The Plumed Horse

[Darren72]

Two friends and I had dinner at the Plumed Horse in Saratoga a few nights ago.

The Plumed Horse has been recently remodeled and, I'm told, re-conceived. It is a fairly modern-styled restaurant. Our food was excellent; the service needed some work.

To start, I had the hamachi crudo, avocado, sharyln melon, lime, espellette pepper. (The menu says hamachi, though our waiter said it was a similar fish, the name of which escapes me.) This was essentially sashimi with small balls of avocado and mellon, and a little sauce that seemed to be made largely with avocado. The fish was excellent - definitely as good as anything I've had in a higher-end Japanese restaurant.

My two friends had the warm strawberry and endive salad, speck ham, burrata cheese; and the seared foie gras, mustard fruit, green grapes and salted almond brittle. I had tastes of both and they were excellent.

For dinner I had a piece of braised veal (not a shank as the on-line menu says), served with ricotta ravioli, sweetbreads, chanterelle mushrooms. The exterior of the veal was a little drier than it should be, but the dish was nice over all. I probably would not order it again if I went back.

My friends had the slow roasted salmon with tamarind glaze and the brioche crusted halibut. Both were excellent. The waiter had steered us towards the seafood dishes and our experience indicates that this is definitely the way to go.

We also had a real nice Pinotage to drink, and finished with a piece of Valrohona chocolate cake.

The service was quite uneven. Nothing terrible happened, but most of our interactions with the staff left us either laughing or just wondering what was going on. Since the restaurant is newly opened, perhaps things will work themselves out soon. The only problem I had with the restaurant was the constant feeling of being upsold...a cocktail before we are seated, then a glass of champagne before we order, then the tasting menu, etc.

14555 BIG BASIN WAY

SARATOGA, CA 95070

(408) 867-4711

http://www.plumedhorse.com

[MaxH]

The Plumed Horse has been recently remodeled and, I'm told, re-conceived.

N.B., this is a very well established fine-dining restaurant in the foothills, with a lot of history. Bit of an institution in (if I may so call them) the suburbs of silicon valley.

My experience there was all before the change of ownership. Some very good people became involved in the business, there was an approving mention of this in the SF Chronicle food section several months ago when the remodeling started. I'd like to see the new operation (maybe wait a little longer for things to settle down more).

[weinoo]

The Plumed Horse has been recently remodeled and, I'm told, re-conceived.

N.B., this is a very well established fine-dining restaurant in the foothills, with a lot of history. Bit of an institution in (if I may so call them) the suburbs of silicon valley.

My experience there was all before the change of ownership. Some very good people became involved in the business, there was an approving mention of this in the SF Chronicle food section several months ago when the remodeling started. I'd like to see the new operation (maybe wait a little longer for things to settle down more).

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Right, hasn't this place been there forever? I remember it from when I lived in San Jose, and I moved back to NYC 13 years ago!

[MaxH]

Yes, 15 and 20 years ago there was a lot of local enthusiasm for the Plumed Horse and its rival across the way, the Mouton Noir.

Alumni of both establishments have furthered high-end dining elsewhere in the region. Chef Patrick Farjas and some folks now at 231 Ellsworth since its change in 2000 come to mind.

(These, the half-dozen other well-known high-end places, and many excellent moderately priced one-of-a-kind family-run "ethnic" restaurants in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties come to mind among many locals, whenever someone from out of the area confidently declares that the peninsula or south bay have no restaurants worth note.)