Empire Napa

This place is no longer in existence. We tried to come here but it is not on First and Franklin. Maybe it turned into Method? The number on this Unilocal page is the number to Method.

First — this restaurant is misnamed on your website. It is Methode: Bubbles and Bites (by Empire, I guess). It is generally very very good _​a few kinks. Ceviche was the best I’ve ever had, ganished with home made curly chips — delicious. Sunomono cucumber salad delicious. Presentation on both beautiful. Fish and chips — fish delicious, potatoes over salted. Sauce with it terrific. Fried calamari — some very good, some a little overdone. Delicious dessert. Had a wonderful sparkling wine there too — nice list by the glass. (Spoke to chef afterward — he was alone in the kitchen — lost staff plus management didn’t give him order of such necessities as flour!) I think he is very talented. Will try it again,

Fantastic food that delights and enriches the taste buds. The small plates are perfect for sharing and sampling to your heart’s content. Thomas Drahos is a superb, creative chef who combines flavors and textures to delight the pallet. Be sure to save room for the desert of the day, you will not be disappointed.
Service was a special delight with Ethan Hahklotubbe on hand to answer any questions. His service was warm and attentive and we look forward to our next visit. Methode bubbles and bites is a great addition to the Napa food scene.

We are from Los Angeles, and this place came recommended from our hotel concierge service. The Unilocal is under Empire (the backroom bar area is called) and the front is called Methode (dining area). It’s a dual concept. They have great happy hours between 4 (wine) to 6 dollars (cocktail) and the dinner I heard it’s amazing — about to try it soon. If you check in on Unilocal you get a free cocktail drink with dinner.
I like the vibe here, chill, elegant and spacious.

Awesome atmosphere, great service and suprisingly low prices for a Napa bar. Definitely going back. Let the good times roll.

We are napa locals and I have to say that this place is one of my favorites! We come here for happy hour from 5 – 7 for ridiculously priced happy hour drink and food specials. $ 3 beers, $ 4 bubbles. Nowhere else in napa is that possible. At the bar, Craig is great! Makes an amazing cocktail. Chris, the sous chef came out to talk to us for a while. Not only did he fry up a mean fried pickle, but he was extremely personable too.

The new name is Method… We stopped there just out of the blue because there was line up everywhere else. We were happily surprised. Food was really good, service personalized.
Just try it! You will like it…

Empire is now called Méthode/​Empire. The chef is amazing. He has a Scotch Duck Egg that is amazing. The Belgian waffles are amazing. Great staff. I’m loving it and I will be back… ALOT! Chef Thomas is off the chain.

This is a cool little lounge after dinner. I liked it when it was more of a chill almost speakeasy vibe, but i think now they are remodeling and changing into more like a dance lounge. well at least thats how I felt when I went there. Overall they do make great drinks and the staff is always helpful and friendly!

Me and some of my lively and very lovely lady friends came to Empire last weekend. There was an awesome DJ (Adan on the beats)! Everyone was having a fantastic time dancing! We had amazing cocktails (great list) and ended up staying later than we meant to! Staff was friendly and welcoming! Their friendly hostess greeted us and the awesome bartenders and servers took very good care of us! Jake the GM came over to us and was super friendly and very accommodating! We girls had a blast! Thank you to everyone at Empire we will be back for your reverse happy hour!

Two stars only because I hear they have a Cards Against Humanity game some nights.
Went in 3 or 4 times, hoping for that «Ah-​Ha!» experience. Never happened. On the first visit the bartender was so enthusiastic while shaking a drink mixer that it separated a bit and we all got a nice sticky spritz. Then I noticed the ‘pipe organ’ behind the bar is just a bunch of plastic plumbing pipe spray-​painted with cheap gold paint.
The last visit it was very empty and slow, yet at the bar I wasn’t even offered a menu for ten minutes, then finally given one before the bartender walked away to chat with other staff. After sauntering back to pour me a glass of wine he returned to his friends. The wine had obviously been opened at least one full day and was completely dead, but no matter how much I tried I could not get the bartender’s attention.
Left half the glass of wine on the bar, stood up, put on my jacket and walked out. I SWEAR I could have picked up the bar stool and taken it with me, not a soul was paying attention. Sugar cocktails, dead wine, some food was ok but most of it was sub-​par for Napa.

«There are jellyfish there!»
That was all I really needed to hear to want to check out Empire. I was with a pretty large group and Empire seemed accommodating enough — it was fairly empty for a Friday night, which worked out well for us because there was plenty of room for our group to get our drank and dance on together.
I liked the ambiance; from what I saw during my short stay in Napa, it was certainly «different.» Melted wax is all over and the place is really dimly lit. Someone else mentioned Disney’s Haunted House — I can totally see that. The décor is a little campy, but I enjoyed it.

