Scenes from The Halford in Santa Clara, Recently Opened Sep. 2016
We swung by The Halford (1494 Halford Ave., Santa Clara) this past Sunday for a quick early lunch and to check out this recently opened restaurant and taphouse.
Their grand opening was on Sep. 30 after their soft opening on Sep. 21.
The space is bright, open, modern and spacious, with a full kitchen.
And located right in the heart of the restaurant is the bar, which features 71 dedicated craft beer and cider taps. They have six wines on tap as well.
A couple of pages from the extensive draft beer menu.
It was good to see that many of the offerings that were available in pints also came in smaller pour sizes.
Yeah, I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy store.
We opted for New Holland Brewing Company Dragon’s Milk Imperial Stout and Golden State Cider Mighty Dry.
From the food menu, we ordered Spice-Crusted Chicken Wings – green papaya, carrot, habañero-pineapple glaze…
and Roasted Wild & Exotic Mushrooms – shiitake cream, toasted farro, fried egg.
Plus the House Salad.
Our server Ramon provided attentive service.
We also enjoyed the Pecan-Maple Bread Pudding – Guinness ice cream, Guinness caramel syrup.
Hats off to executive chef Matt Close and his culinary team. The dishes were elevated and delicious.
The Halford’s Facebook page has been quite active leading up to, and throughout, their opening phase, showcasing content that emphasizes good food and beer.
I appreciated the inclusion of local San Jose breweries Hermitage Brewing Company (Citra Single Hop IPA), Santa Clara Valley Brewing (Alviso Mills Hefeweizen) and Strike Brewing Company (Screaming Hand Imperial Amber Ale and Colossus of Stout Irish Red Ale).
More info., in part, from their website:
We specialize in a variety of craft beers from different states and a few selected imports with our main focus on local California craft beers from Santa Rosa to San Diego. Like wine, we believe the best beers are made in California.
The Halford offers a variety of shared plates ranging in small, medium, and large that will accommodate all taste buds. Executive Chef Matt Close takes his modern approach to Bay Area cuisine in creating classic dishes with new twists that pair nicely with our craft beers on tap. He has a talent for producing the best ensemble that features the main star of the dish with seasonal produce to create the perfect bite that pair nicely with a glass of IPA, Ale, or wine, to name a few.
Our approach is community. We use local farmers for our proteins and produce. We believe in partnering with local businesses that take pride in the quality of what they produce.
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Though we didn’t stay long enough to enjoy additional drinks, we knew that we would be back sooner than later thanks to the excellent first impressions.
Cheers! Prost! Gunbae!
~Andy