What a culinary experience! Such a gem in the heart of San Carlos. Thanks for the amazing dinner, team.
Ellen McCarthy
Incredible food made with so much care. The best pasta in San Carlos.Kid-friendliness: Felt very welcome with our one year old.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Margaret Wingard
Just incredible for the price. Super fresh and excellent quality ingredients. Kind owner/chef. Best place in San Carlos for food. By a long shot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Hong
We tried the 8-hour bolognese, the local black cod, and the citrus burrata. They were absolutely perfect, no seasoning was needed. Everything was locally fresh, impressive, and yet so familiar; great setting for perfect comfort food in a family-owned restaurant. We regret we didn’t try their signature Dungeness crab pasta and that will be something for another visit. This experience was an excellent surprise on our work trip.
I feel like the blackened miso cod that I had for dinner would have cost a lot more if I’d had it almost anywhere else. It was great. Quite a healthy portion, well plated with delicious, well cooked vegetables and mushrooms. The owner is a one person show here. It’s admirable that he can pull it off.. and he definitely does.Wheelchair accessibility: easy and good wheelchair access
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angelica F.
We had 3 different pastas and loved them all! The sauces were all awesome and tasty. If I could only lick the plates... mmmm yummy!The place is nice and simple! Very cozy! The owner, chef, server was very nice and very good at what he does. I love going and supporting small businesses such as this. It's a definite gem!
Christen D.
Yes, Henry does it again! He does it again, and again, and again... Whenever my fiance's mom is in town the first place she wants to go to for dinner is Number5Kitchen. As expected, and well deserved! This is truly one of our favorite restaurants we have ever dined at.There are definitely busier restaurants in the San Carlos downtown dining strip, but Number5Kitchen is like one of those hidden gems. If you know, you know. There were about three parties dining in when we came on Friday night, and all of us seem to have that silent understanding that yes, this is the place you need to be at!We got the bolognese and crab pasta on our last visit, but that night we ventured out and got the new autumn salad and the cod. OMG. I feel like I will dream about the autumn salad for the rest of my life. Henry's ideas.. are so perfectly combined in his craft. The autumn salad is living proof of it (aside from the wonderful restaurant in its entirety). Fresh figs, "witch finger" grapes, apples, and a creme fraiche.. I could not get over just how lovely everything blended together. I wanted to savor it and eat it forever. I'm trying to get my fiance to re-make that for us at home but we'll see if he pulls through.I can't wait to come back once again! I'm even thinking of booking out this place for a private party of some sort.. maybe an engagement party, or my birthday.. whichever, I know it'll be THE choice.
Julia L.
I had an absolutely lovely experience dining at this cozy, beautiful restaurant. I loved the wooden tables, stylish and sturdy utensils (unlike most places that have flimsy cheap ones), beautiful plates, delicious food, and wonderful service. We ordered pasta bolognese, seasonal autumn vegetable pasta, and a seasonal salad. Each item was delicious, tasted fresh, high quality, and homey. The serving size was perfect, not too much not too little. This is the place where you will peacefully enjoy every bite of your meal and leave feeling happy and satisfied - my kind of place!The chef & the owner of the place is very nice to talk to. He was also patient and friendly with our 3 year old son who threw a tantrum, and even offered him to play with the toy trucks We are definitely coming back, and hoping to have a dessert with some tea or coffee next time
Gale B.
If you eat out a lot and appreciate great food experiences with no b.s. -- this is your place. It's similar to eating in a bistro in europe and you need to come here when you are not in a rush! My hubby recently started a new job in the area and we've been here twice because it's that good. We felt right at home---it's kind of cool to be greeted by the owner/chef Henry who is also the busboy, bartender and head chef. When you arrive you can scan the QR code and order /relax. We have tried and enjoyed most of the menu including: gazpacho, chicken wings (both flavors are awesome) , the 8 hour Bolognese papperdelle,, pork sausage broccolini di ciccio, cavatelli pasta, steak au poiuvre, and my personal favorite his house blend burger blend with aioli fries. Everything is made to order with farm fresh ingredients --and I appreciate his sangria! Love Henry and this place--can't wait to get back soon!!
