Where to drink, dine, play and unwind in Silicon Valley.
Where to drink, dine, play, unwind in tech’s epicenter
Jack Rose Libation House sits on a lonely stretch of the boulevard connecting the bustling downtown centers of Los Gatos and Saratoga, but its connection to San Francisco is obvious.
Walking across the patio into the mammoth roadhouse, you first may be struck by the abundance of reclaimed wood lining the very stylish and manicured room. Then you may notice the taxidermied animal heads staring down from the walls at the cocktail-crafting bartenders, outfitted in bow ties and bowler hats.
You’ll sit down and start perusing the menu, printed in Typewriter font and presented on a clipboard. Barrel-aged cocktails, house-made charcuterie, kale salad, bacon-wrapped things, tater tots, pizza, “limited availability” burger.
Where have we seen this before?
And then the lightbulb: Jack Rose is an ably executed collection of all the trends that have swept San Francisco’s restaurant industry in the past few years, from food to design. Think of it as the restaurant version of Mr. Potato Head.
Let me be clear: At Jack Rose, this is not a bad thing.
Jack Rose certainly fills a void in the dining and drinking scene, evidenced by the crowds that regularly flock to its sun-drenched patio and bustling bar. The increasingly ubiquitous confluence of well-made cocktails, bar snacks, pizza and charcuterie is the modern era’s version of a neighborhood bar and grill — a userfriendly yet delicious gathering place where locals can come and have a drink and a snack, or a full meal.
Owner Russ Stanley had that dynamic in mind when he overhauled the sprawling indooroutdoor space, formerly La Hacienda Inn, in December 2013.
“We saw a need for a quality, high-end craft cocktail bar in Silicon Valley,” says Stanley. “No one was meeting that need, so we decided to put that together. It’s been overwhelmingly received.”
He gave the new concept a vaguely literary spin, naming the whole place after the classic applejack cocktail made famous in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” The bar crew does the namesake concoction proud, aptly balancing out Laird’s 100 proof apple brandy with simple lemon juice and house-made grenadine.
Hemingway’s contemporary F. Scott Fitzgerald gets some nods on the drink list too, both with vodka bases: The pistachio-laced Beautiful and Damned, and This Side of Paradise, a glittery sparkling wine number not quite as disillusioned as its novel’s protagonist.
The food from chef Candace Caris is led by drink-friendly appetizers, mostly served on mini-sheet pans. The crux of the menu, however, is pizza, a hybrid of Neapolitan and New York styles, with a fermented dough providing a nice combination of sourness and chew. The nine pies, made in a gas oven and also served on sheet pans, cover all the bases, from basic (margherita, sausage, Hawaiian) to seasonal (asparagus and green garlic) to off-the-wall (mashed potato and bacon).
The mozzarella is pulled in house, as you might guess, given the fact that the word “house” is used to de- scribe a house-made ingredient on the menu 33 times.
Stanley isn’t done yet, either. Riding the success of Jack Rose, he plans to open a second concept directly behind Jack Rose’s beer garden. He is staying mum on details, only to say it will be a restaurant with 150 seats.
“Jack Rose is a craft cocktail bar with solid food,” he says. “Phase two will be a full-blown restaurant.”
Jack Rose: 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos Road, Los Gatos. (408) 395-3500. www. jackrosebar.com. Small plates, $6-$18; pizza, $14-$17; cocktails, $11-$14. Open nightly.