The Fremont Diner

Seriously good food and amazing atmosphere. You can eat inside or in a super cute tent out back. Pro tip: if it’s busy, order to go and eat at the counter out front.
I always love the soup and the fried chicken sandwich. They are a steal at under $ 4 each.
Honestly, The Girl and the Fig is great, but this is even better.

My best friend and I came across this diner on Unilocal and decided to try it out. She saw that they had eggs Benedict on the menu and gets that for breakfast everywhere we go. It’s called Ace of Spades on the menu. Needless to say, she loved it! I tried the hash and it was not too bad. I thought it lacked a little flavor but I didn’t hate it. We went with orange juice and ice tea for beverages. It was a Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t too busy of a wait. The sitting area was cute. We sat on long benches.

Not worth the hype, came here for lunch on a Saturday. We put in our name and was told would be an hour wait. Ok, I can deal with that being the place was packed and even more people waiting in the parking lot to be seated. We ordered a lemonade while we waited. Honestly it was a great lemonade. We finally get seated at the end of the bar. Would have been nice, if the person at least asked if this was ok. Not to mention the empty table next to us could have been offered. No it wasn’t. Ae we sat at the bar a good 10 minutes before anyone even a knowledge we even existed. The gentleman behind the bar took our order. I ordered the spicy chicken and my girlfriend requested non spicy. Our waitress finally showed up after that. We advised her out orders have already been taken.
This is where the day took a turn for the worst l, my girlfriends chicken shows up she takes a bite and say this is spicy I think I got yours. We inform the waitress who right off the bat, puts the blame on the gentleman who took out order. She informs us that the non spicy is still spicy just not as spicy as the spicy. They still use Cajun seasoning. OK why even call it non spicy. My chicken arrived and it was spicy, but nothing close to southern cooking.
In my opinion this place is great for yuppies, who want to say they had great southern cooking. People in the south have manners, and can prepare a dish worth waiting for. I won’t be back.

This diner has a very rustic look, inside and out, and unapologetically so. It feels like they converted an old, small, wooden home into a restaurant with a barbeque smoker out back. My wife loved the spicy chicken and waffle, though she got it spicier than appealed to me. (Great flavor, and I’d probably really enjoy it one step milder.) I was less impressed with my pulled pork hash that seemed rather bland.
TRIVIA: According to locals, Fremont Diner was approached to appear on Guy Fieri’s «Diners, Drive-​ins, and Dives» TV show but declined because they’d have to close for two full days for filming. Apparently, Fremont Diner is too popular to afford that already!

I’ve driven by here so many times and always wanted to stop by. Well, today is the day!
The hubby and I split the ace of spades, which is basically eggs Benedict on biscuits, and the hot chicken with waffles.
I thought the hot chicken was the stand out. We’ve had hot chicken in Nashville and the version they have here is pretty different. I think they use a corn meal crust, which is super crispy, but it doesn’t stick to the chicken as the ones that we’ve had in Nashville. There was definitely a kick to the chicken and it was so tender and juicy, even the huge breast. We got 4 pieces per order, with a breast, thigh, wing and drum stick. The waffle is also delicious. They use sorghum as the base of the batter so it’s very crispy and had nice flavor. Drizzle some syrup on top and you’re in business. A must order, I think.
The ace of spades was just ok. The egg was slightly over poached and the ham, though flavorful, was kinda tough. I’m just not a ham person. The biscuit was amazing, though. Fluffy and mountain high, with great texture. Next time, I’ll get the biscuit and gravy or biscuit and sausage sandwich.
I can’t wait to come back. The guy next to us had the shrimp and grits and he says that it’s the best he’s had ever (he is from South Carolina) so it must say something about the quality of the dish. The atmosphere here is so homey and kitschy. What a gem in the wine country.

