After a day of running errands, my brother was giving me a ride home when he says, "I need to get…read moresome flatbread..." I remembered a place on Jackson Street that I had gone to 5 years ago that had a tremendous selection - looked it up on Yelp and it was no longer on Jackson, but was listed in Castro Valley. So we went thought we'd go by and give it a try. Great decision! The "new" store in Castro Valley is much brighter, cleaner, nicer than the old location. I think the old location had more stuff from Eastern Europe, but this new location seems to have a broader selection, with more stuff from Western Europe and the Middle East. The guy behind the counter was very friendly and helpful - always willing to answer questions and even give tips on how to use the products that they sell. And his recommendations have been great - we asked him about which tahini and zaatar to get (they have many different brands/types of each...) and the ones he recommended have been way tastier than any of the brands that you find in most markets. Especially good was his recommendation on lebnah - he said that the brands they carry are all good, but they have some that they package in-house that was special. I tried it - it was less expensive than the other brands, but was the very best lebnah that I have ever tasted! Richer, creamier, with just the right amount of tang. Wonderful stuff! Anyway, Crossroads is a nice, clean, well-lit place with a great selection of unique products, and friendly, knowledgeable sales staff. Well worth a trip!

This place has great middle eastern and other international food choices. Balkan yogurt Halal…read moreprepared foods. Great ice cream too.

I have not stopped raving about this place! I had the Massimo sandwich and it was incredible! The…read morefresh focaccia was unmatched. I really wish I lived closer. 10/10! Parking: couple spots right in front.

Salumeria Ovello has become one of those places I look forward to having all week long. The smell…read moreof fresh warm focaccia coming out of the oven, simple ingredients that actually taste fresh, and sandwiches that somehow feel both light and deeply satisfying at the same time. Simple ingredients done really well; fresh meats, crisp vegetables, soft bread straight from the oven. It's the kind of lunch that reminds you how good simple food can be when the ingredients are quality. The owner and staff always seem genuinely happy to be there, and it gives the whole place such a warm and welcoming feeling. They also have little Italian drinks, snacks, and specialty goodies that make it fun to grab something extra alongside your lunch. It's a smaller little shop, so I recommend taking your sandwich to go and eating over at the Sonoma Plaza. Such a special little spot in Sonoma.

Not a cheese person, but absolutely loved stopping by here and picking up some quality cheeses! The…read moreworkers are very knowledgeable and friendly. They helped us pick out cheese options that were great - we liked the spicy ones a lot, and walked away with some soft and harder varieties. And such good prices too! Would recommend anyone stop by here.

The cheese is wonderful. This is a small store off the beaten path of Sonoma Square. It is well…read moreworth the trip to get there and enjoy the cheeses. The representative were friendly and helpful.

If you've never done an olive oil tasting before, you owe it to yourself to sign up for a tasting…read moreat The Olive Press. It is easily one of the most unique tasting experiences I've experienced in my life. If you thought you knew olive oil, think again! My wife and I stopped by on a Monday afternoon and we were thoroughly impressed with how many different types of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars were freely available for visitors to try out in the shop. As we worked our way through the store, we stumbled upon an olive oil tasting flyer. Curious about how we could sign up for the tasting, we asked the staff member at the desk and found out they were done with tastings for the day: we'd have to come back tomorrow when more staff were available. Lucky for us, we had plans to stay another day in Sonoma: we signed up right away for the olive oil tastings the next day at 11:00 a.m. When we showed up the next day for our tasting, we were brought to the back room with a staff member. She was friendly, personable, and extremely knowledgeable and organized walking us through the olive oil production process. For each of the olive oils and balsamic vinegars we tried, they were described in meticulous details: from how they were made, what we should be looking for as we tasted them, as well as the chemical composition. Near the end of the tasting, we were also guided to mix different infused olive oils with flavored balsamic vinegars to change things up. This was my favorite part of the whole experience. If you're like me, you'll walk out from the tasting wanting to buy 10 bottles. 10/10 would recommend this experience if you're passing through Sonoma.

