Why Auro matters.
Auro is a MICHELIN-starred contemporary American restaurant where Calistoga's northern Napa Valley wine country meets Evan Neumann's French culinary training and Japanese influences, connecting estate-grown ingredients, precision cooking and an extensive wine program within Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley.
North Silverado Trail follows the eastern edge of Calistoga near Lincoln Avenue and the Napa River, placing the restaurant among Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards beneath the Palisades Mountains, with Downtown Calistoga's historic commercial district extending west toward the valley's geothermal resort properties. The restaurant occupies an intimate dining room within a contemporary resort complex, with expansive windows framing cultivated vines and the volcanic ridges beyond the property. A glass-enclosed kitchen borders the dining area, exposing the culinary team's preparation stations and allowing diners to observe the coordination behind the tasting menu. A dedicated Chef's Table provides seating inside the kitchen, creating a closer architectural relationship between the cooking stations and the dining area. The result is a vineyard-facing restaurant whose mountain views, transparent kitchen and intimate dining spaces connect contemporary fine dining with the agricultural landscape of northern Napa Valley.
What defines Auro.
Auro is best known for bringing MICHELIN-starred fine dining to Calistoga through a culinary program established by Rogelio Garcia in 2022 and subsequently developed under executive chef Evan Neumann, whose arrival in 2026 introduced a new chapter of French technique and Japanese influence. The restaurant opened in October 2022 as the signature fine-dining destination at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley, introducing an ambitious tasting-menu format to the resort's hospitality program. Garcia brought extensive experience from Northern California kitchens, having worked at Cyrus, Angèle, Calistoga Ranch and The French Laundry during the earlier stages of his career. His professional development continued in San Francisco at restaurants including The Commissary, Spruce and Luce, where he refined a culinary approach connecting contemporary California cooking with the Mexican traditions of his upbringing. Garcia's appointment at Four Seasons in June 2022 returned him to Napa Valley, where he had spent part of his youth and established important professional relationships. His opening menu developed through collaboration with chef de cuisine Elijah Cortez, emphasizing relationships with farmers, fishermen and regional food producers. The original five-course tasting format combined seasonal Northern California ingredients with international techniques, establishing the foundation for the restaurant's subsequent development. MICHELIN awarded Auro its first star in 2023, eight months after opening, making the restaurant Calistoga's first MICHELIN-starred dining establishment. Esquire included Auro among its Best New Restaurants in America that year, extending the restaurant's recognition beyond California. Wine Spectator also awarded the restaurant its Best of Award of Excellence in 2023, acknowledging the breadth and quality of its wine collection. The restaurant subsequently earned AAA Five Diamond recognition in 2025, joining a select group of American dining establishments distinguished by that classification. The Los Angeles Times included Auro among its 101 Best Restaurants in California in 2025, further consolidating its position within the state's fine-dining landscape. Garcia's departure initiated a leadership transition that brought French-born chef Evan Neumann to Calistoga in April 2026. Neumann grew up in Avignon, surrounded by the markets, olive groves and agricultural traditions of Provence, and entered his first professional kitchen at fourteen. He completed formal training at École Hôtelière d'Avignon and advanced to an executive chef position at twenty-one, establishing an unusually rapid professional trajectory. His subsequent career included training under Joël Robuchon at Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo and work at Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée in Paris, where he developed expertise in classical French sauce preparation. Neumann continued under Anne-Sophie Pic at La Dame de Pic and worked at Le 1920 at Four Seasons Hotel Megève, where the restaurant received its first MICHELIN star during his tenure. His American career included an executive sous-chef position at Daniel Boulud's Restaurant Daniel in New York and leadership as chef de cuisine at Essential by Christophe, which earned a MICHELIN star during his tenure. At Auro, Neumann joined sous chefs Lika Nevarez and Luis Patino, developing a seven-course menu that combined the kitchen's established regional sourcing with his European training and Japanese culinary influences. The restaurant received its fourth consecutive MICHELIN star at the California ceremony in San Diego on June 24, 2026, becoming Neumann's first MICHELIN distinction as Auro's executive chef. Resort beverage manager Derek Stevenson earned recognition as a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, extending the restaurant's professional achievements into wine hospitality. His cellar encompasses more than 4,400 bottles across 750 labels, with a concentration on Napa Valley producers complemented by established international wine regions. The restaurant also developed a monthly wine-dinner series featuring prominent Napa Valley estates, including Hundred Acre, Cardinale, Lokoya, La Jota Vineyard Co., Quintessa and Faust. Auro's development connects the return of a Napa-trained opening chef, successive national restaurant distinctions and Neumann's internationally developed culinary expertise within a fine-dining institution that has retained Calistoga's only MICHELIN star across four consecutive years.
