A new Village Pub opens A new Village Pub opens (June 13, 2001)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Staff Writer

The Village Pub, a beloved fixture in Woodside since 1958, reopened June 11 with a new location in the original building, a new owner, and a new chef.

The decor, too, is changed. Old-timers will recognize the original, restored 70-year-old bar in the lounge area; however, the clubby atmosphere is now more Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, a contrast to the paneled walls and red leather booths of yesteryear.

The 75-year-old building, housing the restaurant and Coldwell Banker offices, was sold in 1998 by Ralph Oswald to developer Art Chapman of JMA Properties of Cupertino. It has been extensively remodeled, and the new Pub _ a 5,000-square-foot restaurant designed by Architecture & Light of San Francisco _ occupies the first floor of the building. Coldwell Banker offices are on the second (street level) floor.

Restaurateur Tim Stannard , former food and beverage director at Plump Jack in San Francisco, is the Pub's new owner/proprietor. (He has 24 investors.) He grew up in San Francisco, and one of his earliest memories is standing on a bucket peeling carrots in the kitchen of Prego restaurant while his mother, who worked for Spectrum Foods, met with the staff.

While attending classes at UC Berkeley, he worked nights and weekends in restaurants. After college he managed Il Fornaio in San Francisco, and credits Larry Mindel with teaching him about the restaurant business.

He said he later went to Bix restaurant in San Francisco, owned by Doug Biederbeck. There, he worked in every job, including manager for four years.

"Doug had me doing everything from parking cars to acting as maitre d'. I owe everything I know about restaurants to him," he said.

The Pub's new executive chef, Mark Sullivan, was formerly the executive chef at Plump Jack in Squaw Valley. Mr. Sullivan said he was flipping omelets by the time he began grade school. He had his first restaurant job at 16, and worked in the business through his college years at St. John's University in Minnesota.

His first restaurant job in San Francisco was at Sol y Luna, where he worked his way from prep cook to head line cook in eight months, he said. Mr. Sullivan was formerly chef at 42 Degrees and worked with Mr. Stannard at Bix.

The two-story building at 2967 Woodside Road replicates the original facade. Guests enter the back of the building, and step into the bar from a brick-porch entrance draped with bougainvillea.

Along with its famous bar, the lounge has a limestone fireplace and leather chairs. The dining room is more formal, with mahogany wainscoting, a larger double-sided limestone fireplace, walls covered in a Bordeaux-color mohair fabric, and chocolate brown patterned carpeting.

The dining room seats 70, the bar/lounge 48. There are two private dining rooms, which can be combined to accommodate 50 guests.

Chef Sullivan describes the Pub's food as "comfortable, nothing overwrought."

He said it is contemporary American with classic French roots. "When people come to the Village Pub, we want them to feel as relaxed as if they were in their living room at home," he said.

Appetizers include shaved spring vegetables with parmesan and citrus sauce ($9), and white and purple asparagus with oxtail jus ($12). Among the entrees are olive oil-poached wild salmon ($24) and double-cut lamb chops served with zucchini haystacks ($29).

Selections from the bar menu include Caesar salad with white anchovy crostini ($9), and burger and fries ($10).

Guests will be able to order from the bar menu in the dining room and the dining room menu in the bar.

The Village Pub is now open daily for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. In July the restaurant opens for both lunch and dinner. Fiona Muir is general manager; Andrew Green is wine director.