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Categories: American (New), Sandwiches, Specialty Food
Town & Country VillageMon-Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"i loved it as bandera's and i love it as the grill... Atmosphere - dark wood, leather, circular bar in the center of the resto. lots of…" read more »
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This restaurant has been on my list for a while and I'm glad it didn't disappoint. I had the tofu lentil loaf and it totally hit the spot. The herb mashed potatoes did not disappoint either! The fresh juice was super yummy, although I think fresh juice always generally is. The fries were alright, but paled in comparison to all of the other great things we were eating.
I'll be back...definitely...
This place was okay. I think the layout of the restaurant is pretty neat. My brother and I went there yesterday evening. We just drove by and it looked pretty nice inside. It was crowded inside so we decided to stop in and take a look at the menu. After asking the hostess for the menu we decided its selection looked decent.
The hostess gave us a table next to this other Asian family. Our server began by asking us what kind of complimentary water we wanted. Did we want distilled or sparkling water? My dining companion and i both went for the sparkling water. The sparkling water came in this interesting-looking glass with a touch of lime on the side.
The menu here is separated into the usual: appetizers, entrees, desserts, etc. etc. The restaurant seems to offer organic food. The bathroom is also really interesting. Anyway, to sum up my review, this place is decent for its price & I would definitely return. The food wasn't particularly memorable or anything ~ I had the Napa salad and it was a bit spicy. The portions were kinda small but at least the dishes came on these cool plates. The desserts were way overpriced so my brother and I skipped out on that.
Three stars ~ just A-OK.
I ordered the sirlion steak and Calafia pizza. The steak had coffee and molasses sauce on top accompanied by arugula salad topped with onion strips. The Calafia pizza was topped with shredded beef, jalapeno, and other veggies.
Apparently, they don't have any diet sodas. But they do make their own sodas with organic local materials such as agave sugar rather than regular commercial sugar. I tried their version of sprite and it tasted pretty close to the regualar sprite.
The meal is pretty good but nothing to write home about. I find the unique idea of using local ingredients attractive. But then, if you dont really care about eating local and stuff, then it's a better deal to eat where you can unlimited refills with bigger portions.
Maybe it's unfair to judge Calafia after just one brunch, but I have never let that stop me before. I like the space which is modern, clean and open. The menu had several appealing choices, but nothing screamed spectacular to me. Fries were overly crisp, pancakes were a little bland, and my chicken, arugula sandwich could have used more of the tomato jelly. What really bothered me is that although the prices are reasonable, they charged us $3 for a side of toast. Having said that, I really like Calafia approach to food and will be sure to try it again even though I was underwhelmed by the brunch.
3 words. Best Fries Evah. Until now, Left Bank held the fry, okay, pomme frites or what ever the hell they call them, title. I say, until now. The fries at Calafia are skinny, like Calvin Klein Jeans leg skinny or or screwed up photo shop Ralph Lauren skinny. Nicely seasoned. I had the Viking (hooorahhh, berzerker, panini) Did Vikings have Panini technology? My wife had the lamb meatballs. Great stuff. Servers were attentive without being smothering. Price is reasonable. Check it out, but get some fries, dammit.
I came here after a backpacking trip, so I might have had googly eyes about the fact that had iced water, but whatever, I thought this place was pretty good. The food was creative and ran the gamut with a bit of Asian, Latin American, and European flavors. The spring rolls and crab rangoon were both good appetizers. For the main, I had the lamb burger. It was a maybe a bit over-cooked, but spiced right. Service didn't seem too bad, but we were outside and enjoying ourselves. Water was constantly refilled and the price of the food (about $6 for the appetizers, $13 for the burger) were reasonable.
My husband and I ate there yesterday. He would give it 5 stars. He loved his split pea soup and his Black Forest Ham panini. I had the mushroom arepas and I think that Coupa in downtown does a much better job of them. They seemed pretty bready. The slaw served with them was good.
I came here previously and do not remember what I had, but it was fine. My friend's lunch got boxed up. She planned to take it home and add some seasoning and sauce to it to make it better. It was quite blah.
Will try to give them another chance. It seems to have been spotty.
Worst Service I have ever received in my life!
Today, I cannot believe the treatment my husband and I received - truly, I have gotten better service from In N Out.
I want to say first that my husband and I have come here many times for dinner as one of my best friends is an ex-google employee and the food is excellent. Now Service for lunch that's a different story...
-My husband and I went to Calafia during the Stanford Football Game.
