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Definitely a local hang out place, I frequently see friends and neighbors here. And since this is a pub..... expect pub food!
That being said, I do love to come here for lunch and get their homemade soup and salad combo. The soups are fabulous (particularly the tortilla, but I've tried so many and they've all been wonderful!) and I usually order it with the mixed green salad. The spinach salad's good for a change of pace, but I'm a green salad girl at heart. Served with sliced baguette and butter and you're all set.
I also come on occasion for dinner and enjoy their entree salads. The rest of my family likes the traditional heartier fare, but I appreciate that the menu offers lighter alternatives as well.
For the beer drinkers, I understand that the selection of beers on tap is pretty extensive (my husband likes the Belgian). And for the rest of us, they have a nice selection of wines by the glass, and a full bar for the cocktail drinkers.
Friendly service, good food. I like it!
It's alright. The food isn't anything special but it's not a bad place to be. $6 beers are a bit much when you're not drinking anything fancy or foreign.
Good food, very family friendly. pub style restaurant. Good kids meal. Service was sporadic.
I guess the thing to remember about Maltbys is that it classifies itself as a pub, so you ought to expect pub food (as Julia R pointed out in a previous review). Pub food has its own distinct style and is not my favorite.
This is something I forgot when I took my wife for a casual impromptu dinner one chilly Thursday evening in downtown Los Altos.
We started with soups (perfect for a cold and rainy evening). My wife had the onion soup and I settled for the soup of the day - split pea soup. Neither were very inspired and were fairly thick and filling. So much so that we opted out of eating anything further - we just never had the appetite.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was fairly warm and friendly, but our waiter was a little inattentive and forgot to bring us our tea that we had ordered on sitting down.
Very average.
Let's look at this in a relative way.
There are not a whole lot of places to get a beer in Los Altos, and so this should be taken into consideration when handing out stars.
Also, I know the owner of this restaurant, and so I might be biased.
However, I eat here all the time (not for free, despite my connections) and enjoy it because I am not being overcharged, which is something that happens a lot for mediocre food in this particular town.
I would say that prices are "chili's" prices, but much better food. Some of my favorites include the French Onion Soup, Fresh Petrale Sole, Caesar Salad with grilled prawns (best dressing you'll ever taste) and the Maltby's House salad.
Any of the above are great with a pilsner, or something from the well-compiled wine selection.
You know this place should be a 3.5 stars with the extra .5 star for being located in good restaurant - starved downtown los altos. I wasn't really looking forward going to this place but i was pleasantly surprised. The french onion soup was suprisingly very good and perhaps the best I've tasted and I've been to several traditional french restaurants. Sandwhich was solid but nothing that knocks your socks off. The service was very good as the owner definitely knows how to treat his customers along with the wait staff. Solid place to eat in downtown LA but nothing "spectacular".
O.M.G. I just got back from the worst lunch ever.
Picture this: I'm having lunch with one of the head honcho's of my company, a woman who I'd love to have as a mentor, who I'm trying desperately hard to impress. So I take her to the one place in downtown Los Altos she hasn't been so she can have her first real American cheeseburger (she is Kenyan).
She gets served her cheeseburger and her first reaction is "Oh we should have gone to McDonald's, this doesn't look very good". I get served my salad ... A EFFING ROACH CRAWLS OUT OF IT. Of course being the nervous fumbling idiot that I am, rather than scream and return the food, I hide the roach under my napkin rather than disappoint this woman even more.
Needless to say I barely ate and I think this woman thinks I'm crazy but I will never EVER return to this place.
The bottom line is I'll come back, so it's almost four stars.
Two visits:
- burger and half a house salad with pistaccio goat cheese. Nicely done, with a good bun that wasn't greasy (it's funny how most premium burgers with good meat have a greasy bun). Burger was medium rare as ordered. Had Fuller's ESB on tap. The fries were very warm but not hot.
- prime rib with yorkshire pudding (their sunday special) a few years back. This was disappointing as the pudding was a small slightly tired disk. (Though come to think of it, I haven't had any Yorkshire pudding that is even close to that Patricia makes in her kitchen, so it always seems disappointing.) This wasn't cheap at $28 and it was very so so.
The ambience is pretty rustic and simple. They have 8 or so beers on tap and they are decent imports (Stella, Fullers, Grimbergen, Old Speckled Hen, etc). Prices are good.
Return to Maltby's? I would not could not on a train, I would not could not in the rain, I do not like Maltby's this is true and I'm willing to bet you would not too!
