Dio Deka
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sat 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sun 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Sun 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Valet
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
159 reviews
Campbell, CA
"***This review must begin with a mandatory ginormous rave for Jenna, the adorable hostess. She is absolutely charming and witty and…" read more »
110 Reviews for Dio Deka
It was absolutely delicious! The ambiance of this restaurant is great. Possibly the most memorable thing about Dio Deka is the presentation. The wine list rocked. It was the perfect place to celebrate my promotion.
The lamb is fantastic. For appetizers get the silogi with flatbread and the spicy feta cheese spread. Yum!
4 of us went to dinner for my birthday and absolutely LOVED this place. The food was delicious, portions were good, and the owner was absolutely dialed in for my special day. He treated us so great. Made sure we were happy with everything and even complimented our table with some rare expensive after-dinner shots, along with a birthday dessert for yours truly!
"Fine Hellenic Cuisine." A friend and I randomly decided to go some place nice, so I found Dio Deka on Yelp, despite not knowing what Hellenic Cuisine entailed. The menu features Mediterranean/Greek-style food, but with some more Americanized entrees. Must have: the grass-fed lamb. It was absolutely delicious! I ordered the sea bass, while my friend had the lamb, and I had entree-envy all night after tasting his lamb. Despite being a shwanky restaurant, the entree portions were quite hefty too. The service was quick and thorough. We noticed that they always had multiple waiters serving/cleaning our table at the same time, which made them fast and efficient. Overall, a very nice place to enjoy a fancy dinner.
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Remarkable place! All I can really say is that this place has great service and a truly memorable meal...
In May, we had our company team-building event there and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves; especially the food! The "Greek 'Village' Salad was delightful in taste. One of the best salads I've had in a long time... The Lamb Meatball and Spinach Cheese Pie were also incredible too; amazing. Yum! Makes my mouth watering already... However, nothing compares to the Lamp Chops I had that evening. They were to die for... The taste just melts in your mouth. Omg... I must go there again!
Its my favorite!!!! I cant say enough great things about it!! ive been there probably 10 times and everytime its GREAT! I must say Conan is the best server i have ever had anywhere. He made my first time at a Greek Restaurant so enjoyable. The cuisine is unbelievable each and everytime. I just LOVE it and always look forward to dining there!
I had a great experience at this restuarant. Both the food and the service were excellent.
For the appetizers, we had the best Dolmades ever! These were prepared with Metaxa-braised minced beef and creamy rice, wrapped in grape leaves, and although I don't fully grasp the gastronomic concept of foam, this dish was finished with a truffle-scented wild mushroom citrus foam.
We also order a combo plate of Orektika with four different types of spreads with the taramas, mullet roe with chunks of tender lobster, being the most delicious and unique.
The Lamb Chops and the Branzino (Italian for Mediterranenan Sea Bass) are both excellent entrees and their most popular items on the menu. We shared a bottle of the Ridge MonteBello which further enhanced the whole dining experience.
The dessert to order is the honey yogurt with fruit although you can't go wrong, as is the the typically the case with any fine restaurant, with the molten-centered chocolate cake that comes with vanilla ice cream (Sokolatina).
Our server was both attentive and knowledgeable about the menu and threw in the desert along with its Muscat pairing for free.
I'm giving this place four stars because although the food and service are excellent, I imagine it would become somewhat boring to dine at this restaurant more then two times; this is mainly due to its ambiance - set in the Los Gatos Hotel, the restaurant is warm and inviting, however, the open dining room layout stresses and caters towards a very corporate setting, which can be good or bad.
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This place gets a lot of raves. We tried it out in Jan. We loved it...I wrote a 4 star review. So we went back for Mother's Day.
5pm on Mother's Day at a popular spot. We weren't sure how packed it would be...it had been fairly easy to get a ressie. Well it wasn't crowded. At all. Which meant we got a ton of attention and the experience was fabulous. Not that it wasn't great in Jan. But on Mother's Day when so many places just cannot get it together, Dio Deka stood out a head above the rest.
Even when the dining room started filling up at 6pm and was full when we left around 7pm...we still had the best service. I just flat out love this place...their food is amazing. If we want to spend a lot of money on Med food and do it in style, we come here.
