St Michael's Alley
Categories: American (New), Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
806 Emerson StPalo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 326-2530
- Hours:
Tue-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Tue-Sat 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
25 reviews
Los Altos, CA
"I have to say that for a new restaurant, Rick's exceeded my expectations both in service quality and food quality. I've come here several…" read more »
102 Reviews for St Michael's Alley
For those of you who have not been to St Michael's Alley and are reading these reviews to see if your should I highly recommend you go. This is a wonderful little place just down the street from Palo Alto Whole Foods. The food and service are wonderful and the wine list is nothing short of amazing.
My girlfriend and I were heading to SF for an anniversary dinner when we hit ridiculous traffic. After being stuck for 45 minutes, we gave up and drove around until we found something fitting. She remembered co-workers mentioning St Michael's Alley, so we found it and gave it a shot.
Since we didn't have reservations, and they were full (it's a tiny place), they invited us to sit at the bar and eat there. We were hungry, so we probably would have eaten in the parking lot.
The food was great! We were very pleased. We both had asian influenced entrees, which I thought was a little strange, but who cares? They tasted great...and the menu is seasonal, so you can always go back and try something new. The quality was fantastic, the portions were generous and the service was very good.
But more than anything else, the prices were VERY fair. This might be the best deal in Palo Alto. You get 4-star cuisine and they don't charge you for 5-star...like most places around here. In other words, they aren't pretentious. I planned on spending $150 at the place we were going to in SF. I ended up paying $80 or so at St Michael's Alley...and that's with a few glasses of wine.
Can't wait to go back and try the new Spring menu for '08.
My friends dragged me down to The Peninsula for brunch yet again. I'd already read about long waits at St. Michael's Alley, so we got there at 10:30 a.m. for brunch. Wow, that's early. Anyway, so at that time in the morning on a Saturday, there was no wait at all; I don't think a line started to form until well after 11 a.m.
The menu items seemed relatively reasonably-priced considering what I heard about dinner, though there weren't that many menu items that jumped out at me. I was initially drawn to the eggs benedict, but I always love huevos ranchers or chilaquiles...and there were chilaquiles on the menu! I was surprised to find the chilaquiles with ham since I've typically had them vegetarian; ham isn't my first breakfast meat choice so I had to order a side of bacon too. I was a bit disappointed with my chilaquiles: the chilaquiles didn't have much flavor besides the sodium/salt from the ham. I'd hoped there would be a bit more of a kick from the green chiles and more flavorful black beans.
The service was fine, though I found that I had to keep asking for more water and coffee.
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Delish and a great atmosphere!
I spent my Birthday brunch on a Sunday here and the staff nicely accommodated 10 of my friends.
All the waiter and waitresses were really great refilling mimosas and water. Everyone enjoyed their food.
I can't wait to go back!
Our favorite restaurant in Palo Alto for a nicer meal or to take the parents when they're in town--friendly service, amazing food, and reasonable prices without pretense. It's great for both brunch and dinner. Absolutely try this place!
Yay! A nice local place that's great for brunch. On our server's recommendation, we got the special apple cinammon pancakes which, when supplied with absolutely every packet of butter on the table, were just right. And a bunch of syrup. Good OJ. Questionable coffee.
I know fellow yelpers, it's a local place with some character and not a chain so I'm supposed to give it 5 stars. Call me a nihilist.
We came here for brunch at the suggestion of a friend as well as the reviews on yelp. We were pleasantly surprised by the cute atmosphere and lovely decorations on the inside. Unfortunately, the food and service were only average. The food is definitely over-priced.
Here is what we ordered and how it came out:
Spring Vegetable Scramble - No flavor and dry
Rock Shrimp Frittata - Extremely Dry and over-cooked
Eggs Florentine - Eggs we're too raw and runny
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to try the pancakes which looked a lot better than what we ordered. I would consider coming back again to try the pancakes alone.
If anything, it is desirable for its quaint atmosphere and decorations. Maybe a nice place to catch up with a friend you haven't seen in a long time. Other than that, there are plenty of better brunch places at a better price.
