A solid 4 star, approaching 4.5 star…read more
We had a birthday dinner celebration this Saturday night. The fact that the restaurant is in the heart of San Jose downtown poses pros and cons. It is a great place for bar crawlers and party goers, but in the day where we ran into a Sharks game, a $25 parking fee is an unavoidable loss.
Eos & Nyx is big and pretty, it's hard to miss. The huge glass walls, green plants inside that reminds you of RH Roof are pleasant. The bars are beautiful, the tables are set elegantly. We were seated upstairs, the only thing I wish was a restroom upstairs, but the bar there was beautiful and we had less traffic, which was nice. I also like that each of the restroom stall has its own sink and paper towels. All they missed is a mirror, which was covered in the public areas of the restroom.
Service was good. Upon checking in, we were warmly greeted by the hosts and the farewell was also proper. Brian took good care of us; introducing the menu, refilling water, small talks, clearing dirty dishes and replacing them before the next entree, everything is a check mark done right. I also got a card signed by the team to wish a happy birthday. Through and through, they presented the birthday wish warm and well.
As for food, I like the options on the menu. Plenty of sharable choices, big plates for pasta, meat, pizza and also lots of drink choices. Even 0 proof has some fancy options.
We ordered Hamachi Crudo, Leafy Things (Spinach / endive / strawberry / halloumi / pecans), and Scallops (Hokkaido scallops / legumes / wasabi / turnip / gremolata) from Sharable. Then we followed Brian's recommendation and picked Rigatoni (Short rib ragu / pecorino romano / peas / carrot) and N.Y. Strip 12 Oz (Celeriac espuma / black garlic / bone marrow reduction) for entrees. We wrapped it up with a Tahini & Caramel ice cream for dessert.
The Hamachi Crudo tasted fresh and it has avocado mesh but a tad too much lemon juice for me. The Leafy Things was huge, but I think they replaced the spinach with cabbage and it was a tad too bitter. The chunky grilled halloumi cheese was a hit for the kid. The Scallops were pan-fried well, I didn't like the tangerine wedges in the dish and the wasabi was a bit too subtle. Our favorite was the Rigatoni, good balance of short ribs, el dente pasta and the right portion to share. We were disappointed at the NY Strip. It was sliced out for us, which was convenient, but I tasted some soft bones on the outskirt and the kid complained it was burned; maybe the charcoal flavor was too strong. What I didn't like the most was the unevenness of the sauce. Some bites we had a strong spicy kick while some bites were mild. This made the sweet potato puree tasted excellent. The ice cream was ok, nothing to write home about, in comparison, I prefer vanilla more as the tahini and caramel were too grounded and lacking that distinct piercing hard to forget aroma.
In between dishes they brought in refreshments to cleanse our palates. I like the cucumber water, but both were pretty good.
We also ordered a glass of Syrah which was good, blended well with the food and a glass of Mount Vesuvius (Santa teresa 1796 rum / passionfruit / pineapple / coconut / strawberry). The Mount Vesuvius tasted very sweet, just like pina colada.
All and all, we enjoyed the night and left with an overstuffed stomach. I would do a girls night here as well, which is what the ambiance calls for.