Definitely a place worth visiting! We scored Jan to handle out tasing and she was confidently…read moreknowledgeable about everything to do with olives, olive oil, and how Jacuzzi makes it. Their olive oils are really good! They have a nice, large selection of styles and flavors to try. Their store is loaded with lots of great gifts and olive oils too. So, make a reservation and go!

Big selection of chocolates, bars, truffles. Many of which are 'Steinhouse' also the name of the…read moreshop. A variety that included dark, almond, chiptople, spicy honeycomb, raspberry and dark truffles that melt in your mouth. The owner was super friendly and kept giving us samples to try. The shop had old American signage, Route 66 kinda style. Give it a try next time you are n downtown Santa Rosa and support this small business!

Wonderful experience! The shopkeeper was super welcoming and really knowledgeable about all the…read moreproducts. We were able to sample a wide variety of chocolates and syrups, which was super helpful because they gave us great recommendations based on what we liked.

I came here while on vacation decided to stop in for something to eat. I don't usually leaves…read morereviews, but this experience was worth taking a minute to write about. The service from this young man, Noe was outstanding from start to finish. He was very friendly, attentive and made sure everything was taken care of without us having to ask. He even kept our water glasses full which really stood out. it's rare to come across service like that these days. The kales was delicious and the wings were AMAZING. He definitely made our visit better and well be back because of it

Always a great experience at this restaurant! A round of applause from my family to the chef &…read morehelpers ! The food was amazing! Never disappoints . Is best to make reservations but walk ins are welcome! We had burgers, steak, beet salad ,biscuits, Mac & cheese, chocolate chips cookies and ice cream, everything was so delicious!!! the waitress was super attentive & checked on us often! Highly recommended all the food tastes fresh

We did a cooking class corporate event in Sonoma with the Epicurean Connection and it was the…read morehighlight of our trip. We really appreciated the kind, attentive and thoughtful owners and staff who taught us how to make butter from heavy cream, make a personal pizza with fresh and unique toppings, and sent us off with Thomas Keller chocolates and homemade Epicurean fromage, which is all the rage in the region. We would definitely do another class here. Support small and local businesses, you won't regret it!

So disappointed. I was so excited to do the cheesemaking experience and booked online. Showed up to…read morethe 3:30pm class 10 minutes early and the doors were locked and it looked like no one was inside the building. We tried calling the phone number multiple times and no one picked up. Also, knocked several times. Two other people arrived as well who tried knocking and calling to no avail. We waited until 3:45 until we gave up and left. After we left, we received an email saying we had been refunded and at the bottom of the receipt it said "We apologize as this order did not show up on our calendar until today. We look forward to hosting you in the future. Thank you, Sheana" (see attached screenshot). I think this is deeply unprofessional on so many levels. Even if the reservation had only shown up today on their calendar (despite us booking it several weeks prior) and they weren't prepared, they had all the time before 3pm to reach out via email or phonecall to say they couldn't make the class. They didn't even try reaching out and instead we received a refund after the scheduled class time. Lack of communication is such a bummer considering we set aside a couple hours for this and we were so excited. Also, this is located in Sonoma which means it's out of the way for people who are visiting Napa and its vineyards. That's typically not an issue but considering we had to drive out the way and we got cancelled on after we waited for them is where it is an issue. Deeply unprofessional situation and hope they improve on communication soon.

Parking was surprisingly challenging for mid-morning on a weekday, but I found a street spot a few…read moreblocks away. When I entered, there was one employee and one customer, who was paying at the register. That customer left quickly, and that employee... well, apparently I'm invisible. I actually felt like I was imposing on her morning. Not one helpful remark or even a smile - so I left without buying anything. The only good thing about this was that when I got back to my car, I saw that I had an email from BlueMercury with a 20% off $200 purchase, and was able to order my favorite body care products from them instead.

Thrilled to have this outlet nearby. I had placed an order online for pick up, yet once inside I…read morechose many more products to purchase. There are sale prices on plenty of items. And I tried their extra virgin olive oil- soooo good.