Awesome waiters who know their dishes, super friendly, attentive staff. The flaming cheese is yummy and their soft pita breads are just flat out AMAZING. Park me at a table with just the bread and some olives and I am good for at least an hour.
Calamari came as real little squidlies which freaked us out, but it was surprisingly good. Even squeamish family members were having multiples. Everyone's dinners were downed to rave reviews.
This place is a gem. Great ambiance and a prime location are a win as well, parking has been quite easy for us each time we have come here...a sometimes hopeless feat in downtown Los Gatos.
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OMG, I LOVE, love, LOVE this place!! I've stopped here several times on business in the area and am totally hooked on the food, ambience and service. The lamb chops are out of this world, but you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The yogurt and honey dessert is a fave, as is the fried cheese appetizer--I also love the beet salad--gorgeous presentation, with the beets sliced like thin medallions adorning the plate--and the branzino for a healthy lunch. For dinner, go all out on the moussaka or a lamb dish--you won't regret it. Yum!!
Sure food being good is important, but you know what, so is service. And this place has the worse service for a "fine" dining rest. ever! My friend and I were ignored even though the waiter was right next to us, and we kept trying to flag him down. Never ever going back again.
Dio Deka is in a beautiful Los Gatos hotel, very nice ambience. The lamb chops I had were outstanding. All the other dishes that my dining partner and I tried were o.k. but far from memorable. We shared the grilled stuffed calamari and the lobster/shrimp spread. Both were just o.k. My partners pork loin was overcooked but he seemed to enjoy the sauce. Dessert was just so so, little beignet like pastries in honey. Pricey for sure... appetizers, drinks, entrees and dessert for 2 around $147 before tip. Service average. I highly recommend the lamb chops, among the best I've had!
My Big Fat Greek Dinner...
Although it's right down the street from me and I've been hearing rave reviews from friends for ages, I finally experienced the greek magic for myself, last night. Wow -- and by wow, I mean damn!
The decor was chic and contemporary; the lighting low and intimate. The wait-staff were extremely attentive and helpful -- we were a group of six and never had to ask for a thing. Possibly the most memorable thing about Dio Deka is the presentation. Each dish is a masterpiece -- from the dishes themselves, to the colour and arrangement on the plate. I've never taken photos of food before, but I honestly considered it last night.
We started with cocktails (which were fab) and appetizers. The highlight, assuming you're a carnivore, was definitely the keftethakia (lamb meatballs) with kefalortiri cheese and yogurt (real greek yogurt). My friend and I shared the horiatiki for our second course. The slab of feta on top reminded me of my island hopping days in Greece. One of my friends had the lobster soup to start, and I will definitely be getting that next time. Honestly, I would knock Zorba down for another spoonful.
For my main course, I had to try the moussaka, which was delightful. Some other entree highlights that my friends ordered were the fillet with beets (hot-damn) and the sea bass. One thing I know for sure about Dio Deka's menu is that you cannot possibly go wrong. Everything was that good.
For dessert, I tried the yiaourti -- which is imported greek yogurt with fresh fruit, macadamia nuts and honey in a filo bowl. They also serve traditional greek coffee heated in little copper coffee pots (called brikis) over a bed of sand. The caffeine will have you swinging from the chandeliers, but if swinging from the chandeliers is wrong, I don't want to be right.
In conclusion: everything you've heard about this restaurant is true. It's wonderful. Dio Deka puts the shama-lamb-a in the rama lamb-a ding dong! I can't wait to go back. I give it 5 HOPA's.
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Wow. What an amazing gastronomic experience! Talk about orgasmic! I got the opportunity to eat here while on business last week and I have to say that everything, the drinks, appetizers, entrees, and service, was perfect. I wish I could fly back to California right now and go there again!
To start, the decor is elegant and chic with a touch of classic Greek appeal. The atmosphere was relaxed even though the restaurant itself was packed! And it was a weeknight!
Our table started with cocktails and the Silogi appetizer. This appetizer contains four different spreads: cucumber/yogurt/dill, spicy red pepper, lobster/roe, and grilled eggplant. The flat bread was perfectly seasoned with the right balance of crispiness and softness. The red pepper was my favorite! My martini was heavenly too. (I live for a well-made, dry martini)!
