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At many Chinese restaurants, ordering Peking duck requires a reservation. The popular Beijing poultry, featuring shatteringly crisp skin and succulent meat, takes about two days to prepare.
But at downtown Mountain View’s newest restaurant, Bloom & Vine, reservations aren’t necessary, with new duck prepared every hour for walk-in guests.
“I don’t want customers to make reservations to eat (Peking duck), because if I want to eat it right now, I want it right now,” owner Rozanne Chen said.
Bloom & Vine is a debut concept from the team behind Mian, a Sichuan noodle chain founded in Los Angeles in 2016. Located in the former Johnny & Sanny’s space, Bloom & Vine soft opened Thursday, June 4, and will host its grand opening Friday, June 12. The menu features popular dishes from all over China, including Peking duck from Beijing, dim sum from Shanghai and mala dry pot from Sichuan, as well as a selection of Asian-inspired cocktails.
The name Bloom & Vine pays homage to the floral flavors of Chinese teas, such as jasmine and osmanthus. A seasonally rotating botanical cocktail list is front and center, featuring beverages such as a rose cocktail with gin and lychee liqueur and a nonalcoholic sakura peach soda ($12-$16). The floral motif continues throughout the restaurant, with floral patterned napkins, flower pots and handmade pink flower decor imported from China.
In addition to full-proof and nonalcoholic cocktails, nine craft beers from Sonoma and North Bay breweries are on tap ($7.50). California wines are available by the glass ($9-$19) and bottle ($36-$585).
Peking duck can be ordered by the half or whole and is served with cucumber, green onions, cantaloupe, hoisin sauce and thin steamed pancakes ($48-$88). Since Bloom & Vine makes duck every hour, the team is developing ways to reduce food waste, such as incorporating the duck into fried rice or other dishes, Chen said.
Bloom & Vine also offers a variety of dim sum, including Shanghai soup dumplings, served with ginger-infused vinegar for dipping ($14). Unlike the Taiwanese-style soup dumplings, Shanghai’s version is about double the size, meaning there’s more volume of soup, with a skin less susceptible to breaking, according to Chen.
For those who like spicy food, Chen recommends the mala dry pot, which features a variety of wok-fried meat and vegetables coated in a numbing and spicy chili oil made from five types of chilis ($32). This dish is customizable, with guests selecting their choice of meat and vegetables from a list of options.
The dessert menu features chocolate soup dumplings, matcha cheesecake, brown sugar sticky rice cakes and more ($12-$14).
Chen, a self described foodie, previously worked in tech and transitioned into the restaurant industry during the pandemic. Spearheading Mian’s expansion to the Bay Area, she knew the 11,000-square-foot restaurant was too big to be another location of Mian and that it was more suited to offer a sit-down experience. She also noted that there’s already an abundance of fast-casual Asian restaurants in downtown Mountain View, so she wanted to offer a more relaxed Asian dining experience.
Chen plans to host ticketed cocktail pop-ups at Bloom & Vine with guest bartenders. The first pop-up was held Tuesday and featured cocktails such as Melon Melon (with cantaloupe, sweet potato shochu, dill and white miso) and Strawberry Hotpot (with beef fat-washed gin, Campari, dry vermouth and strawberry).
Bloom & Vine Beijing Duck & Modern Dining Bar, 110 Castro St., Mountain View; 669-261-1677, Instagram: @bloomvineasianrestaurant. Open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5-9:30 p.m.
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