A well-known Morgan Hill bartender and server who has worked at numerous local food establishments recently opened a new downtown restaurant that offers a full menu with the ambiance of a chic Santana Row-style lounge.
Sadik Azar, 34, opened Noah’s Bar & Bistro at 17500 Monterey Road, near the intersection of First Street, just after Thanksgiving. The new eatery is currently in the “soft opening” phase, but the restaurant is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
The front lounge of the restaurant – which includes a bar and a wall-mounted waterfall feature – as well as the rear dining room are open for lunch and dinner, with the lounge remaining open for late-night drinks and appetizers, Azar said.
Head chef Adolfo Rojas, who has 25 years of commercial cooking experience in the South Bay, described the menu as “California fusion.” Azar described the food and atmosphere as “a little taste of San Francisco or Santana Row.”
A variety of pasta dishes, salads, grilled classics such as Atlantic salmon and a porterhouse steak, and an array of sandwich options adorn the menu. Appetizers range from the familiar (artichoke and spinach dip) to the adventurous (stuffed prawns).
“Everything is house made,” Azar said.
Azar said opening his own restaurant fulfills a dream he has had since he started working in the local restaurant industry more than 20 years ago. During that time he has worked at Golden Oak, Betsy’s, Las Palmas, Legends, Strixe and Sinaloa’s in Morgan Hill, as well as Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Changs and Elephant Bar in San Jose.
“I’ve been doing this such a long time, and crossed paths with so many people, and they drove me to open my own place,” Azar said. “I wanted a restaurant where people will be amazed by everything.”
Azar, who named the restaurant after his 3-year-old son, gives more credit to his family than to himself for his new undertaking. Several of his family members are local business owners, including his parents, Sam and Suzie Azar, who opened Southside Market about 30 years ago and his cousins who own Betsy’s restaurant, where Azar has also worked.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family, especially my parents, and I thank them for everything they’ve done,” Azar said.
Morgan Hill Downtown Association President Brad Jones said he poked his head inside the restaurant and said the interior looks “beautiful.” He is excited about the addition of another restaurant downtown, which has become a dining “mecca” in recent years.
“We have a great selection of locally owned restaurants down here, and it keeps getting better,” Jones said. “That certainly is good for the whole community, and the downtown especially.”
