Nice small restaurant serving excellent food. Well worth the price! The wait staff were also very welcoming and friendly. I'll be going again!
Uyen Tran Parsons
I haven't had good food like this in years. Friendly staff, delicious seafood, and yummy desserts. Reservations recommended.
Charles Ferring
I had genuinely looked forward to dining at this restaurant. However, the experience left much to be desired, especially considering the hefty $900 bill for 7 people. The food quality was quite mixed. While the Caesar salad was truly great, the steak was mediocre at best, and the dessert was disappointingly below average. Our kids were still hungry after the meal, which is never a good sign. Adding to the mixed experience, the service was also inconsistent. While J. tried his best to smooth out issues, E. was a condescending waiter. A significant point of frustration was the unseen $48 corkage fee, especially given their own overpriced and mediocre wine list. This felt like a complete rip-off. Ultimately, for the same price, we would definitely prefer to go to other Palo Alto establishments, like Ethel's Fancy, where we feel we get much better value and a more satisfying experience.
Marie
We don't know what happened to bistro Élan. In our memory it was always excellent. yesterday, everything was bland. The cucumber dill soup was boring and missing some dill and seasoning. The swordfish and meatballs were tasteless and overcooked. The almond cookies were stodgy and undercooked. Everything was off. I am not sure we will risk it again.
Jill
High quality food with excellent creative choices. We have been going there for lunch and dinner for over 20 years and the quality is consistently great.
DV
Fantastic meal made with care and attention to detail. Fresh ingredients from the farmer's market. Desserts made in the restaurant (normally not done because restaurants otherwise lose money on desserts), even the ice cream. The restaurant is small so they can keep track of everyone and not run their kitchen as an assembly line. The customers are mostly regulars.
lesley
Bistro elan is by far the best restaurant on the Peninsula! Food can't be beat - fresh, quality ingredients and a fantastic menu. Fairly priced - especially considering the terrible food you pay $$$ for in downtown Palo Alto and elsewhere.
Livia
Bistro Elan is a member of that most elusive club of always sought after seldom found neighborhood gems where the food is exquisite, the service excellent, the dining room tiny — though there are a few more tables outside— and the clientele quiet well dressed locals who have eaten there for years, never having been disappointed. The menu that changes with the seasons is always surprising but never overdone. The food is interesting but above all delicious and the portions are generous. Reservations very much recommended.
Jamie
Bistro Elan is always delightful. It's our date night spot! The food is consistently excellent, beautifully presented, and perfectly prepared. We love our server — always the same gentleman. He knows us, remembers our daughter's name and asks about her. It's just a lovely, comfortable, delicious experience, every time.
Corey
We love it here. Excellent small restaurant with a very attentive staff. The perfect place to be a regular.
Love this delightful little bistro, which transported us from the cares and chaos of today's world. The food is excellent, with the seafood in particular prepared deftly, as is the service. Most everything is made in house including the delightful almond cake, which is not to be missed.
Bill
We needed a nice meal and this was it. We started with very good oysters and champagne, then split a great arugula salad with artichoke. The scallops were suberb (also split), and then split a skirt steak with morels and a side of fries. Magnificent. The strawberry rhubarb compote with ice cream topped everything off. Background music was excellent -- modern covers of brazilian bossa nova and french songs that made us (and others) reach for Shaazam.
Loni
Wonderful ambiance, good tasty food, but very expensive for what is served. I wish my server had been more attentive to me and my other woman guest (like asking if we would like another glass of wine)
Eric
Absolutely great food here. Nice wine list as well. Solid staff. Great go to for a business meal or a romantic evening. Or by yourself when the Wednesday special looks so good you've got to have it!
Virginia Huffman
We had great expectations for this place, but it was such a letdown.
First of all the prix fixe menu was not very appealing. But we found something we could eat. The choice of main dishes was better than the appetizers but not very interesting.
Caviar was fishy and not good. Could not finish the small portion even though I love caviar.
Little gem salad was soggy and unappealing in presentation. looked like it had been sitting out for awhile before serving. Sadly the greens weren't little gem but rather romaine!
The steak was hard to cut and tough in parts even though it seemed cooked medium rare as ordered. Mushrooms had no flavor but the sauce was tasty. Potatoes looked as if they had been made a few days ago and reheated.
Desserts were the only highlight. Almond cookie was perfect as well as the flowerless chocolate cake which was tasty.