Expensive!! I don't remember what I ordered that was so freaking fabulous that it should cost so much. The staff was not particularly personable. I've had much better in Los Altos Village!
ACK!!!
No vegetarian food. So I got some onion rings and french fries to split. GREASY!!! I mean REALLY greasy. Expensive for greasy not delicious food.
Would not return.
My cat is in kitty prison at Adobe for treatments (this sucks), so I find myself in Los Altos a lot these days. I walked over here for lunch today while waiting for the vet to get out of surgery.
I had a burger and fries. Ordered medium, got more like well done, and the burger itself was underseasoned. Fries were OK; still haven't found the world's best fries. It was kind of refreshing that they didn't give me a ridiculous portion of fries, actually.
They did forget to charge me for my soda, which was nice.
I guess overall I would go with "kinda meh," but I'm willing to believe they have other good stuff and I'm feeling charitable with the stars.
Cute, AND right around the corner from Main Street (which means more parking and less commotion). You seat yourself-- but they always acknowledege you when you walk in (to avoid that awkward, "did they see us?" situation).
It's similar to diner food (patty melts, club sandwiches, milkshakes), but then there are also some upper echelon entrees as well. Everything I have ever had here has been fantastic.
BEST PART OF MALTBY'S.... little box of Trivial Pursuit question cards on every table in case you get bored. Who doesn't love that??
This is an interesting place to check out in downtown Los Altos. I'd give it a 3.5, but it doesn't quite deserve a 4. I've been here on three separate occasions for brunch now and it's a nice place to have a liesurely meal with family and friends. They have a couple of tables outside which is nice on a cool summers day.
There's a decidedly English twist to the menu and the corned beef and hash is real, chopped corned beef... not that canned corned beef and hash stuff you'd find in a diner. The service is a bit on the slow side, but the waitstaff is nice and doesn't rush you at all. Overall, the food is pretty decent and the pricing is inexpensive for brunch. I think most of their brunch offerings are around $10. Oh yeah, you should definitely get a side of their onion rings... tasty stuff.
Oh yeah, they have a decent selection of beers on tap as well. There's a bar area where you can just order a pint and watch what's playing on the flatscreen above the bar. Check this place out.
I like Maltby's.
Pros:
- good draught beer selection, generally some locals + a couple belgian and/or germans (although I do wish they'd rotate out their selection a bit to be a bit more seasonal)
- solid bar food (apps, sandwiches)
- reasonable prices
- one of the few places in downtown Los Altos I can walk to on a Friday night to drink a couple beers
- nice staff
Cons:
- they close too early
- entrees might sometimes be .. disappointing. I ordered the duck cassoulet one night and absolutely hated it .. it was stodgy and tasted off
Don't let that last 'con' phase you - my fiance and I have eaten there many times and we have both always enjoyed our meals - I think the duck was an anomaly.
Maltby's is THE Los Altos dining experience. I grew up in Los Altos, and can't seem to eat here without seeing a few neighborhood faces. The owner is a British transplant who serves a combination of comfort pub foods (try the bangers and mash, or one of the pies) and California cuisine (like the teriyaki salmon salad, DELICIOUS daily soups, or sandwiches). A great many beers on tap, including Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada, Pyramid Hef, Newcastle, Guinness, and more.
The food is overall highly satisfying, but you wont be dreaming about it for days after. Dining experience is fun, with trivia cards at your table to keep you busy while you wait. Maltby's is the perfect solution to the weekly "where should we eat tonight?" dilemma. If you are trying to show a taste of the town to visitors, however, I would opt for another selection.
I love James and his staff the soups are fantastic and Monday and Wednesday nights are great deals. The fish and chips is very good one of the best I have had before. There are times at lunch I would like to be able to eat for a lower costs but like what I have had.
This was the first restaurant I ate in in downtown Los Altos. It was very nice of my friends to take me out to lunch to welcome me to town. They are very health conscious friends so there must be some redeeeming health queslities to Matlby's reatruant. This is one of the old standards of long time Los Altos residents.
I thought the food was just OK and over priced for what it was. I had salmon and a salad. The salmon tasted like artiificial sweetener. Very stange. The salad was quite good. I was tempted to rate it more stars, but I haven't been back. Have never been tempted to go back. I guess it is just not a destination for me and that means 2 stars.