Then I ordered the Horaitiki salad, which is Dio Deka's delightful version of the traditional Greek salad. The red wine vinaigrette was light yet flavorful. After my salad, I had the Manouri Rollo entree which is two "rings" of pasta filled with spinach and Greek cheese that is topped with a light tomato sauce. The pasta did not overpower the dish and the combination of textures and flavors was wonderful. I could not stop eating it!
After dinner, we ordered the Sokolatina, a molten-centered chocolate cake that comes with vanilla ice cream. I felt, "There is NO way I can even attempt to eat this! I am way too full!" Upon our dessert's arrival to our table, just the very look of it made me want to dig in! The cake was not too sweet and the plain ice cream helped to further tone down any heaviness of the fudgy center.
The service here is spotless and the staff is friendly and helpful. They truly helped make the evening great.
If I am ever in the area again, whether for business or vacation, I will visit Dio Deka again for sure!
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Fabulous Greek food with a modern twist ! Knowledeable wait staff makes good recommendations for food and wine. Atmosphere is cool and hip, a bit loud so not recommended for an intimate dining experience.
Food is great. Service can be iffy. Recommend it for lunch when you can get a better deal since dinner is VERY expensive.
We went there this past Sunday and I had to say that I was not sure if I could accept Greek food. Let me tell you, the reviews were true. Great food, great environment, great waitress, and what else is there....
thumbs up!
My 3 girlfriends and I had dinner at Dio Deka 2 weeks ago and it was great! They were so friendly, we were seated promptly and treated very well.
The food was amazing....both dinner and dessert. Our waiter was very accommodating and helpful with requests on everything.
All 3 of us loved the food and the service. Can't wait to go there again!
We had the saganaki, Silogi, Arni Kotsi, and Kota Souvlaki. The Silogi was ok, flavors were a little flat. The saganaki wasn't warmed all the way through. The souvlaki was overdone. The Lamb dish was the only one that was any good. And with the service being abysmal, I have to say that Thea in santana row, is much cheaper and tastier in some ways. The only really kick ass item was the flat bread.
We only had drinks, appetizers and salads in the bar area, but the food was delicious and the service was amazing! We had two servers who were wonderful -- they continuously checked back on us, laughed with us and brought us more food. :) We sat in the bar area, which was nice, but the music was a touch too loud.
The small appetizers we had were very flavorful and beautifully plated. My favorite is probably a tie between the Tzatziki and Ktipiti.
I don't usually eat Greek food but I'm glad that I've had the chance to try it out. The appetizers were in Greek and it was hard to figure out what to order. We had the sample and everything was really good. I particularly like the stuffed eggplant.
I don't like to eat Octopus but the grilled octopus was delicious. It was fresh and cooked to perfection.
The greek salad is excellent. It is a big portion.
I had the lamb chop which was good. The lamb shank also looked delicious. I'll try this next time.
The Crystal Guide: ***
Dio Deka is a perfect local restaurant to celebrate a romantic special occasion. It was voted the 2 restaurant in the San Jose/Silicon Valley area by Open Table diners recently (right below Manresa). I was apprehensive to eat Mediterranean/Greek food again because I did not enjoy the food at Thea at Santana Row in September 2007. Dio Deka is definitely worth a visit.
Located across from the prestigious Los Gatos/Saratoga High School, I was surprised to see how beautiful the Los Gatos Hotel was when I stepped out of the car. It reminds me of my dream home in the Ruby Hills community in Pleasanton with warm Mediterranean style and lush green vines crawling up towards the roof. In front of the double door of the hotel was a huge fountain with water sprinkling down to the lowest tier. It was absolutely breathtaking... I was very impressed with the overall decor and ambience of the restaurant as well. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and manager who was unable to accommodate my request for a private booth but gave us a private table away from the other diners. By the middle of the night, all of the tables were filled, even the bar area.
I love the fresh hot pita bread that was infused with rosemary and served with salted olives. It is always a good indicator of a quality restaurant when the bread is hot and the food is served on warm plates. We had three servings of the bread because they were so good.
