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Categories: American (Traditional), Diners, Breakfast & Brunch
205 State StMon-Sun. 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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This place is on our regular weekend brunch rotation. I round up to 4 stars because Rick's is super kid-friendly, has nice and efficient wait staff, and the portions are huge.
Foodwise, it's only okay but sometimes we just want to eat at a place where we can get in and out fast and feed the rugrats without any hassles. The kids normally order off the kids' menu: baby burger, macaroni and cheese, or grilled cheese sandwich chased down by a smoothie that the staff happily splits into two sippy cups. My husband orders the green eggs and ham omelet and I get a grilled chicken sandwich (minor gripe - the toasted bread on the sandwiches is normally pretty soggy when I get it). The waffles with strawberries and whipped cream are very tasty.
There is rarely a long wait here - even though it can be really bustling during weekend brunch. To ease the pain of waiting 5-10 minutes for a table, they offer free organic coffee outside the entrance. I've seen a bunch of cheapskates drive up to Rick's and jump out with empty thermoses and then hop back in their cars after filling them up. Shameless.
Breakfast can run the gamut of service/quality from Waffle House (which I affectionately refer to as Awful House) all the way to comfort food that's worth waiting hours in line for (i.e., http://www.yelp.com/bi...). Rick's is clearly on the lower end; I'd equate it to a locally owned Denny's.
Here's why. What is brunch without a mimosa or a bloody mary? Rick's doesn't have them. What is breakfast without fresh squeezed OJ? Ricks' doesn't have it. These things alone should make it a 3-star place or below.
On top of that, my food was bad. I got the Huevos Rancheros. I understand the dish is supposed to be various leftovers thrown together, but this was just weird. There was one tortilla in the dish, and one sitting on the side ... I don't know why. The eggs were undercooked (the white was still runny), which is unforgivable for a line cook who is cooking eggs all morning. The dish used canned green chillies and way too many of them, which was disgusting.
With all the brunch options out there, I'll never go to Rick's again. You Los Altos people need to get out of your neighborhoods more.
A group of 10 of us came here last weekend for a brunch.
Food was good, huge portions.
Service, unfortunately, was not good.
Our waitress wasn't attentive and we had to flag down other servers for refills of water and coffee. When she brought the check out, she kept coming back every couple of minutes to see if we were ready to pay (that attentiveness would have been helpful during the meal). Then, we were told that they needed our big table for others and we had to leave. Normally, that's all fine and good and I would understand that problem for a busy place since we were in the back and had no idea there was a crowd of hungry folks wanting our seats. As we walked out, though, there were plenty of other big tables available AND NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON WAITING AT THE DOOR.
Sheesh.
At least the bathroom was clean!
There's not many great places in Los Altos...since the downtown is pretty much a *yawn* unless you're a local, grew up here, or have memories from high school because you had no where else to go...
...but Rick's Cafe stands out apart from the rest. I literally haven't been here since before I went to college, but remember my experience to be a pleasurable one as the servers are friendly, the atmosphere homey and warm without being kitsch or cold like other chain diner type restaurants (i.e. Denny's, IHOP, etc.)
The Good
+ the service
+ quality food & fresh
+ REALLY, REALLY, REALLY GOOD coffee
The Bad
- boring area: there's not much going on around here...
Worth Trying:
* Blueberry pancakes - these things are HUGE and packed with fresh blueberries and served with blueberry preserves that are delicious!
* Corn Beef Skillet w/ Egg whites - I would have like the potatoes to be a bit more brown, but other than that, great flavor and delicious!
Coming back for more?
I wouldn't drive out of my way to come here, but I'd definitely swing by if I were in the neighborhood
SUPER Size Me GOOD.
If you miss the American way of having everything HUGE and EXCESSIVE, then please stop by here, where pancakes, omelets, and hash browns comes in legendary epic portions.
I ordered hot chocolate and it came in a mug that resembled a big-ass BOWL. Yes, it's HUGE here.
Food is borderline average, but the friendly staff smiles, the super long menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner will get me everytime.
The pancakes are AWESOME here. HUGE HUGE HUGE. Banana and blueberry! Germ, germ, germ wheat! Eat eat eat. Slap me on some syrup and I will call it a day.