3.5 stars. It was really hot in Palo Alto today and unfortunately for us there was really poor ventilation at St. Michael's Alley. There was a ceiling fan that barely whirled and a small air condition unit that was installed on top of the door. Neither kept us cool! But once we ordered the water and juice, it was much better. Still, the ventilation was bad and St. Michael's Alley should really consider bringing in some fans.
Now, for the food. It was decent. I had a nicoise salad and it was quite decent. The portions were not huge, but it was your usual fare--lettuce, eggs, string beans, potatoes, etc. I enjoyed the vinagrette. At $16+ for the small salad, the price is a bit steep. But still, the ambiance was decent (despite the heat). Overall, the restaurant was charming and pleasant enough, but given the heat I might have been too delirious to really enjoy the food and restaurant!
** Review for Easter Brunch **
I saw the largely positive reviews on Yelp and thought that St. Michael's Alley would be a nice place to try for Easter Brunch.
Fortunately, upon arrival at the no-reservations restaurant, we found a very minimal wait at 1 pm and proceeded to enjoy our meal.
For Easter, like many places, St. Michael's Alley had a special prix-fixe menu, which they were kind enough to inform us about before seating us. At $38/person, it wasn't the cheapest brunch but it wasn't as high as the nearby $75 buffet at Quattro in Palo Alto.
Our selection started with two beverages and I had an excellent codder (cranberry and champagne) to start. Our selections then consisted of the appetizers and entrees:
Roasted Bell Pepper soup - a nice soup with a hint of sweet bell peppers
Lentil soup - made w/ corned beef, it was flavorful.
Smoked Salmon benedict - by far, my favorite item, it was one of the best benedicts I've had in a while. The dry mustard and capers added a great touch and the smoked salmon was excellent
Buttermilk Pancake Medley plus - consisted of two buttermilk pancakes, chicken-apple sausage, and a fruit dish. Nice sausage and buttery pancakes....solid, if unspectacular. Probably in hindsight not the best choice for a $38 meal
At the end of the meal, I thought we had a nice brunch on a gorgeous sunny day. I was a bit taken back by the bill though: $95 for two. From what I've heard about the regular menu pricing, there definitely was a price premium for Easter (and probably a reason for the reasonable wait times for a table) and an automatic 18% tip for all tables vs. the usual of only for tables of 6 or more. The service was fine, so I have no real qualms, but I personally prefer places that let you tip as you feel warranted.
Given the great Yelp reviews, I'd love to come back on a non-holiday, and next time, I'll be more cognizant of the price hikes on the holidays. (it's supposedly a good Valentine's Day spot...given the price hikes, probably not for me.)
As always, I also found out: NO American Express accepted.
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We had our Easter brunch at the St. Michael's Alley and it was good but it did not wow me for the price. They had a special prix fixe menu for $38 per person and it came with 2 beverages, 1 soup/salad, and 1 entree. The beverages included juice, soda, mimosa, codder (cran and champagne), coffee, tea and expresso drink. I should've double fist with a mimosa and codder to make it more worthwhile. I had the smoked salmon eggs benedict and it was pretty good. The dry mustard and caper added some kick to it. My mate had the medley with pancake, eggs and sausage. It was a typical brunch plate that you can get anywhere. One thing I have to mention is the pancake, it was very buttery and excellent.
One thing I dismay about this place is that they automatically charged 18% gratuity for a meal for two. I can understand auto gratuity for a party of more than 6, but party of 2? Why don't I get to choose how much to tip based on the service I get? Don't get me wrong, the service is not bad, but I like to have a choice.
At the end of the day, brunch for two was $95. Great atmosphere. Food was good but not spectacular. Very pricey for Easter brunch. Hopefully the regular brunch menu is better.
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Came here for dinner on Saturday night with another couple. The service was friendly and helpful- very professional wait staff. Great wine, fabulous food, I would definitely eat here again. Could be nice and romantic for a dinner out with the BF.