We ordered Spanakotiropita which is an appetizer made from phyllo pastries, filled with baby spinach, scallions, leeks and sheep and goat milk cheeses and the House Greek Salad based on recommendations from our knowledgeable waiter. I thought there was too much spinach inside the Spanakotiropita but the pastry was dilicious. The Greek salad was made of small cherry tomatoes, hollowed out cucumbers, dill, and topped with a think block of light feta cheese. Of course, I could not eat the tomatoes but the salad was very good and tasty. Both of these dishes was excellant!
I was excited to try the daily special: tamarine seabass on top of deep fried risotto patty served with a side of asparagus and mango sour sauce. I was very full by then and did not enjoy all of the delicate baked fish. When the entrees came out I realized that this was not true Greek/Mediterranean food. It was more like American food with a slight Mediterranean flavors. The huge boat size plate filled with garlic fries and bone-in ribeye reminds me of the dishes at a typical steakhouse. I was a little disappointed that the waiter declined my request for tobasco sauce and ketchup. He said, "the chef insists that we do not serve condiments... because he has already seasoned the food..." Excuse me, but even the finest restaurants will bring me a side of sea salt and hot sauce upon my request.
At that point, the restaurant fell from 5 stars to 4 and ultimately to 3 because the Mill-fay dessert he recommended was not good. It had rum in there so the creme was not very rich. If it tasted like the filling on the Napoleon, it would have been the perfect compliments to the lightly toasted almond crust. They redeemed themselves by marking the special occasion in cocoa.
This restaurant is an excellant (more affordable) subsitute to Manresa.
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5 stars for sure!!!! So come on now everyone, this is a fancy restaurant in Los Gatos, be realistic, the prices are what they should be. I went to this restaurant for my mom-in-laws birthday about 3 weeks ago and I was so excited!!! At first i was thinking yum mm I'm going to get a gyro and a Greek salad....I'm lame i know, but i was sooo impressed to try something new and yummy.
Environment: Picture a magical dark foo foo cabin with warm light tones that make every ones skin glow!!! My favorite!
Service: EXCEPTIONAL
Food: So many items to try, and let me tell you, I was with a party of 9 and we all tasted every ones food...(we are family we can do that) and Everything I tried was great. I ordered the house special white fish,and it was light and fluffy, so wonderful. As appetizers you get the warm pita bread and olives.
This was a wonderful dinning experience, and well worth the money that you should expect to pay in this sort of environment.
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i've been here twice and both times were amazing. the dish that stood out the most was the beef cheeks moussaka. the meat is so tender it almost melts in your fork.
btw, the hostess was drop dead gorgeous. thank you.
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I was taken her by a colleague and a great experience for my first visit, the only downfall was an very expensive dinner (avg 150/pp).
The wine pairing was fantastic, and the meats were out of this world. We started out with the tapas style serving and later dived into actual dishes; I got the lamb which would out of this word.
Definitely recommended for business dinners!
Short and sweet.
Dinner here is a guaranteed make-out or make-up session. All things forgiven.
The perfect meal.
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Always crowded, loud and expensive but have great appetizers. Try the fried cheese.
Absolutely astounding food in a lovely atmosphere. The way they blend spices and flavors is so amazing that now I want to explore collecting Greek spices for my own kitchen.
The waiter was a peach, totally attentive and with humor.
I will absolutely be back. Worth the drive from the city !!
I just returned from dinner at this restaurant and I was very impressed. The dishes were unlike any I had in Greece, but at the time I was traveling in that country, I could only afford meals that cost less than $2.50 (converted to Drachmas of course). The service in this restaurant was outstanding. The entire wait staff was very attentive, polite, and friendly...but not in a saccharin way. All of the assorted dishes were very flavorful, and all were unique in their own way. From the salads and appetizers, to the lamb sausage and rack of lamb, to the spanikopita, and to the retsina wine...all were outstanding. I recommend this establishment.
A friend of mine and I decided to try this place out tonight. Initially, we couldn't find it due to the stupid street changing from E main to W main street with no real indication, but eventually we did find it. The location is rather boojee. We walked thru the hotel lobby to get to the restaurant, and I could practically smell the scent of cash money coming off the eloquent furniture. As we walked in however, the host and hostess were both upbeat and friendly and spoke with accents (naturally). We were seated immediately, and my first thought was DAMN, this is one comfortable chair. I mean, the plushness of the leather combined with the sinking in that reminded me of my friend's mom's posturepedic bed when I slept in it once, was fantastic. My glutteus maximus was very appreciative. Also, there was rosemary in our linen napkins. I've never seen that one before, and I love unique touches like that.