Call ahead and ask for a comfy booth.
RECOMMEND for carb and pancake lovers!
We went to Rick's today because we were in a hurry and Tour Eiffel was opening slightly later than usual. We'd seen Rick's for a while, and it seemed as good as any time to try them.
We were seated quickly (semi-communal table, four two-tops pushed together but separate chairs), given drinks (iced tea: fine, a little weak) and ordered. Service was reasonably prompt and quite courteous; no complaints there.
Herself ordered a short stack of the blueberry pancakes, which were good--the blueberries appear to have been real blueberries at one time, nice and plump. They are a denser, less fluffy pancake which I actually liked--my favorite form of pancake is Swedish. The extra blueberry sauce that came with them was more like blue-colored Karo, so she skipped that.
I ordered what I thought was corned beef hash, but actually is corned beef and hash. It's a serving of hash brown potatoes, the wide really thin-cut kind, with a bowl of diced corned beef in the middle. Scrambled eggs and a "bagel" which is really thick white bread in almost-a-toroid shape, served split, toasted, and buttered. The eggs were fine, and I wound up mixing the beef with the potatoes to approximate corned beef hash, but it was still odd. Where is a bowl of diced corned beef with a separate serving of hash browns a normal breakfast dish (seriously, I'd like to know)?
Total with two iced teas was about $22. For about the same money, we'll wait a few minutes longer and go to Tour Eiffel, or go to OPH if we have more time.
Steve
Ever since Rick's Cafe opened at downtown Los Altos in May 2008, I stopped going to The Original Pancake House. It's that good!
Today, Christmas Day 2009, my wife wanted to have a nice breakfast before our 50+ family members arrived at our house for dinner and chaos. Practically all of the locally owned restaurants were closed and streets were empty. Fortunately for us, Rick's Cafe was open with hours from 7:30am to 2:00pm. Perfect.
We went inside and were immediately seated close to the doorway, and the place was fully packed at 10:45am and we didn't feel like waiting until something else opened up in the back. Their convenient Christmas day hours were from 7:30am to 2pm. A review for Rick's Cafe is long overdue and we've always sat in the front patio, so sitting inside was something new to me.
Less than 3 minutes passed, and a waitress came out to get our drinks started. We ordered 2 Large Orange Juices and Hot Water for my mother. The Hot Water came with a small insulated carafe good enough for three refills. The waitress, Nora, left only for two minutes while we were deciding what to get and then she came back. She did the same two more times until we gave up and just ordered simple things. I felt rushed with our waitress acting too pushy to take our orders. This is what we ordered:
*Basic Pork Breakfast: 3 Pork sausages, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and a lightly burnt sliced bagel. Sausages weren't too salty which was tasty. Hash browns were a large portion along with the scrambled eggs. $8.74
*Basic Hot Links Breakfast: Diced Spicy Hot Links, Eggs Sunnyside Up, Hash browns, and white toasted bread. $8.74
*Crepe Lupine: Regular Crepe stuffed with sausages, ham, bacon, olives, avocado, mushroom and cheddar cheese. My mother asked to hold the sour cream and onions. The crepe was decent and nothing out of the ordinary. It was complimented by a side of hash browns and toast. $10.14
The total bill with drinks and food came to $36.71 before tip.
Before our breakfasts came out, I was able to glance at the interior decor and furniture to make some quick judgements. At the entrance next to the front cashier, there was a red commercial coffee roaster with several bags of coffee beans. Apparently, they sell their own roasted coffee beans by weight advertised by a leaflet on their tables.
The restaurant's main color was turquoise with their walls and booths matching each other. To make the place more festive, there was a fresh decorated pine tree in the front lobby.
Overall, the food was savory and hearty. It was good enough to make me want to take a nap afterwards. Besides the pushy waitress to take our orders, the food came out hot and fast. The taste was plain, but to me that's good, so you can use condiments to vary their taste catered to your own likings. There were lots of condiments like salt, pepper, sugar, brown sugar, Heinz ketchup, hot sauce, and two types of jams. The prices are very affordable for downtown Los Altos. I'll definitely be back to try more things on their menu.