Cant believe how much we paid for such a disappointing meal! Grossly overpriced.
Nice small restaurant serving excellent food. Well worth the price! The wait staff were also very welcoming and friendly. I'll be going again!
I haven't had good food like this in years. Friendly staff, delicious seafood, and yummy desserts. Reservations recommended.
I had genuinely looked forward to dining at this restaurant. However, the experience left much to be desired, especially considering the hefty $900 bill for 7 people.
The food quality was quite mixed. While the Caesar salad was truly great, the steak was mediocre at best, and the dessert was disappointingly below average. Our kids were still hungry after the meal, which is never a good sign.
Adding to the mixed experience, the service was also inconsistent. While J. tried his best to smooth out issues, E. was a condescending waiter.
A significant point of frustration was the unseen $48 corkage fee, especially given their own overpriced and mediocre wine list. This felt like a complete rip-off.
Ultimately, for the same price, we would definitely prefer to go to other Palo Alto establishments, like Ethel's Fancy, where we feel we get much better value and a more satisfying experience.
We don't know what happened to bistro Élan. In our memory it was always excellent. yesterday, everything was bland. The cucumber dill soup was boring and missing some dill and seasoning. The swordfish and meatballs were tasteless and overcooked. The almond cookies were stodgy and undercooked. Everything was off. I am not sure we will risk it again.
High quality food with excellent creative choices. We have been going there for lunch and dinner for over 20 years and the quality is consistently great.
Fantastic meal made with care and attention to detail. Fresh ingredients from the farmer's market. Desserts made in the restaurant (normally not done because restaurants otherwise lose money on desserts), even the ice cream. The restaurant is small so they can keep track of everyone and not run their kitchen as an assembly line. The customers are mostly regulars.
Bistro elan is by far the best restaurant on the Peninsula! Food can't be beat - fresh, quality ingredients and a fantastic menu. Fairly priced - especially considering the terrible food you pay $$$ for in downtown Palo Alto and elsewhere.
Bistro Elan is a member of that most elusive club of always sought after seldom found neighborhood gems where the food is exquisite, the service excellent, the dining room tiny — though there are a few more tables outside— and the clientele quiet well dressed locals who have eaten there for years, never having been disappointed. The menu that changes with the seasons is always surprising but never overdone. The food is interesting but above all delicious and the portions are generous. Reservations very much recommended.
Bistro Elan is always delightful. It's our date night spot! The food is consistently excellent, beautifully presented, and perfectly prepared. We love our server — always the same gentleman. He knows us, remembers our daughter's name and asks about her. It's just a lovely, comfortable, delicious experience, every time.
We love it here. Excellent small restaurant with a very attentive staff. The perfect place to be a regular.
Restaurantji Recommends
Love this delightful little bistro, which transported us from the cares and chaos of today's world. The food is excellent, with the seafood in particular prepared deftly, as is the service. Most everything is made in house including the delightful almond cake, which is not to be missed.
We needed a nice meal and this was it. We started with very good oysters and champagne, then split a great arugula salad with artichoke. The scallops were suberb (also split), and then split a skirt steak with morels and a side of fries. Magnificent. The strawberry rhubarb compote with ice cream topped everything off. Background music was excellent -- modern covers of brazilian bossa nova and french songs that made us (and others) reach for Shaazam.
Wonderful ambiance, good tasty food, but very expensive for what is served. I wish my server had been more attentive to me and my other woman guest (like asking if we would like another glass of wine)
Absolutely great food here. Nice wine list as well. Solid staff. Great go to for a business meal or a romantic evening. Or by yourself when the Wednesday special looks so good you've got to have it!
We had great expectations for this place, but it was such a letdown.
First of all the prix fixe menu was not very appealing. But we found something we could eat. The choice of main dishes was better than the appetizers but not very interesting.
Caviar was fishy and not good. Could not finish the small portion even though I love caviar.
Little gem salad was soggy and unappealing in presentation. looked like it had been sitting out for awhile before serving. Sadly the greens weren't little gem but rather romaine!
The steak was hard to cut and tough in parts even though it seemed cooked medium rare as ordered. Mushrooms had no flavor but the sauce was tasty. Potatoes looked as if they had been made a few days ago and reheated.
Desserts were the only highlight. Almond cookie was perfect as well as the flowerless chocolate cake which was tasty.
Cant believe how much we paid for such a disappointing meal! Grossly overpriced.
Service was friendly and good
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