It’s no secret that talent attracts talent: everyone wants to be part of a winning team. Talent scouts and proprietors Mike and Denise Thornberry of Tasting House Los Gatos, have assembled one of the finest groups of hospitality professionals in the region to create an experience unlike any other.
From the very start, they invited former Manresa staff stalwarts like Bryan Magday, and Jeffrey Perisho from The Plumed Horse, along with JP (Juan Pablo) Trillo Molina from The Wine Room in Palo Alto, aboard to foster an environment of continual learning and education.
Committed to exploring the finer things in life, including perfect wine and food pairings, the Thornberry’s have encouraged staff to attain their professional goals by furthering their wine education in partnership with David Glancy of the SF Wine School.
With a strong emphasis on sparkling wine from its debut, the Tasting House created the Champagne Bar, becoming the first place in Silicon Valley to exclusively offer Champagne flights. A special bar menu is served from 11:30am until 4pm, Friday and Saturdays, and features caviar, pommes frites, cheeses, Caesar salad, the TH burger and a fried chicken sandwich, created by Executive Chef Julian Silvera.
A rotating selection of hand-selected bubbly, as well as French wines by the glass, are served by Champagne Club Concierge and Certified Sommelier Curtis Cooke and Lead Floor Somm, JP Molina. There is plentiful seating outside on the covered parklet patio, where children are welcome: however, inside seating is for adults only. Molina says a special flight of Champagne made by women winemakers will be served throughout the month of March.
An exquisite tea service is available on Friday and Saturdays, from 11:30am until 2:30pm, with fresh baked breads and sweets from the kitchen, presented by highly trained experts in tea service, including the witty and knowledgeable Taylor Hildreth. Of course, you can opt for Champagne aside – or instead of – your tea. Wear a hat, the fancier the better.
Join the cool crowd for Apéro Hour, from 4pm until 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday, when dinner service begins in the Bistro, from 5pm until 10pm. Bistro menu small plates include trout crudo, smoked sturgeon, mussels, lamb tartare and gigante beans. A full selection of wines and Champagnes is always available, and since they recently acquired a full liquor license, you can relax with a cocktail with your pâté en croûte, or make a full dining evening of it with your grilled seasonal fish, pork chop vadouvan, Flannery steak frites or beef Wellington for two with duxelles.
Most recently, led by GM Mary Martin and Executive Chef Julian Silvera, who were recruited from Michelin star in Miami, they’ve opened the latest fine dining establishment in Los Gatos, Vicinity. The adjacent former beauty salon was transformed into an intimate, tastefully spare space with only four tables, where a 13-course Chef’s menu ($195/pp) provides visually stunning delights, accompanied by flights of local ($120/pp) and international ($145/pp) wines.
Among the recent hires to the expanding team are sommelier Jon Bates, who previously managed the recently shuttered Seabright Social in Santa Cruz, and Chef Ethan Carreon, who you might remember from The Lexington House, where he worked with founder, mixologist extraordinaire and GM Stephen Shelton, from 2021, when he was just 18, until 2025, when Shelton sold the place and moved on to Ethyl’s Fancy in Palo Alto.
Bates, a longtime wine representative who is also a master mycologist, came to Tasting House courtesy of mushrooms. He had been delivering his foraged fungi to Chef Silvera and had also sold them some Italian wines from his portfolio. Then came the moment of kismet.
“Denise (Thornberry) had just visited a Barolo producer that I represent, Azienda Agricola Giacomo Fenocchio, and we had a great chat over a glass of Champagne,” says Bates. “The Chanterelles were popping and my restaurant had just closed.”
Being part of this restaurant just made sense. “Everyone has a somm certificate on the floor, there are people who had worked at Manresa, and they seem to be having a good time,” says Bates. “Plus, I really don’t want to work just anywhere. Their devotion to wine and food and their philosophy aligns with mine.” That magnetic alignment has to be strong, as he commutes from Santa Cruz.
Bates, who acts as the somm when he can, is primarily a floor server, who says his job is to ensure great guest experiences. He especially enjoys working the Champagne Bar. “I love Champagne and have been intimidated by all the styles,” says Bates. “But the staff here is so knowledgeable, and since there are always three different flights available, I am learning a lot.”
Tasting House just applied for a Grand Award from Wine Spectator, and Bates says he has a feeling they are going to get it.
Los Gatos resident, Chef Ethan Carreon lives just down the street. He did a short stint at Ethyl’s Fancy, and let’s just say did not fancy it as a long-term career option. When he discovered the kitchen at Tasting House, he felt an immediate kinship with the staff, many of whom he already knew. “It’s completely different from the family style food we served at Lexington House,” he observes. “The service here is so precise and so detail-oriented, it really keeps me mentally focused. I enjoy all the different aspects of the food preparation and plating.” Although he’s used tweezers before, they get a good workout here, but the results shine with the glow of well-practiced perfection.
Asked what it’s like working with a star chef like Silvera, Carreon smiles thoughtfully as he quickly answers. “It’s like working with myself! Honestly, I never thought that would be possible. We get along really well. He gives me the freedom to do what I want to do. But I do a bit of everything. I don’t mind doing any task I need to, from dishwashing to plating: whatever needs to be done. It’s a lot of work, but I love it.” He says the kitchen team is just great, and they work together in harmony. Quite the opposite of Hell’s Kitchen.
The best part? He doesn’t have to commute. That’s another thing he doesn’t miss about going to Palo Alto. A Los Gatos resident, Carreon can literally walk to work. And, blessedly, back home.
What does he do after a long day in the kitchen, spending 12 to 14 hours or more on his feet? One might expect he’d likely want to go out with friends, but he politely shakes his head. “I really enjoy hanging out with the staff here at the bar after shift: everyone is so nice. It’s fun. And then, honestly, I just want to go home and relax: and sleep.”