Ok... not great.... pricey.
Eggs Benedict.... pretty good. I had one of my poached eggs actually closer to hard-boiled.
This place was pretty busy, but we got in almost immediately on Sunday AM at about 8:40ish The food was good, hollandaise was pretty good. Potatoes were actually pretty pathetic though... maybe not used to them, or the fact that they weren't cooked very well. Were they supposed to be just shaved potatoes, or were they hash browns, because there wasn't very much brown to speak of.
The quantity of food was good. the quality was decent... but almost $45 later for 2 of us and the little girl... a bit on the high side.... yes I've spent more on breakfast, but that was a whole lot better to.
Its also a very loud place.... very busy... lots of throughput. so keep that in mind.
There are 2 other places I hopefully get a chance to try in Los Altos for breakfast. I'm hoping to find a real keeper.
I ordered the bacon cheeseburger but it did not come with bacon or cheese. The burgers are alright but I am going to try the other stuff on the menu. Diners are not really my favorite places to get burgers so we will see how their breakfast is. To be continued.
This place is growing on me. I thought it ho-hum the first time as I thought the price for what you got was too much, but the vegetarian crepe has been consistently light and healthy as well as tasty. It comes with a bagel although not the tastiest, it will fill your carb craving; the hash browns are a little to dry and again, the redemption is that it appears healthy, but if you're ordering hashbrowns, you probably don't mind a little grease!
The lupine crepe - a little too much meat for me but consistently edible. Boy, my standards are high... The portabello mushroom panini really hit the spot. Great proportion of bread to cheese to schrooms/veggies. Salad looked a little sad - wilted and just a pile of greens; nothing interesting. Again I have issue with the portions, the size of the sandwich is a bit small for ~$10. I guess given the zip code, it's to be expected.
Service is usually friendly and prompt.
Sunday's are made for taking an extra 30 min for sleep and big breakfast. Although we got there rather late in the day, I still had a craving for breakfast food. We were seated right away. Our waitress, was all smiles and very attentive. We hade the waffle with bacon bits and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate came in a big purple cup. I felt like Alice in Wonderland having tea with the Mad Hatter. The waffle was very filling.
Turns out our waitress was related to the owner. She introduced to the owner, who was also very nice. She hoped that we would return.
I am sure we will.
Over all very good. 4 stars.
Oooh yummy. Too many choices for someone like me who is ALWAYS the last person at the table who knows what she wants.
I really like their breakfast - they know how to handle an egg and their house potatoes are great. The portions are way too American size though so I have to pull my own plate away from me. I only ventured onto the lunch menu once and it was for their grilled chicken sammy which was totally on the mark.
The food here seems to be fresh and prepared in a fairly healthy manner, but thankfully not in an over the top quinoa and lawn clippings kinda way.
My family always leaves satisfied. The food is great but it can be crowded at times.
Hands down the best breakfast place I've ever been to! It is a bit expensive, but the friendly servers, the pretty decor, and the delicious food definitely makes up for it. I had the hot link scramble w/ no mushrooms, which was quite tasty. What I really loved was their potatoes! Their potatoes are thinly cut, not too greasy or salty so they just melt in your mouth :)
This place is located in downtown Los Altos, which had really cute shops you can look at after a hearty meal! I will definitely visit again real soon.
This is by-and-large a place for breakfast, although they also have a lunch menu (maybe even a dinner menu now, I'm not sure). The food is pretty good for the most part and the price is reasonable. The service, however, is touch n' go. Sometimes it's great; other days it isn't so hot. The location makes it convenient since it's in the downtown. Overall, I would say that this is a good place to visit for breakfast and lunch.
Went here yesterday, very hungry after a walk in the woods. Had to wait a bit, but was finally seated in the rear of this humongous restaurant. The menu was huge -- almost rivaling Cheesecake Factory size, but had everything imaginable for breakfast and lunch (only). Was with vegan friend, and they weren't too helpful on suggestions, but ended up ordering a veggie sandwich. Ordered 2 other breakfast meals: eggs, bacon, pancake & breakfast sandwich. They were delicious; give carafes of coffee ala Denny's. and pitchers of water. Resulted in less attention, but was worth the trip for the hearty grub.
