San Jose’s SoFA District became home this week to a smorgasbord of small plates spotlighting Southeast Asia street food flavors with a contemporary take.
Owner Thoi Trinh and managing partners Sammy Sok and Ivy Li say they wanted to add a new, more laid-back choice amid downtown’s nightclubs, hotels and bars. The restaurant is made for experience, from the Instagramable “G-Spot” wall ripe for selfies, to the specialty cocktails, including a light grapefruit “Hangtime Cooler” or lemon falernum “The Swinger” available in either rye or gin.
Trinh says the whole thing is meant to offer light tongue-in-cheek fun, especially as the world emerges from a dark, isolated and anxious year.
A recurring theme of the menu is a simple approach to food, letting the vegetables and cuts of meat shine in their own tastes and profiles. Many of the dishes take two hands to eat, but are simple and delicious, even if the prices run a little steep for some budgets.
The honey-cured bacon, paired with the gooeyness of a medjool date offers a warm smokiness to each bite, a texture that envelops the mouth. The candied spiced “G’s Nutzs” are an unassuming underdog of bold, sweet-yet-zesty flavor. But as appetizers go, the chicken karaage, Japanese-style chicken nuggets are a safe bet.
The warm, comforting Rockefellers or Spice Grilled Bacon might convince those still on the fence about oysters while the aptly named Long Life Garlic Noodles will help soak up a boozy drink.
Good Spot opened May 1, a few months after an optimistic Valentine’s Day target. Today, diners eat indoors, while the parking spots in front have transformed into outdoor seating.
Chef Timothy Luym’s edible delights are paired with a soundtrack of house, EDM and pop, a combination that just works. In the future, the lights and graphics inside will reach “production levels,” says Trinh, who previously oversaw restaurants in Santana Row.
He hopes to bring more staff on as people return to local college campuses, convention centers and neighborhood art and music venues, assuming lighter Covid-19 restrictions continue to trend.