Gourmet goodness in The Grove

With a tasting room and 50-acre estate vineyard nestled in the foothills of San Benito County and a majestic special events mansion just north of Morgan Hill, Frank Léal recently completed his entrepreneurial trifecta with the opening of a contemporary farm-to-table eatery featuring wood-fired pizza, wine tasting, bocce ball and a gourmet bakery, to name a few selling points.
Appropriately named for the fully matured Manzanillo olive trees that surround the 7,400 square foot building on the two-acre lot, The Grove by Léal Vineyards is a casual fine dining restaurant situated in a bucolic landscape just off Pacheco Pass Highway, approximately eight miles from downtown Hollister and a few miles west of Casa de Fruita. The Grove launched in April exclusively to wine club members and only on the weekends before its official opening in June, and has been steadily gathering rave comments on the business review website Yelp.
“I honestly cannot give this new place anything less than 5 stars! It is amazing what the owner has done with this place,” wrote diner Cali M. from Santa Cruz in her review on Yelp. “I’ve been here about 5 times since it opened and it keeps me wanting to come back and try new menu items.”
Léal, who has been rooted in the Morgan Hill and Hollister areas for the past 20 years, purchased the property, most recently known as Cedar House Café & Bakery, in December 2012. He gave the outdoor area an aesthetic overhaul by removing a parking lot and adding in its place six bocce ball courts; an artfully landscaped waterfall; fountain and stage. The venue is now equipped to showcase live entertainment on the weekends, featuring local bands such as The Usual Suspects.
“I wanted the restaurant to seem like it was placed in the middle of a vineyard,” said Léal, a dark-haired 42-year-old with a warm grim. “The ambiance is like the food: clean, fresh and elegant.”
Prior to launching The Grove, Léal had been catering events through his winery and wanted to expand by opening a restaurant. He called upon the talents of Mark Johnson, Léal Vineyards and Willow Heights Mansion’s executive chef whose culinary prowess fuels unexpected and delightful ingredient pairings, like the summer bean salad with a deep fried poached egg, bacon bits and fresh greens.
Popular items currently on the menu include the Vintage Farms heirloom tomato salad, the roasted apricot and pulled pork pizza and the shrimp and polenta dish dressed with tomato bacon relish. Specialty martinis and margaritas made with apricots grown at the local B&R Farms are a couple of hot sellers.
“It’s really nice when you have locals thanking you for bringing something new and fresh to town,” Léal said. “I’ve also had some European tourists coming through and leaving with a taste of what California is really about.”
The Grove’s contemporary décor is an inviting mixture of rustic/vogue, with ornamental lighting fixtures and tables set with blue mason jars for water glasses. When the sun goes down, hundreds of twinkle lights threaded through the branches of the surrounding olive trees illuminate the spacious outdoor patio.
Local farmers bring freshly picked fruits and produce on a daily basis and the meals change frequently with the season.
“We’ll make three-course meals focused on what is seasonal,” Léal said. “For example, we just did asparagus and made things like asparagus soup and deep-fried asparagus as a side instead of French fries.”
One popular trend with patrons is The Grove’s “Around the World Wednesdays,” where each week a different country is chosen to serve as culinary theme for a three-course meal created by the restaurant’s chefs. Past themes have included Italy, which yielded dishes such as grilled Caesar salad, seafood risotto and tiramisu. Bottles of wine are also half off on Wednesdays and bartenders recommend which wine pairs best with which ethnic meal.
In addition to being a sit-down restaurant, locally made products from Hollister, such as Brigantino olive oil and specialty blenheim apricot delicacies from B&R Farms, are sold in a gourmet boutique area near the front lobby. The Grove also has a Starbucks and wine bar touting more than 10 different varieties of Léal Vineyards’ wine – cabernet blends being the specialty. Léal is in the process of also installing a tasting room at the restaurant.
Kim Brandon, exclusive pastry chef for Léal Vineyards and Willow Heights, heads The Grove’s bakery which specializes in wedding cakes. Brandon bakes a hearty variety of desserts on a daily basis including apricot cheesecakes, cannolis, éclairs, cupcakes, lemon bars, apricot pecan bars and more.
When Léal was 28 years old, he decided to leave his blue-collar job in pursuit of his dream of running a winery. Without formal training or educational degrees in viticulture, he said it was the romance of Napa Valley that first attracted him to the wine business.
“I loved the look of landscapes and barrel rooms,” he said. “And once I got started with wine, food and wine go hand in hand.”
The restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The location is available as a venue for weddings, parties and other special events. For more information, call (831) 636-1400 or visit The Grove’s Facebook page.