Rick's serves up a mean breakfast. It is a bit pricey, but the food is good. The setting in downtown Los Altos doesn't hurt, and the easy parking and side entrance make it a stealthy place to grab a quick bite. I also like the outside enclosed patio.
The Huevos Rancheros is a good choice and tasty, as is the Eggs Benedict. Their Pancakes are fluffy and perfect and the best. A big plus is they offer Bagels and cream cheese as an option other than wheat sourdough or rye.
I also like the fact that they give you a Caraf of coffee so you don't have to wait for refills. They have an extensive menu that offers lunch and much more, but I cannot comment on that because this is strictly a breakfast spot for me.
Great breakfast and lunch place. A tad pricey, but never disappoints.
Surprisingly good. This place seems to be a post-cycling eatery since there were at least 4 other tables with people in cycling gear.
I don't know if it was because I was tired and hungry from finishing a ride, but the veggie crepe was delic. Good veggie chunks and a tasty crepe. Coffee was hot a had good flavor.
For being packed on a Sunday morning, service was faster than expected.
I'd come here again!
Best place for a Sunday brunch in Los Altos with a large menu. Firenze crepe was like meatball sandwich in a crepe - great. Coffee came in a BOWL.
We came in for a weekend brunch and ate enough food that I don't think either of us really ate dinner. Yay!
Minor points off for the "apple waffle" being covered in what was probably canned apple pie filling. I really wish places would make their own fresh fruit toppings for these things. Boyfriend ordered a smoked salmon benedict and said it was really tasty.
I'm curious about the crepes. That'll have to be next time.
3.5 stars.
I got the Bacado, a bacon, avocado omelet, with sour cream, salsa, a side of potatoes, and a bagel. The first bagel they brought out was fridge temperature on the inside. Clearly, it was recently in a freezer. That's ok; they happily replaced it. The omelet was tasty; lots of bacon and a ton of avocado. The potatoes were good, and the bagel was actually _very_ acceptable (I'm a bagel snob.). The tub of butter and jams on the table was very welcome, along with the self-serve ice water.
Surprisingly, no wait on a Sunday at 1PM. A very solid choice.
There are several reasons that I like Rick's Cafe:
1) Yummy Pancakes
2) Jazz on Wednesday and Saturday (except on the nights where the singer is bee-bee-bop...) mostly great music
3) Cappuccinos
4) Really nice wait staff
3.5 stars. Great place to replace all the lost carbs from a morning bike ride. Friendly staff, gets busy on weekends, sizable portions, and a good variety (have vegetarian options). Oh, and they have coffee and tea outside if you are one of the unfortunate ones waiting for a table. Food's not too greasy so I don't feel too guilty. =)
Spongebob says: Ask for the "Pepper Plant" hot sauce! It almost replaces Tabasco as the topping of choice on eggs/omelots/hashbrowns/everything.
Great service, OK food. Very friendly atmosphere. Had the strawberry waffle, which was a good waffle, but berries tasted like they'd been in the fridge for a while. Syrup was also not too flavorful.
Waitresses were very friendly and attentive.
Great place.
People are nice, portions are big, and the food is delish.
Their huevos racheros is awesome, topped with two eggs sunny side up and all sorts of goodies underneath. The waffles are good, too, and as is the free coffee if we wait for a table. This place reminds my bf of Stacks.
Always ready for a stuffing when I come--not a place for the weak!
You have to understand that Rick's is more about the total offering than the food alone. I've only been here for brunch with fairly large groups, but we've always been sat within 5-10 minutes of arriving, which is awesome.
+ free coffee and iced tea out front
+ awesome back patio (I think they keep putting us here because we look like a rowdy bunch...)
+ dog friendly! - you can have your pup on the back patio OR out front
+ they now have beer and mimosas**
** fresh OJ in the mimosas is awesome, but they really need to make these stronger. There is like zero champagne in the mimosas.
