The building at 50 West in San Jose will once again serve food and drinks with the debut of Poppy & Claro on Thursday, October 16. It’s unlike the previous option, the private, members-only Capital Club that closed in December 2024 in the former KQED office building. Instead, Poppy & Claro is an all-day restaurant and bar located on the ground floor, open to all: office workers, museumgoers, locals, and more.
The idea behind the all-day restaurant and bar is to create something that’s approachable to everyone in the area, says Poppy & Claro chef Christopher Littman. For business breakfasts and evening dates, the spacious restaurant is built to host it all. The morning is propped up with Sightglass Coffee and a menu filled with drip coffees, espresso, cortados, and cappuccinos. This pairs with teas, and specialty options such as espresso tonics, matcha spritzes, and the namesake drink the Claro, an espresso with milk, toasted black walnut syrup, and black walnut bitters.
provides a selection of pastries, as well as the bread base for dishes like the egg, mushroom, and avocado toast. “It’s our take on a really nice French soft scramble with roasted maitakes and crushed avocado,” Littman says. There’s also a breakfast sandwich on deck, as well as a chilaquiles and a breakfast burrito, or the Claro granola parfait featuring toasted black walnuts for those seeking a cold item.
But the real center of the restaurant is the hearth, freshly installed for Poppy & Claro. Littman hails from Brooklyn, and he’s excited for the pizzas that will roll out of there. “I’ve been studying this since about nine years old,” Littman says. He most recently worked on a pizza pop-up during the pandemic and dialed in his recipe, landing on “California meets New York,” meaning touches of fresh California produce and a New York-style pie. That means a seasonal, rotating pizza, as well as other options like the Truffle Shuffle, featuring maitake and crimini mushrooms with a truffle-garlic crema. There’s also what Littman guesses will become a customer favorite, the Hot Rosa, a red sauce pie with Fra’mani salami rosa, and finished with burrata, pistachio, Calabrian chile, and hot honey…