The food was awesome...the ambiance was a bit “stuffy” and it was so quite you could almost hear yourself chew. You almost want to go there with a group of people to liven it up a bit…the food and staff were great!

This is a very nice restaurant located inside a lovely inn. The staff is very accomodating even without a reservation. Their decor and ambiance is lovely. I particularly liked the sitting arrangements. It appears that they seat large parties in enclosed locations so their noise of enjoyment does not interfere with other customers' experience. The food was absolutely delicious. The presentation of the food was very good too. I would say that their food was five star quality. The service might benefit from a little improvement. However, it seems that our waiter was being trained. So, I am sure in another round of serving or two he will be fabulous.

When my sweetie and I charted a 3 day leisure get-a-way to Guerneville, I turned to Tripadvisor for advice. This restaurant was rated number one and so we booked our dinner. We were quite pleased with our choice and the experience. In fact, we ate at Gary Danko (#1 in San Francisco) in November, and I dare say, the Applewood food was almost as good and inventive, and their local grown waitpersons surpassed the excellence of Danko with a more organic, homegrown appeal.

The only thing questionable about the restaurant, was the rigid policy for ordering. You can order separate entrees off the menu, or order "The Food Lover's Tasting Menu." However, if one person in the party orders from this five course $55.00 per person tasting menu, the "entire party" MUST ORDER this as well. Also, you must order the same 4th course choice (for instance, we both had to order either the quail or the lamb).

We ordered the Tasting Menu, which looked inventive and for the price, is quite a deal when compared to the full menu. However, we noticed that the first course was a Cannellini Bean Soup with Green Garlic Croutons and Lemon Creme Fraiche, which sounded good, but we had stopped for lunch earlier and had bean soup. We asked for a substitution and the chef kindly granted us a good alternative.

All 5 courses were quite good. Between the 3rd and 4th course we were given a lovely sorbet, which was refreshing. It's presentation was unique. I was most looking forward to the chef's rack of lamb and I was not disappointed. It was succulent and cooked almost to perfection (it could of used another 60 seconds of cooking - it was just slightly to rare.) The trio of desserts topped off the wonderful dinner. The cream brulee' was excellent with a perfectly crisp shell topped with a sweet cranberry gel.

While the food was quite good, the wait staff were excellent. Better than Danko's as they were proper, but not too proper. We did not feel like our every move was being watched. The waitstaff at Danko's caught me with a full mouth at least 10 times. Not here. They were discreet and were not pushing us to finish up. I just loved them. They were local young men in their early 20's. I was absolutely IMPRESSED with their professionalism, their smiles, their service and perfect amount of friendliness. They knew all the proper moves to perfection (clearing a table, etc.)

My every request was carried out with no attitude. When I asked for my 2nd and 3rd course to be put in a carry-out container instead of coming to the table, I didn't get the usual sour looks. The same with 2 of my 3 desserts and one of my two lamp chops. I had a great lunch the next day and they had done something no other restaurant had every done. They were thoughtful enough to write what the contents were outside the separate boxes.

My hubby was able to finish most of his dinner, but it was just too much food for me. So you get a good deal with the tasting menu, and if you drink wine, you will be treated to a different wine pairing with each course for $30.00. Lovely place!

My wife and I dined at the Applewood for New Year's Eve and had a wonderful meal. It was a four course prix fixe menu for $75 that was a good value considering the components. She had the apple tart tatin with goat cheese and I started with oysters for the first course. We followed that with foie gras (her) and fish soup (me). Main courses were duck breast and rack of lamb, all followed by a triple dessert that neither of us could finish. All of the plates were very well prepared, imaginative, and tasty. I think her lamb was the best, though the fish soup was surprisingly good, too. The duck was succulent and rich and the lamb a perfect medium rare. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the restaurant had a good "by the glass" selection of wine to accompany each course. Overall, an excellent New Year's Eve meal and highly recommended.

Note: Guerneville forum comments to the contrary, the Applewood sure seemed very gay friendly. At least 2/3 of the dining couples/groups were all-male and everyone seemed to be enjoying their meal. The overall environment seemed very friendly, warm, and inviting.