Working in the restaurant business, I can definitely appreciate good service when I get it. Though we had one main server, it seemed like every time something was served a person appeared on either side of our table so that my friend and I were served simultaneously. The server also had some nice recommendations.
FIrst we had the lamb meatball appetizer along with a spread with lobster bits in it. Mmmmm.... lobster..... Sadly, that particular spread had a bit of a fishy taste to it which wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was thinking something more lobstery... But the meatballs were fantastic. For our main course, I had the lamb chops and she had the sea bass. My lawdy. Enormously delicious. The bass melted in my mouth doing its best impersonation of high quality toro, and the lamb chops were tender, delicious, and generously portioned. I'm used to going to higher end restaurants and ordering a $30-40 entree and ending up with a bite sized meal, so I was pleasantly surprised that this was indeed enough to fill me up to the extent that I had to turn down dessert.
All in all, the food was excellent, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was just loud enough where you could have a conversation and not feel like you were being listened to. With a glass of wine each, the bill came to around $130. On the higher end of places I typically frequent, but I left feeling good about dinner and not ripped off. And as always, it was nice to take in a meal with some good company. Highly recommended.
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Relative to the hype, I'd give this place 3 stars due to unmet expectations. But overall it's a decent place. I guess I am not really into Greek food period. We've gone once and never been back. We've had multiple opptys to setup dinners there and we always choose elsewhere. The tastes just weren't that great. Sorry.
If you love Greek cuisine, then read another review from someone competent in this cuisine. I am not. If you know that you are lukewarm to Greek Food then there are lot of other places that will deliver better bang for the buck.
B-Day dinner at Dio Deka was awesome.
It was a major trip to have dinner across the street from my high school. If this place was there back in the day...I think I would've taken advantage of the open campus lunch time and grubbed down at DD's instead of Taco Bell.
I personally fell in love with the appetizers. I gotta say that I would go back just so I could try the rest on the menu. Both the app's we had were off the chart. The Kalamarakia Gemista (4) grilled calamari stuffed with Ono and gulf shrimp and the Octapodaki Scharas (4) grilled Octopus had ridiculously exotic flavors.
Grass fed lamb chops are the best I've ever had...so far (4) super tender, super juicy, and not too gamey. Pops had the lamb shank (3), not bad, but not as good as the one I had at Thea. Moms had the dijon crusted ahi (3) was good but again not great. My gf had the Branzino in a citrus sauce (3).
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Celebrated my wife's birthday here with 10 friends. It came highly recommended. Almost everyone chose a different main course and no one was disappointed. The appetizers were fantastic and the wine recommendation pairings were perfect.
The wait staff was spot on. They even gave us a free bottle of wine because all the entries different arrive at the same time. One or two arrived less than 5 minutes later .
The venue is a fun and lively place and they do utilize every square inch. so don't go there with expectation that you will have a nice cozy and intimate dinner. The noise level is high but I feel part of the festive environment.
I'm glad I found this place and would come back again and again. We also had two children and they were perfectly fine and the staff wait catered to them like the people they are. Bravo
The ambiance here is wonderful. A great place for a romantic dinner. On a friday night it gets pretty packed, not one table open so be sure to make reservations. I had the chicken with lentil which was delicious. I am not a huge fan of lentil, however this dish had so much flavor. The chicken came skewered which made for a perfect portion. They have an exquisite wine list...so much to choose from. My date had the tuna, and i tried a bite...yumm. We really enjoyed the Octopus appetizer and a spread appetizer for the bread that they serve. It was a little spicy which added a tasty kick. Oh my god and the olives are to die for.
The wait staff was excellent!! Overall a great experience and i can't wait to go back.
The downfall is that we could hear the conversation of the party next to us, I thought it was inappropriate for the restaurant we were in. Hopefully it was just that one experience and this doesn't happen often.
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Very good... One of the best restaurants in Los Gatos.
