Chefs at Santana Row’s Oveja Negra turn to heritage to create menu

The restaurant with the black ram as its masthead is once again fully open at Hotel Valencia in Santana Row.

Oveja Negra – Spanish for black sheep – is the mainstay of this boutique hotel in the middle of a shopping and residential center. Now with two chefs at the helm, Pedro Jose Calvo and Martelle Lorenz, the Oveja Negra menu is studded with influences from their diverse backgrounds.

There’s “The Spaniard” on the daily breakfast menu: a Spanish-style tortilla with local white fish, potatoes, green peppers, caramelized onion and toasted baguette, courtesy of Calvo; and “The Southerner,” an omelet with smoked gouda and Black Forest ham, and “The Frenchie,” a brioche loaf with vanilla bean cream and caramelized bananas foster syrup, both courtesy of Lorenz.

Chef Calvo is from Ordizia in the Basque country of Spain, 20 minutes from San Sebastian, where he attended culinary school. He describes working for three Michelin-star Chef Nacho Manzano, his mentor, as “life changing, epic.”

Calvo worked at several London restaurants, where he met his wife, and was tapped to come to California in 2021 to support Teleferic Barcelona in Palo Alto and later open their third location in Los Gatos.

The unique atmosphere of Oveja Negra at Santana Row called to him, and in January he joined the team.

“I saw this place, and I thought, ‘This can be home,’” he says, gesturing at the Mediterranean courtyard of the Valencia Hotel, replete with bougainvillea and water features that set a meditative tone. “Look at this; how beautiful!”

Hailing from Mobile, Ala., with recent stints in Savannah, Ga., Chef Lorenz brings a fresh twist on the old ’70s favorites that his generation grew up with, like Cookie Monster French toast.

“We were mostly latchkey kids, so meals were quick with lots of simple, prepared foods,” he recalls. “I like to liven those dishes up so there’s a clear sense of ‘newstalgia’ going on!”

He’s got all kinds of plans for all the menus, including adding gator to a salad on the lunch menu. “Just the good stuff,” he promises. “The tail.”

Both chefs are proud of the brunch menu, served 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and featuring Southern and Spanish-inspired specialties, like Huevos Rotos with Iberico ham and the Victorian Benedict, served atop what Lorenz assures is a killer house-made buttermilk biscuit, smothered with browned butter Hollandaise. Of course, there’s chicken and waffles and a Spanish twist on shrimp and grits. And Lorenz has crafted a Dixie Benedict with Dungeness crab and fried green tomato with tarragon Bearnaise.

Calvo’s contributions to the dinner menu include puffy Spanish tortilla stuffed with caramelized onions, poached potatoes and green peppers; pan-seared mackerel with Balbaina sauce; and black cod in Ajada oil served atop confit potatoes with roasted red onion. Lorenz supplies a bacon-wrapped filet served with grilled asparagus and Bearnaise. Braised beef cheeks are a specialty of the house, and the short ribs are a staff favorite. The Manchego cheesecake is the quintessential savory dessert that’s also good for breakfast.

For hours and reservations, visit https://www.ovejanegrasj.com.