by Mary Pope-Handy | Apr 10, 2025 | Downtown Los Gatos, Dining
Recently a friend and I enjoyed a patio lunch at Los Gatos Parkside restaurant. It’s been open almost 18 months and I’ve been wanting to eat there ever since I heard that they have a focus on locally sourced, organic food. It did not disappoint!
Our lunch experience
It was a pleasant spring day and we had a comfortable temperature for savoring a meal outdoors.
The patio was comfortably furnished and included heaters and sun shades, making it ideal for most weather conditions short of bad wind or rain.
The tables were spaced far enough apart that it didn’t feel crowded. The service was good, but not intrusive. We had plenty of time to peruse the offerings but didn’t wait when it was time to order.
What about the food? The Los Gatos Parkside lunch menu, which can be seen online, offers a nice variety of menu items from casual to elegant, including sandwiches (including burgers and wraps), five different salads, skewers, pasta, plus a generous assortment of appetizers.
I opted for the crabcakes, which were listed under “this and that” but which did include a small green salad with a few grapefruit chunks on top, and that made a perfect meal for me. My friend had a grain bowl. Both of them were delicious.
The presentation of each was also beautiful. In retrospect, I should have taken a photo, but it was so yummy looking that I dove in rather than pause long enough to shoot a pic.
We didn’t spend any time indoors – I just popped my head in to let the hostess know that we were there for our reservation. Their website states that they have room for private events. That would be a treat!
Los Gatos Parkside location
This restaurant is located the Los Gatos downtown historic district, in the spot once occupied by the Boulanger, right at the corner of West Main and Montebello Way, near the main post office. It’s aptly named as an eatery directly across the street from the Town Plaza Park, and facing the year round Sunday Farmer’s Market. The address is 145 W Main St Los Gatos CA, 95030.
They are open 7 days per week. You can check their current hours on the restaurant’s Contact page. You will find them on the bottom right of that page.
Other things to know
This is an upscale restaurant with table service, excellent food, and attentive service. The prices reflect that situation.
They DO take reservations, even for the patio!
Dogs appear to be welcome on the patio. We saw well behaved canines and their people enjoying a meal out of doors, too.
Parking in downtown can be a challenge at times, and this will be even more true on Sundays during the Farmers Market. My friend and I were there on a Friday, meeting at 12:30, and it took me 10 minutes to land a parking space. Please allow plenty of time. When I was there for this luncheon, the Montebello lot was full and the newer part of Old Town’s underground lot was almost entirely full – it was highly competitive. Fridays and weekends are harder than other days of the week.
They sometimes offer special menus for holidays. As of this writing, I see one for Easter Brunch.
In conclusion, I very much enjoyed the food, service, and ambiance at Los Gatos Parkside, and I’ll definitely be back!
Learn more about Los Gatos Parkside at their restaurant’s website.
Other restaurants we’ve written about in Los Gatos
Kamakura Japanese Restaurant
Restaurant Asa
Doña Maria Mexican Restaurant
Oak and Rye
(and several others that have since closed, including North and the Catamount… both lovely dining spots!)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Jan 2, 2024 | Los Gatos Businesses, Dining, Los Gatos Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Wineries
NOW CLOSED – their last day was January 6, 2024
If you miss their food, as we do, you can visit Hanna Asian Noodle Bar, located at 15960 Los Gatos Blvd. and 155 N. Santa Cruz Ave.
Original review:
A couple of days ago, my husband, Jim, and I enjoyed outside dining at North Restaurant, a downtown Los Gatos eatery offering seasonal Vietnamese food. It was our first visit there. The meals and service could not have been better, so I wanted to give them a shout out here on the Live in Los Gatos blog.
We arrived at North a little before 12 noon and wanted a table away from other diners and the sidewalk. It wasn’t too crowded and we were seated in a corner by ourselves. A nice surprise was noting plexiglass between our table and one nearby. The parklet was also covered, which was helpful with the summer sun.
Superb service at North Restaurant
Our server was masked, which we appreciated, and came quickly to take our order. We didn’t have to wait long for the food after ordering. Throughout our meal, he would look in our direction to see if we might need anything, and did step over to ask directly if all was ok and if he could get us anything. We never felt rushed, but he was around. When we paid our bill it was the same – he didn’t waste any time, but never made us feel like we needed to hurry. Kudos on the service, it was an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. (He probably told us his name, and we forget it, unfortunately!)
North Restaurant menu offerings
The offerings were diverse and tempting! One item that I’ll return to have next time is the crab spring rolls, which was advertised as including “Rice Paper, Dungeness Crab, Avocado, Mango, Rice Vermicelli, Green Leaf Lettuce, Mint, Soy Vinaigrette”. So often, restaurants offer crab dishes but actually serve fake crab – but this is Dungeness! (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 17, 2023 | Food & Drink, Dining
On Monday, Jim and picked up sandwiches at the American Italian Deli for lunch. The day was nice, but was about to change, so we wanted to have our outdoor lunch before the weather made that less appealing. We really appreciate patio dining options!
American Italian Deli – nice outside dining space as well as some indoor seating
The American Italian Deli has a good sized patio, and some tables include umbrellas. The area does not feel crowded, and it’s fairly quiet as it faces a parking lot rather than North Santa Cruz Avenue. (People watching not as interesting, but the quiet and lack of car fumes was great.)
