by David Dominé, the Bluegrass Peasant

In case you haven’t heard, Napa River Grill moved from its Dupont Circle location recently and opened its doors at the spruced-up Westport Village on June 16. Westport Village is an outdoor specialty shopping center consisting of 170,000 square feet of restaurants and stores, with Napa River as its anchor. Don’t worry, though – the signature Napa frog is displayed in a fountain on the front patio. The new digs are at 1211 Herr Lane, and they serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. They’re open on Sundays, but only for dinner.

The other night I stopped by for the daily happy hour from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. and I was surprised to find both the outdoor lounge and areas with indoor seating packed to capacity with enthusiastic customers. Yesterday, I was invited to a media luncheon there, courtesy of Estes Public Relations, and, once again, the place was filled to capacity. I always knew the East End was a place full of “ladies who lunch,” but I honestly didn’t expect the place to be that busy. Although I did spy a couple of blue-haired matrons, most of the clientele seemed to consist of professionals who had stolen away from nearby offices for a leisurely two-martini lunch.

The Westport Village location has more than 6,000 square feet, with an additional 2,000 square feet on the covered patio. The restaurant seats a total of 180 guests when the new patio bar and two private dining areas are taken into consideration. The first private dining room, “The Vineyard Room,” seats 22 guests. Dividers of wood and glass open to join the main dining room, and the space evokes a wine cellar tasting room where guests walk on cork floors beneath a ceiling of cut glass wine bottles.

The larger private dining room seats 60 and is connected to the patio bar with seating for 100, including a 40-seat bar featuring bar and comfortable sectionals. Guests can dine in the newly planted vineyard amongst pinot noir, chardonnay and zinfandel vines. Two “fire tables,” stone tables with fire pits in the center, can seat parties of up to 10 people.

The main dining room features Napa River Grill’s signature glass top bar and impressive wine rack. An inviting atmosphere is created with warm California earth tones of sage, aubergine and mustard, and banquet seating lines walls covered in interesting artwork. Nestled in the corner, and just off the kitchen, our party – a lively bunch of local foodies – sat at a custom-made oak table that overlooked the dining room. An old riddling rack, used to consolidate sediment prior to removal from bottles of sparkling wine, hung on a nearby wall.

When servers passed around the menus, it became evident that some new flavors had joined signature dishes from the old menu. Chef David Malthaner has introduced items such as spicy tomato mussels with ciabatta toast points, wok seared seafood with lobster, scallops, mussels, linguine, vegetables and basil in a red Thai curry sauce, and veal Napoleon with layers of veal, prosciutto ham, havarti cheese served with crimini mushroom risotto, wilted spinach and sherry cream sauce.

I decided to stick with more luncheon-type fare and ordered the Caesar salad in the Parmesan cup (pictured here) and a baby mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Both were good, and everyone at the table seemed to enjoy their selections, some of which included the baked squash ratatouille, rib-eye cheeseburger and crispy cod sandwich. We had all started the meal by passing around platters loaded with fried calamari dusted with ancho chile powder, baked shrimp scampi and Boulder Creek quesadillas with oak grilled chicken, jack cheese and poblanos. When I saw the prices, I realized why the place was so full: most sandwich and entrée items come in at well under $10.00. Lunch at Napa River Grill is definitely a treat most people can afford.

Since opening in August 1999, Napa River Grill has grown into one of Louisville’s trendiest dining spots with an established and hearty following. It has won numerous awards, including Louisville magazine’s “Best New Restaurant, ” “Favorite Restaurant,” “Best Wine List,” and “Best Décor.” Other accolades include a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and Prep magazine’s Blue Plate Award for “Best Upscale Casual Restaurant.”