Part Dominatrix
Part Dracula
Part Dungeon
Part Delicious
Shake well and present.
We had a great night out at Empire and though at first, it looks like you are entering the DisneyLand Haunted House, you will come to enjoy it — especially once you get your perfectly crafted cocktail and then you’re just plain happy when you receive any and all that you have decided upon.
This is a small plates place and I love that because you can try so many things and the portions are large enough to share without awkwardity like — oh, you wanted more than a bite? yeah, well I ordered this one BUB, so BACK OFF. Makes for a quiet night.
alone.
Our server was earnest and sweet, knowledgeable and nice and we found ourselves loving each bite — save for one very odd frittata, everything else was well seasoned, original and delicious.
Oh yeah, and we were brought out fresh, steaming hot doughnuts with dipping sauce that we didn’t even ASK for and you know; when one has not requested, calories do not count.

I do have to say… this is one unique spot for Napa. Empire definitely creates a different lounge experience in this town. Nothing else compares. You can’t even peak through the windows to see what it’s like. Just take a chance, go in and take everything in. Napa has needed something like this for a very long time. Empire is sexy but is seriously lacking.
It’s dimly lit… VERY dimly lit. They really accent the red and black tones in Empire. I feel like it’s trying to be Fantasia from Trueblood. It makes it seem ridiculously cheesy with the red and black pleather seats. Most annoying part of the decoration is when Empire attempts to showcase «art». They have a huge spotlight on the so-​called painting and it makes it unbelievably bright. Your eyes have no idea how to re-​adjust since the rest of Empire is totally dark. The decorations are far-​fetched but its what makes this place stand apart from the rest of our lounge scenes here in Napa. However, there are 3 large jelly fish tanks and when this place first opened there were tons of jelly fish. Now, there are only a few left and I believe either their food and/​or fellow jelly fish friends are at the bottom of the tanks… gross. They look like they haven’t been cleaned since opening.
This place screams privacy, on certain nights. It’s spacious enough for your small or large group to have some exclusivity but only within the VIP section. If you’re going on a slow night, I would say Monday-​Thursday, you can easily grab a table for your party size and MAYBE have some privacy. It really depends. There are large seats at the bar, one lounge area complete with loveseats and big chairs directly in the center but there are many small tables on the side near the VIP section. The very front has quite a few tables if you’re looking to dine. I haven’t tried any of their food but if it’s connected to the food they serve at the bar inside Andaz then it’s definitely good.
Empire chooses to play club banger music but they provide NO place to dance. So, what ends up happening is guests will start to dance in the free walkway space that is meant for those entering/​leaving the bar. Needless to say it can be a bit awkward if you’re trying to leave and/​or enter the bar. Prepare to get bumped. It gets entirely too crowded during Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Your chances of finding a place to sit are slim to none. Every one that doesn’t have a seat crowds by the bar, which makes it beyond complicated to even order a drink.
There is a definite variety of people that come to Empire. It ranges from older groups either getting their not-​so youthful freak on or trying to enjoy a cocktail because they’re staying right next door at the Andaz or a lot of young people coming to enjoy a good time at the only clubish (?) lounge in downtown Napa.
This place does not appeal to me whatsoever. There are better bars, lounges and even wine bars to have a good time at compared to Empire. The specialty drinks I’ve ordered have been way too sweet and at times I’ve wondered if there is any alcohol in my alcoholic beverage. Ultimately, Empire has tried and succeeded with some locals and others not so much. It hasn’t even begun to win me over.

Napa doesn’t have a lot in the way of nightlife, although I am happy to see more and more options becoming available. Empire offers small plates (what I’ve tried hasn’t been addictive, but pretty good), cocktails, and music.
The décor is a little chintzy and the servers always seem a little slow and inexperienced. Let’s be honest, if this were in the city they probably wouldn’t last that long. Last time I went in I ordered an app off the Happy Hour menu, and my friend ordered a beer. The waitress never brought us our check, so when we were ready to leave (after Happy Hour had ended, it was like 9 pm at this point) I went up to the bar to pay and they charged me full price.
There aren’t many other options for a cocktail and a place to chill out in Napa so I will be back. They haven’t been open that long, so I’m hoping that with time and experience this place will get better. They’ve started organizing theme nights (like James Bond or Cards Against Humanity) so that’s really cool.

