Restaurant Review: Adega (San Jose, CA)
I'll admit that my "reviews" are never quite reviews. They're rather mere retellings of my experiences. I try to be grateful for the multitude of experiences life throws my way, so I pressure myself to let little things slide when we're eating out. I will now contradict myself and admit that there were a few things right off the bat that broke my personal "restaurant rules."
Adega's tasting menu included an optional caviar supplement for $59, a black truffle optional addition for $49, and the opportunity to substitute or supplement wagyu steak ($79 and $99, respectively). I find myself annoyed at even the hint of upselling for what should be an all-inclusive tasting menu experience. Not every menu needs the addition of caviar or black truffle. However, I do understand that restaurants, including fine dining establishments, often operate on thin margins, so if there is an unwitting clientele that wants to pay more for wagyu, then they're simply meeting an existent demand. The well-paid South Bay's white collar tech community likely has the discretionary funds to pay for all of these supplements.
Restaurant Background:
Adega--which means "wine cellar" in Portuguese--opened in 2015 and was awarded San Jose's first Michelin star within ten months of opening. The restaurant's chef, David Costa, was born in Portugal and attended culinary school in Lisbon. Chef Costa's CV includes stints at across Lisbon's fine dining scene in Lisbon, including Restaurant Eleven, Assinatura, and Lisbon's Ritz Four Seasons Hotel. The restaurant emphasizes cooking with traditional Portuguese ingredients that are frequently sourced from Portugal's various regions, although the chef does place the restaurant's dishes in conversation with other cuisines (e.g., Japanese, Indian, French, etc.)
Shortly after being shown to our table, we were served a sampling of amuse bouche. This included some smoked sardine, a crab-filled pastry puff, and traditional bolinhos de bacalao.
Next we were served the bread course, which was a slice of house made sourdough bread, served with peppery green Portuguese olive oil and Azorean butter. I am inclined to believe that this was the first time Azorean butter had graced my palate; it was delicate, sweetly creamy, with just enough saltiness to complement the sourdough. I wanted to eat through an entire loaf of sourdough with that butter.
The first course (not pictured) was squid and calamari tempura, served alongside both homemade tartar sauce and a sesame/soy sauce mixture. It was a fun start to the meal, although a rather forgettable first course.
The second course was the "Alcachofra," which was an artichoke cream soup topped with soft boiled egg yolk and linguica. I'd never had an artichoke soup before, and this was delightful. It felt rich and complex without being overly heavy. The linguica added a necessary textural element to the rest of the liquid broth.
Third course was the "Peixe," which was swordfish with a white wine dill sauce. The waitress came to our table and gingerly placed drops of dill oil around the white bowl. I liked it, personally. I am a huge fan of dill and white wine sauce, but I will say that after the artichoke cream soup in the second course, I felt like the majority of the dishes we'd been served at this point were white colored.
The fourth course was the "Borrego," which was lamb vindaloo with chickpea puree and paratha. Z and I both love lamb, so we'd been looking forward to this dish upon seeing the menu. The presentation here was a bit underwhelming. At the risk of sounding crass, I thought the lamb was shaped into a small tootsie roll, then covered with a brown sludge. The bit of chickpea puree that accompanied it was my least favorite part of the meal. It felt grainy and flavorless, especially when compared to the other flavorful and complex parts of our meal.
I remember enjoying the "Doces" (desserts), although I cannot recall what they were, exactly. I mistimed ordering a dessert wine, since I should have really told the waitstaff during the previous course that I was interested in seeing the restaurant's extensive dessert wine list. Once I'd already eaten the dessert course, I ordered a glass of the Ramos Pintos 30 Year Tawny Port from the Douro. Thankfully, the chef sends out petit fours along with the check, so I was still able to sip the port while enjoying some sweet bites of delicacies such as merengue and a sugary gummy flavored with port wine.
Overall, the restaurant does a fantastic job of showcasing the best Portugal has to offer, while also leaving room for creativity and interpretation. There is a dearth of Portuguese fine dining restaurants in the United States, so it's refreshing to watch a Portuguese chef share a refined take on one of the world's most lauded cuisines. Adega's restaurant staff is also warm and welcoming, which I much prefer over the standoffishness perpetuated by other high-end restaurants. All in all, I'd happily return and encourage others to visit! They also have a more casual sister restaurant, Petiscos, which we plan to try the next time we find ourselves in San Jose.
Photo of Five Wounds Portuguese National Church in San Jose, CA