Flowers Saratoga is a lively and visually stunning restaurant with an inventive menu and…read morebeautifully handcrafted cocktails. It's absolutely the kind of place designed to impress for a special occasion, with a price point that reflects the experience. The service was warm, energetic, and welcoming from start to finish, beginning with the front desk and continuing through the attentive staff at our table. Every appetizer felt like a conversation piece, taking familiar ingredients and presenting them in creative ways with unexpected textures and flavor combinations. One standout dish featured burrata stuffed inside a hollowed out tomato, which was both clever and genuinely fun to eat. The misoyaki cod was an exceptional interpretation of the classic miso cod, perfectly prepared and deeply flavorful. For dessert, the panna cotta with raspberry sauce was easily my favorite, light, silky, and the perfect ending to the meal. Overall, it was a fantastic dining experience and a memorable night out.

4-5 stars for the food, 10 stars for the service (if I could!). Big shout out to Amanda! If I were…read morethe owner I'd send her to French laundry because you're not going to find other wait staff that's this fantastic. Flowers has the perfect mix of beautiful decor, Michelin level service, and great food without the stuffiness of a snooty, Michelin restaurant. This is what we ordered: Salmon nigiri - 5/5 soo good! There could have been a tad more salmon but it was so fresh. Seriously more fresh and buttery than the sushi restaurant down the street. Tuna tacos - 5/5 my favorite! Crispy wonton tacos stuffed with fresh tuna, along with creamy wasabi and sriracha aioli. Miso Cod - 4/5 this would be soo good but the miso was so salty. Maybe it was an off night. For cocktails, hummingbird was so delish - not too sweet and like with everything else, the presentation was top notch.

Came to Los Gatos and was pleasantly surprised by the bars in the area. Soda Works is a large area…read morewith both seating inside and outdoors. Their specialty drinks makes the place stand out. There's a menu of different beverages available. What I enjoyed is that each has its own presentation. The camera came on a rotator so it spun around. If you look through the lens, there's an image made out of rice paper. The other one we ordered came in its own bathtub. Of course I had to take the litto duckie home with me! Well worth it and would like to visit again. Service was really friendly, knowledge, and helpful. Shoutout to Wi for the great experience and offering me a pen. Glad we had him as our server!

Thank you so much, Jason--I really appreciate you taking the time to personally reach out and for…read morethe thoughtful response. It genuinely means a lot to feel heard and taken seriously. Your message came across as sincere, and I respect the accountability and care you're putting into the guest experience. That kind of ownership speaks volumes. I'm grateful for the way you handled the situation and for the effort to make things right. It definitely gives me a different perspective, and I'm looking forward to coming back and giving Soda Works another try. Thanks again for the kindness and professionalism--it did not go unnoticed.

Came here with my wife and a couple of friends. This place was recommended by our friends. Great…read morerec!! Staff is so friendly and attentive. Our server had a great personality and was fun. The dining area is spacious. Even with lots of tables, the space didn't feel cramped. There's a mechanical burger station against the wall too. Someone ordered a burger so I was able to see it in action. That was fun to watch. Everything we ordered, from the small bites to the dessert, was excellent! Rice Bites was tasty, and the rice had a good crunch. Truffle Fries was good, though I've had better. Caesar Salad was good as well. Shake'n Beef was tender with good flavor. As You Wish - the chicken was moist and delicious. The Ube sticky rice gave the dish a nice sweetness. Couch Potato cocktail paired well with the As You Wish entree. The chocolate dessert (can't remember the name) was very rich. Have with coffee. The banana dessert (can't remember the name either) was very good. Too easy to eat, very light and not too sweet. I will definitely be returning!

- Taste of food is actually good. I think whoever cooks got their skills…read more - Service could be really improved. We waited quite a while waiting to put our order in. After a long waiting, we had to call a random waiter to order. Then we waited a long time to get our check. And nobody came to check in while we were eating. - Atmosphere feels cheap. It's those places where you can feel whoever designed the space tried to give luxurious vibe but failed. Feels all over the place and I don't like it. Robot burger adds to this feeling. - Overall including the atmosphere, the place feels gimmicky. Name of each menu could be more straight forward, plating of the dishes can be lighter, that robot burger machine can go away. - While the food wasn't bad due to everything else, I don't think I will be coming back.

