Rustic House Oyster Bar & Grill - Los Altos

My girlfriend and I had an amazing meal at Rustic House. The servers are all very friendly and the food was amazing. We ordered both raw and grilled oysters and the quality and sauces were top-notch and very unique. The clam chowder was very good too, reminded us of the chowder we got in Seattle a few years ago. All in all a great oyster bar and we will be coming back again for date night in the future.

Great meal out on the patio, with a cool gentle breeze. Food was great, ambiance great as well. Friendly attentive service.

Love the variety of food and nice atmosphere here. The owners and staff are also wonderful.

Excellent service and wide variety of food options. Really enjoyed the fish and chips and salads. Great location and very dog friendly. Plenty of parking next to restaurant.

Holy moly! What a wonderful experience at The Rustic House Saturday evening. The hostess greeted us with a beautiful smile and we were promptly escorted to our table. The manager even came over and adjusted how our table was so we could see the Giants game even better! Our waiter, Rob P. was charming! He was very helpful with the menu choices, offered for us to taste the beer before ordering! Extremely attentive to our table and was so pleasant to have serve us! He had great ideas on the menu too! Started with a delicious ceviche and chips. The new recipe for the mussels was outstanding. So many flavors in the sauce and the mussels were a good size too! The shrimp Louie was crisp and delicious! And then the topper, was the chocolate torte! YUMMERZ!!! It was a delightful evening and highly recommend this restaurant!

Service and staff are great. Food quality and cleanliness of restaurant could use some work. Dishes/glasses have been dirty the last couple of times we went there and the quality of the food is not top tier. At all.

Went for dinner. Took 15 min. for waiter to arrive. He apologized for the delay and said he didn't know we were his table. He was clearly frustrated. We ordered wine and an appetizer. 15 min later after receiving nothing, the manager came by and asked for our order. We said we already ordered and repeated it to him. He explained that our waiter had a “breakdown” and he was taking over. 10 min later an unopened bottle of wine was placed on our table. 5 more min passed and a bus boy provided wine glasses. 5 more min. And the manager reappeared to open the bottle and pour. After that things went fine and the food was good. We should have left but we felt sorry for the manager and he did his best given the circumstances. Iffy if we will return.

Under staffed and over priced!

The food here is consistently excellent. My server never did bring my friend's ice tea, but also didn't charge for it, so just a random error. Because this restaurant is never packed, they allow us to sit at our table without pushing us to vacate. It's always busy with diners, but also always room. I really appreciate that they let us sit and visit. It's been like that all 4x I've had lunch there. My salad was great (avocado and shrimp). They changed the presentation from the other times I've ordered it, which was a surprise, but still delicious. I had a Bloody Mary. Extremely weak, and the glass was small and narrow, but I understand restaurants trying to save $ here and there. Because the meals are good, and they leave us alone, I will be back.

It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside under the sun. The food was good, and the service was nice. Their fried calamari was yummy, very tender, and the sauces we really nice. Their oysters were really good. The artichoke was alright. It wasn't grilled long enough, so it was a little tough to eat. Their burger was delicious, and the fries were crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. Their happy hour was decent. I would definitely come back when in the area.

The Crab Louie was the worst I have EVER had! My guess is that it was canned crab, not fresh. The clam chowder and calamari were quite good. The oysters had numerous shell fragments that significantly detracted from their enjoyment. The waitress was running as fast as she could - the restaurant is very understaffed - and she did the best she could to provide a modicum of service. I would never recommend this restaurant to the public!

Atmosphere:
Outside, the vibe was fantastic, thanks to the First Friday concert happening in Los Altos. It was lively and inviting. However, stepping inside, the restaurant felt surprisingly empty and lacked any real energy.

🍻 Drinks & Service:
We ordered a beer along with our clam chowder. The beer took an unexpectedly long time to arrive, especially considering how few patrons were inside. When it finally did come, it was noticeably flat, almost entirely devoid of fizz. Our server also appeared quite frustrated, and I even overheard comments about another group's use of Apple Pay, which created a somewhat tense atmosphere.

🍲 Food (Clam Chowder):
We only had the clam chowder, which was just okay. It didn't stand out positively or negatively.

🤔 Overall Experience:
The stark contrast between the lively outdoor event and the flat, slow, and seemingly frustrated experience inside Rustic House Oyster Bar and Grill was quite jarring. The poor quality of the beer and the visible frustration from the staff were significant drawbacks. This was not a pleasant experience, and I will not be returning.

Great service, nice ambience - outside dining. Food was wonderful. New look to shrimp / avocado salad. Not sure I prefer the avocado inside the cold slaw. Otherwise everyone's food and drinks were delicious. Really liked the red wine sangria :-)

We regulatly meet with friends for lunch or dinner at Rustic. The seafood is always fresh, especially the oysters. The clam chowder and scallops likewise. This time, we had lunch salads. Both beet/salmon and avocado/prawn alads were excellent.

Amazing service and generous portions of well-made food!