Tasting House — Restaurant in Los Gatos

My favorite restaurant and dining experience in the world, hands down. And this is having been to countless Michelin establishments in the Bay and beyond, including incredible three star experiences at places like Quince and Benu (also absolutely delightful of course - just nothing quite as special as Tasting House is for us!)

I'll just copy some emails I've sent to the chef on past visits:

Julian,

We're on our way home now from dinner, just stopped at a supercharger for a moment, and I still can't get my mind off just how incredible that dinner was, and how moved we were by every single touch and every single dish you made for us.

We've been in several times now, and every time, incredibly, the experience just keeps getting better, building to the point where today I can truly confidently say I've never had such an incredible experience or meal in my life before, and I've certainly never met a chef who puts so much attention and care into every single dish and every single ingredient, for every single customer, in the way you do.

Every time, we're so moved that you go so far out of your way to accommodate our pescetarian preferences, and that you put so much effort into making singularly unique and unbelievably exceptional dishes for us, culminating in that absolutely sublime chawanmushi today with the king crab and the double shucked peas - truly, we can't thank you enough for that and everything else you do for us every time we come in.

In any case - thank you from the bottom of our hearts for creating such an indelible peak experience for us today and helping us celebrate Mai's birthday in the most wonderful way possible. Please pass our thanks on to the entire incredible team for all their hard work (and all those hours spent double shucking those peas and making that incredible bread in house and all the extraordinary effort spent on every other ingredient as well!), and please thank the owners for us as well for making this wonderful dream of a restaurant manifest as a reality. I guessed their emails here based on yours, but in case they don't get the message, please pass it along to them with our heartfelt thanks!

Thanks again, Ben & Mai

This experience was so powerful that I'm actually writing this review 2 months later, and today found myself compelled to write a follow-up email apropos of very little just to hammer home how special this was for us:

Just wanted to say that months later, this still tops the charts for us as such an incredibly special night and our favorite dining experience ever. Since then, we've been to several Michelin restaurants in the area (Benu, Auberge du Soleil, Kenzo, Press, Sorrel), but nothing comes close to topping this experience for us.

I just came across this post on a David Chang anecdote, and it really reminded me of the way you all run Tasting House, with so much integrity and dedication to every last detail - the double shucked peas in particular and how much effort goes into just one ingredient in one dish of so many in the tasting menu is a specific fact of note that I believe has seared itself into my brain permanently. The fact that the staff works so hard to source and forage such incredible ingredients day in and day out - there are so many shortcuts that could be taken and the vast majority of guests would barely know the difference, and the fact that you all go to such lengths to not take those shortcuts is truly astounding and awe-inspiring to me.

https://herbertlui.net/david-chang-on-the-long-hard-stupid-way/

Thank you all again for giving us the privilege of experiencing such joy in the Bay! Ben

If you're even remotely thinking about going - just go, and choose the tasting menu. Being able to enjoy Tasting House's tasting menu will forever be one of the privileges I'm most grateful for having experienced in this life. Don't...

Charming atmosphere does not make up for a pompous manager.

I have visited Tasting House 3 times - all three times have left something to be desired; however, this most recent time will be my last. On my first visit, the service was slow. They had only had their soft opening, so one can forgive slow service. Wine was good, food could be better. My second visit, the service time had not improved and our server was quite rude to a busser who was literally just trying to do his job. Wine was still good, oysters were dirty, and the duck pinsa was salty and cold. They say the third time is a charm, right? That could not be farther from the truth.

Our table of 5 ordered many items and had a pleasant evening. The wine was good (as before), the food was OK (as before - but, can someone explain to me why a yellow fin tuna crudo is seared? A crudo, by definition, is a dish of raw fish or seafood, typically dressed with oil, citrus juice, and seasonings), the outdoor atmosphere was fun, and the service had improved (thankfully).

