"I really do feel like we're experiencing a culinary renaissance here," Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Lin said in the lead-up to this year's Taste of Los Gatos. The third annual event on September 19 sold out. N. Santa Cruz Avenue and Village Lane were closed to cars, and this year added a new Vintage on Village experience.
The renaissance is real. Look at where it's actually happening, though, and the picture is different from a wave of openings. The restaurants carrying it this fall are mostly ones that have been in town for years. The single notable newcomer lists 16 guests per seating. The big-name projects everyone keeps hearing about won't serve a meal until 2027 at the earliest. For anyone deciding where to eat between now and Thanksgiving, the best tables in town are largely the familiar ones.
The Trophies Went to Restaurants With Years on the Avenue
The Golden Spoon Distinction is the Chamber's annual award for culinary excellence. At this year's ceremony, Congressman Sam Liccardo and Mayor Rob Moore helped hand it to Oak & Rye and Telefèric Barcelona. The first winners, in 2025, were The Pastaria & Market and Tasting House.
| Restaurant | Address | Golden Spoon year | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak & Rye | 303 N. Santa Cruz Ave. | 2026 | Wood-fired pizza, small plates, craft drinks |
| Telefèric Barcelona | 50 University Ave., Suite B270 | 2026 | Made-to-order paella, tableside-carved jamón ibérico, 200-plus Spanish wines |
| Tasting House | 368 Village Lane | 2025 | Wine-and-food-pairing bistro with an adjacent Champagne bar |
| The Pastaria & Market | 27 N. Santa Cruz Ave. | 2025 | Italian food, grown from a fresh-pasta shop into a family-run restaurant |
Oak & Rye opened in November 2013. When the Mercury News reviewed it in early 2014, chef Ross Hanson's wife Bree was managing the business. Twelve years later, Bree Hanson walked up to accept this year's award. Telefèric Barcelona is newer but no recent arrival. Its Los Gatos location opened January 13, 2022, with tapas, sangria, paella and an attached Spanish market.
Four restaurants have won in two years, and every one was already part of the dining routine of anyone who eats downtown. In a Chamber release, Lin described the award as recognizing restaurants that add to "our business community and the broader community we share," not just the food scene. As the Chamber has handed it out so far, the award goes to staying power.
The One New Room Holds Sixteen
The one big new name of 2026 grew out of an incumbent too. Vicinity opened February 3 at 368 Village Lane, the same address as Tasting House. The Michelin Guide calls it an intimate tasting-menu room behind Tasting House. Chef Julian Silvera runs the kitchen for owners Denise and Michael Thornberry, the team behind Tasting House. In May, the Mercury News reported that Vicinity had been named to the Michelin Guide's "recommended" category, one of 21 California restaurants added in the latest guide.
Getting a seat works differently from anywhere else in town:
- Book through Tock. Vicinity serves only the tasting menu, for parties of one to four, and takes a $50-per-person deposit.
- Plan on 13 courses. The restaurant's own site currently lists the menu at $250 per person. A 7x7 review published February 27 reported $195, so the price has gone up since that review.
- Come in through Tasting House. Eater reports that guests enter there and use a side-door code that comes with the reservation.
Seats are scarce. Vicinity's site lists 16 guests per seating, and a June review on Food Gal described a typical maximum of 12 diners at four tables. In practice, the newcomer behind all the Michelin attention adds somewhere between a dozen and 16 tasting-menu seats to downtown Los Gatos.
The menu leans local. One dish the Mercury News described was Superior Ranch lamb from Dixon with smoked pea puree and black garlic. Its local wine pairing was a 2021 I. Brand & Family Cabernet Franc from Bates Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The Bigger Arrivals Are on a 2027 Clock
The two projects likely to change downtown's scale are both still under construction or permitting.