-The restaurant had less than 15-20 patrons
-The server staff seemed a bit disorganized, but no big deal, our server took our order: Omelette + a Pizza for me. Two minutes later, the server asked 'Oops, I forgot to ask you, what Toast would like with that. My husband replied 'Wheat'. After about 15 minutes, our brunch was served and the food was excellent, BUT we were missing our toast.
Now Toastaggedan 2009 began:
- I couldn't see my server after taking our order, so after eating half of our omelette, I asked another server, we are still waiting on the toast - he said 'I'll get back to you'.
-After 10 minutes, my husband just finished his meal and then a portly gentleman from the A Go Go part of the restaurant said 'Let me get these plates for you' - I asked him, we are still waiting on our toast. INSTEAD of apologizing, he had the nerve to ask us
'Do you still want your toast?' . Yes, I replied.
-Somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd request for toast after our meal was finished, I asked somebody to fill our water - both glasses had been empty for 10 minutes.
-Obviously, the portly gentleman didn't give a damn about our toast, cause 5 minutes later, our original server came by and I asked him again, where is our toast.
-The original server actually went straight to the kitchen and put some toast in.
-Finally, because it does take 5 whole minutes to make toast, the portly gentleman got us toast, WITHOUT KNIVES OR PLATES - our table was cleared!! When this server saw my husband reach for a knife, he handed us 2 knives
-Oh and finally our original server came back and provided us a 2nd portion of toast. And when he saw we already had toast, he said, 'oh, looks like you already have some'
-When giving us our bill, the original server apologized for missing on the toast. OUR FIRST APOLOGY OF THE EVENING!! ALMOST 1 HOUR INTO THE SERVICE AND 2 MINUTES BEFORE DEPARTING
Here are the funny parts of the story:
- The entire time there was 1 person behind the A Go Go Part of the Restaurant chit chatting with customers the whole time.
- NOT ONCE during our meal did anyone (the hostess, our server, any server) ask if our meal was ok.
-NOBODY ELSE seemed to be having bad service - Why was this?? I've got my own guesses.
-The wait staff was incredibly disorganized, it seemed like 2 or 3 people were running the show, while everybody was just hanging out.
My experience at Calafia ruined a wonderful date and I will never voluntarily go here again!!!! Go here at your own risk.
I have to agree with some of the recent reviews that the service here is one of the worst I've had for a restaurant of this level! I went to this restaurant on spur of the moment without checking out the Yelp reviews.
Two of us went on a Friday evening around 7:30pm. Went to the front and the hostess totally ignored us and didn't acknowledge that we were there. Several people came to the front area and same thing
happened. Finally, I was able to flag down a waiter who then got the hostess to help us. Seating then was quick since I was open to being seated in the counter area.
We got our menus and then the fun starts again. We had to wait about 10-15 minutes before anybody would come to take our orders. Somebody would always come by and say "I'll be right back" but would never come back.
Ordered a combo arepas appetizer with the mushroom, beef and pork. The beef was the best and the pork was on the dry side. Also ordered a Wolfgang pizza and New Bohemia salad which were fine. Middle of the road tasting food. Service again was an issue-we asked for some black pepper for the salad and red pepper flakes for the pizza and the waiter never came back. Also, during the entire meal, nobody checked our water glasses or checked to see how our meal was going. But I did notice that other parties along the counter and other tables had some type of service! The final insult was when we had to wait another 15-20 minutes before I could flag someone down to give us our check; the restaurant had emptied out quite a bit at this time and I also noticed that the staff had time to socialize and clean wine glasses.
I did talk to the manager, Matt, and he was somewhat apologetic initially but not totally. He just thank me for letting him know so "they could try to improve". When I finally summarized the entire night's service short comings, then he woke up to the full impact. He then at that time offered to give us some free desert and coffee which was nice. But I don't know if they really are going to re-train their staff for better service in the future. Go at your risk!
I am torn on my decision on Califia. The service is a persistently lackluster based on the 3+ times I have dined here and the food is hit or miss. The atmosphere in the resto is great, but the seating arrangement was poorly planned having all four tops and no deuces. There is quite a bit of bar style and community seating as well.
The lentil loaf (minus the gray) is extraordinary and the pizzas are okay. When waning a smaller portion I ordered the pot pie off the kids menu, I was delivered mac n' cheese (which was dry and not so yummy). Finally my intended order had arrived and it tasted like pure starch.
This would not me my first recommendation for a sit down dinner. The Market A Go-Go is great for quick food and has an extensive salad bar.
