Manresa - Los Gatos

Nice to find a Top 40 Restaurant in USA by gayot in South Bay. Although it is on the expensive side, every penny spent it is worth it!

I just remember one palette cleansing dish with a soft boiled egg. Two words (Hella good) It is great for a very special event. Think anniversary, graduation from grad school, 30th birthday, or some other special event. This is a pretty swanky place and might be good to dress up for the dinner. The food is great, probably one of the best restaurants in America.

Another Californian restaurant where the ingredients prevail. Manresa has a garden from which many of the centerpiece ingredients are picked. Service is ingenious — formal, without stuffy, friendly, without being obnoxious. Enjoy the waiting staff. This time I was here for a special night only “Citrus Modernista” menu, which in every dish different citrus fruits from a local orchard. Some dishes were on the spot (like the lobster) and others seemed a bit forced as if the citrus was pulled down to barely be a sideshow. Overall a great experience, but I very prefer the a la carte route I was the first time I was here. I missed the egg amusement.

A restaurant of the caliber and reputation of Manresa can only be compared with its peers. That is, while Manresa was a great (and very expensive and long – 3.5 hours) experience, it did not live entirely on his billing. We had the tasting menu in Manresa: 4 amuses, 7 courses, 4 desserts. Overall, everything was very well done – David Kinch uses many interesting salts and sweet/savory combinations to give you unique taste. I had a few “wow this is good” moments – the slowly cooked sherry egg, salmon in his own roe, abalone – along with a few “that’s weird” moments, but I appreciate the creativity of the cook. My friend especially enjoyed a Japanese Snapper dish and a lamb dish. However, we were disappointed with the foie grass (felt boiled) and the oxtail ravioli (I was spoiled by pasta). Overall however, mostly “hits” and just a few “measures”. I had hoped that we would see some more items from their garden, given the high season for many vegetables – but none were on a course. But the companions were very good. While Manresa was usually executed very well on all his courts, I was not entirely woven as many others seem to have been (and perhaps I feel like I should have been). The service was good, but did not feel completely at the level of other top-tier restaurants. Nevertheless, if you have a special occasion and want to try some innovative cuisine, Manresa is worth a trip.

Very expensive restaurant, but it is an experience. The food was delicious (except the foie grass, but this is a personal thing) and the service is a notch over most other restaurants.