Manresa
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Phone: (408) 354-4330
- Price:
- $$$$
- Hours:
- Tue-Sat 5:30pm-11pm, Sun: 5pm-11pm
Editorial Review for Manresa – by Joanna Currier
The Scene
Though ranked among the most rarefied of American restaurants, this simple, attractive dining room's lack of affectation provides welcome comfort. The warm ambience--fresh flowers, white tablecloths, exposed wood beams--feels upscale village local; and while certainly refined and professional, staff here clearly care little for small-minded pretense. Patrons are visibly at ease: Collars are loosened, smiles are sincere, and dates and small clusters of diners stretch into heady lingering over top-tier wines and tasting menus that can number upwards of 18 courses. Oriental rugs add rich, red-inflected touches of color to the scene.
The Food
Chef David Kinch continues to thoughtfully tinker with convention and cuisine on an almost cellular level--literally. Already famous for his cooking pedigree (some of the world's finest kitchens, including El Bulli), his growing collection of Michelin stars and many other awards for his innovative new Catalan cuisine, Kinch has dug in deeper with his evolved use of ingredients from the restaurant's own biodynamic garden. Hand-picked produce, roots, sprouts, herbs and other day-fresh ingredients are shaped into playful, expert contrasts on the plate--sweet with savory, cool with warm. One mouthful of his seasonal cuisine can unpack into an intense, unique experience with layers of surprise. We particularly recommend not only the farm-fresh produce, but also his soups, foie gras dishes and anything with shellfish.
Hits: Chef Kinch's famous garden-fresh ingredients are as local, seasonal and exquisite as you can get and are best represented in the dish "Into The Vegetable Garden...," a collection of the day's freshest textures and flavors.
Misses: Don't think you have to get the tasting menu (which takes several hours); two-to-three perfect dishes can provide ample perspective on the best of Kinch.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Know Before You GoPatrons are offered two dining options--a four-course menu or the chef's seasonal tasting menu, both of which come with or without wine pairings.
ParkingManresa has no valet or spots of its own, but there is a public lot behind it; if that's full (as is often the case after 7pm), the nearby Bank of the West lot is fair game after 6pm.
Fun FactThe restaurant's vegetables are grown on the Santa Cruz Mountains' Love Apple Farm and picked daily for that night's dinner.
The ExtrasDesserts under pastry chef Kendra Baker (Bar Tartine) are inspired and exciting and, though it's difficult, worth saving the extra room.
User Reviews for Manresa
08/15/2008 Posted by madbulk
The back and forths slay me. The one-star rating juxtaposed with the five star rating. Everybody here wants their opinion to be the last word. There probably is no last word. It depends on you almost entirely. This is one of the best restaurants in the world. And if you can easily afford it, just go and find out. (If you hate it, you hate it.) If you are a special occasion splurge situation and you're just perusing city search looking for a highly rated place -- consider who you are. foodwise. If you eat your steak medium and wouldn't dream of eating your eggs undercooked, don't do this to yourself unless you can chalk it up to experience and forget it. You're gonna come back and write a review like the gentleman who keeps saying, "AWFUL." And to him, it was! This level of cookery is not for everybody. For me, this is a remarkable godsend of a restaurant. If I'm going out to eat within an hour of my san jose home, which is only a few times a year, I'm going here. Over and over and over. This isn't just a good restaurant. This is a superb restaurant. Almost certainly the best within a hundred miles in any direction.
03/21/2008 Posted by 3seas
the goon below me knows not what he says. sour cream on the egg? clearly you werent paying attention to the servers explanations of the dishes. i know from many trips there that theres no sour cream on the egg amuse. if you felt the meat was raw, why didnt you tell them to cook it longer? your "rookieness" is shining through in your review as well. restaurants, especially ones like manresa have the advantage of charging customers 160 for 4 courses on holidays like valentines day, new years, etc...but if you had known better you could have gone the next night for even less money and gotten the 10 course tasting for $150. sounds like you were a bit out of your league and if you want your meat served medium, with mashed potatoes and asparagus better stick to the classics like chart house, steamers grill, or gordon biersch. theres no better restaurant in the bay area, manresa owns any other spot in san fran.
Pros: service, egg amuse, fresh produce from chefs farm
Cons: no bar
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