I had the steak which was just delicious and a spring salad with goat cheese (yummy). There is a large variety of wines on the wine list in all price ranges, and waiter was very helpful in selecting one that was both a good price and would go well with the meal.
The one drawback is the atmosphere. It is a beautiful place, but on Saturday night at 9pm our party was the only one in the restaurant that did not have white hair. Not exactly a happening young spot.
If you do happen to go there, check out the picture and letter posted beside the bathroom door from Bill Clinton. Apparently the Clinton's also enjoyed St. Michael's alley.
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I've been here for lunch and really liked it, so I decided to come here with my family for brunch on account of all the good reviews. Unfortunately, all we found was a long line and almost incredibly bland food. To top it all off, the food took nearly one hour to get to us after ordering. I have no idea why because it came out lukewarm and obviously heatlamped. I had the ham and pineapple omlette and shared the blue monkey pancakes. For my money, the pancakes were good, but not great (I liked the Old Pancake House much better).
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This was another of our brunch locations.
Great for kids. They can draw on the table cloth and the acoustics are such that a little extra noise isn't noticed (it's not too loud though). The food took quite a while, but maybe I just thought that because we had to wait for so long to be seated...
Every dish was outstanding. It's not cheap, but hey...it's Palo Alto. The potatoes were seasoned and cooked to crispy perfection and not oily. I had an omelet with brie in it which I never would have imagined...it was to die for.
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My wife and I went for Sunday brunch. I had Eggs Florentine. The food and service were excellent. The preparation of the dish was excellent. This was our first brunch there, and it was a 5-star experience.
This restaurant is small, does not take reservations, and the wait can be 30 minutes or more. There is really no waiting area inside.
We have had lunch here on many occasions, but for that meal we can arrive early and avoid the wait. For lunch we have had salads or hamburger. We don't hesitate to go back.
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YUM! I loooooove brunch =) so I may be a bit biased. We got the Blue Monkey pancakes (blueberry & banana -- cute huh?) and Eggs Benedict. The pancakes were good, although I think I like the blue more than the monkey, and the eggs were good too. Also had a mimosa -- I don't think you could ever mess one of those up!
The place is super cute too! Huge pictures (or paintings? Don't remember, don't really care haha) hanging on the walls and chandeliers dangling from the ceilings, love it.
Only downside is that they DON'T and absolutely refuse to do substitutions. We wanted the St. Mike's omelette with sausage instead of bacon and she said N-O-spells NO! How hard could it be to do one tiny substitution? It's not like I asked them to totally change the recipe... but I guess if you allow change from one customer, then you have to for all customers and that could get pretty hectic in the kitchen.
Besides that, this place is awesome and I'd love to come here again!
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We had an enjoyable meal here. The scallops were by far the best dish at our table Good wine list and the banana bread pudding with the Jack Daniels ice cream was killer.
I was a bit apprehensive when I arrived at St. Michael's Alley, as it was my third choice of eateries for the evening (the other two were booked solid well in advance), and my first impression was that the restaurant space was small and somewhat loud. I was afraid that our group of six wouldn't be able to converse and enjoy our meal together and that we would feel cramped and rushed. It turned out that my fears were unfounded. The noise level wasn't as much of an issue as I had anticipated, and though the tables are close together, the waiters and other patrons did not encroach too much upon us. Our waiter (a goateed fellow with a ponytail, whose name I've regrettably forgotten) was affable and efficient.
The wine list here is fairly extensive, and focuses mostly on local vintages from the Santa Cruz Mountains. I eventually settled on a 2004 Storrs old-vine zinfandel for my party. We started with an order of crab wontons, and then got a red beet tart that was so tasty that we needed another of the same. My entree of choice was a fantastic cassoulet with duck confit - I would happily eat that again any time. Others enjoyed the gnocchi, the prosciutto-wrapped salmon, and the scallops with blood orange and fried polenta rounds.
For dessert, I had a decent French apple tart and an excellent Savannah-Chanelle (also Sta. Cruz Mtns.) syrah port. I also sampled a profiterole with espresso gelato that was lusciously delicious. Overall, I found St. Michael's Alley to be a very pleasant experience from gastronomic and service standpoints, and at a price that won't break the bank. One small note: if you come on a rainy evening, try to avoid sitting under the skylight, since it has a slight leak.
