PUERTA DEL SOL
ADDRESS: 668 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123
WEBSITE: https://www.puertadelsol.us/
On one of the nights that my wife Cami was attending the BTS concert at Stanford, I headed down to the San Jose area to meet up with my friends Nate and Ruby. We had found a Spanish tapas restaurant called Puerta del Sol to meet up at, after looking around at different options in the area.
I didn’t have too much experience with Spanish cuisine, so I was excited at the prospect to give it a try, especially authentic paella. The Puerta del Sol menu had 25 different tapas dishes to choose from, made with meats, seafood, or vegetables. It was definitely a bit of a challenge to narrow down which ones we wanted, since quite a few sounded good. After that, it was trying to narrow down which of the paellas from the eight different ones offered that we wanted to try as well.
We managed to narrow down our tapas selections to a mix of all three types they offered: Almejas Gallegas (clams), Pan con Sobrasada (bread with Iberico chorizo spread and honey), Papas Braviolis (Spanish potatoes with brava sauce and aioli), and Pintxos de Ternera (rib eye skewers). As for the paella, at the recommendation of the staff member taking our order (he seemed like he might have been possibly a manager), we chose the Paella de Pluma Ibérica, which was topped with sliced pluma ibérica pork loin, broccolini, and snap peas.
The inside of the restaurant overall felt pretty modern and upscale, with a décor color scheme that leaned more into earth tones. The lighting scheme also helped to accentuate the overall space, providing a warmer color temperature to the atmosphere. We were initially the first group to get seated for dinner when we first arrived, but afterwards, it quickly started to fill up.
It was about 20 minutes before our tapas arrived out to the table. Our appetite had definitely been building up, so the food was a welcome sight. The clams were cooked in a white wine sauce with garlic and parsley, and you could certainly taste that when eating them. The sourdough bread was nice to dip into the broth to soak up some of that flavor as well.
Moving on to the Ibérico chorizo spread, that was definitely not messing around. The chorizo had the deep smoky flavor with a slight kick of spice, and the honey added that subtle sweetness. It definitely hit the right notes for me. We tried the rib eye skewers next, which had been grilled to just the right level, keeping the meat at probably a medium cook level and having a slight bit of char on the outside. The labneh spread that the skewers were served with helped to provide a nice contrast of flavor from the meat itself.
The papas braviolis was the tapas that I had been most interested in (I generally like all things potato-related), and it didn’t disappoint. The triple-cooked potatoes were super crispy, yet maintaining a slightly soft inside. The brava sauce had a nice smoky flavor that mixed together well with the aioli. Of the different tapas that we had ordered, the pintxos de ternera and papas braviolis were probably my top two.
As for the paella, that took some extra time to cook, with the menu indicating at least 30 minutes. The tapas had kept us satisfied until the paella came out, and the three of us were excited to get started. The pluma ibérica definitely lived up to the billing, being super tender and full of umami flavor with each bite. The rice itself was also very rich from being cooked in the chicken broth, but for my taste, it was a little heavy-handed on the salt. I think it might have gotten amplified when combining with the other ingredients on top, which also had their own salt content. Taken altogether, the paella was tasty and very flavorful, but one notch lower on the salt level would have been just right for me.
The visit to Puerta del Sol was an enjoyable dive into Spanish cuisine, with everything that we ate having rich and bold flavors that stood out. The premium ingredients that they use for the dishes definitely seem to be reflected in the pricing for the dishes themselves, so be prepared to spend more on a meal here. If you live in the area and are looking for a taste of Spain, definitely consider Puerta del Sol. It does seem on the popular side though, so reservations might be a good idea.
Let’s now take a look at the Puerta del Sol Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Almejas Gallegas **
Manila clams cooked with white wine, garlic, and parsley sauce. Served with sourdough bread.
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** Pan con Sobrasada **
Toasted Spanish Cristal bread, served with Iberico spread chorizo and honey.
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** Papas Braviolis **
Triple-cooked Spanish potatoes, topped with smoky brava sauce and aioli.
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** Pintxos de Ternera **
3 ribeye meat skewers marinated in sauce and spices, served over labneh.
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** Paella de Pluma Ibérica **
Paella made with rich chicken broth and bomba rice, topped with sliced pluma ibérica, broccolini, and snap peas. Pictured with socarrat (crispy caramelized rice at the bottom of the pan).
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And finally, here are my rankings for Puerta del Sol:
Food: 4.5 / 5
Every one of the dishes that we tried was rich in flavors and tasted great. There are plenty of choices between the tapas, along with the paella, that you’ll likely find something that sounds good to you.
Atmosphere: 4.5 / 5
The earth tones that made up the décor color scheme complemented each other really well, combined with the lighting that helped to provide an overall warm, modern, and upscale feel to the space.
Service: 3.75 / 5
There was an instance during ordering that got slightly awkward when the manager was visibly frustrated at the waitress taking our order, and then took over from her while she was still standing there. We also didn’t have anyone come to give us a new water jug during our meal and had to flag down people multiple times.
Price: 4.25 / 5
The dish pricing does tend to lean on the expensive side, but that seems to be reflective of the premium ingredients that they use. For the overall flavors from the dishes, I thought that it was worth it.
Overall:
17 / 20
(85%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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