Overall it;s okay. Not anything more, not anything less.
ok maybe 1 1/2 stars
hello fellow yelpers, hit this place up do to some reviews found online and a suggestion made by my wife, I had high hopes for this place walking in the ambiance I would give 5 stars simply because it is laid out different, you get a sense of crate and barrell walking in through the restaurant side, the aesthetics of this place with the wall color, hard wood beams supporting the roof, huge landscaping photos if not pieces on the wall and even there utensils, plates and bowls catches your eyes, the straw table place mats give you a sense of home if you are of filipino descent haha sorry every filipino if not most has placemats on there dining table = )
but we are here to judge the food folks sadly it didnt measure up, I am not a real big fan of health food but that is kinda what I got from the place when eating there. Me and the wife ordered the lamb meatballs, to me they were a bit to gamey and pricey for 3 pieces $8.50, my wife ordered the sirlion steak that came with lil salad on the plate the sauce was so overpowering she could not finish her meal, so if you go and get the sirlion ask for the sauce on the side, tasted like mix of horseradish and A1 sauce, she ordered the meat medium which was not juicy but dry, sad really..
I ordered the BBQ pork plate with brown rice and what tasted like spinach but I might be wrong haha with a fried quail egg on the top, my meal was fair nothing to really write home about.The egg on top made the bowl!!!! But it is a quail egg haha so small, the pork was ok could of bought it at trader joes and whipped some some regular steamed rice instead of brown.
in all I am more of meat and potatoes kinda guy gotta have juicy steak or any other kind of meat, got to have sides that makes you appreciate the food more mash, gravy, or at least something that you know they took the time and effort to make. you know the kinda of food where the chef would say dammm i'd eat that haha
food * 1/2 sorey wasn't impressed not at all
price $$$ $8.50 for 3 lamb meatballs, $18 for the sirlion, $17 for the bbq pork bowl... would not go back
service * our waitress was pleasant but she kept on forgetting to refill the water at our table and it took her about 3-5 min each time we flagged her down for a request, it was not that busy on a tuesday nite
On a side note, a good restaurant to me, keep the cups of water full if you need to leave a pitcher to stop from coming back and forth to do so haha this is in general for all restaurants
the market on the side small and cute nothing else I can really add to that ha!
Beautiful restaurant. The milk bottle chandelier and stake stools are incredibly creative. I love to take my designer friends here and have them ooh and aah over the decor.
And the food! Best: Turkey burgers! Sometimes soups and great side salads. Also, try to get yourself to like the Facebook Freeze smoothie. It is weird, I tell you, with its odd combination of blueberries and peanutbutter with yogurt. But it will grow on you until it is your go-to snack/meal replacement. Gardenburgers are pretty good too, and the meatloaf.
Hit or miss: the sweet homemade ketchup still freaks me out a little, the day they had apple soup, I want to like their muffins but I just can't, the coffee is just not good (but espresso is ok for some reason), and the tacos can be a little on the small side for a meal.
Tip: Try the soup first. They bring you out a little spoon of it, since it changes daily and no one can predict its success. Some days, best soup I've ever had. Other days, I suffer the injustice of a $5 cup of steaming self-loathing. But at least the little pot they serve it in is super cute! Also, ask for a salad with a sandwich instead of the slaw or fries. Their little spinach salad with jicama and citrus is really good.
Rating 2.5
Calafia seems like a great concept for a restaurant but on my second visit, it became apparent that they were failing to execute that concept with any finesse.
First, service. The restaurant has specials, except you would never know because the waiter forgot to mention them until my friend ordered something similar but lower quality on the menu. The two different meat loaf items (veg and turkey) with different color coded spuds were mixed up when they came to our table. Otherwise, the waiter was pretty decent, but I could tell something had slipped from service in the last visit.
We started with Arepas, and the pork was flavorful despite the dryness. This is how I felt about the angry pork wrap I had the last time. If they had put a little more effort into not overcooking the pork, it would have shined through. Instead I relied on the jicama slaw for moisture. Jalapenos were a nice touch.
For the main entrees, one major problem I see is the fresh ingredients drown in the food. My lentil meatloaf seemed a little bland, but the gravy had this shock of miso that is reminiscent of when you drop a dollop of the stuff in your soup and it gets too salty. The meatloaf was also too busy, much like the menu has muddled all these ethnic concepts that don't necessarily work together. The potatoes and green beans were tasty and fresh, but not really enough to make the plate better. The turkey meatloaf I accidentally tried was a little tastier having not been overpowered by the gravy.
