Oveja Negra

This hidden gem in Santana Row is one of my favorite restaurants in Silicon Valley. The ambience is not too loud, not too quiet and with a perfect mix of delicious plates and a great cocktail selection, Oveja Negra will not disappoint!

Service was below average, food was ok. Reasonable prices. We would only recommend this place in warmer seasons when you can sit outside in the courtyard

Good food, good service. Not exactly what I was looking for in Spanish Tapas but it was close. However, the food was yasty!!!

Always a favorite hidden gem

This was a last-minute decision. Our experience was similar to many reviews I read prior to making a reservation. The restaurant is located in the Valencia Hotel but if you didn't know beforehand it might take you a while to find it. Even when we arrived at the hotel entrance we didn't see any obvious signage so I had to remember where to go from one of the reviews. They must miss out on a lot of foot traffic opportunities. The main dining area is sparsely decorated but that's not an issue for me. Only a few people dining there at 7 PM on a Monday (President's Day). Menu is somewhat small but for the 2 of us there were enough choices. Lamb Barbacoa is their signature dish and it was delicious. (We were told that a new signature dish would be replacing it in the near future so order it now.) They really should give you more than 2 small tortillas but you can buy more if needed. Crab Mac and Cheese was a little bland even with the Hot Cheetos dust but I appreciated the chunks of crab. The Tiger Prawns were good and my wife enjoyed the dish even though she typically does not care for shellfish. The Truffle Mushroom Ariancinis were good too...just make sure to eat them while they're still hot/warm. Alison was our server and was very attentive and friendly. The hostess failed to notice that we were there to celebrate a birthday (noted when making the reservation) but Alison found out after we had already finished our dessert...the S'more, which was SO good...and apologized, informing us that if she knew they would have done the whole candle and singing thing. They did comp the dessert though which was a bonus. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed our impromptu dinner. Prices were a little on the high side but that's what you have to expect on Santana Row, right? Thank you!

It was Valentine’s Day with a pre-fix menu at $130 per person, so naturally we expected something better than average. Disappointed. The food was better than ok, not fabulous... it what ruined it was that we we’re TOTALLY RUSHED for no reason because there were plenty of open seats. It was a five course meal that happened in 46 minutes from the moment we sat down to the moment we left walked out the door. That’s rushing! If it had been an appetizer, meal, dessert (3 courses)... 45-60 is great. But it was Valentines Day and a 5 course meal. Our waitress was very sweet but my God... :(

It was the Valentines menu. We really like the staff there, very friendly. The food was really good. This is a New Mexican cuisine. Great with the bubblies

Great service! Our server Natalie was very nice! The food was good! Please remember, this is a tapas place, it is good for date night or shared plates!

Really disappointed. I read the rave reviews and expected a really lovely dining experience. I couldn't say the food was bad - it definitely wasn't bad, but not worth the price. I found the whole experience, overall, unmemorable. I found the waitstaff to be awkward and the ambiance severely lacking. Don't bother going here - there are other tapas restaurants with far more enjoyable atmospheres and better food.

The menu is pretty limited, the only green thing is the bridle sprout appitizer which makes for slim pickings for a balanced meal. The dishes are fine, nothing exceptional. The atmosphere of the place is pretty dead, not just on a Saturday night, just doesn't feel very inviting. If I'd staying at hotel I'd venture out to one of the many nearby choices that are excellent.

The food and service was fantastic. However, unless you’re seated in the back dining room where the surrounding is warm, the rest of the restaurant is super bare and too bright with the naked walls, no plants, no deco, and bright fluorescent lights glaring from the bar/kitchen area.

The food was exceptional and service was good. The setting and decor is very minimalist. For the price of it I did expect to be surrounded by more fine decor. The chairs were not comfortable at all. Very basic interior design if any at all.

Good tasty food. Tapas. Different. Good service good values. Wine excellent.

Vegetarian food was not well prepared - the dishes lacked flavor and creativity.

Great restaurant, food is excellent and the service is great.

Bland food and incorrect assumption by the waitress on how much food we needed to order to feed everyone. This made everyone unhappy as we had to re-order and wait for the food again.

I’m still waiting for a bad experience here. My 4th time coming since August and every time the food is amazing. The menu is always interesting and the server (forgot his name) is on top of his game. This place is always a nice change up from Santana rows other usual suspects. Definitely recommend trying it out

I had a pleasant dinner with my girlfriend. The outside seating had a great ambience with a water fountain.

