Review: Cafe 522

Ahi tuna tartare at Cafe 522, Sonoma. (Jeff Kan Lee/PD)

You are going to love Café 522 in Sonoma.

It’s classy but not pretentious. On a recent night, one booth was filled with happy local folks in jeans and T-shirts while two pretty young women in trendy outfits sipped wine at the small bar. It’s a good bet that no matter who you are, you’ll fit right in.

The service is courteous, professional and — a key concept — relaxed. It’s rare to find service that warrants real praise, but it’s oh so satisfying when you run across it.

The room has been redesigned in a particularly intriguing way. This space used to be a breakfast joint. Then it was home to several restaurants, including Carlo Cavallo’s Meritage, Japanese-style Shiso and more recently, Lokal — your local source for Hungarian goulash. Now the décor is dominated by long swags of material flanking an overhead skylight, cocoon-like hanging light fixtures, and two bricked walls with wooden blocks set into them, each block supporting a flickering tea light, with 46 lights in all. The effect is charming and lively, especially at night.

The place doesn’t open until 6 p.m., and when it does, there’s cool jazz on the sound system, good bread and fresh-tasting, peppery olive oil and balsamic vinegar brought to you at the bare wood tables.