Some other menu items of note:
Pizzas: Not worth it.
Smoothies: Skip it.
Desserts: I've never had any, but they look alright.
Sides: Their strong point is definitely the barley and corn.
While they seem to be struggling hard to maintain repeat customers and fill their seats on a thursday night, it seems like they don't want to increase the quality of their food. I generally agree with the idea of the restaurant, but ideas are not going to fill my stomach or leave me feeling satisfied.
I LOVE this place. I've had great service each and every time I've been, the food is UNBELIEVABLE, and the wine/beers rock my socks off. I've been on at least four occasions now, have had something different each time, and have never been disappointed. Had a dinner with a professor, a group of friends, and even a date here, and it works for any type of dinner.
On top of it all, this place is adorable. The bottle chandelier is cute, being able to watch your food being prepared is neat, and then you can shop at the market, if anything really caught your fancy. Can't say enough good things. Really.
Had the Spicy Napa Salad (Pulled roasted chicken, shredded napa cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, orange segments, cilantro, tossed in a spice sesame dressing, crispy julienne wontons)
The chicken was really tender and the salad quite tasty. But the whole time I was thinking that I could have made my own salad (w/ Ahi Tuna) at Sprout for the same price. I would go back to try some of their other items before making a final opinion, but so far, it's just A-Ok.
I am a big fan of their Market. They have reasonably priced, prepackaged salads that are excellent (the closer you get them to 12pm and 5pm, the fresher they will be). I also like their deli section: just make sure NOT to order there when the girl with the straight-ish blond hair is behind the counter (she will give very little meat, and pile on the cheese instead... I got a Ham and Cheese sandwich from her, and she made it more like a Cheese and Ham sandwich with only two slices of meat and four slices of cheese.).
I bought a packages of 5-spice in the Market, and I've used it for making jerky -- it's wonderful!
I have eaten at their Restaurant section a few times. True, their appetizers are meant to be for people with big budgets (many of Chef Charlie's fans are not exactly poor of course, so maybe that's why). Their desserts are FANTASTIC. If you're on a budget, skip the appetizers, and go for the dessert. They have desserts that aren't available in the Market section. If you're on a real budget, then skip the main course and the appetizers, and just go for the dessert.
The pizzas: you need to ask them specifically to not leave it in the oven as long as they normally do (and really emphasize this), otherwise the crust will be dry and hard to chew. (They used to leave them in for shorter times when they first put pizzas on their menu, but they've started to put them in for longer and longer until they see the crust on the bottom is slightly black to make sure it's cooked -- of course, when that happens, it's a little over-cooked. Then again, they aren't a pizzeria, and they do want to make sure that they don't give you undercooked stuff.)
Everyone I know raves about the spicy stuff on the menu. And despite what people claim: it's not like the food at a Google cafeteria -- it doesn't taste mass-produced. (Not that mass-produced food tastes *bad* per se, it just tastes different.)
Great food, service, and abiance. Creative and pleniful vegetarian options. And reasonably priced... What more can you ask for?
Only neg is that they don't take reservations, so you have to wait. You can call ahead and get on the wait list 30 minutes prior to your arrival though, so that helps...
We're planning a group event there this fall, so I'll review that after and let you know if it's good for a buyout.
I had lunch at Calafia Cafe the other day and I would have to say I was pleasantly surprised by it. I wasn't expecting such an elegant little cafe in the Town & Country stripmall, but that was just what I got. Love the decor-- both the inside, which I only got a glimpse of and the outside which is set in long tables so if it gets packed you'll probably sit next to other parties.. kinda like the home-iness of that. I also loved the service. Definitely one of the best servers I ever had! Helpful, nice, attentive but not intrusive, good with making suggestions without being pushy (a delicate balance hard to achieve).
As for the food, though it's slightly pricier than your average place, it is more upscale. The taste overall was pretty good. I got the angry pork wrap which was filling and a good combination of flavors, slightly spicy in case you don't like that. One of my friends got the pork bowl which was good, and the other got the veggie burger which is served with shoestring onions and bbq sauce, with fries and a slightly spicier ketchup. I wasn't blown away by the taste of the food, to be honest, but it was good enough to make a mental note of the place to come back at some point since I love everything else so much!
This place is excellent. I am basing this on one lunch where I had a delicious pork salad. The wait-people were helpful, friendly and available. The ambience was great, I dined on the outside tables.
