How appropriate that Eos & Nyx, the most highly anticipated San Jose restaurant of 2024, sits in the middle of one of downtown’s arts and theater districts.
This place is a show-stopper.
Credit the entrepreneurial trio of Dan Phan, George Lahlouh and Johnny Wang, who also own the nearby hotspots MiniBoss, PaperPlane, Still O.G. and Alter Ego, for transforming nearly 4,000 square feet over two levels into signature dining for developer Urban Catalyst’s Paseo project.
The name drives the concept. Eos is the Greek goddess of the dawn; Nyx is the goddess of night. “Our vision is to craft a unique dining journey that transitions from the warmth of day to the allure of night,” Phan told the Bay Area News Group, and to do that via California-inspired Mediterranean cuisine and captivating restaurant design.
Eos & Nyx, scheduled to open to the public Nov. 20, is situated in one of downtown San Jose’s arts and theater districts. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
We stopped by during the day and also at night for the team’s “family and friends” events, which function as dress rehearsals for the chefs, bartenders and servers. The restaurant will open to the public at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.
Here’s our First Look:
THE VIBE: There’s a fresh, appealing vibe during the day. At night, the dining room scene is chic and sophisticated, the bar buzzy and exciting.
THE LOOK: Eos & Nyx is a stunner. Designed by Basile Studios of San Diego and constructed by the Bay Area’s R3 Builders, the restaurant features 20-foot-high ceilings, indoor trees and other greenery, natural tones and cool design features. The most striking element — visible to passersby on Second Street and on the Paseo — will be the lighted floor-to-ceiling conveyor belt of spirits.
Executive chef Nicko Moulinos’ marinated Double-Cut Lamb Chops are finished on the Eos & Nyx grill, covered in an onion soubise and drizzled with an umami-rich jus. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
THE LOCATION: Eos & Nyx sits on a prime Paseo Plaza corner, directly across from the Hammer Theatre Center, the university-run entertainment venue; just down the street from 3Below Theaters, which offer a mix of live theater, first-run movies, indie flicks and sing-along nights; and a short walk to the grand California Theatre and the SoFA district’s music venues.
The VTA light-rail line is steps away, and close-by parking can be found at the city’s Pavilion Garage and Park SJ Second and San Carlos Streets Garage (both with 90 minutes of free parking) as well as the open-air lot next to the Hammer.
THE FOOD: Born in Jersey and raised in Corfu, Greece, executive chef Nicko Moulinos brings professional training from the Culinary Institute of America and a deep resume — Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin, Palo Alto’s Taverna and Los Gatos’ Dio Deka — to his interpretations of Greek, Spanish, Italian, French and North African cuisines.
From the open kitchen’s wood-fire grill come steaks, chops and seafood: A lemon-pepper Bone-In Pork Chop with lemon-pepper aioli ($45), Daurade en Papillote with sauce Grenobloise ($57) and a Half Chicken with sumac pickles and an herb-pinenut salad ($39).
Pastas are made by hand. The inaugural menu offers Pappardelle with duck and spinach ($35), a Lobster Tagliatelle ($54) and Rigatoni with tomato, champignon and sweet peppers ($32).
At Eos & Nyx, “Everything” Carrots is executive chef’s riff on nose-to-tail cooking. For this vegetarian dish, he uses all parts of the carrot, from the root to the peels to the top. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
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Shareables range from “Everything” Carrots ($17) and Brussels tossed with chile honey, tomato and pickled onions ($16) to Octopus with cipollini onions ($22) and a Tagine Stew of Prawns with saffron ($21).
Brunch features a wildly inventive array. The Crabbed Out ($27) omelet is a folded, French-style number filled with Peekytoe crab and topped with yuzu trout roe from Northern California’s Tsar Nicoulai Caviar. The dish called Plan B … runch ($21) tops a parmesan-rich polenta with smoked mushrooms, egg and bacon jam. The Friends with Benedicts ($22) gilds the lily with a brown-butter hollandaise.
And Moulinos broadens the influences past the Mediterranean to include a riff on Hawaiian loco moco and a Vietnamese version of steak and eggs.
Diners will find whimsy on the dessert menu too. The quotations on “Lemon Pie” ($13) offer a visual cue that this is a deconstructed lemon meringue pie. Surprisingly, it arrives at the table looking quite well constructed — until a waiter whacks the crisp meringue circle on top with a spoon, cracking it into shareable bites and revealing a lemon custard, cookie crumbles and blueberries.
Other sweets lean into the Med focus: There’s a chocolate-hazelnut Budino with butterscotch ($14) and a plate of Loukomades ($15), the Greek beignets, topped with pecans, thyme honey and creme anglaise.
Locally owned and roasted Academic Coffee supplies the java.
THE DRINKS: In keeping with the morning and night ethos, beverage director Ryan Ota has created two cocktail menus; all drinks are priced at $17. The brunch list features light, refreshing options like the Strawberry Spumoni, a frothy concoction of bitter aperitivo, strawberry, grapefruit and tonic. Naturally, there’s a Greek riff on that morning classic: The Bloody Athena is made with harissa and “a blend of exotic spices.”
The Neon Medusa cocktail at Eos & Nyx is a complex combination of yuzu liqueur, ouzo, pomegranate, rhubarb, fennel and tobacco bitters. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
The main cocktail list features both the approachable and the adventurous. The Racing Silks cocktail, for example, takes the classic whiskey smash to another level with the addition of prune brandy and peach, Ota said. The already-popular Neon Medusa is a complex combination of yuzu liqueur, ouzo, pomegranate, rhubarb, fennel and tobacco bitters.
For after dinner, bartender Katie Dossett recommends Eye of the Beholder, a cocktail developed by Lahlouh. This creamy, sophisticated blend of olive liqueur, vanilla, cream and egg white is finished with drops of olive oil.
The chic, contemporary bar at Eos & Nyx offers two menus of craft cocktails — one for brunch (offered all day on Sundays) and one for dinner. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
Selections from Europe and California populate the smartly curated wine list, with glasses from $14 to $24. Local craft beers round out the offerings.
DON’T MISS: For the Lamb Chops entree ($58), Moulinos serves two hefty double-cut chops that have been marinated in white wine and mustard and finished on the grill. He coats them with a French onion soubise and drizzles them with a decadent, intense jus that’s six days in the making. Confit potatoes come on the side.
GOOD TO KNOW: Sunday is a brunch-only affair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Eos & Nyx team, from left, executive chef Nicko Moulinos, Ron Bonifacio, Esther Kim, Ryan Ota, Dan Phan and George Lahlouh. (Patricia Chang for Eos & Nyx)
DETAILS: Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. On both Friday and Saturday, brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. The Sunday hours are as above. 201 S. Second St,, San Jose; reservations, menus at www.eosnyxsj.com.