Alice N.
We appreciated Number5Kitchen. We chose this place solely by looking at Yelp stars. None of us had a chance to read the reviews so we didn't know it was a one-man show. We were not only pleasantly surprised but impressed with the quality and flavors of the dishes. We ordered an app, two pastas, and a burger -- the entrees were some of the best I've had in the area If you're good on time and want some great quality food, I'd recommend Number5Kitchen!
This place is cute. It's a little on the smaller intimate side. The menu is not overly large, but the food here seems high quality. I would say this is a little on the expensive side given the portion sizes but still solid food.We shared the chicken wings. The flavors were quite good but the chicken wings were extremely small. Although there was 6, each one was like a baby wing and half the size of a normal wing. I probably could just eat the dish myself. The chili condiment on the side was also very delicious. You can buy a jar to bring it home too.I tried the house burger and thought it was rather tasty. I love aioli and thought whatever they used was great. The cheese they used gave a sharp bite that I'm not used to getting from burgers (either that or it was the sauce but I think it was the cheddar cheese). I did like how strong the flavor was and would get again. The burger is however on the smaller side so if you don't eat a lot great but if you do you might still be hungry.The chef also gave us some ribs to try since he was experimenting with a new recipe. I actually don't like ribs that much due to how annoying they are to eat off the bone but I thought this one didn't have much bone if at all which made it a lot easier to eat. Flavor was good, I think it was coffee or chocolate rub.
Cole Kitaura
First time eating at Number5Kitchen for lunch. My wife and I decided to try it since we had met Henry over the weekend at the Farmer's Market. We like the concept of farm to table dining using fresh local ingredients.We ordered: Organic Spring Mix, Fried Chicken Wings, 8-Hour Bolognese and Dungeness Crab tagliatelle. The organic spring mix salad was very fresh tasting and the granola topping complemented the salad. Chicken wings were very tasty. Nice crispy skin. The 8-Hour Bolognese was excellent. From the fresh tasting pappardelle pasta to the bolognese. Same for the Dungeness Crab tagliatelle. Fresh noodles, crab and sauce have a lot of flavor and taste great!Service was very good. Henry the owner was our chef and service staff. Timing of food was good and he came back to check on us regularly. Ambiance is casual. A nice simple setting feels relaxing and enjoyable.We will be back for dinner soon to drink wine with the excellent food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pasta Bolognese
Susan M.
The bolognese here is next level. My husband loved his burger too. I'm not certain, but it seemed like a one man show: cooking, bar tending, and serving. That makes it even more impressive! Sangria was on point as well. It looks like they have some high chairs and kids books available if you are wondering about whether it is family friendly.
Balakrishna Narasimhan
Number5 is a great local restaurant. Excellent food, made with care from high-quality ingredients. Even our kids (11 and 13) loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mario B.
Number5Kitchen is the quintessential small local business ran as basically a one man show by Henry, using local and seasonal ingredients to bring quality options in a cozy restaurant. The service was top notch and obviously had that personal touch that usually lacks in the typical fast pace, chain style establishment. If you want to support a local small business, look no further than Henry's place. From cooking to serving, he does it all and quite fast at that. He also checks on you and asks for feedback and suggestions in order to further improve the experience. He's also just very thoughtful.The food is honest, simple, and delicious. The ingredients are local and high quality; no processed stuff here. Because of that, the menu changes often so don't be surprised when you go.The little gem salad was lightly and perfectly seasoned, letting the fresh and seasonal ingredients speak. The strawberries that are now in season were the perfect touch to bring out the freshness and delight. The fries were high quality - nice and crunchy on the outside and tasty and mushy on the inside. The aioli was the perfect compliment and helped elevate the simple flavor to something a bit more gourmet. Similarly, the crab pasta was top notch. The basics were on point - the pasta was nice and creamy. The topping of high quality crab elevated the basic flavors and made it a memorable dish.Lastly, the basque cake was light and not too sweet. You can taste that it was made with love and care rather than simply being stuffed with sugar and sweetness to try to make up for any shortcomings.Overall, I would recommend this place to anyone looking for honest and simple food that highlights the quality and freshness of the seasonal ingredients while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you are directly supporting a small, local business.
