Asa Los Altos transfers ownership, reopens as Roja

On June 15, new restaurant Roja quietly welcomed diners to the former Asa Los Altos space. So quietly that some diners who had reservations with Asa didn’t know of the ownership change until they began ordering.

“Some customers came in and sat down and thought they were dining at Asa until they began looking around and noticed the new name and branding,” said James Ashe, co-owner and head of the beverage program. Fellow co-owner and chef Roberto Juarez acknowledged that although the change was smooth and swift, it was a long time coming.

Roja, named after the first two letters of the new owners’ names, aims to carry on the legacy of farm-to-table fine dining that Asa Los Altos built while crafting its vision of modern California cuisine.

Ashe and Juarez worked for former Asa Los Altos owner Andrew Welch in 2014 at Welch’s former Saratoga spot, The Basin. In 2017 when Welch opened Asa Los Altos, Juarez was the opening chef. In 2020, Juarez moved on and began working with Ashe again on a nearby pop-up, and during that time, the two talked about opening a spot together.

This past February, Welch reached out to Juarez to see if he would be interested in returning to Asa and working Sundays on a special Sunday-only menu. During one of their conversations, Welch hinted that he’d been feeling stretched too thin and was thinking about selling and just keeping his second Asa location in Los Gatos. 

“I called James and told him that Asa might be available and we agreed to approach Andrew together,” Juarez said. “At first, I think we caught him off guard, but the more we talked about it, the more it became real to all of us. The whole thing felt like a movie script.”

Ashe and Juarez only closed the doors for five days during the ownership transfer and have made minimal changes to the dining room and staff. Except for a couple of dishes, the menu has been revamped to showcase Juarez’s handling of seasonal produce and proteins (as all purveyors were maintained).

Juarez is passionate about French and Italian cuisine and described his take on them as “classic with a twist.” He loves to prepare duck confit and compared it to carnitas and said, “The influence of French food on Mexican cuisine is huge.”

New menu items include house-made Parker house rolls; fresh oysters; a confit of leek, babaganoush and aged balsamic; smoked- and dry-aged duck breast with Swiss chard, carrot puree and rhubarb compote; McFarland Springs rainbow trout with red pepper veloute, kale and lemon oil; and braised oxtail with Espagnole sauce, potato puree and gremolata.

Behind the bar, Ashe is enthusiastic about bringing back the classics and said, “We’re going to mirror our bar on the classic Japanese bartenders who are really dialing in on the classics and focused on the art of making a cocktail rather than coming up with a crazy recipe.”

Juarez concurred and said, “The same could be said about the classic food I’m creating. On the surface, it might seem simple using a handful of ingredients but it’s actually very complex, especially when those ingredients are allowed to shine.”

Both Ashe and Juarez see Welch as a mentor and are proud to carry on what he built. Juarez added, “I came to the United States 20 years ago, and for many years I was undocumented. Now I am a US citizen, and at 40 years old I own my own restaurant. I’m in a happy place now. I hope someone reads this and is reminded to never give up and that hard work pays off.”

Roja, 242 State St., Los Altos; 650-935-2372, Instagram: @roja_los_altos. Open Tuesday to Thursday 5-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5-9:30 p.m.