Gerard's Paella

Alright....I have been in the service industry for about 10 years, traveled the US for 2 1/2 years and LOVE to try new places to eat and I can say with 100% confidence this is hands down the best customer service I've ever experienced.

Me, a few friends and family (five total) tried to make a reservation for a popular restaurant in town and were unable to (covid restrictions?) tried to just show up and were turned away. No biggy, tough times. I used to work at belly figured we could walk there. On our way (8ish) we walked past Geralds and asked when they were open till, 830, being in the service industry I was like "no way that is not enough time and I don't want to keep them past closing!" The response....please come! We would absolutely love to have you, here meet my chef, where do you want to sit, let me pull a table together for you!

Gerald himself came out to meet us, the chef sent us a free appetizer the server was an absolute sweetheart. And that's not even including the food, which was amazing! The burger was BOMB!!

YOU GUYS!!!! SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS!!!! It goes without saying this is a crazy hard time for restaurants, and even more so when they are new. This is a straight gem and it would be such a shame if they didn't make it out of this time!!!

Santa Rosa deserves Geralds and Geralds deserves Santa Rosa!!!!!

I'm only reviewing the TUESDAY'S MARKET IN SONOMA PLAZA:

We drove to Sonoma for one reason: to re-unite and get to know my cousin! After having lunch (it would have been longer if she didn't go back to work), and browsed around, I wanted to go back to SF, because of the heat (suddenly to 81 degrees, I'm fanning, and I have my umbrella, but it is no longer comfortable for me). Heading back to our car, we saw vendors setting up, for Tuesday Market!

Gerard's Paella, got both OUR attention. I've got Spanish in my DNA, and you know me, when it comes to foods I used to eat when I was younger! Gerard (?) told me it will be ready at 5:45. We browse around longer, for the next hour, stayed awhile to relax under a shade on the grass, listen to music, and by 6:00 hubby started to get in line, and finally got served by 6:30.

It was worth the wait! We have enough paella for dinner, and leftover for breakfast the next day.

I'm still stuffed!

You'd think at this point in my life I've eaten at just about every restaurant imaginable, but yet there always seems to be a first looming in the horizon.

I have never eaten at a restaurant that specializes in nothing but tapas and paella. Now, I have had paella and tapas before but never a restaurant that specializes in the two. But, to be fair, there really aren't very many restaurants of this ilk in my neck of the woods, as a cursory search of the Yelps draws in a whole whopping three results.

So, of course my first experience had to be here in Santa Rosa at Gerard's and what an terrific experience. The service and the food were both beyond compare and the prices were actually quite reasonable.

Pescador paella ($18) is a seafood lovers dream; clams, mussels, prawns and squid all filled the perfectly cooked squid ink rice and made for a fishy and savory treat. The roasted peppers, peas and garlic aioli also helped round out the dish and give it some sweetness and freshness.

Stuffed piquillo peppers ($6) were actually a bit sweet but the unctuous and creamy goat cheese and earthy olive tepanad helped balance out the flavors. I could've eaten a small basket of these bad boys.

Papas bravas ($8) were probably the one disappointment of the day, as the potatoes had a nice crispiness to the exterior, but it was their chili sauce that was quite lackluster. The potatoes themselves were also under-seasoned but overall it was still decent.

Overall, great spot that wasn't too busy on a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in lovely DTSR. Highly recommended.

Cute Spanish place in the heart of Santa Rosa. For a party of two, we shared the seafood paella (squid ink is the base so get ready for black teeth) and the Jamon Serrano as the appetizer.

We enjoyed the meat and seafood dishes, and both had a lot of flavor. The paella is extremely rich and filling so sharing it was the perfect option.

I loved how the paella cooking can be seen behind a glass window! There are lots of seating options and we got seated right away and served right away.

After a long and adventurous day at Safari West, looked for some nearby food and found this place. On the corner of a downtown Santa Rosa intersection, we were glad to find this place. Service is warm, friendly, and inviting. Paella was very good, flan was tasty, and prices are reasonable. Recommended!

The older gentleman w curly hair even gave me a free beer sample. Classy.

Mmmmm! This place is a solid 5 stars for the food, service and price! We were looking for something sort of light yet fulfilling to eat before going the cheese festival. So we found this place on yelp and decided to give it a try. We ordered the seafood paella and some ginger beer to share. The seafood paella had a good amount of seafood, the rice was semi crispy and not soggy! My only compliant it's a little bland but still tasty overall.

I wished we tried more of their other dishes but we had to save our bellies for the cheese fest. If I'm in town next time, I definitely want to come back.

Not sure if this business is even open anymore but I'm definitely happy to review Gerard's paella as a catering company as well as a restaurant. We have worked with Gerard several times at our winery and love the food and service we have received from his staff. As a catering company, it is a little expensive and I think I prefer the restaurant better if I'm being honest. More options. The last catering experience was a little smoky and spicier than we asked for so it over powered the wine

My last experience at the restaurant was fantastic. The appetizers were great, the food came out quickly and our server was delightful. The location on fourth Street is so darn cute it's worth going just for that. We got one of the few tables that has outdoor seating which was a plus! I look forward to supporting this business in the future

Paella?! And for a reasonable price?!

I would totally enjoy having a restaurant close by that sells a few different options of paella on a daily basis.

Visiting some family for the weekend, we stopped by for lunch and discovered that they had 4 types of paella and 2 of them were available as a lunch special. 3 of us ordered the Rosa Paella lunch special which came with a side salad and I ordered the El Valdeon paella because I wanted to be different but also to add variety to our order so I chose one of the two seafood paella options. The salad was tasty as was both options of the paella. Service was friendly as I believe the owner may have been the one to welcome us and bid us farewell during our time here. Have I had amazing paella elsewhere before, yes, but at least at 2-3x the price of here. I look forward to coming back here sometime.

I met a friend here for dinner one night. The place gets busy and it's set up like a cafeteria line where you stand in line to order your food, then get it and find a seat. I circumvented that system by having my friend grab a table while I ordered the food.

They offer a full menu with Pintxo's (like hors d'oevres), Tapas (small plates as if you didn't know), then 4 kinds of Paella's. Seafood, Chicken, Combination, & Vegan. We shared the Seafood & the Chicken - both were very tasty. They were not the absolute best I've ever had - but definitely the absolute best I've had in less than a half an hour. The chefs have several pans going at all times to keep the line going.

Salads, Sandwiches, Desserts, and a nice selection of beers, wines, and non alcoholic drinks are available. You have to check this place out - it's worth a stop for lunch of dinner. A nice treat and it doesn't take as long as every other time I've eaten Paella.

I've never seen paella with arugula and fennel, or chicken, for that matter, but Gerard's didn't say they were offering authentic Basque paella like they serve here in Boise, which has the largest concentration of Basques outside the old country.

Still, this paella was pretty tasty. The chorizo was the real deal and the paella had a good flavor.

Service was fast and the servers were friendly.