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I want to be fair and state, first off, that I've only come here for brunch and we only tried two things: the banana pancakes and a smoked-Gouda omelet. So my rating could have *possibly* been different if we came for dinner, for example.
We arrived around 1:45 p.m., and it was crazily busy. But I actually liked the warm, bustling atmosphere--obviously, the roomful of diners were having a good time. Unfortunately, the dining area was overly warm and poorly ventilated--after adding my name to the waiting list, I stepped outside with a greasy odor clinging to my coat.
Although the waiters were not exactly friendly, they were brisk and competent, and that's perfectly fine with me. The food arrived surprisingly quickly, around the same time as our drinks.
My husband's omelet was, admittedly, good--almost creamy in consistency, which is how I like my eggs, with a nice balance of filling ingredients. The accompanying side of potato quarters were well seasoned, with a tantalizing hint of spice--coriander, maybe?--but I was a bit surprised at the use of dried rosemary, rather than fresh.
My pancakes were disappointing. At least the flavor was okay--it didn't have that bitter taste that you get when there's oil (versus melted butter) in the batter. But they were obviously overcooked, dry, and tough. On the one hand, I don't want to judge this restaurant by its pancakes alone (obviously, this isn't IHOP), but on the other, shouldn't a good restaurant be able to make something this basic? If you're the cook, and you see the pancakes are verging on charred, make a new batch, damn it. Another thing: The sliced bananas in the pancakes had that unmistakable dry, mealy texture of unripe bananas.
I was also unimpressed with the sticky-handled maple syrup bottles. And--okay, call me spoiled, but I was a bit annoyed with the individually wrapped pats of butter that came with my pancakes. At a Holiday Inn breakfast, fine. At a "real" restaurant, can't I get a little whipped butter or at least some of the regular stuff in a dish, so I don't have to get my fingers all greasy, unwrapping each butter pat?
This place is very cute and cozy. Not a ton of seating, but perfect for a weekend brunch with the girls! Nice and bright inside and very welcoming.
We started off with mimosas, which were delicious! I had the eggs benedict which was pretty good, and my friends had the salmon scramble which they enjoyed very much. In general the food is not spectacular, but average for brunch.
The service was a little lacking and the servers are not that friendly. I wouldn't mind coming back again though to try some of the other menu items.
Great menu, the wait staff has been here forever and they are honest, fun and make great recommendations! The Page Mill Chard, believe it or not, is actually really nice and refreshing!
Went there for Sunday brunch today. Had a bit of everything and all of it excellent--bacon, poached eggs, eggs Florentine, biscuits, pancakes--not just me alone! Noise level is a bit high, but maybe the new location will improve on this.
Have had many lunches there and burger, turkey club, salads have all been exceptional. They also have a limited but good wine selection.
I don't think you can do better in downtown Palo Alto for excellent food and service.
I like this place - it's small, quaint with soft lighting...or maybe it was the company I had or the friendly service...or all of the above.
There were 6 of us and we ordered just about everything on the appetizer menu and a few entrees and did it family style. It was fun and allow everyone to try a little of everything. Everything was pretty tasty but nothing really stood out as a must have. We had 2 bottles of red that were very good but I didn't pay attention to what we ordered.
They gave us a few glasses of port wit the dessert - the port was very good but again I have no clue what it was!
I just like this place, it's away from the buzz of downtown Palo Alto...and look forward to returning...
We LOVE this place! Food is always a delight as the menu does change (never get tired of the food). I'm still waiting for the chocolate bread pudding to come back as it's to die for! Setting is quaint, cozy and classy. Went for brunch once...not what I expected, not bad but not as good as the dinner foods...we'll stick to their dinner seating!
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Had dinner here the other night. It's a rare restaurant where upwards of 90% of the menu cannot be easily ruled out, but this place manages lots of variety on a seasonally changing menu.