2/15/08 UPDATE: (-1 star). OK so now I PAID for the meal and have an update to my original review below.
We pick up our eyeballs after our lunch bill came today. Can you say "$100 lunch bill"? OK so it was really close and this was WITHOUT drinks!
Here's what $97.27 (includes a 15.00 tip) buys you here for lunch:
Appy: Kalamarakia Gemista ($14): Exactly 3 seafood-stuffed 3" calamari [OK but seafood was strong-flavored and for $4.60 a bite???]
Solomos: Grilled Salmon Salad ($24) served over spinach greens grape tomatoes, red onions. [Very good but the dressing was a bit too tangy and the salmon was fishier than expected]
Petani: Grilled fillet of Hawaiian Mahi Mahi, apple-wood smoked bacon, avocado, spiced feta with a toasted rosemary focaccia and garlic-herb fries ($18) [I really liked this dish & the fries were fabulous but hey! they could have actually put a ripe avocado slice on here. You could have BOUNCED this slice of avocado--for this price they could have ripened it some and then thrown in the whole avocado.]
Mill-Fay: Crisp puff pastry tower with a rum infused pastry cream and caramelized almonds ($12): The dessert that I've already described below. Incredibly scrumdiddily-ummmm-tious
2 single Espressos ($8)
Subtotal: 76.00 + tax and tip = MUY MUY CARO Senior!
So was the meal WORTH the price? "No."
Was it's quality reflected in the price? "No"
Good Service? "Yes"
Took away a star because of these inconsistencies.
Original review.
2/6/08:
Randy Jackson might say of Dio Deka: "Aye Carnuba Dude. This place is da BOMB. Welcome to HollyWOOD!!" We had a very large crowd of 12 and were served magnificently. wonderful wine, appetizers, main dishes, and the deserts were enough to burst a belt.
The food was a almost a blur but lessee:
The bar's Cabernet wine was a BV 2004 reserve Cabernet called Tapestry--one of the best Cabs I've had.
The flaming cheese appy was not served flaming but was deeply flavored and scrumptiously textured.
The beautifully presented dipping platter of 4 flavors for the pita points were Melitzanosalata (a baba ganouj style) eggplant dip, a tzatziki, one with salmon and roe, and a roasted red pepper dip. Fabulous.
The lemon soup with lobster was tangy good with just enough lobster, although I would have preferred some of the the lobster bit a bit less strongly flavored.
The boneless park tenderloin was done picatta style served over root veggies and caused my eyes to roll around; it was so good. It was truly embarrassing.
The desert stand out for me was a small phyllo dough tower with a run-infused filling and toasted slivered almonds. OMG just shoot me now because I have gone to heaven.
The ambiance, the service and most of all the food was superb. 'Course I didn't foot the bill so I can be sure that this feast costs some one his/her first born.
But if food is what you care about, this place blew us away.
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I love food. And not only because I enjoy eating, but because it brings people together, evokes feelings and memories, and creates experiences. I've always been a true believer that life happens around food and the company you keep while experiencing the food together. My night at Dio Deka embodied all of that.
My friend and I chose Dio Deka as the setting for the night we had to say goodbye to each other once and for all, and we chose wisely. Dio Deka is elegant and beautiful, without being intimidating. It is a perfect special occasion restaurant, or a place to have one last great evening with an old friend.
Our waiter was amiable and incredibly enthusiastic about the food. We followed his recommendations throughout the meal, and I'm very thankful we did as everything he suggested was perfect.
My date and I started with the herb skewered lamb meatballs (Keftethakia) appetizer, which were delicious. For our entrees, my date had their infamous lamb chops (Paithakia) and after my first bite, I understood why their lamb chops are renowned. The lamb chops were tender, moist, and had a cloying hint of rosemary. My favorite dish of the evening, however, was my entree. Our waiter let us know the chef received a shipment of Chilean Sea Bass that morning, and so they were offering it as a special for dinner. Now, I LOVE Chilean Sea Bass. I don't care if it is near extinction because if I don't eat it, someone else will anyway. And just the thought of someone eating my Chilean Sea Bass makes me want to hunt that person down and punch them. Chilean Sea Bass is my absolute favorite fish, and I will always order it when I get the chance. That said, I have had my fair share of Chilean Sea Bass and I can say with absolute certainty, the Chilean Sea Bass I ate at Dio Deka was the BEST by far. It was pan seared with a Tamarind glaze and placed atop a fried risotto cake. All of this was accompanied by roasted asparagus and a mango salsa. The bass itself was thick, juicy, sinfully buttery, and had a sweet caramelization from being pan seared. The tamarind glaze gave the fish a tangy and sweet flavor that was offset beautifully by the light, fresh mango salsa. It was a divine and wonderfully succulent dish. My date had never had Chilean Sea Bass in his life, and after his first bite, he was a true convert. It was a huge compliment to him that I actually allowed him several bites of my dish! Oh, I always was such a sucker for that fool.