There is something for everyone on the menu. From scrambles to eggs benedict to pancakes to skillets to healthy options to salads and panninis...The wait staff are friendly and efficient. I mean, with how busy this place gets and how many families there are on any given weekend, Ricks could easily be complete chaos...but it is not. They hold it down.
The food is good. Its not amazingly fantabulous, but it is good. Way better than Hobees or Brian's Restaurant in Rancho shopping center. Way better atmosphere, too.
WHOA. A wait for breakfast at 1PM?? This place MUST be good!
Luckily, the only people that had to wait were the groups. There were plenty of seats for tables of two. Yay! Too bad it was in the back and next to the kitchen, so it was super hot. Boo!
They have a HUGE colorful menu. There are also lunch items at the back of the menu for those who are anti-breakfast. It was really difficult to decide on what to eat. They have a nice variety of breakfast items. What's nice is that they offer something a little different from the norm. They have an ALFREDO scramble?? I've never seen that before.
I decided to go for something in their House Special. It seemed like the best bet. =) I got the Eggs Louie Cayenne. It was a crab benedict made with REAL crab and spinach. It was topped with just a pinch of cayenne, so there was no heat whatsoever. It also came with a side of their house potatoes (like the potatoes at Stacks in Campbell) and a toasted buttered bagel. It was pretty satisfying, but I've definitely had a better crab benedict at Los Gatos Cafe. It definitely could have been a little more melt-in-you-mouth. I stole a bite of my friend's steak and eggs, too. =) They actually use RIB EYE for their steak. AWESOME. =) It wasn't too bad. One of the better steak and eggs you can get for only $12.95. Not too shabby.
This place is worth going back to. Clean place. Good service. Nice variety of food. =)
This was our first time at Rick's Cafe. Being that I don't like waiting in line (if I can help it) we made a reservation for breakfast (parties of 6 or more). Like the other Yelpers have mentioned there's FREE coffee (& chairs) out on the sidewalk for those waiting for a table. I was impressed with the flavor/quality of the coffee!
We were seated in a booth as soon as all of our party arrived. It was kind of loud in the front main section (every seat was filled).
My wife had the Eggs Benedict ($11.29) which was perfect, I ordered the "Hawaiian Waffle" (8.95) which wasn't what I was expecting. The coconut & banana weren't mixed in the batter but were plopped on top along with the pineapple and whipped cream. Our friends "Hawaiian Pancakes" were done the same way. I also ordered a side of bacon ($4.75) which was an entire full sized plate of medium thick bacon along with 2 tomato slices which helped decorate the dish.
I like the fact that they leave the coffee and water at your table so you don't have to keep flagging someone down for a refill.
I did notice that there was a back section of the restaurant that had counter service and a few tables (there might even be a back door?). It looked quieter-I'll try to sit there next time!
Their take home menu is excellent-it's a sized reduction of their full size menu! Another nice touch were the basket of soft mints (my fave) at the cashiers counter! Being that it was Mother's Day they also gave out Rose's to all the moms ;-)
Overall it was a nice experience and I'd go back if I was in that part of the south bay again. Thanks for the help Ceana K!
Whoo hoo - finally found a brunch place that my friend and I can do our weekly brunches at that is close to work, and open early, and actually TASTES good!
This place is a little tricky to find, but it's large, has cute stuffed booths, and very friendly staff. My friend ordered the strawberry waffle, which is a giant hot fluffy waffle topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was one of the best waffles I've had in a while.
I ordered the veggie egg scramble with egg whites, fruit, and toast. So healthy, but yet so tasty. The celery in the scramble add some extra pizazz.
While Bill's Cafe is my weekend ritual, Rick's Cafe will be my weekday one.
The best blueberry-walnut-wheat-germ pancakes and Eggs Benedict anywhere. Or upgrade to the Eggs Louie Cayenne to add crab and fresh spinach. Back patio seating is worth the wait.
This cafe seems to only be open for breakfast and lunch no dinner - the food is good. It would be expensive, but the portions are huge, so you can bring leftovers home and get two meals out of it. I've been here twice once I got a hamburger, and the other time I got the hawaiian pankcakes - both of which were good but nothing to write home about.
