Los Gatos loses treasured seafood restaurant after 45 years

An iconic restaurant in downtown Los Gatos renowned for its fresh fish and handmade pasta is shutting its doors after nearly half a century.

Steamer’s The Grillhouse is closing after 45 years in business due to rising operational costs. What began in 1979 as a family business run by siblings Mark, Linda and Paul Matulich, the upscale restaurant known for its seafood and cocktails turned into a downtown staple marinated in garlic, lemon and butter. But the restaurant wasn’t able to keep its head above water and reach an affordable lease agreement, co-owner and founder Paul Matulich said. He wouldn’t name the landlord. That, Matulich said, in combination with the fact that he and his siblings aren’t “spring chickens” anymore, led to the difficult decision to close.

Matulich, 75, said the restaurant’s last day will be Dec. 24.

He said in the many decades he’s run the restaurant, he’s learned a valuable lesson — don’t ever do it, he said with a laugh.

“You keep putting money into it. It’s a labor of love,” he told San José Spotlight. “That’s the addiction, the adrenaline, the constant pressure and everything.”

Steamer’s first opened in 1979 with 12 tables and no dishwasher. Matulich said someone who was supposed to help cook never showed, so he was slammed preparing 195 dinners, making fish dishes to differentiate the restaurant from what he saw as the steakhouse craze. The menu has changed over the years, but Matulich said he has never been able to get rid of the homemade linguini he introduced around 1981. The dish is topped with large wild blue prawns, fresh dungeness crab and mushrooms, soaked in an aromatic garlic lemon butter sauce.

San Jose resident Karen Parsons has been going to the restaurant for about 25 years. She and her sister go there each year for their birthdays and don’t know what they’re going to do with the impending closure. Her favorite order is the lunch tacos made with crispy fish or prawns in corn tortillas under layers of marinated white onions, salsa, avocado lime sauce, crema, cabbage and pinto beans.

“It was just something that we just got into the habit of doing. It was like ‘We’re gonna celebrate your birthday, yeah, let’s go to Steamer’s,'” she told San José Spotlight. “It was that kind of place that just felt good for doing that type of thing.”

In its last month, Steamer’s is offering its weekly Wine Wednesdays and bringing back some old favorites no longer on the menu. It will also offer select nights with reduced cocktail prices to clear out the bar.

While the treasured restaurant is closing its doors at its existing location, it may not be gone forever. Matulich said he’s been eyeing another Los Gatos location, but things are up in the air. Matulich said he has to consider his and his family’s health before committing to more work.

Former Los Gatos resident Desiree Boudin, who has been frequenting the restaurant since 1983 and now lives in Santa Clara, hopes Steamer’s will reopen. She’s seen the restaurant’s evolution from more casual dining to a higher end experience as a regular who used to visit its bar every day. Her favorites include the creamy clam chowder and any kind of white fish.

“It is really like a Los Gatos landmark. It’s like a trademark of Los Gatos,” she told San José Spotlight. “We’re hoping it can keep going.”
Matulich doesn’t know what the future holds, but he joked he does want to get his clam chowder and house salad dressing sold at Costco thanks to all of his loyal customers. He encourages people to come out until Steamer’s closes the doors the day before Christmas to support his longtime employees who will be out of work.

For now, he’ll take it easy after decades of service.

“I want to go eat food and be waited on,” Matulich said. “I’m looking forward to that… I want to be a customer.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.