For dessert, we followed the waiter's recommendations and ordered the Greek Yogurt (Yiaourti). The description on the menu doesn't do it justice, as even my date and I were hesitant about ordering it. But we were SOOO glad we did. The yogurt was thick, and rich, and it tasted so good with the fresh fruit, honey, macadamia nuts, and the sweet caramelized "cookie bowl" it was placed in. By the time the waiter came back to check on how we liked the dessert, the plate was scraped clean. I would go back to Dio Deka for the yogurt dessert alone!
Overall, my date and I had a bittersweet, yet lovely evening. Dio Deka provided a beautiful setting for my date and I to say goodbye over a perfect meal.
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I was a bit worried about this restaurant since technically it is located in a hotel and I didn't want to take my family to a 'hotel' restaurant but as soon as I arrived my worries vanished.
We had dinner here on a Saturday night and the restaurant was packed. The wine selection was fantastic, appetizers and dinner was absolutely wonderful.
Despite how wonderful the food was, I think the thing I enjoyed the most was the ambiance and service. The restaurant is gorgeous and I really enjoy having the kitchen out in the open. The service was also wonderful. They constantly came around to refill water, repour wine and if anyone at our table got up to visit the restroom they would refold the napkin.
I hope to be back here again - this is a great restaurant to take a group of people to and enjoy a wonderful meal together!
The best Greek restaurant in the United States. Period. This comes from a former chef who's sampled some amazing Greek cuisine in Chicago, NYC, L.A., Salt Lake City, and for a number of years, Greece.
Dio Deka means "Two Tens" in Greek; it can also mean "Twelve" depending on context. This place was started by 5 guys; chefs and restaurant managers who used to run Evvia in Palo Alto. I hope they open up a restaurant in Athens someday because it'll be a smash; for now they're busy building their 8 month old business in Los Gatos.
They deserve an extra 5-stars for their service. The presentation of all their dishes and the attentiveness of the waitstaff are at a level only known to patrons of the Ritz-Carlton Dining Room in the city.
The appetizers: Bell Pepper & Roasted Feta Dip; a spicy, garlicky and creative combination of aromas. It's baked just right and served with grilled ciabatta.
Dolmades (grape leaves): OK these are the best dolmades I have ever had in my life. Minced beef, fresh herbs, spices, marinated in Metaxa Brandy and folded into freshly prepared grape leaves.
Keftedes (meatballs): Again, an A+ here. They use a very fancy variation on the traditional Greek meatball recipe. It was hard to decipher what was in there with regards to herbs and spices, but whatever it was... it worked.
Horta: Flash-boiled organic greens served with olive oil. You have to try these! Full-flavored and very healthy.
Lobster Avgolemono Soup: This is a variation of the traditional avgolemono (stands for egg-lemon soup). Their chef deserves a medal for this creation. There's actual lobster in the soup (not just broth) and he uses orzo past instead of rice. It's the first time I had this, and it won't be the last.
Lamb Shank with Cheese/Truffle Rice: Absolutely decadent. The portions are large, and the lamb is slow-baked with fresh herbs, to the point where you can cut it with a spoon. What makes this dish though (and all their entrees for that matter) is the presentation. Large hexagonal and parallelogram shaped dishes are used like a canvas by the chef to present his scrumptious creations.
House Steak: This is a T-Bone/fillet cut that will make you forget any "hidden gem" dive steak house in Texas, and may even tempt a few vegans to cross-over. Cooked to order using house spices and quickly charred. Once again, an incredible presentation.
