Oak & Rye, Los Gatos - 8/2014

Oak & Rye is a small casual restaurant located in Los Gatos, Ca. The California-Italian restaurant and pizzeria has quickly become a Los Gatos hot spot, combining casual service, top-flight seasonal ingredients with a neighborhood approach. Their main focus is on pizza and small plates. The menu is limited but most of the dishes we tried were close to perfection.

The name Oak & Rye came is inspired by the oak-powered oven and the other half comes from the rye whiskey that features heavily on the cocktails list.

Coincidently Tuan's mom used to run a bakery by the name of "La maison du croissant in the 80's at this same location.

The restaurant is always full and they do not take reservations.  Come early before 6:00/6:30Pm in order to get a table or expect to wait from 30minutes to 2 hours.

The front of the restaurant

 

The restaurant is a split level with 2 tiny dinning rooms so in order to accommodate more guests they created a front patio with a bunch of tables.

 

More views of the restaurants.

 

This is the 1st dining area in the lower level features light wood tables and banquettes, rustic copper light fixtures and an eclectic mix of décor from shabby-chic mirrors to a collage of album covers. As soon as you walk in the atmosphere is vibrant and energetic.  The bar is at the end of the room with a handful of community tables and a standing-room-only waiting area on the opposite side facing the street. 

 

The is the 2nd dining room situated on a higher level (you have to climb about 4 to 5 steps up to get up).  At the end of the room you can a large wood-fired oven covered in more than $100 worth of pennies that were applied painstakingly by hand.

 

Closer look of the oven with all the pennies.

There are approximately about 10, 000 pennies that hand glued to the oven...

 

Cocktails, Beer, and Wine list.

The wine list  is predominantly Italian with plenty of good value - $13 for an 8 oz glass of wine served in quartino (quart)

 

Hoa starting the meal with a Lovely Loretta cocktail: Tequilla, lemon, Orange Liquor, roasted Jalapeno syrup.

The menu is divided into 4 sections:1-Tiny, 2- Small, 3- Large, and 4- Pizza

In the TINY section on the menu there are 3 items and we ordered 2 of 3

 

Olives, Aleppo Pepper, Lemon—($4)

The olives are served warm.  They salty, a bit spicy and perfect with a cold beer.

 

Hoa really like them!

They served water in a recycled Rye whiskey bottle.

 

Pretzel, Beer Cheese, Whole Grain Mustard—$6

 

The pretzels are made at the restaurant.  They are fresh, warm, and simply delicious.

 

In the SMALL section of then menu there are 10 selections.

We selected the Heirloom Tomato, Burrata, Basil Oil, Balsamic, Fried Caper—($12)

Tomatoes are in season right now so they so sweet and delicious.  The burrata is fresh and just melted in our mouth.

 

Hot Wings, Blue Cheese($10)

 

Typical American finger food and Hoa love this dish with a cold glass of beer

 

Gnocchi, Pork Sausage, Kale—($10)

 

This is by far the best dish on the menu.  The gnocchi are so flavorful, the sauce is yummy and we just can never have enough of this dish.

Make to order this dish when you are there.

 

Spicy Pork Meatballs, Tomato, Celery($11)

 

Simple but delicious!

 

In the LARGE section we selected Mary's Half Chicken, Kale, Lemon($18)

This chicken is really amazing!

The skin is crispy giving way to a juicy meat with an almost velvet texture.

 

They brined the chicken cooked it to perfection and you end up with a juicy an flavorful piece of chicken.

This is a must order dish!\ when you dine at Oak & Rye

 

In the Pizza section the Scotty 2 Hottie (Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, Sopressata, Tim’s Honey, Pepperoncini Oil), and the Commissioner Gordon (Neuske’s Bacon, Arugula, Tomato, Cheddar) are their best seller.  We tried them all and my favorite one is the TMT.

TMNT Tomato, Mozzarella, Oregano, Chili Flake, Caciocavallo, Parmigiano, Salametto Piccante- ($15)

MargheritaTomato, Basil, Mozzarella, Olive Oil -($12)

Classic, simple and very flavorful

 

Desserts

 

Dessert options are few with actually only 3 choices

 

Freshly brewed coffee.

I love to end my meal with a hot cup of coffee and dessert.

 

Pot de crème  - ($8)

 

Their pot the creme is very light and really delicious.  A perfect way to end a meal.

 

We have been to Oak & Rye at least a dozen times and every single meal there was enjoyable.   There a few dishes that did not make the cut such as their steaks and salmon dish so I did not include them in here.  Oak & Rye is a small restaurant so they cannot accommodate large group (6 maximum) and they do not take reservation.  In order to get in you should  get there early (before 6:30PM) to get a table, after that expect to wait at least an hour or more.  All their staff members take really good care of their customers. The ambiance if friendly, casual, very relax, and down to earth. The food is really good so if you are in the neighborhood give them a try:

Oak & Rye

Address: 303 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030

Phone:(408) 395-4441

oakandryepizza.com

 

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