Great location too; extensive wine list; service was better than some of the other reviews I'm reading. I only wish the food was as great as the menu looked.
Still worth a return visit, to give dinner another go or to explore the brunch options.
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Surprisingly, the service here was pretty quick. Visually, the food was well prepared, and tasted good. As in the previous reviews, nothing to knock your socks off, but a very decent restaurant, worthy of multiple visits.
While no one dish is likely to knock your socks off, St. Michael's Alley does so many things really well, that I know I can always expect a really great meal and experience whenever I go.
The French/Californian cuisine is not as novel or complex as many Palo Alto restaurants try to be, but they're almost always better than you would generally expect.
The cassoulet with duck confit ($20) sits in a wonderful white bean cassoulet that I enjoyed immensely even before getting to the duck. The flavors are very well balanced and taste better than I would have expected for a dish so simply made. I really enjoyed the rack of lamb ($20) on my last visit and the baked gnocchi gratin ($17) has a very sharp and distinctive cheese that makes it one of the better gnocchis I've had. The thick wild mushroom cake ($8) made for a wonderful appetizer. For lunch I've always enjoyed their salad nicoise and ahi tuna sandwich. Everyone raves about the brunch, though the one time I went it seemed about on par with many other PA brunch locations.
The waitstaff is always very friendly, especially one of the male lunchtime servers who always seems like he's auditioning for the role of waiter. The bread is decent and most of the wines by the glass I've had have been pretty good (especially the Cab Franc and the Sancere). Its reasonably quiet and being just a few blocks off University gives it a less business oriented feel that the heart of downtown.
Hidden gem of Palo Alto. I don't hear much about it but it's a small restaurant with excellent food and wine topped with great personal service. And not too spendy so it doesn't only need to be for special occasions-- any nice date or meal with friends would be great here. I'll definitely be back.
I love a good brunch spot. The best part about St. Michael's is the ambiance. The food strikes me as somewhat forgettable but delicate which is nice. It would be three stars but gets four for being so awesome as to serve brunch, lots of coffee and general prettiness.
Three stars for dinner, four stars for their big, fluffy omelets for the weekend brunch, lovely setting and nice jazz music in the background.
The brunch menu has a great selection and the food is delicious. But we waited over 45 minutes for our table. The owner/hostess of the restaurant was surprisingly uncordial and even surly about the long wait. Although the restaurant is understandably busy, I was very surprised by the rudeness. Perhaps the restaurant feels entitled because they've been around for so long, but if they continue to offer such minimal customer service (that really dampens the dining experience!), they'll lose out to friendlier brunch establishments like Country Gourmet or Crepes Cafe.
Had an excellent dinner here with my mother one night and had brunch here with a friend this morning. A bit on the expensive and noisy side but it's cozy and the waitstaff are really friendly. The chilaquiles were great for brunch...never had them before but I highly recommend trying them.
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This place is great. I've been there a couple times with my team for work lunches, and they have a yummy, seasonal menu. Both lunch dishes (salmon plate and eggplant sandwich) were excellent. Today my partner and I went for brunch. We woke up early, so we got there around 10:40 am. We easily found street parking and were seated immediately. The place was pretty full, but there wasn't a wait. The food was delicious. I had french toast, and they top it with all these fresh strawberries. My girlfriend had eggs florentine and said it was the best one she's ever had. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the service can be kind of shotty. Today, we had to wait pretty long for our food which meant we were kind of tipsy after nearly finishing our mimosas on an empty stomach while waiting. But maybe this is a good way to start the day?
I'd also mention that you want to get here early. We ran some errands on foot in downtown Palo Alto after brunch, and when we passed the restaurant on the way back to our car around noon, the place was packed.
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This place is the place to go in PA when you want reasonably priced homey food in a low key atmosphere.
We had a great brunch. I had French Toast (thick Challa bread) covered with strawberries and dusted with confectioners sugar. Just writing about it makes me hungry.
My companion had Turkey club sandwich, generously portioned. Both dishes were 10 bucks each. You can't get much in Palo Alto for ten bucks, but here you can and we had a great meal.
