Kitchen Door Opens at Oxbow Market

is the newest restaurant to entice diners to the in downtown Napa. Chef Todd Humphries, known for his successful Martini House in St. Helena, recently teamed up with restaurateur Richard Miyashiro to launch this new venture.

Humphries and his team, headed by chef de cuisine Christopher Litts, do their magic in an open kitchen; the entire dining area serves as the chef’s table. 

They create "multi-ethnic comfort food" with local and seasonal ingredients, cooked on a live wood-fire rotisserie and oven. The menu features a selection of salads, soups, pastas and snacks in addition to a variety of intriguing entrées.

An enormous glass skylight creates a sunlit dining room that's encased in subway-tiled walls. A low-hanging rack of old copper pots and mismatched rustic wooden chairs and tables create a combination of old yet innovative.

There are no reservations, no tablecloths and no waiters. Diners place their orders at the counter and take a number to a seat inside or on the patio. 

Ultimately, Kitchen Door offers the kind of cuisine and experience you might imagine if you had a personal chef in your own home. Todd Humphries, Richard Miyashiro, and general manager Tim Seberson recently gave me insight into the inspiration behind the exciting new restaurant.

Julie: How did you come up with the restaurant’s unique design?

Kitchen Door: Using, not fighting the existing architecture establishes the limits of the design. The kitchen “engine” directs where and what goes where.

Julie: How did you decide on the name?

KD: The Front Door design is a standard kitchen door leading into the back of house; this leads you into our kitchen--  combination of industrial and residential.

Julie: What will Kitchen Door bring to Oxbow that isn’t already there?

KD:  We were very careful to adjust our menus to complement and not compete with the existing eateries.

Julie: How will Oxbow enhance the Kitchen Door experience?

KD: Kitchen Door is not on an island. It’s a destination within a destination. With Todd’s culinary reputation and expertise, Kitchen Door is unique.

Julie: How different will it be coming down to Napa after being Up Valley?

KD: We’ll have exposure to more hotel rooms, more food tourists and more restaurants.

Julie: Where was Christopher Litts before?

KD: Chris was our chef de cuisine at the Martini House and worked with Todd at the CIA.

Julie: Great credentials. Tempt us with some of your dishes from the wood burning rotisserie and grill.

KD: Chicken Dinner, Grilled Kobe Beef Burger, Korean Style Short Ribs, Grilled King Salmon Steak and Roast Duck Bahn Mi.

Julie: And from the wood burning oven?

KD: Hen of the Woods Mushroom Flat Bread, Lahmajune “Armenian Fold and Eat” and Flammekuche “Alsatian” Flat Bread.

Julie:  What inspires this eclectic, comforting menu?

KD: We focused on what restaurateurs like to eat after a shift and fix at home with the family.

The most expensive investment is the salmon at $21, while other entrees are in the $13.25 to $25.50 range. Smaller plates are available for $5.95 to $11.95.

Kitchen Door: 644 First St., Napa; 707-226-1560 or kitchendoor.com. Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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