David Kinch’s new restaurant opens — but for curbside delivery only
How the coronavirus changed the debut of Mentone in Aptos
For weeks, David Kinch’s longawaited new Mediterranean-focused restaurant — the latest in the Michelin-starred chef’s local empire — had been scheduled to open Wednesday.
And open it did. Mentone made its debut in Aptos as a takeout-only enterprise, joining the ranks of restaurants staying open as “essential” providers of food for Californians during this coronavirus crisis.
The kitchen staff started accepting preorders just after midnight, and they fired up the Valoriani wood-fueled oven in the afternoon. Starting at 4 p.m., the inaugural, select menu of pizzas made with dough fermented for 48 hours was boxed up for curbside delivery, along with salads, wine and craft cocktails.
Not surprisingly, demand was high for the artisan pies with
Kinch’s Manresa imprimatur. Most orders came in before 9 a.m., with a few foodies even clocking in during the wee hours. As of 11:35 a.m., Mentone had sold 70 pizzas, with just five remaining. Soon after, it sold out.
Available from Wednesday through Sunday, the takeout menu will be an evolving one. This week’s features a Pizza Pesto with stracchino cheese and local olive oil (that was the first to sell out Wednesday), Pizza Margherita with fresh mozzarella, Pizza Soppressata with pickled Calabrian chiles and the Riviera Salad for two, which is Mentone’s
take on a Nicoise, with Little Gem lettuce, tuna, basil, red onion, olives, hard-boiled egg, artichoke, fava bean, tomato and fingerling potato.
Mentone is Kinch’s fourth major venture. He owns and runs the three-Michelin-starred Manresa in Los Gatos; the Bib Gourmandhonored The Bywater in Los Gatos, where Dave Morgan is the chef; and Manresa Bread, the bakery and cafe operation in Campbell, Los Gatos and Los Altos helmed by James Beard nominee Avery Ruzicka.
Here in Aptos, the executive chef is Matthew Bowden, formerly executive sous-chef at Manresa. Chris Sullivan, a longtime manager at Manresa and The Bywater, has taken on the GM role.
When Mentone — it’s the Italian name for the town of Menton on the French Riviera — fully opens, the menu will showcase dishes that reflect the influences of Italy, France and California’s Central Coast.
Details: Order online at mentonerestaurant.com. 174 Aptos Village Way, Aptos.