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.
Amici's East Coast Pizzeria Best of Winner - Best Pizza, Mountain View Voice, 2011
This incarnation of an East Coast pizza joint may ring true with some or as an imposter with others. Signature-style brick oven charred crust is paper thin, crisp and somewhat dry. Good place for groups.
Cafe Baklava Best of Winner - Best Mediterranean Restaurant, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Cafe Baklava offers well-prepared classic Middle Eastern food on Mountain View's main street. A particularly interesting offering is evizli peynir, a thick dip of ground toasted walnuts and sharp goat cheese with a terrific tang. Dessert is a mixed bag.
Cascal Best of Winner - Best Mediterranean and best happy hour: Readers continue to share the love for Cascal, which won in two categories this year, for best Mediterranean r
Cascal's "pan-Latin" cuisine features Spanish and South American dishes. Excellent tapas -- small dishes meant to be shared -- include lamb meatballs, veal tagine and calimari in red wine sauce The interior exudes casual warmth, with warm colors, deeply hued fabrics, beautiful wood floors, and faux-Moorish archways and pillars. The restaurant excels with service, ambience and pizzazz.
Chez TJ Best of Winner - 2015
Crepevine Best of Winner - 2015
Erik's DeliCafe Best of Winner - Best Deli, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Offers a variety of sandwiches, soups, and salads served up cafeteria style at this chain restaurant.
Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi Too Best of Winner - Best Italian Restaurant, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Excellent New York-style pizza, good pasta, tasty veal and chicken dishes. Weeknight specials are particularly good values. Service is friendly and competent in this family-oriented restaurant. Avoid the desserts, though.
Garden Fresh Best of Winner - 2015
Inspired by Buddhist teachings, Garden Fresh is a vegan Chinese restaurant featuring vegetable, tofu and wheat-gluten dishes. Brown rice comes with almost everything, and the bulk of the menu is dedicated to tofu dishes. Appetizers, soups and dessert (soy-based ice cream).
Hobee's Mountain View Best of Winner - Best Breakfast, Mountain View Voice, 2011, 2013
Country-style restaurant with healthy California influence. Long lines for weekend breakfast.
Morocco's Restaurant Best of Winner - 2015
Pacific Catch Fresh Fish Grill Best of Winner - 2015
Ramen House Ryowa Best of Winner - Best Noodle Place, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Red Rock Coffee Co. Best of Winner - 2015
Red Rock Coffee Co. has a typical coffee house menu consisting of sandwiches, smoothies, teas, pastries, etc. Also features live music on weekends, an open mic on Monday nights and free wireless internet.
Ristorante Don Giovanni Best of Winner - 2015
A reliable bet for a good dinner and a relaxing evening out. The menu is sprawling and the three or four daily specials are frequently imaginative, with a pasta of the day, a risotto, one or two fish dishes and sometimes veal on a mesquite wood-burning grill.
St. Stephen's Green Best of Winner - Best Bar, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Sushi Tomi Best of Winner - 2015
This tiny Japanese restaurant almost always seems full. More expensive than some local sushi spots, but you can taste the quality- chef Kitamura serves some of the freshest and most succulent sushi around.
Taqueria La Bamba Best of Winner - Best Burrito, Mountain View Voice, 2011
Must all new restaurants challenge preconceptions with a dizzying fusion mix? Those wanting a break from that whirl will welcome Taqueria La Bamba, where the straightforward Mexican food is simple, nourishing and familiar. Other than skimping on the chips, the restaurant offers a satisfying menu and particularly large al pastor super burrito.
Xanh Restaurant Best of Winner - 2015
Chef Phuy Tham has created a traditional Vietnamese menu with a modern California twist. Highlights include the banana leaf sea bass and catfish in a clay pot. Xanh Restuarant provides stylish, casual ambiance and well-prepared dishes. Full wine list available.
Firehouse Bistro Best of Winner - Best new restaurant The award for favorite new restaurant goes to the Firehouse Bistro in Woodside. Owners LeeAnn and Bill Gilbert have owned the bui
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