My favorite for lunch in Los Altos. It has relaxed atmosphere with excellent food. The owner, James, is also a waiter and makes certain that service is always prompt and efficient. One of my favorite lunches is a cup of soup with a medium rare steak sandwich. Try it!
I thought, being in the heart of downtown Los Altos, that this place SHOULD be good. I'm sure there's some decent stuff on the menu -- I opted for the Greek salad. Despite having some lamb-tasting chicken, which was ok though I rather would have had lamb, the salad was overall mediocre. The service was equally uneventful.
A stellar spot for lunch. Great service and even better soups. My personal favorite is the Moroccan Chicken. The salads are all stellar as well. I have been leaning toward the Sicilian lately. Tortellini, Italian sausage, olives, and a great pesto vinaigrette. A hearty salad indeed. Other favorites include the Chicken Cobb Sando. If your waistline can afford it go for a shake or malt!
I think this place is a little over rated. My parents LOVE this place and all of my parents friends do too. I think it might be a better place for the 30+ crowd. The food is just OK by my standards and the prices are pretty high but it is a quality place. And the staff there is great. They are always super friendly.
Been here a couple times and I like it. The service is fast and the food is good, portion sizes are just right for lunch. I've only eaten the soups and salads, with sides of fries and I really like the fries. They're like the mcdonalds fries except not as greasy and much crunchier and seasoned. My bf has gotten the wasabi ahi tuna sandwich both times which comes with fries so thats a good sandwich to try out =)
It's THE great family restaurant in Los Altos. If the Chicken Cobb sandwich wasn't so damn good, I'd probably be able to give you some other menu hints...but I've never heard anyone complain about anything on the menu. Atmosphere is homey, comfortable and you're bound to run in to neighborhood friends... If you're by yourself...head to the bar and have dinner there with a brew and watch the game. Hats off also for all of their charity and fund raising events.
Ordered a Pyramid Hef on tap. It was poured from an open pitcher. Needless to say it was somewhat warm and flat. Is this the way the English like it?
Ordered a burger at the bar. It was delivered to the other end of the bar. By the time it finally found its way to me it was lukewarm and overcooked on the edges as well.
The burger comes with fries and no you can't swap them for something healthy unless you opt for an additional pile of their terrible coleslaw.
The owner thinks he's the soup Nazi. If you don't say please with an order he may threaten to kick you out if he's not in a good mood. I see he's probably coerced employees to post 5 star ratings here or they are out.
Tied in my book for 1st place: Best Fish-n-Chips in the Bay Area. Fries are some of the best I've ever had. And you can bring your dogs to summertime dinner in the front sidewalk dining area.
one of the best little places to eat in the downtown Los Altos area. i usually go during the weekends for dinner, and its consistently pretty crowded even thought the wait is never too long. but be aware-- when they are busy they might forget to bring you the bread, so don't be shy to ask for some. i love coming here because the atmosphere is so easygoing and comfortable. and while you wait for your food, you can play with their deck of "baby boomer" trivia pursuit cards.
they have a very nice menu reminiscient of home-cooked meals, with large portions! i've liked everything i've tried:
(i) the burger --the bun is excellent and so are the fries,
(ii) calf''s liver--i love liver! the side of bacon tips the scale on the side of a bit too heavy, but the mashed potatoes are so good),
(iii) fish n chips--the cod is presented super-hot just out of the fryer; ask for the slaw on the side otherwise your fries wil get soggy, and
(iv) the Sicilian pasta salad is amazing--kalamata olives, a strong pesto-based sauce, and sweet italian sausage to top it off.
i usually eat everything on my plate at other restaurants, but on more than one occasion here at Maltby's, i had to bring food back with me.
it'll be worth the trip!
The epitomy of the average American restaurant. There is nothing exceptional here, including the poor service.
I feel as if I must have eaten at a different restaurant than all of these people who wrote reviews... one that just happens to have the same name and is located at the same place. This is not a "little" place, it certainly had no resemblance to "home cooked" and it was horribly over-priced. I shared a burger and the Greek Salad with a friend. The burger was well done (despite my request for medium), the meat might have been from Costco, and the fries were exactly In and Out's fries, just three times the price for a smaller portion. I will agree that the bun was good, though. The salad had none of the romaine lettuce promised... it seemed to all be napa cabbage and was not green in the least, the chicken was just really a poor quality chicken breast, and the dressing just tasted like lemon juice. I also just missed the wonderful appeal of the atmosphere. It seemed like a cross between a Friendly's and an Applebees to me. Just a general disappointment for a Yelp 5 star place.
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