Restaurant is adorable, in an old building with lofty ceilings. Service was fine, food was good, bill was low - what more could you want?
They have a wonderful seasonal menu serving Cal Cuisine. I have never had a disappointing dining experience here. I agree with other reviewers... they need to brush up on their reservation skills. Nonetheless St Michael's Alley has a great charm and inviting atmosphere.
I called two days ahead for a Saturday reservation for a party of 4 @ 6:30pm.
The receptionist paused and let me know she could make the reservation, but there was a party coming in at 7:30pm. WTF?!?
She SHOULD have said, we don't have the slot open, but if you wanted to come in at 6pm, it's available. I don't like time constraints on my dinner.
I called her out and asked, "Do restaurants usually limit dining time?"
She didn't answer directly, but she did apologize for the inconvenience, mentioning they have very few tables and they will be moving to a new location soon.
Mid-afternoon on Saturday, I found out that we could dine at 5:30pm, so I called and a gentleman answered. He was more than happy to accommodate our party at the earlier time, but again, he had to slide in that we would have TWO hours to dine. Grr.
We plug the addy in the GPS and we're off!!! I'm stoked that we don't have to travel on UNIVERSITY to get to EMERSON. We avoid all the headache from the traffic and pedestrians.
Plenty of parking lots and street parking.
We entered the restaurant and it is truly charming: rich dark woods and terra cotta walls. Very warm and inviting. Just like the staff.
We started with great glasses of Syrah and Pinot Gris.
The food on the menu really reflects the produce of the season:
Butternut squash & goat cheese tart $6
Sent this back to the kitchen, it was a mushy, cheesy mess.
Wild Mushroom Cake $6
Pan fried, w/fragrant crispy leeks on top, mild mushroom flavor & tasted quite healthy. This could be an entree. It was huge.
Crispy Chicken & Mushroom Wontons $9
DELICIOUS!!! Use the soy ginger dipping sauce. The filling was seasoned perfectly. Our server was willing to switch out the butternut tart for another order of the wontons. Each order comes with four.
Check out the salads, fresh, great dressing & ingredients.
Grilled NY Pepper steak $28
The steak was lean and the green peppercorn sauce was to die for. I like the steamed broccoli on the side and the twist on au gratin with rutabaga.
Pan Roasted Duck Breast
5-6 medium sized pieces of duck. Succulant, tender and satisfying. Sides are wild rice, haricot verts & baby carrots.
Fresh herb marinated roasted Chicken Breast $19
Gorgeous presentation w/soft polenta & a nice complimentary sauce.
Wonderful experience. Quaint location, perfect service and great CA style food. Good enough for me to forget the phone fiasco. I'll be waiting patiently for the new location.
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FANTASTIC.
LOVED our brunch this morning.
If you like salmon, order the salmon scramble. It was deeeelish.
and of course a mimosa. or two.
Cute and cozy atmosphere.
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Great service. Went with four friends, and we had to wait FOREVER for our table since the table before us just talked and talked and talked, but our waiter was so friendly and warm that we really did not mind. Or at least I didn't, and I'm the pickiest out of all of us. We went for dinner, and it was good although not the amazingly good that I somehow expected. Rather than a place that excelled at putting together amazing, unique dishes, it seems like a place that just does things well - which I don't have a problem with, but is a slight notch down. The service brings it up to a 5.
Appetizers: We only got ice water, though the waiter was careful to bring water (minus ice) for the one person in our party who was not in the mood for ice. Very attentive.
We had the wild mushroom cake - flavorful, and the sauce really kicked this dish up a notch. Someone described it like a mushroom falafel, and though this is not the most dignified comparison, it is relatively accurate...with much better sauce. Also, I normally hate mushrooms but loved this. I remember reading that the portions were huge on Yelp or some review, but found them normal and actually...disappointingly small.
We also got the asparagus cheese tart, which was good - again, a dish done well. I think the mushroom cake was a more memorable, personally.