Had a mother daughter meal here on a Wednesday night. Extremely nice staff and it was good food but the restaurant was empty! It definitely misses out on the foot traffic of Santana Row.

We were at the Cine Arts movie theaters at Santana Row and wanted to have dinner close by after the show. Decided to try Oveja Negra and we were so glad we did. The lamb barbacoa was so tender and flavorful! The prawns in coconut curry was subtle and delicious! The drinks were perfect and so was the service. Very attentive, informative, easy going and pleasant! Would definitely recommend this place and am looking forward to going back!

I’ve eaten most food items on this menu now and have not been disappointed by anything, including the desserts! Tapas is a ‘sharing’ food serving style for those who don’t know. Plate portions here are in ‘threes’ usually, so when couples are dining you’ll have one extra morsel to fight over. Groups of four can ask for portions to be increased by one (for a wee bit more $). Five or more and just start ordering extra plates. Don’t worry you still be fighting over those extra morsels.

Delish! It was a little cold outside and a bit dark for evening dining. However, it was my dining companion's choice (I would have stayed inside). Service was good, but they seemed somewhat understaffed.

My wife and I decided to start doing date nights to synchronize our busy schedules. This was our first one, and it was wonderful. All of the dishes, plus the dessert, were amazing. The wine markup was a bit much, but aside from that, a perfect evening out.

Always love coming to Oveja negra. Staff and management always make us feel like we are in the first class section of the plane. Chef always adding some nice new additions to the menu. We love the Tapas theme and the vibe of this place.

We were seated indoors in a very nondescript bland room. The outside seating looked more interesting but there was no space available, even though we had a reservation.

The food is too expensive for the portions and taste. I wouldn't go back.

Amazing service and food. The steak was phenomenal. Had dinner for four and was perfect setting.

The signature dish was excellent! We also ordered the brussel sprouts and loved those as well.

Understand this is a small plates/tapas restaurant, but some of the dishes here are very small for the price, only about one quarter of a rack of ribs and 5 broccolini. There were a good amount of party wings, though (8 - 10 party wings, good size). Good amount of brussel sprouts, but they were charred.

This was a good find for dinner and possibly for lunch as well. We had an early, 6:30, reservation for dinner and the place was not crowded. Quiet and pleasant with a good outdoor space. Good for conversation and enough tables for couples and groups. We sat outdoors so I can only speak to that. It began to pick up around 9 p.m. Remained fine. We all agreed it was a good experience.

great find, had a great time so don't understand the few critical reviews.. maybe the diners were having a bad day. interesting food, good value/service/setting. can't wait to go again!

First time to this restaurant, and probably won't be going back. The food was good, there just wasn't enough of it. They are a small plates restaurant, and everything is meant for sharing, but the portions are VERY small. The stone fruit "salad" was a HUGE fried cheese ball in the middle, "garnished" with salad. The slices of fruit were VERY tiny, and the plate was $18.00!!!
I do recommend the chicken wings, but even at $14.00 they are not a bargain. The pricing is typical of Santana Row restaurants, but the portions are way too small.

usually do not write reviews but loved this restaurant. great food/setting/service and value. give it a try.. you won't regret it!

Great meal, great service!
Wonderful atmosphere

The food was quite good and the service was very good but there were a couple of core issues with this restaurant. It's inside the Hotel Valencia and is poorly signposted, which might explain why it was so quiet - it just didn't have much ambiance.

I hosted a business dinner here for out of town guests and wanted to give them a nice unique food experience. I will never go back here again. The restaurant is beautiful and on a Thursday evening it wasn't very busy. Maybe that should have been my first sign. The food was absolutely horrid.
We ordered the poutine, drumsticks, grilled octopus, truffle mushroom, brussel sprouts, and the ribs. Most of the items tasted like old food they tried to reheat. And I mean "tried" because the food wasn't even hot except the truffle mushrooms. Then the brussel sprouts came out at the very end, all charred and gross.
For the amount of money for this place or even any place for that matter, this was my worst food experience ever! I was quite embarrassed. I usually don't write reviews but really had to this time. DO NOT GO HERE!

Truly disappointing.

Great food and ambiance. Average (not so great) service. Waiters need to work on being more personable and nicer overall.

Excellent place!!!

Great food, magical setting, excellent service. Will go back.

The food was really poor, not warm enough when it arrived and not as described on the menu, the atmosphere was ok but maybee some music and candles or something could definitly be added, a lot was missing to make it a good place to eat, couldn’t even find the entrance of the restaurant, the whole room was empty and very dead atmosphere. Overall cheap and very disappointing.