Tag Archives: wine-centric restaurant

Dining Outside At Tasting House

The beef Wellington at the new Tasting House in Los Gatos.
The beef Wellington at the new Tasting House in Los Gatos.

Husband-and-wife, Mike and Denise Thornberry, might seem like an unlikely duo to open a wine bar-restaurant.

He is a senior director at Apple. She was executive vice president of global sales for Beats by Dr. Dre.

Neither has ever owned a restaurant before or even worked in one.

But they must know have a natural knack for it because their Tasting House in Los Gatos, which only opened in January, is already a hit. It garnered “Best Restaurant,” “Best Atmosphere,” and “Best Wine List” in the 2022 Best of Los Gatos list, and scored a “Best of Award of Excellence” this year from Wine Spectator. And when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week, the place was packed, even at all the tables on the patio where I dined on a toasty summer night.

The exterior of the restaurant-wine bar-gourmet store that has tables outside.
The exterior of the restaurant-wine bar-gourmet store that has tables outside.
An abundance of goodies awaits inside the store portion of the business.
An abundance of goodies awaits inside the store portion of the business.

Located in what was formerly Cin-Cin Wine Bar & Restaurant, Tasting House sports both a restaurant and an attached gourmet provisions shop.

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A Delicious Ride at San Francisco’s RN74

A dramatic uni dish at RN74.

Named for the highway that runs through Burgundy’s fabled Cote d’Or wine region, RN74 still offers up a smooth culinary ride worth taking.

The splashy $4.5 million San Francisco restaurant housed on the ground floor of a gleaming condominium tower, is the brainchild of Rajat Parr, wine director for the Michael Mina Group, of which this restaurant belongs.

Now three years old, the restaurant continues to hum along with Executive Chef Jason Berthold at the helm. Berthold, who was sous chef at the French Laundry in Yountville, helped open Per Se in New York, and makes his own wine under the Courier label, is a perfect match for this wine-centric restaurant, accented by antique metal lanterns, lots of warm wood and even piped-in French dialogue in the restrooms. There’s also a custom-made flip board like the ones you see at train stations that post arrival/departure times. Only this one lists wines with only one bottle remaining in stock at the restaurant. If someone buys it, the board flips to erase the wine selection.

The famous wine list flip-board.

The dining room with its unique light fixtures and ample use of warm woods.

Recently, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant. The food had even more finesse than when I last visited shortly after it first opened.

If you want to start the meal off on a luxurious note, do order the Fort Bragg sea urchin ($19). It arrives dramatically in its spiky shell. Dig down into the creamy pool inside to find potato mousseline, crab, butternut squash, preserved citrus and vadouvan, a Francophile version of an Indian curry blend. It’s gorgeous to behold, with a sweet, briny and over-the-top richness. It’s also as seductive as it gets.

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