Adega — Restaurant in San Jose

The bread from a local bakery were served with marinated olives, homemade butter, and homemade hummus. I enjoyed the hummus most with its grainy texture and garlic flavor.

Sardine w/ green pepper, tomato, and cucumber sauces; it’s a bit salty and the sauces helped; great buttery texture. Salted Codfish cake had a crispy exterior with tender and flaky interior. It was small enough to eat in one bite, which I don't recommend because it was salty when consumed whole. The capicola was less salty compared to the other two items. The fat was chewy, which I didn't prefer.

Ourico e Caviar: Hokkaido sea urchin, sturgeon caviar, potato foam, dehydrated lemon, and micro mustard leaf. The potato foam was light, delicate, and buttery. Sea urchin was sweet and creamy. The caviar provided bursts of saltiness. Each component tasted great individually; the combo of the sea urchin, caviar, and potato foam was divine. The saltiness of the caviar balanced out the creaminess of the sea urchin and the potato; I loved the salty and sweet flavors contrast; Perfect dish!

Couve-Flor: Roasted cauliflower soup, almond liqueur foam, drunken pear, roasted almond, and microgreen. The server poured the soup; it had a nice savory roasted flavor and the foam enhanced the soup with its nutty flavor and airy texture. The drunken pear added a fruity note and crunch to the dish. Few pieces of almond were over roasted and gave a bitter taste, disrupting the taste of the dish.

Pato: roasted duck with duck demi-glace, duck confit on rapini, and carrot chips. The roasted duck was perfectly cooked and tender; I could eat it without the demi-glace, but the demi-glace enhanced its flavor. The duck confit on rapini was good, but fell short in comparison to the roasted duck. The confit was a bit of dry. The rapini didn't give a distinctive flavor, nor did it improve the confit. The carrot chips were good and lightly seasoned with salt. The roasted duck with demi-glace was perfect.

Bacalhau: Salted codfish in phyllo sheet on top of tomato rice with edible flowers. I love the fish broth used for the rice. There were few undercooked grains of rice. The salted codfish was aromatic; the phyllo sheet was light, flakey, and crispy and seal in the aroma of the codfish (a great concept). I ate the codfish and the rice separately, which was a mistake because I found the rice to be under seasoned. I should've paired them in every bite.

Caldeirada: Rolled salted fish topped with lobster bits, with seaweed on the bottom, broth from lobster and clams, 3 clams, garlic purée, tomato purée, and roasted bell pepper purée, and micro green. The server poured broth (made from clams and lobster) onto the dish. I liked the texture of the salted fish. The salty flavor built up with each bite; I recommend taking small bites. The purées were good individually, but they didn't enhance the salted fish as I was expecting. Make sure to let the seaweed soak up the broth, if not, the dried seaweed would have a plastic texture. The lobster bits and three tiny clams were ok. Interestingly, micro green provided the best contrast to the dish with its flavor profile. Since the broth dissolved the three purées together at the end, I was expecting a synergetic flavor, but that didn't happen. Looking at each ingredient on this dish, I was expecting a good amount of umami flavor, but somehow it didn't live up to the expectation.

Borrego: Lamb with cumin crust and demi-glace, kale roll, dried roasted garbanzo bean, and garbanzo bean purée. I liked the texture of the dried roasted garbanzo bean and the purée. The kale roll had garbanzo beans and chorizo, flavorful and good textures. I loved the lamb, cooked perfectly, with the cumin crust and a hint of mint on top. I liked the creativity of having the seasoning in the crust, which also added a new texture to the tender lamb. The demi-glace provided depth in flavor. Perfect dish.

Serra da Estrela cheese with honey marmalade was a wonderful treat, sweet, savory, and funky; a great combo of flavors. To be...

Nothing but good things to say about this ADEGA...

WARNING: This is going to be one of those long detailed reviews... because I feel ADEGA deserves the spotlight.

I took my parents out for dinner here as a treat, since I don't get to see them to often and wanted them to enjoy a unique culinary experience. I am happy to say we were not let down at all! ADEGA lived up to its hype...a very affordable Michelin star restaurant!

As other reviewers have commented, the location is a bit odd...very suburban, in the middle of a a local neighborhood. I believe this would be the equivalent of the Portuguese Neighborhood in San Jose. Parking is a challenge, although they do have Valet service for you. The venue itself looks like a some sort of Hipster spot from the outside, however once inside the entire ambiance changes...it's like stepping into a different world; the look, the uniforms, the lighting, the set up, the elaborate decor definitely echos class and sophistication. Each of us opted for the Three Course Prix-Fixe menu. We collectively decided it would be the best option as it provided us the opportunity to sample a greater variety of dishes...true family style

Shall we begin...

~ Brasileira - 4.5/5: A drink to start. BRAVO! Well balanced, not too sweet or too strong, easy to drink, even though I am not a huge fan of Rum.

