Planning Your Visit
Ad Hoc opened as a temporary project while the group worked out what to do with the building. Twenty years later it is the restaurant locals actually eat at.
By The Reservation Desk Editorial Team · Published September 1, 2025 · Last updated · 9 min read
One four-course menu each night, served family style on platters at the table, changing daily. No choice, no ceremony, and portions built for sharing rather than for admiring.
The name was meant to be temporary. The format proved so popular that the group never replaced it.
A salad or first course, a main with sides, a cheese course and a dessert — all brought to the table on platters, all designed to be passed around.
Allow around two hours. It is a proper dinner rather than a quick meal, but it is nothing like the four-hour commitment down the road.
The buttermilk fried chicken is the most famous thing the restaurant does and appears on a recurring schedule rather than every night. Check the published menu before choosing your date.
It sells out. When it is on, book it.
Families, groups of friends, anyone who dislikes fixed tasting menus, and anyone who wants the group's cooking without the theatre.
It is also the best value dinner in Yountville by a comfortable margin.
Casual dress, easy parking, a short walk from The French Laundry, and a garden patio in warm weather. Reservations are conventional and usually available within a week.
Dietary requirements are handled with notice, though the single-menu format means more notice helps more than usual.
Bouchon if you want to choose your own dish and eat late. Ad Hoc if you want to be cooked for and would rather share.
Most people who try both end up preferring Ad Hoc, and are surprised by that.
The Reservation Desk Editorial Team — Independent research and editorial team
Our editorial team researches fine-dining access, booking windows and menu formats across the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Every guide is compiled from restaurant-published information, official reservation platforms and first-hand dining notes, then re-checked before each update.
This guide is compiled and checked against our verification process and editorial policy.
Availability at Thomas Keller's restaurants moves quickly. Check what is open now, then use our guides to prepare for the release.