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Today, this historically significant building houses La Foret, an exquisite French restaurant named appropriately enough for its lush forest surroundings. As one of San Jose’s finest dining establishments, La Foret is proud to carry on the time-honored tradition of hospitality that began in New Almaden more than 100 years ago.

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.

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Reviews of La Foret Restaurant

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5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
3 Reviews
100% recommend it
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Vanessa Sent on 02/07/2018
5 out of 5 rating
We had our wedding here in September, and it was fantastic! The rental director, Di, was great to work with and very communicative. She answered all of my questions, and was very accommodating all around. The venue is gorgeous and priced very well. We were able to create a wonderful atmosphere that fit our wedding decor theme and our personalities. The bar area and separate rooms allowed for everyone to have plenty of room to walk around and visit with one another. We even had a photo booth set up in the bar area, and it was perfect! We used the stage instead of the chapel for our ceremony as we had family who could not climb the stairs, but it worked great because everyone could see and hear the ceremony. The bridal suite was great! I couldn’t have asked for a better experience all around. Our photos came out amazing, our families had a wonderful time, and we were able to rent the hall for the day before at a very reasonable price so that we could set up and have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves the day of. The caterers and bartenders had an easy time setting up. The PA system was great and the DJ just loved the acoustics. I am so glad we got married here, it was perfect! Thank you Station House 726 and IAFF Local 726! What a wonderful experience you provided!
User2919508 Sent on 12/20/2016
5 out of 5 rating
Words cannot express how happy I am that we chose this venue over many many others! The Station House 726 is inherently beautiful and historic so it did not take much for us to get it ready for the big day. The venue has on site tables and chairs (included in price) as well as table linens (for separate rental) which made is so easy and convenient to make everything happen that we needed. We received countless compliments on the venue. Although we were afraid it may be small for our 200 plus wedding guests, the lounge and bar across the hall from the main eating/sitting/dancing area provided an incredible space for guests to lounge and take pictures in our photo booth! Not the mention the affordability! This venue is a MUST see!!
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Arin Sent on 01/25/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Absolutely the best place to get married! They have separate rooms - a chapel upstairs for the ceremony, a bar room for cocktails and hor d'oeurves, and a huge reception room to celebrate. Spacious for a decent size guest list and is overall gorgeous venue. We also went right down the street to Meeker Mansion for a photo shoot. I highly recommend this venue for a wedding, so much so that one of my best friends is getting married there in may! You won't be disappointed.

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