Valeriano's Ristorante

Valeriano's is an Italian restaurant and bar on Main St. in downtown Los Gatos. The location is decent, but the overall visit left much to be desired. The bread was too hard and most likely a cause of reheating, and the decor was sub par. I ordered the Mixed Green Salad with Mountain Blue Cheese and Caramelized Nuts with a raspberry vinaigrette, and for the main course I ordered a Prosciutto wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Jus. I am not a huge fan of blue cheese, but the salad was nice. The combination of the sweetness from the nuts and the strength of the blue cheese was a nice match, but the salad was entirely too large. I must have left half of it on the plate; of course, that was after eating all the caramelized nuts and raspberries. Next up was the main course which I was eagerly awaiting. Sadly, my expectations were greater than the delivery. The pork was overcooked and had very little flavor. The prosciutto was nice and so was the jus, but the meat itself left much to be desired. After the main course I ordered their Cheesecake for dessert. I would have preferred the lava cake but we were in a hurry (the lava cake takes an additional 10 minutes). The cheesecake epitomized the meal: it was mediocre. Nothing really wrong, but nothing special either. The final opinion on my first visit here is to not to return. With 3 other Great Italian restaurants in Downtown Los Gatos I expected a better showing, but alas it was not to be.



Food: The food was mediocre. The ideas were there, but the execution needs some work.

Wine: The wine list contained a few nice Italian choices, but overall it felt a bit light and with nothing that said, "Must have!". It was also very small.

Service: The waitress I had was not the greatest. It felt like having a diner waitress. I had heard good things about this restaurant so it did surprise me to have such a low class feeling from the start.

Atmosphere: The restaurant itself is inside of a historic building that stood as a bank for many of its years. It was recently remodeled to become what it is today, but it was extremely dark, and the decor was forgettable.

Experience: Overall my experience wasn't great. I would say mediocrity is the one phrase that keeps coming to mind over and over and thats really all there is to say about Valeriano's.


The Numbers

Food............... 5/10
Wine................ 3/10
Service............. 4/10
Atmosphere ...... 6/10
Experience ...... 5/10

Total............... 23/50


Price: $$
Time: 45-75 minutes