Fambrini's Terrace Cafe
Straightforward sandwiches and salads served in a beautiful terrace setting with a view that just won't quit. Affordable coffee drinks and good range of cookies as well.
Eating & Nightlife
Palo Alto is home to some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, in many cases rivaling the best restaurants in San Francisco. It is a favorite dinner spot for locals living throughout Silicon Valley and visiting tourists and business people from around the world.
Most of the best restaurants are relatively small and independent, and without reservations you can expect to wait up to an hour or longer, especially on weekends.
Visitors looking for familiar but quality food will find lots to choose from. Chains including The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, P.F. Chang's, Max's Opera Cafe, Il Fornaio, Gordon Biersch and Buca di Beppo all have Palo Alto locations.
Restaurants are the focal point for nightlife in Palo Alto, and it's not uncommon for them to still be seating customers at 10 or 11 o'clock on weekends. A popular bar scene consisting of mostly non-local young professionals and some Stanford students keeps downtown Palo Alto going until after 1 a.m. A few restaurants and bars feature live music or DJs.
For live theater, check out TheatreWorks, a nationally-acclaimed group that draws from throughout the Peninsula and Silicon Valley. Palo Alto Players, a popular community theater group that was the Peninsula's first theater group when formed in 1931, offers a regular schedule of plays at the Lucie Stern Community Center in Palo Alto. The much-loved Palo Alto Children's Theatre has it's own dedicated stage at the community center and has ignited the acting passion of many local children. Check the calendar for other theater, music and dance offerings in Palo Alto and at Stanford.
View a PDF of a [https://www.paloaltoonline.com/special_pubs/paloalto/249/section1.pdf useful listing of restaurants published in our printed Visitors Guide.
Looking for a good place for a weekend brunch? These restaurants offer special brunch menus.
Want to limit your search to the places our readers selected as "The Best?" These restaurants, cafes and eateries were the winners in our most recent "Best of Palo Alto" contest.
Hobee's Palo Alto Best of Winner - Best Breakfast, Palo Alto Weekly, 2008, 2011
Country-style restaurant with healthy California influence. Long lines for weekend breakfast.
Il Fornaio
Il Fornaio is a sprawling restaurant and bakery specializing in Italian cuisine. House-made breads, antipasti, pizza, pasta, meat and fish are offered. Each month, a different regional cuisine is featured along with the regular menu. Stylish ambiance, full bar, great wine list.
Mayfield Bakery & Cafe Best of Winner - 2015
Mayfield Bakery & Cafe, located in the Town & Country Center, serves lunch and dinner seven days per week in a contemporary whitewashed interior. The menu is imaginative and easily approachable. Especially good are appetizers, fish and rotisserie meats. Baked goods and desserts excel. The sour cherry bread pudding is par excellence. Excellent beer and wine selection at sane prices. However, the service is spotty, ranging from neglectful to overbearing.
Mike's Cafe Etc.
Owner Mike Wallau has been in the restaurant business for a quarter century and has decided simply to serve his favorite dishes at his popular Midtown eatery. Many of the dishes are Italian.
Paris Baguette
The "review" listed above is actually a feature, but this database doesn't allow for that.
Pastis Best of Winner - Best French restaurant: After a morning of shopping at the Sunday farmers market, take in Pastis ? a French restaurant that makes customers say triple
Restaurant Soleil at The Westin
Soleil is creative Mediterranean cuisine at its finest. Salads, soups and grilled prawns shine at lunch, while salmon, lamb and pastas glow at night.
Sheraton's Poolside Grill
The restaurant at the Sheraton, boasts a pleasant and refined setting and an uncomplicated Italian and American menu.
St. Michael's Alley Annex Best of Winner - Best Sunday Brunch, Palo Alto Weekly, 2008, 2011
Ann's Coffee Shop
Homemade pies, pot roast, soups, milkshakes and sandwiches in an old-fashioned diner with genuinely retro decor. The fresh rhubarb pie may win over even those leery of rhubarb. Breakfast served all day. No reservations. No credit cards.
Bagel Street Cafe
"Breakfast and lunch options at this small chain eatery include salads, sandwiches, soups, quiches and pastries -- and at least 30 types of bagels. Bagels with egg and meats or vegetables are available for breakfast, and there's a full espresso bar."
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