What a culinary experience! Such a gem in the heart of San Carlos. Thanks for the amazing dinner, team.
Incredible food made with so much care. The best pasta in San Carlos.Kid-friendliness: Felt very welcome with our one year old.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Just incredible for the price. Super fresh and excellent quality ingredients. Kind owner/chef. Best place in San Carlos for food. By a long shot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We tried the 8-hour bolognese, the local black cod, and the citrus burrata. They were absolutely perfect, no seasoning was needed. Everything was locally fresh, impressive, and yet so familiar; great setting for perfect comfort food in a family-owned restaurant. We regret we didn’t try their signature Dungeness crab pasta and that will be something for another visit. This experience was an excellent surprise on our work trip.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: HMB Brussels Sprout, 8-Hour Bolognese
I feel like the blackened miso cod that I had for dinner would have cost a lot more if I’d had it almost anywhere else. It was great. Quite a healthy portion, well plated with delicious, well cooked vegetables and mushrooms. The owner is a one person show here. It’s admirable that he can pull it off.. and he definitely does.Wheelchair accessibility: easy and good wheelchair access
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had 3 different pastas and loved them all! The sauces were all awesome and tasty. If I could only lick the plates... mmmm yummy!The place is nice and simple! Very cozy! The owner, chef, server was very nice and very good at what he does. I love going and supporting small businesses such as this. It's a definite gem!
Yes, Henry does it again! He does it again, and again, and again... Whenever my fiance's mom is in town the first place she wants to go to for dinner is Number5Kitchen. As expected, and well deserved! This is truly one of our favorite restaurants we have ever dined at.There are definitely busier restaurants in the San Carlos downtown dining strip, but Number5Kitchen is like one of those hidden gems. If you know, you know. There were about three parties dining in when we came on Friday night, and all of us seem to have that silent understanding that yes, this is the place you need to be at!We got the bolognese and crab pasta on our last visit, but that night we ventured out and got the new autumn salad and the cod. OMG. I feel like I will dream about the autumn salad for the rest of my life. Henry's ideas.. are so perfectly combined in his craft. The autumn salad is living proof of it (aside from the wonderful restaurant in its entirety). Fresh figs, "witch finger" grapes, apples, and a creme fraiche.. I could not get over just how lovely everything blended together. I wanted to savor it and eat it forever. I'm trying to get my fiance to re-make that for us at home but we'll see if he pulls through.I can't wait to come back once again! I'm even thinking of booking out this place for a private party of some sort.. maybe an engagement party, or my birthday.. whichever, I know it'll be THE choice.
I had an absolutely lovely experience dining at this cozy, beautiful restaurant. I loved the wooden tables, stylish and sturdy utensils (unlike most places that have flimsy cheap ones), beautiful plates, delicious food, and wonderful service. We ordered pasta bolognese, seasonal autumn vegetable pasta, and a seasonal salad. Each item was delicious, tasted fresh, high quality, and homey. The serving size was perfect, not too much not too little. This is the place where you will peacefully enjoy every bite of your meal and leave feeling happy and satisfied - my kind of place!The chef & the owner of the place is very nice to talk to. He was also patient and friendly with our 3 year old son who threw a tantrum, and even offered him to play with the toy trucks We are definitely coming back, and hoping to have a dessert with some tea or coffee next time
If you eat out a lot and appreciate great food experiences with no b.s. -- this is your place. It's similar to eating in a bistro in europe and you need to come here when you are not in a rush! My hubby recently started a new job in the area and we've been here twice because it's that good. We felt right at home---it's kind of cool to be greeted by the owner/chef Henry who is also the busboy, bartender and head chef. When you arrive you can scan the QR code and order /relax. We have tried and enjoyed most of the menu including: gazpacho, chicken wings (both flavors are awesome) , the 8 hour Bolognese papperdelle,, pork sausage broccolini di ciccio, cavatelli pasta, steak au poiuvre, and my personal favorite his house blend burger blend with aioli fries. Everything is made to order with farm fresh ingredients --and I appreciate his sangria! Love Henry and this place--can't wait to get back soon!!
