Meet Appellation Healdsburg, Chef Charlie Palmer’s Latest Venture
“Only seven years in the making,” chef Charlie Palmer says with relief as he surveys the handsome lobby and restaurant of his new hotel, Appellation Healdsburg, which opened in September. It’s the flagship property of a collection of Appellation Hotels, which Palmer is building with partner Christopher Hunsberger, a 30-year veteran of Four Seasons. More locations will debut in the American West in the coming years.
Palmer has a long and distinguished career as a chef;; he first gained fame at Aureole in Manhattan in the late 1980s and is now best-known for his collection of Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning Charlie Palmer Steak restaurants and his first Healdsburg restaurant, Dry Creek Kitchen (which opened in 2001). In the years following, he has become more entrepreneurial, building partnerships to create hotels and resorts.
Appellation Healdsburg targets a specific clientele: Wine and food lovers. Located on the outskirts north of town, it sits at the hub of three Sonoma County appellations: the Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys. Dozens of wineries are a short drive away, as is Healdsburg Plaza with its upscale shops and restaurants (including Dry Creek Kitchen).
[article-img-container][src=2025-11/restaurant-news-appellation-healdsburg-folio-112125_1600.jpg] [credit= (Emma K. Creative)] [alt= A chicken from Folia at Appellation Healdsburg][end: article-img-container]
Appellation Healdsburg features two restaurants, Folia Bar & Kitchen in the lobby and Andy’s Beeline Rooftop. Palmer felt it was important for both their dining rooms and menus to reflect a Sonoma County sensibility.
Folia is the hotel’s main dining room and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant, which seats just under 200 guests, features an open kitchen and a terrace overlooking thick and gnarled olive trees, plus a dozen garden beds for produce and fruit trees—whose bounty is used in the kitchen.
Overseeing Folia is Palmer’s son, Reed. “It has actually been my dream to have my son with me on this,” Palmer says. Reed is a Healdsburg native, born soon after the family moved there in 2001. Like his father, he’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and has worked in restaurants around the world, including Grand Award-winner SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg.
[article-img-container][src=2025-11/restaurant-news-appellation-healdsburg-folia-patio-112125_1600.jpg] [credit= (Dylan Patrick)] [alt= The patio of Folia at Appellation Healdsburg][end: article-img-container]
Folia’s dinner menu is centered around the open-fire oak grill and includes both a three-course prix fixe ($85) and dishes à la carte. The kitchen relies on local food purveyors and follows the seasons with items that include skate wing au poivre, roasted duck breast with fall mushrooms and a flat iron steak served with leek and gai lan (Chinese broccoli).
Sommelier Tess Housholder has gathered a list of nearly 300 selections and 20 wines by the glass, which are strong on Northern California wines but include good selections from France, particularly Champagnes. Selections by the bottle range from Flowers Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2023 at $148 to a splurge like Château Léoville Las Cases St.-Julien 2006 for $775.
[article-img-container][src=2025-11/restaurant-news-appellation-healdsburg-andys-beeline-112125_1600.jpg] [credit= (Emma K. Creative)] [alt= Dishes and glasses of wine from Andy’s Beeline][end: article-img-container]
On the roof, Andy’s is a “clubbier” spot with lounge seating, centered around a striking onyx bar and offering sweeping views of surrounding vineyards. It features a focused list of wines and signature cocktails, alongside a menu of upscale, shareable snacks such as tuna temaki handrolls, caviar with Texas toast, fresh local oysters, salumi and country pâte.
Appellation Healdsburg is part of a small village that includes housing, retail and a luxury senior retirement community—all of which were required by the city to develop the hotel. The hotel has 108 rooms and suites that span 12 buildings, designed to look like classic California barns. The room designs reflect Sonoma’s agrarian history with soothing golden and green hues and unfussy luxury.
Appellation Healdsburg
101 Dovetail Lane, Healdsburg, CA
Phone: (707) 665-5100
Website: https://www.appellationhotels.com/hotels/california-healdsburg/
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