In May, Harmonie Park Development announced that David Kinch's Mentone and Avery Ruzicka's Manresa Bread had signed leases as the first tenants at The Junction. That's the retail and dining hub planned for the North 40, near Los Gatos Boulevard and Walker Street. The two will share 7,170 square feet in the Spur Building, part of a 68,000-square-foot facility that leasing agents are still working to fill. Groundbreaking was scheduled for September. As of this writing, local coverage hasn't confirmed that it happened. Kinch himself told the Los Gatan he faced "19 or so months" of hurdles, from hiring an architect to getting permits. "I can't wait for it to open," he said.
Early plans call for a seafood bar, a bar pouring martinis and negronis, and an atelier where diners can watch pasta being made. Ruzicka's bakery will be part retail and part working bakery, with a "bread-and-butter happy hour." It will be the second Mentone after the original in Aptos.
Downtown, construction fencing surrounds the former Steamers Grillhouse and Gap spaces at 31 University Avenue. RH, which already has a gallery on Santa Cruz Avenue, is targeting spring 2027 to open a gallery and restaurant there.
Kinch's ties to downtown are older than either project. He launched Manresa Bread with Ruzicka in 2013, and the first bakery-café opened in Los Gatos. The Bywater, his New Orleans-inspired restaurant and bar, opened in early 2016 and has earned a Bib Gourmand. He remains involved with The Bywater on North Santa Cruz Avenue. For a taste of his cooking before The Junction opens, the closest option is already downtown.
The Same Downtown Is Also Losing Storefronts
The incumbents' staying power matters more given what's happening on the retail side. On May 11, the See's Candies shop in Los Gatos Village Square closed for good. The Town's Facebook post quoted a message saying the rent had gone up and headquarters was closing the location. The former C.B. Hannegan's site has been empty since its doors closed in 2017. Mark Millen, the broker representing it, told the Los Gatan that a "Covid hangover" had reduced owners' appetite for risk. He also said younger people drinking less has cut into bar and restaurant revenue.
The shops holding on describe a niche of some kind. The Butter Paddle, a gift shop on N. Santa Cruz Avenue that raises money for children and families in Santa Clara County, is staffed entirely by volunteers and has shifted toward local and American-made goods. Millen remains optimistic. He said things "continue to improve every quarter and every year" and credited the town's mix of restaurants and retail. The restaurants winning awards are the ones that found their niche years ago and kept it.
A Fall Calendar That Runs Through Familiar Places
Between now and the North 40's eventual opening, the season's events fill the same blocks the honored restaurants already occupy:
- GOLD Thursday, October 1, noon to 10 p.m. Downtown hosts music, food-and-drink promotions and shopping.
- NUMU Free First Sundays, October 4 and November 1, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum offers free admission and tours.
- "Community Ignition," Saturday, October 17, noon to 4 p.m. NUMU's opening reception at 106 E. Main St. includes live art demonstrations. It's free, with registration.
- "Reawakening Community Day," Saturday, November 7, noon to 4 p.m. NUMU hosts family activities and refreshments, free with registration.
- "Hiding in Plain Sight: Disability and Art History," Saturday, November 14, 2 to 3 p.m. This talk is in person at NUMU or online.
If you're planning a walk before dinner, check conditions first. As of Santa Clara County Parks' September 21 update, the Los Gatos Creek Trail had a short detour around a 100-foot unsafe section. Part of the trail at Vasona, from the fishing-dock area to the nearest Circle Group Area intersection, was closed because of a failed culvert. At Oak Meadow Park, the bandstand area has been closed for improvements since July 6. The Town expects that work to run through mid-October.
A fall evening downtown might start with a NUMU Sunday on East Main and end with paella on University Avenue or wood-fired pizza at 303 N. Santa Cruz. On a lucky night, it might include one of Vicinity's few seats on Village Lane.
When a familiar downtown starts to change, longtime residents have real decisions to make, whether that means staying put, downsizing nearby or handling a parent's home a few blocks from the Avenue. If you're weighing a move like that in Los Gatos, the team at Team NL Homes can help you think through the timing and practical steps, and bring in the right professionals along the way. Schedule A Consultation whenever you're ready.
