Change is always in the wind, and it’s especially breezy on the dining scene in Los Gatos.
The Toll House Hotel recently resurrected its in-house restaurant once again, this time as Los Gatos Tavern. The restaurant has been through several iterations over the years; most recently it was Due Dieci, a project of the investor group that owns Dio Deka. Due Dieci opened in 2022 with a high-end Italian food concept and shuttered sometime last year, a victim of the shift away from luxury dining.
The dinner menu at Los Gatos Tavern, however, goes back to basics with appetizers like crab cakes, truffle fries with lemon aioli, buffalo wings, calamari, and guac and chips, plus mains like flatbreads, burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, French dip and a Caesar salad with charred lemon and chipotle aioli. Dessert is ice cream, sorbet and cheesecake.
Keeping it simple might be the key to success. The best part is the restaurant’s glorious outdoor area, a most pleasurable spot to enjoy a cocktail and something satisfying on these warm summer evenings. Plus parking is easy—a serious perk in this town.
Yvonne Khananis has closed her Grocer+Goddess location on Montebello Lane, next to Parkside, after a short run with her Mexican restaurant concept. A new tenant is supposedly imminent.
Meanwhile, Khananis has reopened her San Jose airport location as Greek Town Taverna, with menu items like spanakopita, vegan moussaka with eggplant and lentils, shrimp saganaki, lamb shank, gyros and chicken, pork or salmon souvlaki wraps. Or go for a Greek burger with feta or the Spanglish, a favorite from the Grocer+Goddess days that combines candied bacon, jack cheese, fried egg, tomato and butter lettuce on sourdough. Greek Town Dogs are topped with onion, tomato, tzatziki and dried oregano.
Meanwhile, OY! Bakery, the gluten-free bake shop that Khananis opened on North Santa Cruz Avenue, will be relocating to the Polenteria at 10 Victory Lane during the daytime so that those with gluten allergies can enjoy a leisurely cup of joe with their toast and muffins. This transition is set to happed in October. The OY! Bakery will remain open at its current location until then.
Testarossa’s Bistro 107 is getting closer to reality. Word is that they just got approved for the trailer where the food prep will be done, and that they are entering a soft opening mode. They plan a grand opening for wine club members only, beginning Sept. 12. Reservations for the general public will open shortly thereafter.