Manresa reopens with ‘new ideas for post-pandemic world’
Manresa is set to reopen May 19 and reservations are going fast as foodies ready themselves to revisit the three-michelin-starred restaurant in downtown Los Gatos.
The restaurant has been shuttered since the lockdown began in March 2020. During the pandemic Manresa reinvented itself as a family meal takeout operation with its Manresa Family Meal program.
When the lockdown hit, Chef David Kinch and his team, led by General Manager Jenny Yun, were in the process of opening a new pizza restaurant, Mentone, in Aptos. At the same time, General Manager Andrew Burnham and his staff worked to keep a slice of New Orleans alive and well in any way they could at The Bywater, Kinch’s other Los Gatos eatery.
Yun said the Manresa Family Meal program was a lifeline for the restaurant.
“It also provided us with a sense of fulfillment to be able to continue cooking and spending time with one another in a very different way within the four walls that we consider our home,” Yun said.
Now, Kinch is returning to the ritual and roots of his Los Gatos restaurant. The dine-in menu will feature a new iteration of the famed “Into the Vegetable Garden” dish, and some favorites such as the petit fours that bookend the tasting menu, as well as the caramels, will be back.
But, Kinch said, it won’t be a return to business as usual.
“It has been over a year since we have had guests in our dining room, but when we do in a couple of weeks, we will not pick up where we left off,” the chef said. “Our plan is to be dynamic, presenting new ideas for the post-pandemic world. Our farm connections will be stronger than ever as our menu becomes greener and more reflective of the local bounty. Our sustainability practices will also become even more efficient.”
The family meal program that kept Manresa afloat also may result in new customers who want the full dine-in experience. Kinch said he’s looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces.
“We are so thankful for the support of our regulars and new guests from the community, as well as the unending positivity of our team in adapting and creating a new version of Manresa hospitality over the past year,” he said. “Now, we approach our reopening with a renewed enthusiasm and passion for fine dining hospitality in its most traditional sense. It is with great anticipation and a palpable excitement with which we welcome our first guests back into the restaurant in May.”
Manresa is located at 320 Village Lane, Los Gatos. The chef’s tasting menu is priced at $325 per person, with optional beverage pairings selected by Master Sommelier Jim Rollston at $235.