Had a quick lunch at Portola Kitchen in Portola Valley. Guillaume Bienaime, most recently of Zola and formerly of Marche, used to run the place. Now under a new chef, I am curious to see how the food is.
Lumache con pesto e salsiccia- Pasta is housemade. Came with what tasted like fennel-basil sausage, pesto from kale, chili flakes & pecorino. The pasta had a bit of good chew. Though preferred it to be cooked half a minute less and a little more firm. The pesto, cool and savory at the same time, coated the lumache generously. Preferred it to have a bit more herbs in the taste though overall the dish tasted pretty nice to me. Apples to oranges but I like this lumache better than the one at Vina Enoteca.
The house bread was bland and unremarkable, though its good for mopping up the pesto.
For those who work/ live near 280, this seems like it can be a decent option since restaurants are sparse nearby. Though this comment is obviously based on a very limited sample size. Price reflects what the local demographics is willing to bear.
Has anyone been recently?
