customer service was great as well. The nice friendly man taking our orders knew every customer by name. Feels nice to be acknowledged!
The only thing is. I’m not exactly sure I want to see the cook handling my food next time. He was talking to his buddy across the counter shaking hands and scratching his belly and then straight to touching my fresh new steamed bun right after –_​– Ugh. Kinda made my insides twist and turn but the food was delicious nonetheless.

The truffle fries are seriously the best fries… warning: your expectation of fries will go up after eating the truffle fries. They are a must try!!!

Food was good but staff was a bit dodgy. The chefs friend came over when he was making our food to say hi. Then the chef jumped on his cellphone to send a text. Needless to say he made our order wrong on his first try because he was obviously distracted since he was texting and cooking. After we sent our food back he called his friend over who was sitting nearby and gave him our messed up order for free which all seemed a bit planned. So texting while cooking and giving away free food to friends. As a business owner it was a bit cringing to watch unless this guy was the owner.

Stopped by on a Tuesday pm. The braised pork slider was amazing! Dianna was friendly and helpful, I will be back, truffle fries and soup of the moment were so good, like soup Nazi good!

Good food, rude host. Stood here ready to order for 5 minutes (there was no line), was ignored completely by the host who was too busy talking to the 3 drunks at the bar and then took her sweet time moving coke bottles back and forth in the fridge. Overall, you can get comparable food elsewhere and save yourself the aggravation of spending money to be ignored.

This place is so good!
Came here for lunch and I walked around oxbow market before deciding to order from carpe diem and I’m so glad I did. The food is amazing and the staff was very friendly.
Ordered the pork bun taco, quack and cheese, and truffle fries. All good options.
Pork bun taco — $ 4.75. Great flavors, a bit small, but tasty. Worth trying, but I wouldn’t get it again.
Truffle fries — $ 8. Delicious thicker cut fries with a sprinkle of crack! I kept reaching for more and more! Topped with shaved cheese and coated with truffle oil goodness. Very aromatic and the perfect snack to munch on.
Quack and cheese — $ 6. This was my favorite dish! It’s creamy and topped with buttery crusted bread crumbs. So delicious. The only thing I would change is that my duck was a little dry — but the creamy cheese sauce made up for that. Oh, and I also wish there was more of it!
I’m so glad I tried this place and would definitely come back. I heard this was a «pop up» because the original carpe diem was damaged due to the earthquake. I hope they have a speedy recovery and are back in business soon. I would love to see what the full menu has to offer.

Five stars for the Harissa fries!!! Great Happy Hour Wines! Oh and the Steamed Pork Bun taco, oh so delightful! This place is on my list of must eat at when in Napa!

Eric the Bartender was great. Just had some small plates and Beer. Great for people watching. Was looking for Jim the Bartender or manage but he was not there. He is one of the Bestest in the Valley to sit in front of and have a glass of Vino or Beer!

Carpe Diem had to close temporarily due to the earthquake that hit them a few months ago, so this is their pop-​up shop location in Oxbow Market while they rebuild. Their menu is downsized to include classic items with fun twists, including truffle fries, duck confit mac ‘n cheese, and steamed bun pork tacos with kim chi and hoisin glaze.
We stopped by for a quick snack and decided on the «Quack n’ Cheese» which was AMAZING! It was perfectly creamy and cheesy, but not in a heavy or overwhelming way. The duck was tender and flavorful and the chunky pasta, gruyère cheese, caramelized onions, and toasted breadcrumbs worked wonderfully together and the bowl came out piping hot.
Our server was upbeat and super friendly, and he was happy to recommend a beer for us to try when we couldn’t decide. If you’re in debate — the Matilda is a good choice! He even checked in on us while we were eating to see how we liked it. Most of the people at Oxbow are pretty nice, but his interaction with us was very genuine and stood out amongst the other servers in the market.
Even though I only had the quack n’ cheese from here, it was so good that I would be more than willing to eat here again. I plan to try their brick and mortar restaurant once they reopen again!

Carpe Diem has a lot of local history which i’m not tuned into. essentially the last earthquake wiped out their original site.
menu: tapas: soups, salads, tamales, pork buns, sliders, fries, pizza, wines, etc.
eats: pork bun taco (4.75)
–hoisin sauce/​ginger garnish
–crispy rice noodles
–tender pork on «bun» used for peking duck, not flour/​corn tortillia
leftovers:
–unconsciously ate it, nice comfort food
–fresh, spicy, no other memories
avoiding crowds while eating, so forgot the taste
–fab, professional service.
–only a few seats available for sitdown.

We ate lunch here during our Napa vacation. I wish the main restaurant was open, but it is currently closed due to earthquake damage. This one is set up in the Ox Bow market. The truffle fries are amazing. The quack and cheese was so good, but I wish there was more of it.

We stumbled on this great find while roaming the Oxbow market in search of dinner. All I can say is YUM! We tried one of each of the small plates. The truffle. Fries were the best I’ve had. The Bahn mi taco was flavorful and fun. The chicken tamale and quack confit (duck mac n cheese)
was my hubby’s fav. The original brick and mortar restaurant was damaged in the August quake so James chose to refuge in a small location ¹⁄₆ the size he is used to. If you don’t mind eating on paper goods the food is great. And at least the wine is served in a glass