Some appetizers to begin: ~ Fresh baked bread, Olives marinated in Garlic & Oil, house made Almond butter and fresh Butter

Amuse-bouche: ~ Ravioli with Blood Sausage & Green Apple - 4/5: Nice little appetizer, although not much stood out about it...I think i was more memorized by the Sardine Pate. ~ Sardine Pate - 5/5: Amazing! No fishy taste or aroma, pleasant and light.

Starters: ~ Lingua de Vaca (Braised Beef tongue) - 5/5: Not normally a fan of Tongue. i dislike the texture...my complements to the chefs, great job! Tender, moist and not overly chewy ~ Camarao Alhino (Sweet Shrimp) - 5/5: Just as advertised! Succulent, Juicy, Fresh Shrimp that was Sweet! The sauce, the lemon, it all works. ~ Pasteis de Bacalhau (Codfish Cakes) - 4/5:

Entrées: ~ Bife a Portuguesa (RibEye Steak) - 4.5/5: Cooked to perfection, served on a slab of salt! Only wish it there was more...(me being greedy...lol) ~ The side dish - 4/5: Fried Egg, Fried Potatoes and Steak sauce. This was served separately...almost like an entree itself, not sure why...but didn't care because it was delicious. ~ Arroz de Pato (Seared Duck Breast) - 4/5: Very good job. I'm not usually a fan of Duck. This was done very well; served over rice, very good flavor. Brilliant presentation and the rice complemented the Duck perfectly. ~ Polvo a Lagareiro (Oven Roasted Octopus) - 5/5: PERFECTION! The octopus was tender and soft, perfectly roasted on the outside with a hint of the charred flavor, not chewy at all. My favorite dish of the evening.

Now on to the Desserts: ~ Pre-Dessert (Strawberry & Rhubarb Tart) - 4.5/5: Very Pleasant, not too tart, not too sweet, well balanced with a good hint of both fruits. I can't remember if this was Amuse-bouche or a palette cleanser. ~ Citrinos (Orange Torte) - 4/5: Great presentation. Edible Art! Definitely a good Citrus flavor, not too tangy, bitter or sour. Well balanced without being too sweet. ~ Amendoa Maarga (Almond Tart) - 4/5: Another great presentation of edible art! The flavors were brilliant, with just hints of Almonds, nothing overpowering. The mouse was sublime! Light, fluffy, yet creamy. ~ Arroz Doce Adega () - 3.5/5: I felt this was very heavy, more like a doughnut. Was not a fan of this one...common consensus; least favorite on item of the entire evening.

The service was spot on as well. The staff was very friendly, informative, helpful and frequently checked up on us without being intrusive. All of the waitresses were always polite, knowledgeable and answered all of our questions very patiently.

Great job ADEGA! I shall return...

The service...

Myself and my wife came to Adega to celebrate a special date. We were so excited about trying out this restaurant that, without knowing, we separately booked reservations in secret for the same week. After the first night we decided to keep the reservation for the second night given how amazing our experience was.

Food: As someone who lived in Portugal for many many years and who cooks a lot, while not being a food professional myself, my bar for Portuguese food is really high. The best way I have to describe the food at Adega is to call it a fancy version of traditional Portuguese cuisine. In the classic tasting menu you'll find the usual suspects like pastel de bacalhau (codfish cake), caldo verde (cabbage and chourico soup), polvo a lagareiro (grilled octopus with roast fingerling potatoes and spinach) and arroz de pato (duck rice) which you would get in most traditional portuguese restaurants at home. The core difference is that there is a bit of a surprise in all of them: some are like a "deconstructed" version, others are done using different techniques, others has one or two different ingredients all the while retaining the core concept. I had the tasting menu which included most of the above plus some amuse-bouches and I was really happy with the experience. For my taste, only the codfish cakes could use some work, specifically by ensuring they retain less fat when deep fried. The chef's tasting menu departs from traditional Portuguese cuisine and becomes more like fusion of different styles - sounds like the channel for the chef's creativity and is definitely great to add to the variety and excitement of this restaurant's offer. The desserts were also very tasty - it was specifically great to see and try the traditional conventual dessert (a lot of egg yolk and sugar).

Service: The service was another one of the high points in this experience. From the pleasant interactions over the phone to adjust our reservations, to the friendly valet parking service, warm greeting at the door and the amazing waitresses who made us feel right at home, it was stellar end to end. Most of the servers speak Portuguese, which again adds to the authentic feeling of this restaurant. We had really enjoyable conversations with the staff. They were also great at adjusting for my allergies and even remembering the allergies when I came back later in the week. They explained thoroughly what we were about to eat and were clearly enthusiastic and up beat.

Ambience: The restaurant is very tastefully decorated, with lots of wine and cellar instruments on display - Adega means cellar by the way - the lighting is just right and the noise level varied but was definitely on a nice and appropriate scale.

Price: This is definitely a high end experience if you read all of the above. In that context, I think the price is completely fair. The day we went in for the tasting menu we paid around $220 including drinks, tax and tip. When we went in for the a la carte experience, we ended up spending just over half of that but we didn't have space for the dessert.

I am definitely coming back to Adega: it tastes and feels like home. It was a...