Towards the end of our evening, there was a miscommunication about the Sangiovese we had ordered for three of us and our server brought the wrong one. I had ordered 3 glasses of the 2019 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy ($20) and we received three glasses of the 2018 Isole e Olena, Chianti Classico, Sangiovese, Chianti Classico DOCG, Italy ($22). Upon tasting the wine, one could quickly determine it was a Chianti and was very much not the profile we were looking for to finish our pleasant evening. I requested our server, asked a clarifying question in regard to which one had been served, and informed her that I had ordered the other Sangiovese. To this, she responded that she needed to speak to her manager. The manager appeared at our table with an air of annoyance and arrogance and went on to explain (mansplain, if you will) to me that we received a Sangiovese, even if it was not the Sangiovese we had originally ordered. I informed him that I understand we received a Sangiovese, it just happened to be the wrong one and all three of us did not like it (if we liked it, then I would not have said anything). In the end, he did not apologize nor did he try to make things right. He simply added a 10% ($2.20) discount on 1 of the glasses of wine (yikes - especially when our bill totaled more than $550). Important note: We did not drink the full glasses of wine and still very much paid for them.

Negativity aside, I must give a positive review to both our server Kelly and the bar manager, Curtis. Kelly was excellent and kind and Curtis gave us splashes of the original wine we had ordered to make up for the manager's lack of hospitality. Kelly and Curtis - you deserve a raise :)

If you plan to visit Tasting House, I recommend sitting outside as it is charming (and frankly, inside is quite loud), ordering the Spanish Cheese Board, and sipping on a glass of wine or two (be sure to get a recommendation from Curtis).

To the owners of Tasting House - I recommend you fire your manager. Poor hospitality and customer service will...

I've dined at Tasting House 4 times & experienced Chef Julien's tasting menu (2024 Spring, Summer, Fall, & Winter). I have yet to come for their a la carte dinner menu.

This review is for Chef Julien's tasting menu for Winter 2024. Pictures are interspersed with items from the other tasting menus mentioned above.

Tasting House is gunning for Michelin stars; that is evident. Chef Julien's tasting menu is clear in its vision & has a deeply personal & warm execution to it. All of his dishes are grounded in family & heart (just have him explain the backstory of his dishes to you table-side) & are reflections of his playful, laid back, & chill demeanor while also having fantastic balance, depth of flavor, & eccentricity in combinations.

His menu reaches far & wide with Swedish, Japanese kaiseki, "I'm drunk in Lower East Side New York at 4am & want something fried," classic & nouveau French, Indian, & Californian.

While this may sound like a smattering of cuisines, it is deeply reflective of Chef Julien's training, background, & travels. Rarely have I come across a tasting menu that is based in a chef's eclectic travels & experiences but captures the "moment" so perfectly with a clear, linear story without reading like a "greatest hits compiliation" album of disjointedness. This is cooking at a higher level. Every course feels like an intimate 1:1 conversation, learning more, & peeling back another layer. Truly special.

You may be treated with: Smorrebrod from the Baltics with a lovely smoked fish Venison pani puri "Caviar on a pillow" Pumpkin curry Possibly the best "gunpowder" pigeon I've ever had Coconut curry Mount Lassen trout Geoduck, fennel, & husk cherries Chicken pithivier

Many of the front & back of house hail from Michelin starred pedigrees (since Manresa closed, many have come here) so you're experiencing the knowledge & execution of a 3-star Michelin restaurant but with the "I'm hanging out at the neighborhood bistro" environs.

The entire front of house - Bryan, Juan Pablo, Mary, Dani, & more treat you like old friends & family.

Bryan, Juan Pablo, & Mary whip up absolutely wild wine pairings that are eccentric but also grounded in classics. Fancy a out of left field orange wine from Portugal? Yup. Or a lovely Mount Eden pinot noir? Or a wildly fun Jura chardonnay to pair with the aforementioned coconut curry Mount Lassen trout? How about a high acidity & freshly cut bouquet & florals viognier to accompany the geoduck? Or an anfora bianco with its gorgeous texture to accompany a sweet tomato & hamachi?

The wine program at Tasting House is truly fun, eclectic, wild, & playful. The pairings not only complement each course but elevate them without overshadowing.

I'm very excited to see what the future holds for Tasting House. In my opinion, it's shining &...