Another newbie

Eastside Road, September 14, 2012—

HERE'S THE THING about "small plates" restaurants: for even a small group they can get expensive — you lose track of how many things you've ordered, and there's a sort of competition to please one's companions, and to try various corners of the menu.

And they seem to be louder than more conventional restaurants, perhaps because there's so much to talk about, and because there are more frequent visits from servers and bussers.

Still, they're fun. And here's another new one, in our local Big City, with an intriguing menu and a wine list full of enticing unknowns. What did we have? What did we not have? We had:

Kimchee and bacon deviled egg
Charcuterie plate
Duck terrine
Kennebec fries
Heirloom tomatoes
Tomato and bread soup
Corn and coconut fritters
Crisp broiled pork belly
Grilled calamari
Merguez sausage
Ricotta gnocchi

Virtually every plate was really quite delicious: sharply flavored, distinct, well salted, with good olive oil when appropriate. The deviled egg was perhaps blander than we'd expected, but the terrine was very nice, the soup deep and authentic, the fritters interesting and substantial, the pork belly outstanding. Only the gnocchi disappointed me: commercial wheat pasta, not soft potato dumplings.

We still had room for dessert, and I hardly shared mine: Earl Grey chocolate pot de crème, with a nice little shortbread cookie on the side.

The place was infernally loud, even at six-thirty in the evening — 70 dB background level at our table. Still, I'd go back: the food was that good.

Dolcetto/Montepulciano, Unti (Dry Creek), 2011 (light but rich, very pleasant); Carignan/Grenache/Mourvèdre, Lioco Indica (Mendocino), 2009 (a little dull)

• The Spinster Sisters, 401 South A Street, Santa Rosa, California; 707.528.7100