Everything is new and clean and very nice ... and Calafia has the cleanest newest sparklingest restrooms I have ever seen in my life. I was totally blown away ... I have seen operating rooms that were not as clean as the rest rooms in this place.
It really made a hugely positive impression and I look forward to going there again and again and trying new things.
Exceptional!
I love the intention behind this place and the pricing is quite reasonable for the great quality ingredients they use. Organic, healthy, local, sustainable without the pretention and high prices of most places that use these catch phrases; you can tell it's not just a gimmick with these people. I have long heard tales about how wonderful the food is at Google, and was thrilled to hear about the Google chef Charlie Ayers opening this place for us 'civilians'. Silicon Valley needs this place! I encourage everyone to try it. I'm hooked!
I had the braised greens, gingered yam mash and rotisserie chicken. Yum! I love that they use healthy fats like almond butter but not too much! The balance between flavor and fat and oil usage is a hard one to find in most restaurants. Usually entrees are either brimming with fat, drowning in oil, or completely spartan and unseasoned (in the name of 'health'). Not here. The yam mash was a revelation, light, flavorful and not too sweet! The greens were tart with lime yet luxurious with the addition of a sensible amount of almond butter. The rotisserie chicken was made with a Rocky chicken and was well spiced and flavorful. Much better than Whole Foods' version.
On another occasion I had the dragon's breath (great name!) curry noodles with eggplant and almond butter sauce. Another winner. Since I had the greens dish and gingered yam as sides with that meal also (I think I'm addicted) , I only ate part of the noodle dish and saved the rest for the next day. To my surprise, when I took the noodles out of the fridge the next day, they maintained a soft and delicate consistency unheated! That has never happened to me with any day old rice noodle dish from any other restaurant. Usually rice noodles harden and have to be reheated with a little water before they soften up again. (That didn't sound right.) But in this case they were still soft and delicate straight out of the fridge and I really enjoyed them cold. I have to ask them what these wonder noodles are!
Dessert was some decadent chocolate dish which was a combo of mousse, cake and dark chocolate with two kinds of syrup on the side. After such a healthy feeling meal, you don't feel guilty about adding dessert and this one was so worth it.
I only hope they expand the menu to include more rice bowls and more variety. I have not tried the pizzas or sandwiches but they looked good. I will be sure to be a regular at this place!
Even in a yuppie place like Palo Alto, I only knew of a couple of places that serves food that supports a Primal diet: Sprout and Pluto's. Even then, I'm sure Pluto's serves factory-farmed food.
Thus, I was excited when a co-worker told me about Calafia. It's a restaurant run by Charlie Ayers, who ran the show over at Google. The food is all organic and locally-grown, so you know you're getting the best ingredients, and it shows in the food.
I've been here for dinner and breakfast. For dinner, I had the sirloin steak. It's topped with a coffee molasses steak sauce and crispy onion strings. It comes plated with arugula salad as well. In the future, I'll probably pass on the onion strings, but only because of the health factor. Even though the steak didn't come out medium-rare like I asked, I was pretty happy with the end result.
I'd also heard this place was good for breakfast, so I got my ass up at 6:30, hit the gym, and rewarded myself with a tasty lamb sausage omelette. I was glad the waiter accepted my request to sub out the toast/potatoes for a fruit plate without charging me extra (unlike some breakfast places I know, *cough* Hobees *cough*). I was a little surprised that fruit isn't mentioned on the menu. If any of the breakfast items came with real vegetables, I might be tempted to give this place 5 stars.
Coffee is actually a little pricey at $3.00 -- had I known that, I might've just stuck with water. In general, just be prepared for a slightly more expensive meal, and don't be surprised if you get normal-sized portions.
As an aside, Steve Jobs was sitting just a table away from me... his face buried in iPhone.
OMG. I can't believe this restaurant has been open for 6+ months and I haven't heard a peep about it before now! Just happened to be mentioned as 'best new restaurant' in some freebie local newspaper...and felt adventurous tonight.
Best short ribs I've ever had the pleasure to eat. How they managed to obtain a nice carmelization and yet keep the tenderness & juiciness is a miracle. The flavor has a faint Asian flair, nice switch on the traditional short rib fare. We asked for a substitution of brown rice for the garlic mashed...we were NOT disappointed. Bar none, the best brown rice ever. A nice 'sticky rice' quality, not the usual dry brown rice.
I had a salad that I wish I had written the name down....but it had pork shoulder, jicama, pumpkin seeds and a wonderful lime based salad dressing that was so refreshing. Delish.