We appreciated Number5Kitchen. We chose this place solely by looking at Yelp stars. None of us had a chance to read the reviews so we didn't know it was a one-man show. We were not only pleasantly surprised but impressed with the quality and flavors of the dishes. We ordered an app, two pastas, and a burger -- the entrees were some of the best I've had in the area If you're good on time and want some great quality food, I'd recommend Number5Kitchen!
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is cute. It's a little on the smaller intimate side. The menu is not overly large, but the food here seems high quality. I would say this is a little on the expensive side given the portion sizes but still solid food.We shared the chicken wings. The flavors were quite good but the chicken wings were extremely small. Although there was 6, each one was like a baby wing and half the size of a normal wing. I probably could just eat the dish myself. The chili condiment on the side was also very delicious. You can buy a jar to bring it home too.I tried the house burger and thought it was rather tasty. I love aioli and thought whatever they used was great. The cheese they used gave a sharp bite that I'm not used to getting from burgers (either that or it was the sauce but I think it was the cheddar cheese). I did like how strong the flavor was and would get again. The burger is however on the smaller side so if you don't eat a lot great but if you do you might still be hungry.The chef also gave us some ribs to try since he was experimenting with a new recipe. I actually don't like ribs that much due to how annoying they are to eat off the bone but I thought this one didn't have much bone if at all which made it a lot easier to eat. Flavor was good, I think it was coffee or chocolate rub.
First time eating at Number5Kitchen for lunch. My wife and I decided to try it since we had met Henry over the weekend at the Farmer's Market. We like the concept of farm to table dining using fresh local ingredients.We ordered: Organic Spring Mix, Fried Chicken Wings, 8-Hour Bolognese and Dungeness Crab tagliatelle. The organic spring mix salad was very fresh tasting and the granola topping complemented the salad. Chicken wings were very tasty. Nice crispy skin. The 8-Hour Bolognese was excellent. From the fresh tasting pappardelle pasta to the bolognese. Same for the Dungeness Crab tagliatelle. Fresh noodles, crab and sauce have a lot of flavor and taste great!Service was very good. Henry the owner was our chef and service staff. Timing of food was good and he came back to check on us regularly. Ambiance is casual. A nice simple setting feels relaxing and enjoyable.We will be back for dinner soon to drink wine with the excellent food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pasta Bolognese
The bolognese here is next level. My husband loved his burger too. I'm not certain, but it seemed like a one man show: cooking, bar tending, and serving. That makes it even more impressive! Sangria was on point as well. It looks like they have some high chairs and kids books available if you are wondering about whether it is family friendly.
Number5 is a great local restaurant. Excellent food, made with care from high-quality ingredients. Even our kids (11 and 13) loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Number5Kitchen is the quintessential small local business ran as basically a one man show by Henry, using local and seasonal ingredients to bring quality options in a cozy restaurant. The service was top notch and obviously had that personal touch that usually lacks in the typical fast pace, chain style establishment. If you want to support a local small business, look no further than Henry's place. From cooking to serving, he does it all and quite fast at that. He also checks on you and asks for feedback and suggestions in order to further improve the experience. He's also just very thoughtful.The food is honest, simple, and delicious. The ingredients are local and high quality; no processed stuff here. Because of that, the menu changes often so don't be surprised when you go.The little gem salad was lightly and perfectly seasoned, letting the fresh and seasonal ingredients speak. The strawberries that are now in season were the perfect touch to bring out the freshness and delight. The fries were high quality - nice and crunchy on the outside and tasty and mushy on the inside. The aioli was the perfect compliment and helped elevate the simple flavor to something a bit more gourmet. Similarly, the crab pasta was top notch. The basics were on point - the pasta was nice and creamy. The topping of high quality crab elevated the basic flavors and made it a memorable dish.Lastly, the basque cake was light and not too sweet. You can taste that it was made with love and care rather than simply being stuffed with sugar and sweetness to try to make up for any shortcomings.Overall, I would recommend this place to anyone looking for honest and simple food that highlights the quality and freshness of the seasonal ingredients while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you are directly supporting a small, local business.