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Last week was big for the Mountain View food scene, with two new restaurants, Limón and Il Fornaio, celebrating their respective openings in the city. Both restaurants have multiple Bay Area locations.
The back-to-back opening events both featured ribbon-cutting ceremonies by Mountain View Mayor Alison Hicks.
Limón brings Peruvian cuisine to Mountain View
Limón, a family-owned Peruvian restaurant chain, hosted a ribbon cutting on Thursday, July 27 to celebrate its sixth local establishment, at the intersection of California and Castro street.
Owned and operated by Castillo brothers – Martin, Antonio and Eduardo – Limón has been bringing a slice of Peru’s rich culinary heritage to the Bay Area for over two decades.
“There’s a big influence from the actual heritage of the family,” said Ben Meyer, general manager of Limón Mountain View.
The newly unveiled Limón location features a modern interior and a menu that offers “upscale, casual, sharing dining,” Myers said.
Guests familiar with Limón can still find their favorites on the restaurant’s menu, including the signature truffle mac n’ cheese and a traditional Peruvian lomo saltado, a stir-fry combining strips of marinated sirloin and french fries. Some newer menu items to look forward to include more extensive seafood platters and crispy pork belly chaufa, a Peruvian fried rice.
With this new location, Antonio Castillo said he and the team considered, “How can we evolve? How can we improve?”
The grand opening attracted some local Peruvians dignitaries, including the Consul General of Peru, Juan Miguel Miranda, and Miss Perú Universe 2023 Camila Escribens.
Il Fornaio expands to San Antonio
Up the road from Limón, at The Village at San Antonio Center, Il Fornaio celebrated its own grand opening on Friday, July 28 with a ribbon cutting, music and appetizers.
Il Fornaio is a chain of 20 Italian-themed fine dining restaurants primarily located in California. Some residents may already be familiar with the Il Fornaio’s locations in Palo Alto, Burlingame and Santa Clara.
The first Il Fornaio retail bakeries opened in San Francisco in 1981, and since then, the brand has blossomed. The new location is at 545 San Antonio Road, Suite 31.
All kitchens are “supervised and guided by Sicilian native Executive Chef Roberto Gerbino, using multi-generational family recipes and preparations that Italians have mastered over centuries of making great cuisine,” the restaurant said in a statement.
