About Us
In choosing La Forêt as the backdrop to your wedding day, you will experience a charming and stylish venue. Have a destination wedding with the convenience of a local venue, all the while making you feel right at home.complete dining experience.
La Forêt offers fine French dining in an old country setting. The historically significant building rests next to a quietly meandering stream in the verdant foothills of New Almaden.
Picture windows surrounding the entire dining area allow you to fully enjoy the beautiful surroundings during your meal. Specializing in fine French cuisine, La Forêt has earned its place among the area’s finest restaurants and in fact has been listed among the 50 best French restaurants in the United States.Delectable dishes from the kitchen of La Forêt are complimented by the meticulous dining rooms and the attentive service.
From the moment you are seated until the last sip of coffee, La Forêt has been offering the complete dining experience since 1978.Experience the gracious hospitality and personalized service of our staff who will pay close attention to your every detail.
Please contact us for a complimentary consultation and tour of the venue. We would be delighted to be a part of planning your stunning celebration and helping you create joyous memories to last a lifetime…
Charming space for your wedding ceremony
Whether your dreams include a large reception or a small, intimate gathering,La Foret can make your dreams come true.
While La Forêt hosts your reception, we can also offer our charming grounds for your an outdoor wedding ceremony. By coordinating your ceremony with reception, guests can seamlessly meander between the two events without having to worry about transportation or time delays.
La Forêt offers a cocktail hour and gourmet dinner menus. We have carefully coordinated classic dishes into a variety of menus to strive to meet your every need.
Dinner may be served buffet style or seated.
Seafood Crudo Bar $42pp
Please choose three of the following:
Lamb tar tar, lemon saffron potatos
Smoked duck breast, bing cherry jam, foie gras mousse, taro chip
Spice seared scallop, red yam puree, maple sherry vinegar gastric, walk away spoon
Peppered strawberries, whipped camembert, sourdough brioche round
Cepe mushroom, rice croquettas, st andre cheese
Crostini with glazed mission figs and cambazola
Ahi tuna crudo spedini, lemon, mint and arbequina olive oil
Dungeness crab, kaffir lime, thai basil, cucumber cup
Jeruselem artichoke soup sip, white truffle drizzle
Five spice chicken skewers, chili passion fruit glaze
Stationary Hors D’oeuvres $26pp
Please choose three of the following:
Prawns meuniere – with butter, garlic, meyer lemon, vin blanc
Sea scallops – seared day boat scallops, light saffron herb cream
Ahi tuna – lightly peppered and grilled, horseradish, thyme sauce
Tortellini la foret – porcini mushrooms, aged garlic, cream
Passed Hors d’oeuvres $24pp
Displayed on ice served with signature cocktail sauce and fresh lemon
chilled jumbo prawns, steamed pei mussells, manila clams, baby scallops, lobster
Charcuterie Station $22pp
Selection of our house cured meats sliced
to perfection with our century old hand
operated slicer, served with fresh sliced
baguettes, imported cheese, fruit accents,
We distinguish and pride ourselves on offering authentic Classic French Food.
We draw most of our flavors from this classic French cooking style.
This labor intensive style is primarily executed through a carefully crafted mixture
of marrow, wine, and herbs over slow heat for a lengthy period – extracting all flavors,
which produces the incredibly flavorful sauces our customers have come to love.
We have been operating under this classic style for over three decades, and we will continue to do so.
Come and enjoy!
Sample Menu
Salade
(Choose one)
La foret – bay shrimp, gv farms kookaburra spinach, shaved radicchio, red pepper vinaigrette
Cour de romaine – hearts of romaine, fresh chevre, toasted pumpkin seeds
Salade francaise – butter lettuce, marinated cucumber, shaved radish, mustard tarragon vinaigrette
Entrées
(Choose three)
Salmon- poached in chambord, port wine reduction
Quail – roasted canadian quail, huckleberry reduction
Tournedos of beef chanterelle – tenderloin medallions, golden chanterelle, ginger brandy
Linguine vegetarien – sautéed farmers market vegetables, olive oil, sun dried tomatoes
Elk – roasted new zealand loin, portobello cognac demi glaze reduction
Poulet ballontine – Mary’s organic chicken, porcini mushrooms,
fresh garlic gv farms sage, madeira reduction
Dessert
Tresor de La Foret
Dark chocolate torte, amaretto cheese cake and crème brûlée
Private rooms also available for small weddings and rehearsal dinners.
Capacity
The Restaurant capacity is appox. 120 guests The garden area can accommodate up to 120 guests for an outdoor ceremony
Facility
Full Service Bar & Lounge Dance Floor Private Parking lot Banquet Room
Services
The services that will be provided by Restaurateur in exchange for the venue rental fees are as follows:
Use of the venue, use of dining tables, dining chairs, ceremony chairs, stemware, flatware, china and standard white table linens and napkins. (along with set-up and breakdown) wait-staff, and bartenders.
Pricing
- Wednesday & Thursday – $4,000
- Friday & Saturday – $6,000
- Sunday $5,000
- ‘Day of’ event coordinator- $500
In the mid 1800s, just a few years before the great California Gold Rush, Andres Castillera, a Mexican officer with the Artillery discovered his own riches in the lush green hills of an area known as New Almaden.
Castillera’s bounty was cinnabar, a precious metal commonly referred to as “quicksilver,” and word of his discovery spread quickly. It wasn’t long thereafter that the small community was thriving with miners anxious to stake their own claims.
In 1848, a creekside boarding house was constructed in New Almaden to house the area’s hard-working crews. The two-story building (the first two-story hotel in California) provided the miners with a comfortable place to sleep and hot meals, served in a rustic dining room downstairs.
The old boarding house remained in operation in this capacity up until the 1930s, when it was converted into the Cafe Del Rio, a popular restaurant which served New Almaden for almost 40 years.
Today, this historically significant building houses La Forêt, an exquisite French restaurant named appropriately enough for its lush forest surroundings.
As one of San Jose’s finest dining establishments, La Forêt is proud to carry on the time-honored tradition of hospitality that began in New Almaden more than 100 years ago.
La Forêt regularly hosts weddings and special events for people and organizations from around the South Bay Area including, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Willow Glen, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Los Altos, Cupertino, Santa Clara. As one of San Jose’s top wedding venues, we match exceptional service to an intimate setting and take great pride in our attention to the finest details to help bring your vision to life.