by Meg Cieply Peterson
About a year and a half ago, Bay Area chef John Bentley opened his first restaurant in Woodside's original old firehouse. On the outside, the 75-year old building is as quaint as its environs. On the inside, it is an upbeat, intimate dining experience with a contemporary American menu that isn't afraid to have fun with flavors. There is nothing stuffy about dining at John Bentley's. It is casual, yet elegant enough that you wouldn't be out of place in a necktie. And it is intimate. The scant 19 tables are divided between two rooms, one narrow, woodsy and cheery with a spray of flowers and leaf and vine-patterned chairs, the other an outdoor covered patio that opens to dining al fresco come summer.
On the evening we were there, the service was impeccable. Our water glasses and bread basket were kept fresh, and our waiter was friendly, knowledgeable about the food, and had a great sense of humor. Better yet, he also had that uncanny knack for appearing and disappearing at all the right moments.
Throughout the menu, a medley of fruits, nuts and vegetables coalesce to complement main dishes and appetizers that range from the surprising to the sublime. Take, for example, the vegetable Napoleon, an appetizer comprised of sauted apples, caramelized shallots, Portobello mushrooms, cumin-scented spinach and roasted red bell peppers. It's served with a tomato vinaigrette ($8.95). Or the avocado and grapefruit salad, served with a citrus-chive vinaigrette ($7.95). The menu abounds with such daring, or at the least, colorful creations.
We tried the house-cured gravlax, served with a mustard-dill sauce and potato crisps ($8.95). This dish came with the thinnest slivers of salmon, a healthy garnish of capers and chopped red onion, and a tangy smooth mustard sauce that complemented the excellent gravlax. The evening we were there, John Bentley's was not serving potato crisps with the dish but instead served rounds of crisp toast. This was better, our waiter assured us. More Scandinavian. Less like potato chips. We didn't complain.
The salad of hearts of romaine lettuce, shaved asiago and Caesar dressing ($6.95) is nice and crisp, if a bit heavy on the Parmesan cheese. The dressing, however, is a wonderful interplay of flavors, neutral with salty, light with strong. Do not reach for the salt shaker with this salad. It is blended from scratch with the signature flavor of anchovies throughout. If you'd like a few more of them on top, you'll have to ask. The leafs of lettuce are utterly fresh. The portion is more than adequate for one. (Splitting a salad at John Bentley's adds $1 to the tab. Splitting an entree adds $3).
There is a little of everything on the entree menu: fish, seafood, poultry, lamb, beef, veal, venison and pasta including a nice artichoke and caramelized onion ravioli ($15.95) for the vegetarian. The lone poultry dish being offered, roasted breast of capon, served with a truffle cream and butternut squash gratin ($16.95) is a gem of a meal. When this dish arrived, I became immediately aware of the fact that presentation at John Bentley's is nearly as important as flavor. The meal was served with two spears of cabbage leaves wrapped around julienned strips of fresh carrot and asparagus, a wonderfully fresh, non-buttery complement to the succulent, generously portioned capon.
The accompanying butternut squash gratin was delightful to look at, resembling little slices of stained glass window on my plate embedded with gold. The taste was a bit of a disappointment for me though, primarily because I am not one to mix sweets with main courses as this one did. The true star of this dish, though, was the capon. It was extraordinarily tender and juicy in a lightly salt-encrusted skin.
Another winning dish at John Bentley's is the macadamia nut-crusted sea bass served with mango salsa ($18.95). Bentley, who creates most of the dishes on the menu, says he was inspired by a visit to Hawaii for this one. This wonderful fish fresh from Chilean waters was given the hint of the exotic by its mouth-watering crust of macadamia nuts. Ultra moist, it flaked off in tender chunks on the fork, and was not drenched in butter or oils of any sort. Served with a sweet-tart mango salsa, there was a playfulness and a lightness to this dish that fits with John Bentley's philosophy of leaning toward the piquant instead of relying on butter and cream for flavor.
When it comes to dessert, this is one restaurant in which you don't have to resort to chocolate in order to feel sinful or indulgent. The restaurant's signature dessert, warm apple tart with sun-dried cherry ice cream ($6.95) shouldn't be missed. Bentley says he came up with the idea for this dessert a few years ago, and as far as I'm concerned, it could be the way he established his following. I cannot imaging a simpler, more beautiful tart than this warm circle of pastry encrusted with slim slivers of apple topped with a scoop of very rich cherry ice cream.
Not to short change the chocolate, though. The chocolate torte with vanilla rum sauce and espresso cream ($6.95) was a deep rich chocolate bathed in a lighter espresso cream that made a very nice ending to a very good meal.
The restaurant is always humming so you'll need to make weekend reservations two or three weeks in advance, although things soften up some during the week. And John Bentley's has an equally interesting lunch menu full of sandwiches, entrees, salads and starters.
John Bentley's Restaurant 2991 Woodside Road, Woodside, 851-4988.
Hours: Tuesday-Friday lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Tuesday-Sunday dinner 5-9 p.m.
Highlights: Great service, flavorful combinations, varied menu
Atmosphere: Casually elegant, intimate dining
About the owner: John Bentley opened his first restaurant in Woodside about 18 months ago, but he has held numerous apprentice and chef positions since graduating from the California Culinary Academy 14 years ago. He has worked at the Lipizzaner in San Francisco, Clift Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, was executive chef at Michael's in Sunnyvale and was executive chef at the Los Altos Bar and Grill for six years. He and sous chef Ron Estill share responsibility for creating the menus.
Reservations - yes Credit cards - yes Parking - yes Beer and wine only - yes Takeout - no Banquet - no Wheelchair access - yes Non-smoking - yes Highchairs - yes Outdoor seating - yes
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