Such a good experience at this little restaurant. Pretty small - with a few tables outside and some…read moreseating and a bar inside. We made a reservation, and were seated right away. They have a great wine list and I tried their Mardini gin cocktail. We started with the Meze combo - a variety of small plates served with pita bread on the side. They were delicious and allowed us to taste a bunch of small dishes. The seabass was my favorite dish (Lavraki) - well seasoned, perfectly cooked, and cake with asparagus, carrots, and some potatoes. The lamb chops were good and came with a pilaf and some veggies as well. Overall, really impressed with the food and the plating stood out. Will be back for sure!

Really wanted to love this place! the vibe is great and the food is genuinely good. Everything we…read moreordered was flavorful and well done. That said, it's very overpriced for what you get. Portions are small and the bill doesn't quite match the experience. Ambiance is cute (the decor is gorgeous) and service was solid, so it's a nice spot for a date or special occasion (I was there with a group) but not somewhere I'd go regularly.

Good drinks and service…read more Pisco sours were good! Bread pudding with lucuma ice cream 5/5 Never had this ice cream before, it was delicious. The bartender was happy to accommodate our preferences. Live music set up a nice mood.

This has been one of our local go-to spots for years. Good food, interesting South American wines,…read morenice Pisco -- what could be bad. We were sadly disappointed on Thursday night, though. We have eaten here many times, but the quality of the food has really suffered since our last meal. We have always loved the octopus starters here. It was originally served with avocado and then became a "causa" (a Peruvian layered potato dish), but the octopus was always very tender and flavorful. This time it was almost inedible -- tough and chewy. It seemed like the formerly excellent European octopus was subbed with local raw octopus, and precooked with no knowledge of how to prepare this ingredient. The arroz con mariscos contained more of the same badly prepared octopus, and very overcooked squid -- also tough and rubbery. The texture of the rice was not as it had been in the past either. It really seems that a change in the kitchen has lost their way. We may try once again in the future to see if it was just a badly off night, but I'm not hopeful.

Larry delivered one of the most exceptional table-side experiences I've ever has, so much so that…read morethis is the first review I've ever felt compelled to write. True hospitality can sometimes feel like a lost art, but Larry was a refreshing reminder of what genuine service looks like. His attention to detail, intuitive timing, warm presence, and thoughtful recommendations elevated the entire dining experience without ever feeling intrusive. He anticipated needs before we even had to ask and created a sense of ease that allowed us to fully enjoy the evening. Larry represents the very best of the industry: professional, gracious, and deeply committed to guest experience. He is a bright light of hope for what hospitality can and should be. Thank you, Larry, for reminding us how meaningful great service truly is.

This is a great spot for drinks or a meal. I've been there for their happy hour and you can get…read moreexcellent discounts on wine, drinks, and small plates to proper meals. Their menu is small but each item is intentional and clearly has a lot of thought put into it I went there for brunch this weekend and I loved everything. They have a great loaded chicken salad sandwich with avocado and bacon. It comes on its own if you're not feeling super hungry, but of course I opted to add a very generously sized pile of show string fries to my meal. We tried 4 of their brunch cocktails and all of them were excellent; the basil punch, Hugo spritz, peach Bellini, and another drink that I can't remember the name of that had gin. All of the cocktails were well balanced with bright citrus, a decent amount of liquor, and not too sweet. My favorite was the basil punch, which tasted like a very elevated limeade. Definitely recommend sitting on their large patio, the restaurant is called park side for a reason! If it's too hot or one of the few rainy days in California, they have ample seating inside as well. The service was excellent and our servers were friendly, attentive, and offered to bring things like additional condiments without us having to ask.

We had a great time at Dar. Came here for dinner with friends. It's a quaint place and literally in…read morea building that looks like a "house,"which is what "Dar" translates to in Arabic! The server who helped us was very knowledgeable and friendly. The food is definitely what stole the show. The date kufta appetizer was absolutely delicious and the ground beef balls just melted in your mouth. Same with the lamb meatballs and lamb shank, just delicious! All of the food had perfect seasoning, zest for the marinara sauce, and great overall flavor palette. The only thing was that the food did take quite a while to come out, which ended up being fine because our group had more time to talk and catch up. It's definitely a place you can spend a couple of hours at wining and dining. Highly recommend!

