When diners click on the Strata website to make dinner reservations at downtown San Jose’s newest upscale restaurant — opening May 13 — they’ll be deciding on more than a time slot.
They’ll be selecting from two chef-driven menus and dining experiences.
Choose the bar/lounge, and you’ll order from a menu that includes shareables. The inaugural dishes range from crab lumpia and steak tartare to a seasonal seafood tower and caviar service, with extensive wine and cocktail lists.
Choose the main dining room for a seasonal prix fixe menu from executive chef Roberto Mendoza that will change more often than the seasons do — every six to eight weeks. Highlights from the menu preview include main dish creations such as rockfish with shaved squash and nasturtium pesto and a chicken roulade with asparagus.
That’s the dual concept created by M.O. Hospitality, the culinary group that took over the large space formerly occupied by Rollati Ristorante. They’re the well-known restaurateurs and bar owners behind downtown San Jose’s Eos & Nyx, with its eclectic menu and showstopping design, along with the popular Paper Plane, Miniboss and Alter Ego/Still OG.
Co-owner Dan Phan explained the culinary thinking that led to the name Strata: (pronounced Stray-tuh):
“Strata comes from the geological term for layers formed over time. The idea resonated with us because the restaurant is designed to evolve,” he told the Mercury News. “Each rotating menu becomes a new layer shaped by seasonality, technique and creative exploration. Over time, those layers build a body of work that reflects growth and refinement, while hospitality remains the constant foundation.”
The nearly 7,000-square-foot space they have taken over at Fourth and Santa Clara streets, at the base of the upscale Miro residential towers, offers window views of the postmodern City Hall dome and tower as well as the Sonic Runway art installation.
The swanky Rollati opened there with much fanfare in the fall of 2023. It was the first contemporary Italian concept for Vine Hospitality, the parent company of the Bay Area’s best-known group of French bistros, Left Bank.
The closure came less than two years later, with the owners saying they had decided to “refocus resources on our original San Jose locations” — Left Bank Brasserie, LB Steak and Meso Modern Mediterranean, all located at Santana Row.
Details: Strata will serve six nights a week, Mondays-Saturdays, starting at 5 p.m., at 181 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose; stratasj.com
