Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza — Restaurant in Los Gatos

I was once a regular at both this location and the Willow Street in Saratoga that closed long ago. I moved away several years ago. I often return when I’m in town, although I have not been for a couple years now.

I was quite disappointed by this visit. First, I had not remembered quite how loud it was. I was there tonight, a Saturday night. Surprisingly, it was only 1/3 full, yet it was extremely loud. I was alone and I was seated next to a very large party. There was also a family with screaming (truly screaming, not just loud) children in the room. I needed to ask to be reseated outside. Although I had not yet been served, the staff was visibly annoyed.

The service from the waitress was good. The food itself was underwhelming. I got the same dish I’ve always bought and it was bland. I never add salt (in fact, I usually ask for less salt) to any dish and I found myself adding salt, red pepper and cheese.

Meanwhile, I do not understand businesses feeling a need to be dishonest in their pricing. Why do they announce at the end of the meal that they are unwilling to pay their employees properly on their own and/or do not understand that properly paying employees is simply a cost of doing business. Why must they hide these added costs in fine print (I’m sure it must have been somewhere there) on the menu, rather than simply including it in their pricing?

Yes, we all know that costs have gone up for businesses, but other businesses simply incorporate those costs in their pricing. They don’t hide it then spoil a meal at the end with a surprise fee.

In my case, nothing was spoiled since my meal was unpleasant from beginning to end.

Update: I called as requested. Unfortunately, the person responding did not leave a name, so I didn’t know for whole to ask. The host transferred me to the manager on duty simply took my name and number to have someone respond. To the management, if you’re going to ask an unhappy customer to call to address their concerns and theoretically help YOU better understand the issues, leave a name, so the customer doesn’t need to spend an extended amount of time on the phone simply getting more aggravated. Our time has value too.

Update2: I never...

Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza is a Los Gatos institution. This casual, locally owned eatery (which will celebrate its 30th anniversary here in 2023) is arguably the most popular family friendly restaurant in town.

You can dine on the spacious patio under the shade of a 120-year-old palm tree and enjoy the view of Town Plaza Park across the street. There’s a large indoor dining room with comfortable booths, as well as a full bar with plenty of seating.

Their lunch special (served from 11:30am to 4pm) is a terrific value at only $15. You can pair a mini version of any of their pizzas, or a half order of pasta, with a cup of soup or side salad. My wife always enjoys their Vodka Prawn Fettuccine with the Romaine Gorgonzola salad. My regular go-to is the Artichoke Hearts, Chicken, and Fusilli pasta with mixed greens The half order of pasta seems like a full bowl to us and the mini pizzas are more than enough food for one person.

Thin crust, wood-fired pizzas are their specialty. My wife likes the Garlic Chicken with bacon and I usually opt for the BBQ Chicken pizza. One of the newest main dishes is a grilled marinated steak with broccolini and mashed potatoes. I’ve had it a couple of times with fries instead of mashed. The generous cut of skirt steak is juicy, flavorful, and always cooked perfectly, and the fries are piping hot and crisp. I hope they keep it on the menu! We’ve also enjoyed their honey chipotle chicken wings and their fiery prawns (served in a skillet) together with a good selection of wine or draft beer at Happy Hour (which is served from 4-6pm weekdays).

Service is prompt, attentive, and efficient. Prices are reasonable considering the quality. There are plenty of craft beers to choose from, and this is the only restaurant that offers a glass-and-a-half option for wine. What a great idea!

If you have enough room for dessert, don’t miss the sinfully decadent Mud Pie, a shareable slice of Marianne’s coffee ice cream on an Oreo cookie crust served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Los Gatos wouldn’t be the same without Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza. Here’s hoping they’ll continue to serve happy customers for...

I have been a longstanding and loyal customer since Willow Street opened back in the early 1990’a and last week’s “lunch” on (Saturday - 6/28) with multiple issues were the straw that broke the camels back.

I made a large group reservation back in (April) with the head manager (Adriana) and at that time I conveyed to her do I need to sign a contract for a large party of 50, she said no, only if you were having a big party of 200 or more or renting out the restaurant. She gave me a price of $7 across the board for ALL children’s items (verbal agreement) on the kids menu, and said if I wanted salmon that would be extra, I said no thanks. I stated let’s just stick with the basic/standard items of pizza, hamburger, mac & cheese, chicken fingers, spaghetti & meatballs to make it super simple.

I arrived (15 min) early to talk with the head manager and she was not there, the assistant (Steven Rodriguez) was filling in. I could tell by his vibe that he was not in a good mood, seamed cranky and I surely didn’t receive a warm welcome. I went over the verbal agreement I had with (Adriana) and he said no I will not honor what you discussed. So basically I’m paying a much higher amount and it felt like a switch & bait. I guess Willow Street is not fully transparent with there customers, someone like me who has been going there for the past 35 years, have had multiple parties there, sent my friends, family members, and my personal cliental there throughout the years and I get treated with total disrespect.

I’m extremely disappointed & appalled by Steven’s reckless, egoistical, childish, unpleasant, ignorant, immature, and unprofessional behavior. I’m shocked & surprised that Willow Street has him employed in this title/role.

I even called the headquarters (in Willow Glen) and left my number with the owner (Ed) to give them some feedback, I have not received a returned phone call.

In closing, I will no longer go here and will take my valued business elsewhere. Willow Street doesn’t deserve me...