These days, when you hear of a splashy new restaurant opening its doors, you’ll be forgiven if your thoughts automatically go to San Francisco, Wine Country, or even Palo Alto.

Eos & Nyx, however, is not in any of those places, but rather in downtown San Jose.

Previously a movie theater, the soaring space has been transformed into a glitzy, two-story, 4,000-square-foot Mediterranean restaurant. Fifteen months in the making, it was designed by San Diego’s Basile Studio, which also did California’s Puesto restaurants, including the one in Santa Clara.

Appropriately named for the Greek goddesses of day and night, Eos & Nyx takes on a different personality from brunch (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) to dinner (Tuesday through Saturday). During the day, when the weather is warm, the floor-to-ceiling, garage-door front windows can be raised to bring the outdoors in, bathing the leafy dining room adorned with lifelike fake trees and even river rocks underneath the booths with tons of natural light. At night, the vibe is more Vegas-like with moodier lighting that makes the copper accents glimmer and the back-lighted bar stand out.

Speaking of the bar, it’s a real showstopper. There are actually two bars — one on each floor — that share a nifty liquor carousel. With the touch of an iPad, the carousel is set in motion, sending its 400 bottles of liquor from the first floor bar to the second and back again, much like a Ferris wheel. (To see it in motion, go to my Instagram link here.) Because the liquor carousel can be seen from the outside of the restaurant, it’s sure to dazzle any passersby.

The restaurant is the brainchild of George Lahlouh, Dan Phan and Johnny Wang, founders of MO Hospitality, the local group behind Paper Plane, Mini Boss, Still OG, and Alter Ego (inside Still OG), all in San Jose.

It already seems to be drawing big interest. Last Thursday, its first opening day to the public and the night I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, the place was packed. I even spotted San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan there.

Who can blame them, as it’s hard to resist a place that beckons with so much energy and liveliness, especially in a downtown that like so many others since the pandemic has been trying to recapture that spirit.

Executive Chef Nicko Moulinos, who hails from Corfu, Greece, oversees a team of about 25 in the kitchen, that makes most everything in-house, including all the breads and pastas. He’s cooked in New York at Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin and Kwame Onwuachi’s Kith/Kin, as well as locally at Taverna in Palo Alto and Dio Deka in Los Gatos.

Everything is meant for sharing. Many of the dishes get touched by smoke and flames on the custom grill from Texas.

This is not an inexpensive menu. Mains run from a low of $27 for a harissa-topped burger with fries to a high of $175 for a 32-ounce, dry-aged ribeye with sage butter and chimchurri. But there are several gifts that come from the kitchen, both thoughtful and whimsical, that you don’t necessarily expect when you’re dining a la carte.

That starts with an amuse that’s a riff on the famed salmon cornet at The French Laundry. This is a tinier version — a one-bite crisp sesame waffle cone filled with a spoonful of tuna tartare and a few pearls of osetra caviar. The overall effect is to make you feel like you’re in for a special night from the get-go.

With the MO Hospitality establishments so known for their cocktails, you’d be remiss not to order one. The Paper Plane ($17) is a racy, tart, and citrusy bourbon-based drink with aperitivo, amaro, and lemon; while the Coming Up Roses ($17) is lighter, vanilla-scented, and floral like a big bouquet in a glass with calvados, sherry, rose, cardamom, lemon, and soda.

The dip trio with warm, puffy pita ($15) is a great nosh to start. It comes with a chunky, smoky baba ghanoush; tangy Turkish yogurt laced with cucumber and fennel; and creamy taramas deepened with cured fish roe.

The raw seafood preparation of the day was rockfish drizzled with olive oil and lemon, and garnished with persimmons ($24), which added an almost cinnamon-like note.

Ribbons of spinach paparadelle ($36) were incredibly supple, and tossed with a meaty, gravy-like ragu made with ground duck and showered with Grana Padano. It had just a touch of heat, too.

Before the entrees arrive, you’re brought cups of cold basil limeade to enjoy, another extra you weren’t expecting. Acidic, floral, and a little sweet, it does the job to refresh the palate.

The 10-ounce lamb chops ($58), with onion soubise and confit potatoes, couldn’t have been juicier or more tender.

The whole daurade or sea bream ($57) is cooked en papillote, though the parchment is removed before the plate is set before you. This is one moist and flavorful fish, cooked with ouzo, and finished with sauce Grenobloise made with browned butter, lemon, parsley, oregano, and plenty of capers.

A side of mushrooms ($17) cooked with white wine and thyme was made even better because of the smokiness picked up from the grill.

For dessert, there’s chocolate budino ($14) topped with chocolate cookie and butterscotch crumbles along with toasted hazelnuts. It’s thick, creamy, and rich in dark chocolate.

The check is delivered with such a fanciful flourish that you almost don’t mind its arrival. Indeed, it is clipped to a real bonsai tree, and accompanied by powdered sugar-dusted, rose-scented Mexican wedding cookies.

If you haven’t dined in downtown San Jose in a while, Eos & Nyx beckons like nothing else.