We also ordered a side of gingered yams. Who needs dessert when you have this dish? It was the perfect balance of sweetness, with the ginger tartness, all while being nice & warm & satisfying.
Our waiter was a doll. Very knowledgeable and HONEST about the dishes. I asked about Sangria, he didn't recommend it....instead allowed me to sample a couple of red wines to find the one I liked before ordering. I asked about breakfast menus & he shared their traditional breakfast menu & their brunch one. Can't wait to try it next.
Loved the decor. Very hip without trying too hard. Earthy without being too earnest. The prices were so reasonable. Have to say one of the best dinners I've had on the peninsula in months.
They also rotate a portion of the menu fairly regularly....so not a chance of getting bored with this place.
I'm hooked.
This place has the same guy who was the chef at Google. You walk in and you are drawn in by the cool modern atmosphere which feels very SF. It has some cool seating of a communal table, a counter section and a bar area. I loved the lighting in there with giant lamps and the wooden stools.
Ok on to the organic and vegetarian food! After looking at their huge menu I decided to try out the Turkey Mushroom burger and jicama jalepeno slaw. The burger was huge and tasted so good! I forgot it was turkey! The Jicama Jalapeno Slaw was so spicy and yum! They also have a pretty decent wine menu as well with mixed drinks. The service was really fast and prompt. Price was moderate and not too pricy! I can't wait to go back and try the Angry Pork Wrap!
I tried the Clover-brewed coffee. The bean of the day was Barefoot Coffee's Santa Colomba, described as "Heavy & Husky: A nicely low toned, with notes of a sweet nutty milk chocolate bar. Hints of marzipan and almond." The baristas are "Barefoot Coffee certified." First, they measure out an exact amount of coffee (see my photo), then the Clover machine goes to work. The result was indeed good, not great; the coffee had an initial sour taste, then blossomed into a savory finish at the end of each sip.
The coffee cake was meh. The pate de fruit was too soft and mushy, as if they forgot to add enough pectin.
Immediately the first thing you notice is how incredible the atmosphere is. If I had a loft in NYC or SF, THIS is exactly how I'd want it to look - giant metal lamps, comfy couches made of recycled materials, and unique lighting fixtures made from old glass milk containers. The attention paid to detail and design is better than most anything I've seen in Palo Alto. I could go on, but let's keep it short - the atmosphere is awesome.
I'm not into organic or vegetarian, so the fact that the restaurant's menu is loaded with healthy choices doesn't blow me away - I just look for what I think I'll like to eat. My lunchmates, were, however vegetarian and VERY into what Calafia had to offer. It's nice, for a change, that this restaurant actually has a vegetarian alternative to practically every dish. You can substitute any of the meats for tofu.
Now into the cons.... I'd say the only con was the service. Our server seemed high or totally out of it. To be fair, he did know the menu very well and made recommendations, etc. but he was REALLY slow in getting us what we ordered - it took him like 5-10 min to bring someone a soda. The restaurant wasn't even very busy. And we were celebrating a birthday but no little birthday treat for our girl??? Booooo.
Overall it was an OK experience. It's not very expensive and I like the thought put behind this restaurant, but I probably won't be back.
i think their dishes are hit or miss. the chinese chicken salad is very good and filling - you can order it at brunch or other meals, and you can grab it to go in the market as well. the soups tend to be very very salty.
even if you're not a vegetarian, the tofu lentil loaf is tasty. the pizzas are decent. gingered mashed yams are very soothing.
Had lunch here with friends while visiting the Bay Area. Brunch, more accurately -- I'd forgotten it was Saturday and was surprised to see a server walk past us holding a plate of pancakes, until we were seated and given the weekend Brunch menu. The decor was very modern, dark wood and clean lines and quirky touches (like the milk bottle chandelier above our communal table, made out of reclaimed bottles from a closed-down dairy, so our server said). The bathroom design is unique, in my experience, with a communal sink/mirror flanked by individual locking cubicles with toilets in them (2 for men, 4 for women), but no separate door to the sink/mirror area, and very loud hand-dryers. A little odd, but in keeping with the rest of the ultra-modern decor.
The server didn't seem thrilled when our party of 5 asked for separate checks, but obliged. Unfortunately, the electronic handheld order device lost one of our party's meals in the process, so 4 of us had our meals before the last actually had her order put in. The server had done a breeze-by of the table after our meals were brought out and thought she saw all of us with food, so she didn't notice until we flagged her down to ask about the last plate. Still, the last meal came out fairly quickly. I ordered the Calafia Breakfast, which was eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast. Standard fare, nothing special, but nicely prepared (though my over-easy eggs were more like over-medium).
