Centonove — Restaurant in Los Gatos

Centonove “translated” 109 is the address of this Italian restaurant. This is a small intimate place with very personable employees and have a willingness to do what ever it takes (within reason) to make your dining experience a good one. Our waitress actually told me, if we have the ingredients we will try to accommodate you. You know what? I believe her.

We we’re served what looked to be homemade bread, sliced into fingers and an olive oil dip. The bread was warm, soft and crunchy, seriously good bread. The olive oil was ever so slightly spicy with buttery olive oil after tones. “good stuff”

I ordered off menu, Fruita Demaree con Risotto, it comes with a spicy red sauce, I added a side order of there Lemon Alfredo sauce. The risotto was cooked perfectly, the clam, shrimp and scallops tasted fantastic however the red sauce was lacking big time in flavor, bland, bland, bland however when I added the side order of Alfredo lemon sauce to it, it really transformed the taste to my liking “the lemon flavor was really a nice twist c;

Wifey ordered the fresh Halibut, came with Polenta and veggies. The Halibut was a major disappointment as it was over spiced and over cooked “dry,dry,dry” honestly I can’t even give it one star. “I should have returned it but I wanted to be nice” The Polenta on the other hand left both wifey and myself weak at the knees, seriously!! It is better than how my mom use to make it. With its creamy texture and buttery taste, it was surely the star of the evening. “I have...

With a friend in town [I live in Santa Clara], we decided to stroll the village of Los Gatos on a recent Saturday afternoon. After venturing in and out of a few shops, it was time for lunch. Lots of nice options, but we did not find what we were in the mood for on Santa Cruz, so a local recommended we check out the places on Main Street, which we did. We found the perfect place -- Centonove. The friendly manager seated us at a table outside, which was great, since the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing. My friend and each ordered the Caesar salad -- his with chicken and mine with anchovies. Without question, one of the best Caesar salads I have ever had. The dressing was sublime and the croutons were more 'dust' than croutons, so you tasted them in every bite. Oh, and if you do not order the bread course, you will miss out on one of the best $4 investments you might ever have made. I cannot wait to return.

Another visit to Centonove. Thinking I'm taking a risk, because that Caesar salad cannot possibly be as good as it was the first time. Guess what? It can be and it was! That dressing -- bottle it and sell it -- the best. And the olive oil that comes with the bread service -- definitely order the bread service -- is sublime. Bread and salad...oh, and a Centogroni - don't ask, just go -- makes for a perfect Sunday lunch. All this and the wonderful waiter, Carter, who could not have struck a better manner -- I am a snob when it comes to service, I am a New Yorker -- this...

I can't comment on the food, but I can attest to the character of the ownership. I was looking for somewhere to hold a memorial for our family. My father in law passed and the services are in Los Gatos. When I called and talked to the owner, She made it seem as if it was no problem, and she would check with the GM and Chef. When I talked to her again, she said they could make it work if some were inside and outside. She even said come by on Sunday to look at the space between 2 and 4. We took my mother in law to see the restaurant and they made it seem that is was all fine and that I should be expecting an email with the menus. When I didn't receive the menus I emailed her asking for them. My response was returned with a "we will not be able to accommodate you" sort of email stating that we would not be able to have us and that they had reservations already.

Here's the deal. If you had reservatoins, that should have been said from the first day. I shouldn't have to follow up with the establishment no longer wanted to serve us. If it's a covid thing, they should have been up front about their restrictions. But now I am a week out, and no where to host our family.

I was already writing a good review in my head about how they came through for us and how grateful I was that they were able to accommodate us. However, the case is the exact opposite. I will not be writing a happy review. I will be trying to find somewhere to host my family...