Big Basin Way is the commercial spine of Saratoga Village, a low-key strip of restaurants, wine bars, and boutiques that manages to feel genuinely local rather than curated for tourists. The street runs along a small creek and is lined with mature trees, giving it a leafy, almost small-town character that feels unlikely given its proximity to the tech campuses of Cupertino and San Jose.
The restaurants here are some of the best in the South Bay — a concentration of serious kitchens that draw diners from across the region. The Plumed Horse, which holds a Michelin star, is the most celebrated, but there are several good bistros and wine bars along the strip that are easier to get into. On a weekday afternoon, the pace is quiet enough to make Saratoga feel like a different world from the rest of Silicon Valley.