First I thought, how could a stack of pancakes, served with no sides and no eggs, be satisfying enough? A full stack of blueberry pancakes ($8.29) at Rick's Cafe comes with three 8-inch round pancakes. Not only were they large, they are also perfectly soft and fluffy. I got full after eating only about two-thirds of pancakes.
The restaurant is clean and has a nice homey feel. Its location at downtown Los Altos is also nice, with lots of available street and lot parking in its vicinity. Service was friendly and helpful enough. I like it that they leave the whole carafe of coffee on your table so you can get refills easily without having to ask or wait.
Bottom Line: A way better than average diner.
After hearing from friends and reading the reviews on Yelp, we decided to give Rick's Cafe a try for lunch. It was a busy Sunday lunch time but the wait was fairly reasonable for party of 4 -- we were told 10~15 minutes for a table and was seated promptly after 10 minutes. Despite our small group, we were given a large booth table and the kids were supplied with crayons and sheet after we seated. The servers were efficient, friendly, and smiling... which is not something that can be said of other similar joints.
We ordered:
* Turkey panini sandwich - portion is large; came with side salad; pretty tasty
* Philly cheesesteak - server messed up and gave us steak and eggs instead, but it turned out pretty good nonetheless.
* Kids menu hot dog w/ potatoes - hot dog slightly on the salty side but portions were very generous.
* Kids menu baby burger - this turned out to be not so "baby" afterall. it's a full-size hamburger, IMO. also tasty, but the kids asked why they got potatoes instead of frieds.
* Blue Moon smoothie - very yummy for the kids and they were willing to split one order into two kids cups w/o extra charge.
Overall, a casual, family-friendly joint that we'll frequent again. There are plenty of items on the menu for both breakfast and lunch that we'd want to try in the future.
We only had to wait 15 minutes at 10am on a Sunday, which seemed pretty good after reading all the reviews! Service was quick, portions were large (none of us ate lunch), and the food was good overall. I'm an eggs benedict snob, and I'd say this was the top end of average...nothing special, but a decent option for fulfilling the craving without the plastic-y hollandaise you find at some places. The sauce didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked, but there was plenty of ham, and everything else was good, so I would definitely go back.
Came here on a Wednesday morning for breakfast. At 10am, the place is nearly empty. There were six of us but we had a variety of food around the table.
I ordered from the light breakfast section (damn that slowing metabolism) and had the banana split yogurt sundae. No no... it's not what you think. It's sliced banana, strawberries with granola and lowfat strawberry and plain yogurt. Oh, and it came with a side of dry bagel. Everyone at the table was envious; at least, that's what I would like to believe. The presentation made it look like I was eating something really really bad for me. *excellent*
Wiki had the hot link omelet which came with mushrooms, onions, bell pepper and a side of roasted salsa. It also came with a side of bagel (with butter). I stole three bites; it was also excellent.
The rest of the table larded up on various items loaded with some form of bacon. Fortunately, my sundae was so tasty and filling that I wasn't envious at all. OK, maybe just a little...
Good solid breakfast/lunch place.
The portions are generous. Everything come with potatoes and a bagel...probably even if you order potatoes and a bagel. And my absolutely fave is the bacado omelet, although I can barely eat half the bacon in it.
I've been here about 4 times now. I have to say the service is prompt and everything is exactly what the menu describes, no surprises. I think its kind of funny that the menu is so big, when really its the same offerings over and over again, just in "skillet" "scramble" or "omelet" form.
My last visit on Friday the server wasn't that nice. Not everyone had decided and we asked her to take the order in one direction around the table, and she insisted on going in the direction where people didn't know what they wanted. She also didn't even try to remember who had what, just brought the food and named it off in kind of a demanding tone. I know we were a big group, but it was kind of unfriendly.
I'd have to say that this place is somewhere between a 3 and a 4 but since I have a certain affection for Los Altos restaurants, I'll bump it up to a 4.
Rick's is not quite homey, yet not quite commercial either. It really is somewhere in between the two. I like the fact that they serve FREE coffee outside of their restaurant before you walk in. This is useful if you're waiting in line. However, I was one of the lucky ones who got a table right away.