Desserts: I know.... how could you even think of dessert after a feast like this? Well we did. Their made-to-order mantra is reflected here once more. The Napoleons are freshly made; meaning the creme-patisserie is freshly prepared/whipped and folded into home-made french pastry. It's topped with macadamia nuts and powder sugar. This is a HUGE dessert; be sure to share it unless you want to keep 9,000 calories all to yourself.
The Galaktoboureko (egg-semolina custard in a filo shell) is a very high-end/gourmet variation on the original Greek recipe; very well done.
The Holy Grail of desserts however was their Honey-Yogurt w/ Fruit. This was another decadent creation using imported Greek yogurt, honey, berries, kiwi, caramelized macadamia nuts and it's served in a thin caramelized cookie/waffle bowl. Describing this concoction doesn't do it justice. Save some room and make sure you order it.
Oh... and you get free valet parking at the Joie de Vive Hotel.
Dio Deka (in Greek, this means two-ten, the restaurant's address), sits in Joie de Vivre's Hotel Los Gatos. Living up to all Joie de Vivre standards, the service at Dio Deka is excellent, the atmosphere superb,
When first seated we were given a small olive plate and corners of fresh garlic bread (which we're told is made fresh for each table). We started with the tzatziki which was the perfect blend of garlic, dill and cucumber. At first we were a bit confused about what to dip into the tzatziki, but the garlic bread ended up working just fine. The tzatziki comes with little slivers of fried gaflic for garnish which add nothing to the flavor, but adds something to the presentation.
The Horiatiki salad, or traditional greek village salad, was satisfying and simple. Ntomatosoupa, the tomato soup was full of basil. Also simple and delicious. The Dolmathakia, dolma stuffed with braised short ribs, were lemony and delicious, except they were covered in a strange mushroom foam. Apparently the chef takes mushrooms and mushroom broth, and blends it to make the foam (literally, the same texture as the foam on your morning latte). I know foams have been trendy in the best restaurants for a few years now, but I just don't get it.
My main dish was the Lavraki. This is mediterranean sea bass with sage and lemon on top of a bed of garlicy swiss chard and served with a few spears of potatoes. The fish was maybe just a tad overcooked, but the flavor was a perfect blend of light fish, lemon, sage and garlic. The swiss chard was my favorite dish all evening.
The meal was delicious and the service was good. This is a great place to experiment with Greek wines! Unfortunately, no dish stood out as really incredible, as I've experienced at the owners' other restaurants Evia in Palo Alto and Kokkari in San Francisco.
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Dio Deka has calamari to die for and we got it gratis, but that's a whole 'nother story!!! The ringlets were oh, so tender and the batter was light and crispy. It came to the table hot from the fryer and ready to dip in a nice garlicky mayonnaise. I was so into the calamari that I didn't get a chance to try the asparagus and zucchini chips that also came with this dish.
For entrees, my husband and I had the lamb chops that everyone has raved about. Three succulent chops served perfectly medium rare lie atop a small mound of spinach so infused with butter (??) that I could swear they contained more calories than the chops themselves. I'm not one to deny myself anything drenched in butter so I ate it up and hit the gym a little bit harder the next day. The lamb chops were so substantial that I only ate one and a half and took the rest home. I'm happy to report that they were still tasty after being warmed in the microwave the next day.
For dessert we tried the Greek yogurt and fruit concoction. I had very, very high hopes for this dessert, but my expectations went unmet. I need to think more like the Danes who I learned are the happiest people on Earth due to their low expectations. I think I would have been more satisfied had I went with our server's recommendation of the Mill-Fay.
And now on to why we got the calamari for free and one other small misstep in service. First of all, the overall quality of service was excellent. The waitstaff seemed to work well as a team. However, we had been waiting a very long time for the calamari when our server stopped by and said there was a "problem." He said he would comp the calamari (which was the right thing to do in this situation) and bring it out as quickly as possible. Our entrees came, still no calamari, but it was worth the wait, even though we had already started our main dishes. The other little snafu was that a $74 bottle of wine that we didn't order somehow ended up on our tab. Seeing as we hadn't ordered any wine, this error was quite glaring, but did get rectified.
Go for the calamari and the lamb chops. Sk