Entrees: We sneaked a bit of everyone else's...so I tried 3 and "ate" 1. I got the seared wild sea scallops with mango risotto and spinach (or argula? not sure? and not sure about the sauce either, think it was a herb beurre blanc). It was an interesting, ambitious combination of sweet + savory, but the sweet was so overpowering (the mango risotto) that it almost felt like a dessert dish. The scallops were cooked perfectly, seared nicely on the outside and moist and soft on the inside. But unless you ignored the mango risotto (which I didn't, because I love mango, but this much sugar - mangoes aren't necessarily sweet, especially ones grown in North America (perhaps they should have tried a green mango risotto) - in a main entree was alarming. The only relief I got from the sweetness was some garlic flakes on top of the wilted leafy greens. The scallops, perfect as they were, tasted faintly of the sea and this delicate flavor was overwhelmed by the risotto (especially when you stacked the risotto, greens, and scallops on top of each other as I did and ate them, together, in small bites). I thought it overpowering, and a disappointment, but again the service and ambiance were compelling.
The miso salmon and wasabi potatoes were very good. The salmon was tender, although the miso and wasabi flavor could've been stronger (my friend's comments). Nice idea though.
The halibut (on the menu) with lentil sauce was good - I was almost envious. The lentil sauce was amazing, and the halibut was very tender.
The lamb and mint sauce with asparagus was good, although not spectacular. My friend particularly enjoyed the mint pairing though.
We were too full for dessert, although the meyer lemon custard tart looked awfully tempting.
Overall, it was a great experience. We got there at 8:30 and left at 11 and we were not rushed at all (partly since it took us, oh, until 9:45 to get a table). Also, the bread selection was good. The waiter was friendly, the ambiance was wonderful and we maintained a fine conversation despite the noise in the restaurant. Even when it neared 11, we did not feel like we were being kicked out and they patiently waited for us to leave (we had to meet up with another friend). This is not a place for innovation so much as for getting the classics perfectly right. I will be back for lunch, for a chicken proscuitto sandwich.
Went here for the first time to celebrate Mr Q's birthday. We had a fritto misto appetizer that was pretty good, and I had seared dayboat scallops with blood orange, little polenta cakes and escarole. The only miss was the escarole-it didn't go with the scallop or the blood orange sauce and it was wilty and gross on the plate. Mr Q had a baked pasta with gruyere that was basically a fancy dish of mac & cheese. He wished he had gotten something else because it was a bit much as an entree. I was pleasantly suprised that the restaurant had a reasonable priced wine selection-we ordered a bottle of Barbera from Downhill Winery for around $30..not bad at all. The general consensus around the table was that the meal was pretty good. The only thing I didn't like was the aforementioned escarole, and the fact that the doors to the kitchen were open and we caught wave after wave of frying grease or smoke from the fritto misto so our clothes stank like fried food after leaving. There's also a feeling that the clientele is a little older and trying to appear very upscale, which really doesn't match the feel of this small intimate and unpretentious restaurant. We would like to come back again, and maybe even try brunch one of these days.
I've been to this place maybe 15 times. I love the menu. I love the food. I love sitting outside, on a sunny morning, with a friend or my husband. I can take the kids and they can draw on the paper table cloth that covers the real one (they even have crayons.) And for some reason, I really like their water glasses. Water tastes so good there.
But there is one thing that drives me BONKERS about this place. I went their today for a friend's birthday and I started thinking about "it" hours before. The service sucks so hard here. I don't know what it is, but it almost ruins my dining experience every time. My eggplant sandwich was amazing today. But the slowest-service-known-to-humankind makes me not want to ever return!!! I don't know how the owners don't know about this. Has anyone complained? My whole table was moaning and groaning about our terrible service by the time we were looking for the check. It's so sad that such a wonderful place can consistently ruin my breakfast or lunch.
Today, the server was particularly clueless when asked kindly/respectfully to pick up the pace. Ugh.
And last time I checked, they don't take AMEX. Bummer.
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It's a nice cozy spot to have brunch.
I would recommend it but it's nothing out of this world.