I ordered the veggie scramble with egg whites and 1 pancake. The scramble was ok - but what was great about it was that the vegetables were fresh and in abundance, I just wish it had a little bit more flavor. The pancake was pretty darn good. Not the best pancake I've had, but pretty darn good. My husband had the huevos rancheros and was definitely not pleased. I think they went a little overboard with the huevos, but to be fair most restaurants do. I think most restaurants forget that huevos rancheros is a very simple dish and instead the pack it with all these toppings. However, my friend did love her dish - the Cayenne Louis Benedict with Crab and I must say it looked very appetizing!
In summary, I think you should the reviews here before you order. The dishes here are hit or miss. But one thing is for sure, Rick's uses fresh ingredients and serves a great cup of coffee! Service is so-so and so is the ambiance and you'll likely lose your arm and your leg eating here, but that is one of the joys of eating Los Altos - you'll get broke eating in Los Altos. They should really call it Lost Dinero. haha..
ok...so bottom line. Solid food and great coffee. But come here expecting to pay a LOT.
My favorite place to grab breakfast/brunch on the weekends. The egg combinations are so large, you might have to unbutton your top button when you're thru with the meal! I love their cornbeef hash with poached eggs and a bagel!! Add in a bottomless cup of coffee and I'm in heaven.
(2 stars here is being kind - it wasn't 1 star, but it sure wasn't 2)
I went to Rick's Cafe this past Sunday with my sister and one of her friends. After reading the rave reviews on here, I was really excited to try the place - after all, who doesn't like a good breakfast/brunch place considering that there seems to be relatively few nowadays.
When we got there at around 1PM, we saw a ton of people which is always a good sign (it's popular right?) - put our name down and had some of their coffee - now I will say that their beverages (coffee, iced tea) was definitely the highlight of the meal. From there, it went way WAY downhill.
After waiting for a bit, we finally got to sit down, but we had to sit near their prep area so we had to hear the mind numbing roar of their blender every few minutes making smoothies (negative - move those damn things away from where people eat).
We got our menus and lo and behold, it looked like a cheap rip-off of the Stacks menu. Since my family is good friends with one of the owners of Stacks, this seemed like a serious slight unless they were actually related somehow. I don't know about that, but still, cheap copy... never a good sign to me.
After some time, the person who I thought would be our server came and asked our drink orders. Not a problem, but it took an extremely long time to get "a straw (for the water), a coffee and an iced tea" (especially the iced tea) - (another two negative - it shouldn't take that long to get drinks - and even then, the obligatory pitcher of water that we were supposed to get never showed up).
After what seemed to be an extremely long time, someone else gave us our meals - we started to get our meals randomly with mine last. While the portions were definitely good sized, they were pretty ordinary at best. My sister's crab scramble was really salty (old fish?) and my omelet, while filled still didn't taste that great. I asked for the requisite hot pepper plant sauce (btw, it's not that unique people - you can get it almost everywhere) and ranch dressing for the potatoes - took way WAY too long to get that - I had to ask twice for it.
I had to also mention something about the bagel - I don't remember who mentioned it before about being a bagel snob and she loved the bagels - I have to say that if you love Lenders Bagels, then these are wonderful - otherwise I have had better from Noahs as well as House of Bagels - bland boring plain bagels with margarine like stuff on it - nothing special there... in fact quite disappointing given all the raves about them.
Long story short, got the check - personally, if I am going to spend that sort of money, I'll just go to Stacks, get better service and a much better meal.
I guess if you are into the 'scene' and feel like you have to bring your dog to a restaurant, this place may be nice, but frankly, this place is a "Must Miss" for me... Next time I'm in Los Altos, I'll go to the Original Pancake House or maybe even the Village Pantry. This place is way over-hyped... and I am very disappointed.
Los Altos, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
Mountain View, CA
Category: American (Traditional)
Los Altos, CA
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Los Altos, CA
Category: American (Traditional)
Los Altos, CA
Category: Italian
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
When there are no leftovers, but there is time to…
My husband has a recent diabetes diagnosis and so…
In search of the best breakfast in the bay one…
Anyone can do dinner.... breakfast tends to be a…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