So excited that we have this place in Napa! We made reservations for dinner quite early (7pm). They do have regular tables in the front of the restaurant with brighter lights, but when we got there, we realized this is really more of a loungy place than a restaurant, so we asked to sit in the darker lounge area by the cool jelly fish tank.
It was definitely a great place to hang out. We found out that they had happy hour from 7−8pm from Wed to Saturday. Awesome! We live in Napa but work in Marin, so we hardly ever can make the happy hours in town. We had a few yummy cocktails and some bites. The duck risotto was noteworthy delish (a bit on a salty side, but I generally love salt). Since it was so dark, we had to use a flashlight app to see what we were eating! The crowd picked up by 9pm and was pretty full by the time we left.
The service was really excellent. The one thing we would have wanted was to space the dishes better since we felt it came out too fast. (but this is really a minor minor thing and probably a result of us being there too early)
We’ll definitely be back.

First experience: Came to the bar and watched poorly trained suspenders poor drinks slowly. (that took 15 mins !) pfft too many other options in Napa now to come back.
2^nd Experience: Reluctantly followed 4 friends inside after promise of «better» time by employees and owners. Same result. slow service. Noob pouring my beer… seriously-​seriously-​it took this long just pour it right. Save the foam for your New Years party.
The worst part is that as an animal lover-​I hated seeing how those pretty jellyfish went from 500 to 100. Let’s hope those jellies aren’t the canary in the mine. :)
I rooted for this place, as a local, but I gotta keep it real.

Came here around 11 PM to continue the festivities after
and I was thoroughly impressed with the food!
Stone IPA on draft: if you haven’t had it, you should! Tastes so much better on draft!
Flatbread with arugula, Pecorino, and this tomato paste: simply delicious! All the flavors mesh so well with one another. Party in your mouth!
Mac and cheese with brioche: Creamy gooey delicious heaven!!! I loved that they used shells for their pasta and the cheese was decadently creamy with every bit. The crispy brioche that was sprinkled on top added that extra crisp to the rich goodness.
The fries with spicy cream dipping sauce: I don’t know what they seasoned the fries with but they were cooked to crispy perfection! And the dipping sauce was simply perfect to compliment the season fries. Felt like crack fries cause I couldn’t stop eating them.
At late night, there’s definitely an older crowd. The inside of empire takes you back to a dungeon but inviting feel. I will definitely be coming back to try their tasty dishes!

Empire is what Napa has needed for a very long time. It’s sexy and trendy but with substance. Service is some of the best that I have ever had and they were able to provide very good recommendations for drinks and different nibbles from the menu. My favorites were the Cauliflower Fritters and Lamb Belly.
They are open late so I wish I could have stuck around to see what the crowd is like in the midnight hours as it seemed to be a mix of frumpy older tourists and regular locals in the earlier hours. Would love to see them do some events down the road because the space is perfect for it.

There’s a good idea. And then there’s execution.
In Napa’s increasingly crowded downtown restaurant scene comes a new addition – Empire which is a good idea, but the execution needs fine tuning.
Part speakeasy, part hipster lounge you know you’re in a trendy restaurant when there’s a jellyfish tank and candelabra’s everywhere.
The good part is the vibe. Someone had a good concept and found a good location across from Norman Rose and Oenotri. Our server, Sarah was awesome. She had the look and the product knowledge to provide a great level of service.
I sent them a tweet beforehand saying we were thinking of coming in. From the look of their slick website, it looked as if social media was important part of the marketing. But I got no response, which in today’s world is unacceptable. If you’re going to be online, BE online and respond to people.
We’re greeted with white 8.5×11 vertically folded menus that look like they were copied at Kinko’s. Not the cool presentation you’d expect is such a hip place. Empire is all about cocktails and mixology, not dinner. The menu is more appetizers than entrees, which were hit or miss – mostly miss. Candle wax dripped into our small plates as they arrived. The Mac & Cheese could’ve had bacon on it, but it only had browned bread crumbs that resembled bacon. Nothing special about it as it’s hard to mess up Mac and Cheese.
The pickled veggies were delicious. The do-​it-​yourself mashed potatoes seem like a good idea, but they’re more of a gimmick and too much work. The lemongrass chicken looked and tasted like bulk chicken salad from Trader Joe’s — I was surprised at how a Charlie Trotter trained chef could offer something so mediocre and uninspiring (after I picked out the candle wax). The flatbread small plate was probably the most unique and tasty, but putting half an entire sardine on a small bite like that is totally unnecessary.
The drinks were good, but not overwhelming. They were served in smaller sized glasses. Since the cocktails are a main feature, I’d think they should be presented a little better.
Our party of 5 had a few small plates and 7 drinks between us. Our bill was $ 170. We left hungry and went across the street to Oenotri where we each had an appetizer AND an entrée plus a bottle of wine which was way more satisfying and also cost $ 170. Dollar for dollar Oenotri was a waaaay better value.