Instead of music, the the audio featured a talk-radio news station. That made it more difficult to chat during our meal, and was distracting with war stories and politics going in the background.
Bar style seating on stools as well as some table seating was provided indoors and, as mentioned, there were plenty of seats outside, too.
I should add that this eatery was spotless – absolutely pristine – when we were there.
Location bonus: it’s right next door to the newly opened Domus (which had been closed, and missed, for more than a decade).
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 21, 2019 | Dining, Food & Drink, Los Gatos Businesses, Los Gatos Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Wineries
Last week a friend and I met to enjoy lunch at Restaurant Asa, which opened a few months ago. It was the first time there for both of us and we were anxious to give it a try since we’d only heard good things about it. The eatery’s location is super convenient and is a big plus: Asa sits just across from the Los Gatos Lodge, adjacent to the Best Western Inn of Los Gatos – at the corner of Alberto Way and Los Gatos-Saratoga Road. This is the same location where Grill 57 was until this summer. There’s no shortage of nearby parking, which cannot always be said of restaurants in town.
Restaurant Asa: good appearance is just the beginning
An attractive, inviting patio dining area sits behind the planters in the photo above.
Inside, a waiting area features two comfy couches. A well appointed wine case is to the right and a full bar to the left. The room is open, clean, quiet (while fairly full), and offers pleasant decor.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 1, 2018 | Dining, Food & Drink, Los Gatos Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Wineries
UPDATE: Sadly, within 10 days of our enjoying a lovely dinner at the Catamount, it suddenly closed. It had been in business a mere 15 months. It was pretty empty the night we were there, which was hard to understand – it was a wonderful restaurant! Below is my original review, done in the 2nd half of July.
Recently, my husband and I enjoyed a wedding anniversary dinner at The Catamount restaurant in Old Town. We had been wanting to go for a few months, and it was a good occasion to give it a try. I’ll start by saying that I would go again in a heartbeat, and suggest that if you haven’t been pampered with a meal there, to put it on your “must do” list right away.
Our reservations were for a Friday night at 7pm. Downtown Los Gatos has a reputation for having unbearable traffic in summer, but that was not at all the case in our experience. The parking lot was nearly full, but we snagged a spot just steps from the door of the Catamount. Daytime traffic may well be problematical, but on our warm summer evening it was just fine. Don’t let that keep you away.
I had been inside The Catamount one other time, for a Sereno Group company party, which was at night. That event was packed, and I hadn’t really gotten a feel for the eatery that time, though I do recall that the food was quite tasty. This time, though, it was still daylight, and we got a good view of the restaurant and bar as well as the coastal range outside.
The layout is bright and open, with large windows facing the hills. A wall of glass doors separates one section from the next without losing the view of the tall mountain peak on the east side of town, El Sombroso.
We were surprised that the restaurant was not busy when we arrived. Only a few tables were in use initially. It did fill up a little more during our stay, but it made no sense that it wasn’t packed, given the excellent experience that we had there. I have to wonder if it wasn’t fear of Los Gatos traffic in summer that kept some people away.
Our server and our bus person were both very attentive, and the service could not have been better. A carafe of water was placed on the table, but the server was there to refill our glasses before we needed to reach for it ourselves. The menu items included a number of things I hadn’t seen elsewhere, and our server did a good job of answering our questions.
Jim had an appetizer of Stuffed Mushrooms and a main course of a Prime Rib (a small serving, 2 sizes were available) and french fries with truffle oil. He loved all of it. The mushrooms were small, and sitting in a bowl with beef broth, so were not finger food. (There was no bread on the table. Had there been, it would have been used to sop up the broth that the mushrooms were in.) I took a taste of his prime rib and it was very tender and delicious. I’m not a fan of truffle oil, but he is, and assured me that the fries were wonderful.
I had a Little Gem Cesar Salad followed by the Oven Roasted Scottish Salmon. The salad was not little – it was larger than I could manage. There are many variations on Cesar salad, but I hadn’t had them with whole capers before, and it hit me as too salty. The croutons were not really tasty. I avoided the capers and croutons and did enjoy it otherwise.
The Salmon was incredibly delicious. It was cooked to perfection and had a nice glaze over it. It was sitting in a bed of small vegetables. There were pickled, thinly sliced radishes and cucumbers. Normally I am not a huge radish fan, but I could have eaten those all night. There were also some very sweet, small, and tender corn niblets sprinkled all over, as well as tomatoes, parsley and capers – again. I do like capers, but it was funny to have them in both courses. I would not change a thing with the salmon dish. It was so good that I may be tempted to order it again next time, rather than venture out on the menu. (I don’t know salmon well enough to know one kind from the next, so could not say if it was so good in part because it was Scottish. I was curious about that.)
We each had a glass of wine and both of us enjoyed our selections.
After supper, Jim had a cappuccino and I had a decaf. He could not eat another bite, but I managed, and had soft serve vanilla ice cream with candied pineapple and coconut. Usually I don’t indulge in desserts, but it was worth it.
The bill came in a timely manner, but we were not rushed. From start to finish, it was a great experience at The Catamount, and I look forward to going back again. (Below, a view at twilight as we left the restaurant. The tall peak there is El Sereno.)
The Catamount
Old Town shopping center (formerly the site of the California Cafe)
50 University Ave.
Los Gatos, CA 95030
(408) 442-5533
info@thecatamount.com