Evan Neumann's cooking develops Napa Valley's seasonal ingredients through classical French techniques and Japanese culinary influences, concentrating natural flavors through carefully controlled heat, fermentation and precise textural contrasts. His approach begins with the agricultural qualities of the ingredients, allowing the characteristics of coastal seafood, locally cultivated vegetables and carefully selected meats to determine the composition of the tasting sequence. French sauce preparation provides an important foundation, giving the kitchen the technical means to develop concentrated flavor through reductions, emulsions and delicately aerated preparations. Japanese ingredients introduce additional savory complexity, particularly through fermented seasonings and preparations that preserve the natural character of seafood. A sea scallop accompanied by Japanese curry sabayon demonstrates the relationship between these traditions, combining the shellfish's natural sweetness with a warm, aerated sauce whose aromatic seasoning adds depth. Sake gel contributes a concentrated fermented note, developing a connection between the seafood's salinity and the richer components of the preparation. Charred broccolini introduces a vegetal contrast through lightly browned surfaces and tender stems, extending the relationship between precise heat and fresh produce. A delicate genmaicha tuile completes the composition through crispness and the roasted aroma of Japanese brown-rice tea. The combined preparation develops as a continuous balance between sweetness, salinity, aromatic warmth and contrasting textures. Neumann extends this approach into the restaurant's treatment of substantial proteins, applying controlled cooking to preserve tenderness and concentrate the flavor of carefully sourced meat. Kagoshima A5 wagyu provides a particularly rich foundation through its extensive intramuscular fat, which softens during cooking and contributes a substantial buttery character. Walnut purée develops a complementary roasted flavor, with creamed kale contributing vegetal depth and garlic confit introducing gentle sweetness. Black trumpet mushrooms reinforce the savory qualities of the meat through their earthy aroma and concentrated flavor. The kitchen's bread service provides another connection between French technical precision and Japanese baking traditions through warm Japanese milk bread. Its soft, finely structured interior develops from a dough enriched to preserve moisture, producing a delicate contrast with the lightly browned exterior. Marshall's honey contributes floral sweetness, with roasted sesame introducing a toasted aroma and house-made butter adding richness. A Humboldt Fog butter variation incorporates the tangy character of the Northern California goat cheese, extending the bread service into the restaurant's regional dairy traditions. Seasonal dessert preparations continue the emphasis on ingredient character through delicate dairy textures, aromatic herbs and restrained sweetness. A preparation built around Marshall's Farm honey and Gipson Golden bee pollen develops floral complexity through bavarois, crémeux and a crisp tuile. Lemon thyme emulsion introduces herbal acidity, with olive oil contributing a gentle richness that connects the dessert with the agricultural ingredients of the preceding courses. The seven-course format gives these preparations a deliberate sequence, allowing seafood, vegetables, meats and desserts to develop distinct relationships between texture, temperature and flavor. Wine pairings follow the changing weight and aromatic character of the courses, drawing upon mature Napa Valley wines and international selections suited to the kitchen's French and Japanese influences. Auro's culinary distinction emerges through this sustained relationship between seasonal California ingredients, technically precise French cooking and carefully integrated Japanese flavors, creating a tasting menu grounded in the agricultural character of northern Napa Valley.
How Auro fits.
Auro works as the concluding destination for a Calistoga itinerary connecting the railroad infrastructure that accelerated the town's nineteenth-century development, its geothermal resort heritage and the museum preserving the history of the Upper Napa Valley.
Begin at Calistoga Depot, the historic railway station occupying 1458 Lincoln Avenue. Samuel Brannan developed the depot as part of his effort to connect the northern Napa Valley with San Francisco and the growing transportation network of California. The Napa Valley Railroad reached Calistoga in 1868, establishing a passenger and freight connection that accelerated agricultural commerce and brought visitors into the geothermal resort town. The surviving depot building dates to that year and represents one of California's earliest remaining railway stations. Railroad passengers arrived from the southern valley and continued into a town whose mineral springs had attracted substantial investment during the preceding decade. Southern Pacific subsequently operated the railway, maintaining its importance to regional transportation through the early twentieth century. Passenger service ended in 1929 as automobile travel became increasingly important, and freight operations continued until 1969. The depot received California Historical Landmark designation in 1959 and entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Its subsequent restoration preserved the building as a commercial and historical destination within Downtown Calistoga. Continue to Indian Springs Calistoga, the historic geothermal resort occupying the grounds associated with Samuel Brannan's nineteenth-century hot springs enterprise. Brannan purchased substantial acreage in the northern valley during the 1850s and developed a destination inspired by Saratoga Springs in New York. His resort opened in 1862, establishing Calistoga's association with mineral bathing and geothermal hospitality. The property's natural hot springs originate in the region's volcanic geology, supplying mineral-rich water that became central to the town's recreational economy. Later development incorporated bathing facilities, landscaped grounds and accommodations, preserving the site's connection to the earliest phase of Calistoga resort culture. Conclude at Sharpsteen Museum of Calistoga History, the historical institution occupying 1311 Washington Street. Disney animator and producer Ben Sharpsteen founded the museum with his wife Bernice in 1978, creating a permanent institution dedicated to preserving the history of Calistoga and the Upper Napa Valley. Sharpsteen brought decades of animation experience to the project, using elaborate miniature environments to reconstruct the town's historical geography. The museum's dioramas depict the nineteenth-century hot springs resort, the development of Chinatown and the electric railroad that connected Calistoga with the San Francisco Bay Area between 1912 and 1937. A restored 1862 Brannan resort cottage preserves the physical character of the town's earliest hospitality buildings. Additional exhibits examine the Wappo people, nineteenth-century stagecoach transportation and the region's connections with survivors of the Donner Party. The progression moves from the railroad that connected Calistoga with the wider Napa Valley through the geothermal resort that established its hospitality traditions and culminates in the museum preserving the town's settlement, transportation and cultural history.
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