Rural South meets California Wine Country.
This place oozes of casual, deep Southern comfort and quaintness, good food, and a menu for which you must proclaim undying love. And how many places do you know of where you can find a dish with the name Hangtown in it? Rare. For me, just this one in Napa, until I actually looked it up on Unilocal.Still rare.
If you are familiar with Hangtown Fries, you know it is traditionally an omelet made with oysters and bacon and eggs. And according to good ol’ dependable Wikipedia, its origin goes back over 160 years to the California Gold Rush days. Depending on which story you wish to believe, it still centers around SF (where the oysters came from) and the Gold Country (Placerville, aka Hangtown) where eating oysters was an extravagance. Good stories, both, look it up.
So, my point is, Fremont Diner was my first exposure to this oddly named dish with historic ties. This one was good. Really good.
Fremont Diner’s rendition of the Hangtown Fry breakfast is not an omelet. It was deconstructed but still had plump, lightly breaded (fried) oysters, scrambled eggs, an insanely wonderful remoulade, bacon bits, and for contemporary tastes, arugula. Mr B and I thought we could share this dish, but we were deluding ourselves. We ended up ordering 4 more fat oysters so we didn’t have to snarl when one of us looked enviously at the other’s plate. The final touch were the side of red potatoes, lightly seasoned with a perfect crunch.
We did a couple of additional sides. I simply *had* to order a side of their house smoked ham. Sadly, it was disappointing: too lean and way too overcooked, sliced incorrectly (going with the grain), too thin, and lacking any significant smokiness. I would have to give a pass on this for next time.
If you choose anything other than their gorgeous, light, buttermilk biscuits (our second side), you are daft. They are as marvelous as any of the finest Southern renditions. The house-​made lime marmalade and butter, or in the alternative the side of fabulous sausage gravy with a delicate fennel overtone, made these biscuits quite unique and delicious.
Now here is the kicker. We all know Napa is known for it’s extravagant prices. A spartan serving of bread and tap water will cost you $ 10 (jk). But NOT here. Eating here, the actual prices for a great breakfast are surprisingly unlike most places in the area. Inexpensive & delicious. Of course the oysters were another story, to be expected. But stick to the standard breakfasts, and you have yourself a fine breakfast for a far more reasonable cost.
Look for a decrepit old diner with a rusty 1950’s pickup truck parked out front, some smokers in the yard, and a few free range chickens that are strutting their stuff after having escaped the chopping block. You have just found breakfast heaven.

Nothing spectacular! After having had comfort foods in the Big Easy, it’s hard to compare it to anything else. Everything here is mediocre. Their portions are quite small. I’d rather go to Brenda’s Soul Food on a Sunday afternoon.
Hubby ordered the shrimp & grits, it was decent. French bread would complement it. I ordered the gumbo, which was ordinary. The hush puppies were okay. The fried chicken and biscuit with gravy could have been warmer. It was a rainy day and sitting underneath this weird tent felt wet and damp. Luckily, we were seated by the heater, but other patrons couldn’t wait ’til we left to scooch on over with their toddlers. It was a bit much, not a pleasant brunch vibe. I just wanted to leave at that point, forget dessert!

We enjoyed a decent breakfast at the Fremont Diner: beef brisket hash, waffle, eggs benedict, and collard greens… and certainly fresh local coffee.
The greens are the best I have ever had… PERIOD!
Everything else was okay. I came here for lunch a few years ago and distinctly remember the produce and eggs tasting so incredibly fresh I figured they had to have their own garden. I didn’t get that this time. Don’t get me wrong it is still fresh, but not nearly like it used to be. I assume they changed produce providers.
Also, I came in solely for the chicken fried steak and eggs which wasn’t ready for people to order (weird). That was a let down.
I’m not sure if I’d come back. I only took the drive from Vallejo to Sonoma just because I knew how fresh it was. Now, it seems the produce and eggs are a different provider and a major step backwards in freshness.

Amazing! We stopped by for a late breakfast with my nephew and niece. It was a Tuesday, so there was no wait. We were seated outside under the canopy. It’s heated perfectly.
We ordered pancakes, biscuits and gravy, Nashville chicken and farmers toast.
The farmers toast was delightful! Absolutely perfect mix of smashed avo topped with pickled onions. I sprinkled some pepper and devoured it.
The pancakes were equally delicious. Fluffy and they melted in your mouth.
My brother had the chicken– he really enjoyed it. He said– next time he’d get it spicy.
My sister in law had the biscuits and gravy. She really enjoyed it too.
I wish we would’ve tried the French toast. Oh well… Just means we have to come back.

Good food, and fair prices. We caught them at a not-​so-​busy date/​time an they got us in really quickly. A bit off my normal path, but definitely worth a try.
The portions are healthy, so prepare yourself. We had 4 in our group and ordered a lot. Cornbread, fritters, deviled eggs, fried chicken, potato salad, and Mac & Cheese. I think we also got collared greens. So much food I lost track. Potato salad and chicken were good, as was the cornbread.
My biggest… Wait… I also got a milk shake. Idk if it brought any boys to the yard, but it was delicious.
Anyway, the only bummer was that the food wasn’t hot when it came out. Just barely warm, so it got cold fast. :(at any rate, worth a try!