Gott's Roadside - St. Helena, CA

Posted By Trina Richards on June 28, 2011 4:51 PM

The retro drive-in look is what first attracted us to Gott's. I thought to myself what a cute little place, and I expected the food to be, well, basically average. Was I surprised to see a respectable little wine list, and the burger I had was mind-blowing. Loved those sexy little corn dogs (sexy little corn dogs?).

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burgers

Sweet Potato Fries

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Posted By John on June 25, 2011 11:40 PM

This is what used to be known to us old-timers as Taylor's Refresher. It has changed and gotten a bit "chichi," serving up food more oriented to city folks and tourists, rather than to the locals.

Although this place HAS been featured on at least one well-known food-oriented TV show, it really cannot compare to what it used to be in the 1970s. It USED to be a super burger stand with high quality food, but it changed along with much of the upper Napa valley. Too bad it is now a yuppie (or worse) hangout. Y'all will never know how good it used to be.

They used to have the best milkshakes in Napa County, but now they're average at best. Another good place bites the dust.

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Posted By David Williams on June 27, 2007 10:23 AM

After eyeing this classic looking drive-in on two or three trips to Napa, my wife and I tried it last summer. Wow! The owner has taken a classic, 40's drive-in burger joint and upgraded the menu and experience while losing none of the essential charm.

Yes, the burgers are great as you would expect. The regular fries are crisp but spring for the extra buck for garlic fries, dipped in a butter, garlic, and parsley sauce. No ketchup needed! Not sure if it qualifies as proper road food, but I had a great seared ahi tuna burger with Asian cole slaw. The shakes are wonderfully thick.

Out back there is a wide expanse of lawn with umbrella-shaded picnic tables. It's the only drive-in I've seen with beer and wine by the glass (and a corkage fee). Then again, it's in the heart of Napa. If you're in Napa, you MUST GO as an antidote to the all the wine and fine dining, and to see how great food and road food can coexist.

Note: I understand they've opened a branch in the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco.

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Posted By Gillian Jackson-Champlain on July 15, 2006 10:25 PM

My then boyfriend/now husband and I happend upon this slice of heaven while eloping in the Napa Valley. All I can say is, if you are in the area of St. Helena you MUST GO.

We had to go traditional with cheeseburgers with everything, fries, onion rings and milkshakes. The service was a bit slow for us on-the-go New Yorkers, but was it worth the wait!! We were not disappointed. Needing more napkins than we managed to snag on our way back to the car, we smacked and slurped our way back down to the Napa Valley. One taste of the thick milkshakes and we understood why they came with both a straw AND a spoon.

Our one regret was that we had no room for the delicious looking ice-cream desserts. Both softserve and hard the list goes on. Taylors helped us fall in love with roadside eating and we have been adicts ever since. Will we return? Most definitely!!

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Posted By Elizabeth on July 2, 2004 8:45 AM

All I can say is if you are looking for a piece of America when things were simple this is the place to stop. This is one of the few walk-up restaurants that I have been to where the food was excellent and the atmosphere charming! I was so happy to be able to share this with my kids. I saw Taylor's 2 months ago while going to Napa with my sister who didn't want to stop, so I had to make a special trip with my family to eat there. It was well worth it. This is a must for anyone who loves road trips and all the joys it can bring. The hamburgers were juicy and the meat itself was high quality. The secret sauce was delicious. The french fries had a nice crisp texture and the soda was fresh and full of fizz.

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Posted By Dave Cutler on January 2, 2004 9:37 AM

We went about 45 minutes out of the way to try this place. It was worth twice the trip! We had the best garlic fries of our trip to NoCA, and fried calamari better than we've had anywhere at home in New York. If only we'd been hungrier! They also had an impressive local wine selection.

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