Chase Mustard-Crusted Lamb With a Clementine Margarita on This Sprawling Yountville Patio

With Clementine, Weitzman will continue to champion menus that source local produce and proteins within 100 miles of the restaurant. That’s just how Weitzman prefers to cook. “I’ve always been a very seasonal sort of chef, I think that was probably the appeal of going to be the chef at Flora Farms — being able to cook on a 25-acre farm,” Weitzman says. “I mean, what chef in the world wouldn’t want to do that? That was literally a dream job.” She moved up to Northern California just six months ago, and spent the time working up a menu that uses the local bounty as she watches the changing seasons and its offerings.

At Clementine, a wood-fired grill will allow her and her team to get a bit of heat and char on dishes like the boneless, half-chicken from Mary’s Chickens in Petaluma, served with a pine nut romesco, or the mustard-crusted lamb, which comes with an herb and cherry tomato salad. The wood-grilled octopus will also get slow cooked on that grill, paired with artichokes served three ways — a puree of artichokes cooked down with thyme and lemon, along with a braised artichoke and thin, flash-fried artichoke petals that become a chip-like garnish on top. Also in the mix is a stone deck oven; while typically used for pizzas, Weitzman is instead leaning into flatbreads that serve as vessels for seasonal produce, such as one that pairs stracciatella and nectarine with smoked prosciutto, or another with zucchini flowers and black truffle burrata. Of course, there will also be salads, grilled or fresh oysters, and sides, whether you’re the type who loves french fries or someone who would love a pickle dish composed of local vegetables.

But in an area that’s known for its hyperlocal menus, the Clementine team also wants to stand out in other ways — a restaurant that can feel approachable and group-friendly, especially in a town with plenty of fine dining options. “I think the space really spoke to all of us wanting it approachable in [the] way of sharing,” Weitzman says. “If you see the space visually, it really says, ‘Hey, let’s all sit down and share a meal.’” The restaurant is 80 percent outdoors, by Weitzman’s estimate, with an expansive patio where bites and drinks are served under the shade of umbrellas and olive trees. With that outdoor space, the mood calls for a trio of Aperol spritz cocktails, Weitzman says, such as the Aperol Betty, which pairs the orange-red Aperol with grapefruit and orange juices, and sauvignon blanc. “A lot of these drinks are meant to be had outside, in the sun, [and are] really, really light and refreshing,” Weitzman says. “I think a lot of the Aperol cocktail menu will lend itself well to dining outdoors, under these beautiful olive trees, and it has a real Mediterranean feel.”

Clementines fittingly figure into a couple of the drinks, with the nonalcoholic Clementine Tonic made with the namesake citrus, basil-thyme syrup, Seedlip Garden 108, and the Clementine Margarita, which centers reposado tequila with a clementine marmalade, dry cacao, and lemon. The team has also already started on a homemade limoncello. The wine menu will feature an outsized number of Napa wines, fitting for the area, as well as “fun, interesting wines” that Weitzman says will pair with the restaurant’s Mediterranean influences.

But one other kitchen toy that Weitzman will get to play with, and that should get its fair share of attention, is an Italian gelato machine. For the opening menu, Weitzman plans to serve gelato that echoes the seasonality of the rest of the menu, such as one that brings together local honey with lavender grown on the property. There will also be a rosemary-clementine sorbet to start, and Weitzman also promises to regularly offer a vegan option among the sorbet and gelato flavors. “The service is refined but casual, same with the food — it’s refined but casual,” Weitzman says. “We’d always joke around: ‘It’s fine, but not fussy.’ We want to give people a really fine and good experience, but we want people to just relax and have a good time here.”

Clementine (6525 Washington Street, Yountville) debuts on Thursday, August 14, and is open from noon to 3 p.m. for lunch, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for happy hour, and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday; place reservations on OpenTable.