Prices were good and if I lived in the area I'd probably return to see their lunch and dinner specials.
I went to Calafia with my husband and his family. He had gone there before with a friend and really liked their burgers. I guess that is where I made my mistake in ordering the Vegan Love Fest Pizza. I can honestly say I didn't fall in love with it. It sounded good and healthy...garbanzo beans, olive jalapeno tapenade, red onions and radicchio and I thought I would order otuside the traditional pizza. I just didn't find it appetizing and wouldn't recommend it!
The food here is just plain good. Went today at noon and found that they have a brunch menu on weekends. I am not a huge breakfast guy, so I was a bit disappointed. My disappointment quickly turned to elation when my order, the Blue Max, came. It's a large hash brown topped with spinach and mushrooms, 2 poached eggs and lemon hollandaise. My god it was good. I have the pizza and pasta on other visits and all were excellent.
Service is generally good. I'm not really wild about the weird restroom setup, but whatever. The food will keep me coming back for sure.
Fresh, delicious and high quality - I'm vegetarian and so I was so happy withots of vegetarian options. They are happy to substitute meat for veg options. Wonderful!!
I'm the first person to give extra points for local, organic foods, but........
Things just weren't executed well. It was the chef's day off, but still.
Harsh constructive criticism (eek):
- Arepas were dry doughy and crumbly versus authentic crispy and then chewy.
- Summer rolls (listed as spring rolls) were obviously made hours ago and just pulled out of the cold fridge. Tough, thick skins, bland insides.
- Rice noodles w/ curry and tofu were so dry that you couldn't dish a portion out of the bowl. One, solid mass. Sadly sent that one back.
- Was seeking salvation in the simple margherita pizza, and it ended up bland and too thick cheeze.
On the upside, beautiful earthy design. Nice patio......
I wasn't happy with the food on my first visit. Technology-wise I'm a slow adapter - I didn't catch on to things like iPods or Web 2.0 until later, so maybe Calafia, a "Food 2.0" establishment will grow on me.
I had a veggie burger and a side of fries and I didn't really like either. I sort of see a veggie burger as a staple Food 2.0 item and they should be able to do this really well. The major parts of the burger, the bun and the patty, were both way too dry for me. Yes, you can add sauce and toppings (thankfully the lettuce and tomato weren't dry), but you cannot cover up dryness like that. A wading pool in the middle of Death Valley is helpful, but that's still the biggest desert in North America, right? I also didn't like the fries, probably for the same reason I'm not a big fan of In and Out's fries. I think the moisture content in fresh, unprocessed potatoes makes them difficult to fry to a crisp without turning them into a long, skinny potato chip. Almost kind of burnt tasting and again the inside of the potato retained very little moisture.
That said, I got seated right away at the bar, food came out promptly and our server was really nice. I may come back to give it another try since I like the concept and the location is convenient (although parking isn't as easy as it used to be because of the construction of the new Trader Joes). I probably won't order the veggie burger again though.
The place is well designed, as I would expect from a new upmarket cafe in this price bracket, but the food and service are not up to par. The "dragon's breath" noodle and "spicy" tofu curry was bland and uninspiring. We had two desserts, an apple galette, that was pleasant, and a pannacotta that was good, (but the citrus sorbet with it was odd). 2 glasses of wine each, and we had spent $50 a head (incl tax and tip). At least the wine was good!!
The service was ordinary- the meals didn't come out together, and it was hard to get out water refilled. When the server told us she is going off service, and would we mind paying our bill now, before we are finished eating, I wanted to tell her to PO- but peer pressure got in my way.
5 stars for sure!
My Dad had been dying to try this place ever since he found out that Google's original chef had a brainchild restaurant, and sure enough it most definitely lived up to the hype.
Fantastic, clean, organic, sustainable, creative menu with friendly, knowledgeable staff in an urban sophisticate environment -- if that isn't everything I want in a restaurant, what is?
I had an asparagus benedict-like special for breakfast along with their amazing (and sugarless) hot chocolate; I can honestly say that I could eat that meal for the rest of my life if needed.
Can't wait to try dinner!
Argh. This place has so much promise and I want to love it so badly...but the market and now the restaurant have let me down.
We returned to the restaurant last night after my interest was piqued again by Kris M.'s review. I've been to the market numerous times but only dined at the restaurant during its opening week. My initial visit was marred by mediocre grub and sloppy service but I chalked it all up to it being the restaurant's first week jitters. Unfortunately, my visit last night was kinda déjà vu all over again as the great Yogi Berra would say.