We went for a work dinner. We ordered an assortment of appetizers and main courses. The food was…read moregood, but the service was very slow and weird. When we sat down, nobody talked to us for a while. We had to flag the waiter to order drinks, then again food. He left in the middle of the food order and we had to call him back to finish ordering appetizers. He left again before we could order mains. We eventually ordered everything. All appetizers came out, food was nice. Later all main dishes came out except for one, they said it should come out soon, which was 20+ minutes... the overall experience wasn't great, but the food was good

3.5 stars A cool…read morespot in downtown Los Gatos. The inside is stylish but casual / unpretentious. I didn't get a chance to take pictures here! The food was high quality and beautifully plated. Portions were large too. We started with a couple of spritz (Aperol and Limoncello) - they were humongous, sweet, and refreshing. -Shishito Peppers: These were just okay. They came with a cool black paste thing. Pasta: -Gnocchi -Parpadelle and Ragu The pastas were both great! Dessert: -Basque Cheesecake I don't remember the prices and they also weren't on the website, oops! I think things were on the pricey side though.

After the change in ownership, the restaurant unfortunately feels like it has lost some of what…read moreonce made it special. To be fair, we visited for Mother's Day lunch, so the menu was understandably more limited than usual. Still, the overall experience felt much more casual compared to when I used to come here 12 or so years ago, when it had a more elevated and refined atmosphere. The service staff seemed fairly inexperienced, the interior decor now feels a bit dark and dated, and the food portions were surprisingly small. The food itself was good overall, but the limited selection was disappointing and left us wanting more variety. I may give their dinner service another try sometime down the road, but for now, I probably won't be returning anytime soon.

Wow! Everything was so good here and the service was amazing too. The owner took the time to…read moreexplain to us the inspiration behind the dishes and that really made the restaurant super inviting. We started with the crab crostini and the Brussels sprouts. The crab was very fresh and each crostini had a large portion of crab on top. The Brussels sprouts were very crispy and very umami with the cheese and bacon combination mixed in. The empanada was honestly a showstopper. I don't know how to describe it other than you have to try it. Both pastas were good but I prefer the mushroom one over the short rib ragu. The halibut was also good, and the basil sauce made it even better. I was already super impressed with everything but I think the stars were the 2 desserts. The Dubai cheesecake was an Italian style cheesecake, so it was a lot lighter than I was expecting (which was welcomed) and captured the essence of Dubai chocolate without being too overwhelming. The Lira in Wonderland was also SO good. It had a crown of cotton candy and was a mix of biscoff cookies, dehydrated red velvet cake (don't knock it till you try it), butterscotch sauce, and strawberries. I was honestly blown away by this meal.

This was supposed to be a special birthday dinner date that my husband meticulously planned for me,…read morebut it turned into the most horrendous dining experience I've ever had. We dined at Lira on November 14th. The Service (or Lack Thereof): The Menu Shortage: We arrived for our 6:45 PM reservation only to be told by the manager that they didn't have enough menus. We were told they'd bring them "later." Ignored for 35+ Minutes: We sat with nothing but water for over half an hour. To make matters worse, a table of six was seated after us and received their full entrees while we were completely ignored. The Drink Mess: After 40 minutes, the server told me they were out of ingredients for my drink. When I picked a second option, she tried to insist I wanted a drink with celery (my most despised vegetable). We thankfully stopped her before it was made, but the incompetence was staggering. The Food Fiasco: An hour into our reservation, someone dropped off a scallop dish. A while later, a server asked if I'd "received the scallops yet," and I realized the plate I was eating wasn't even intended for our table. We were so starving that my husband and I just shared them. Once we finished, the server finally asked my husband if he "still wanted his meal or if he wanted to cancel it." I finally lost my cool - of course he still wanted his dinner! The Aftermath: My husband didn't realize that my friends had actually made a separate reservation to take me back to this same spot the following night for a second birthday celebration. After this performance, there was no way I was going to step foot in this building again or give them another cent of our money. I texted my friends from the table to cancel those reservations and book elsewhere. With service this disorganized and insulting, this restaurant won't be in business long. Super disappointing. Don't waste your special occasions here. *Edit - it looks like Lira has closed. With the service we experienced, I am not surprised in the slightest. I am hopeful that whichever future business occupies this space is more successful.

Jocelyn was a great server and have us good recommendations! The drinks were really good tooread more

Gian Carlo was the best! He served our group of 5 women and really made it a memorable experience…read more He even did the splits! It was super impressive. Good vibes all around.