We arrived with my two rugrats in tow at 5:30 pm and the place was half-empty. We were seated at a four-top near the kitchen -- a big improvement from last time when they put all four of us at the counter table in front of the windows. (It's hard to enjoy your meal when you're constantly turning from side to side to attend to your squirmy kids.) Our server came by a few minutes later and took our order, but then disappeared before taking our drink order. When he finally delivered our appetizers, he must've noticed me panting, because he finally asked us if we wanted something to drink. The rest of the evening, he was pretty much MIA, never checking in on us or noticing that we were beyond ready to leave. (One handy tip for our server: If you have a table with two small children and two adults who declined to order wine, remove the wine glasses from the table.)
In terms of the food, we had some items that were yummy and some that were meh. The hits were definitely my hubby's Angry Pork Wrap and the kids' mac and cheese. I have a big gripe about the mac and cheese, though. This dish is clearly meant for kids (it's on the kids' menu and it's tiny), so don't serve it in a scalding hot little Le Creuset pot that comes directly out of the oven! Hello, lawsuit! That said, this dish is tasty and they sneak in some chopped spinach as well -- much better than the version sold at Calafia's market. Don't be fooled into buying the mac and cheese from the market - it's icky, with gobs of chalky sauce and mushy pasta. The cheese pizza and the tempura vegetables were mediocre-to-decent. My least favorite item was the Mucho Macho Tacos - the shredded beef was too dry and almost powdery in texture. Blech.
I love the concept of this place and the cozy vibe inside. Unfortunately, it really falls through in execution. This stuff would taste great if it were free (like at, say, Google) but if I'm spending a good chunk of change for dinner, I'd like someone attentive and nice to serve me something yummy. Is that too much to ask?
Despite my reservations about the market, I do return a lot because it's convenient (on my way home from work) and there are a few items that I think are great (short-rib dinner kit, rotisserie chicken, some of the salads). I just have to lower my expectations when I step in here for dinner. Sigh.
This is an update about the market (again):
Hmmmm....there seem to be a lot of consistency problems…
Read more »
I went to the Market-a-Go-Go and ordered the Calafia sandwich with turkey, wheat bread, and cheddar cheese. I was definitely impressed by the large quantities of sliced turkey they put on the sandwich and how the wheat roll stood up to all the sauces. For $7, I was pretty much full after I only ate half of it. Be afraid Whole Foods! Their sandwiches make a good rivalry! This place has great sandwich making skillz.
They also have a make-your-own-salad bar that I might also check out. I don't need to trek all the way to Whole Foods anymore.
I haven't checked out the sit-down area yet and will definitely scout it out soon.
I had the Turkey Mushroom Buger and Jicama Jalapeno. As a previous reviewer said, the decor is very modern and has a very SF feel. The burger was tasty and unique (I couldn't tell it was turkey). Instead of fries I tried their Jicama Jalapeno. It was the first time I had it and it was interesting...
One complaint I have is that their smoothies are good, but over priced ($5/each).
My meal was outstanding! It was almost as good as The French Laundry in Yountville, California. I had the Tzatziki Lamb Burger, which was fresh ground lamb with garlic, clove, cumin and pepper topped with marinated red onion and tzatziki sauce my your choice of shoestring fries in lieu of the jicama slaw. The beverage I had was a Zazzle Zinger, which was organic orange juice, carrot juice, peaches, honey, agave and vanilla yogurt. Yummy! Dessert was a Caramel Coconut Cake, which was with rum spiked caramel sauce & blackberry sauce, and to die for! All said, it was a definite food orgasm.
I love this place. Good old organic and vegan foods. The brunch menu was wonderful and food was delish. I love how they have a small market connected to their restaurant with premade foods, salad bar and lots of Healthy snacks and goodies.
i really, really, really wanted to come out of this place and think it was awesome! but sadly, i thought it was just ok. i had the mac and cheese and i felt it wasn't cheesy enough. i was hoping it would be just yummy but it fell short for me. i then got the cookies for dessert and i really liked them. the peanut butter cookie was delish. i liked the fact that this place has a to-go market. it made me want to try more of the to-go. i don't think i'll rule this place out as a place to eat.
Alameda, CA
Category: Mexican
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Mexican
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Thai
Mountain View, CA
Category: American (New)
Palo Alto, CA
Category: Bakeries
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