The food was good, but they surprise you with insane surcharges added to your bill at the end. I can't support shady business practices like this. Increase your prices or don't, but definitely don't bait and switch your customers to squeeze them for an extra 30%.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Juni Kim
Definitely good quality food, but not nearly as memorable as restaurants in the same price point like the Chez Panisse cafe. Would have expected more from ex-French laundry chefs. Crudo, lobster chips, oysters, and pork chops left more to be desired. Brick chicken was good. Missed the acid note which is a dealbreaker for me
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Lord Howington
TL:DR; definitely elevated food/fine dining but other places do it better.
As far as fine dining goes this was on par. I think other places have an edge or accel in different aspects (be steaka'/ADEGa). Food was definitely elevated but I feel like the cheese course is a cop out. $250 per on the tasting menu and one of the courses is a cheese plate? Wack. Odd they didn't offer proper wine pairing waiter was helpful in providing choice and wine was fantastic but I found it interesting they didn't have a preselected pairing for the tasting menu
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
A S
Very pretty, very delicious, very expensive.
Every dish was a feast for both the eyes and the palate—elegantly presented with thoughtful attention to detail. While the meal was undoubtedly on the pricier side, the quality, creativity, and execution were excellent.
My favorites included the foie gras cannoli, the crab and caviar pairing, the rabbit loin, and the chèvre d’Argintal—a choice from the cheese cart. The chef’s flavor combinations harmonious, demonstrating both boldness and finesse. Each plate reflected a high level of artistry, with intricate design elements that felt imaginative rather than excessive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anthony Giang
What a time. We had booked a reservation for 7:45 on a calm Tuesday evening. After being greeted by the host we were walked over to our table for 2 in the lounge area for the a la carte menu. Immediately the attention to detail caught me as the host brought out water and poured some into our glasses. Afterwards, our server Annie greeted us and offered a very detailed description of each dish. She said that normally people order 1 item from each category on their menu: “snack”, “appetizer”, “entree”. I suppose, abnormally, my partner and I opted for 2 snacks, 2 appetizers, and 1 entree. The two snacks we chose were the Lobster Chips and the Crab and Caviar. Lobster Chips were subtle in flavor with really nice balance and texture. The Crab and Caviar, is super hyped up, and it was good, but I think the hype was too much. It was really delicious with really punchy flavors all balanced together nicely, but at the end of the day it is just egg, crab, and caviar for 35 dollars. For appetizers, we chose the Spanish Octopus and the special of the night, the Mochiko Fried Softshell Crab. The Spanish Octopus was by far the best bite we had that night. Incredibly tender, while crispy and charred, the octopus left me confused. I couldn’t understand how it was possible to have octopus be that texture. The Softshell Crab was indeed quite special as well. It had a ton of bright flavors from the subtle spice to the sweet and sour grape tomatoes. Everything in that dish was great, but when compared to the octopus, it simply couldn’t compete. Eventually, our Brick Chicken arrived. With perfectly crispy skin and juicy chicken, this was quite a delightful dish. It left me savoring every bite in awe of everything we had to eat thus far. After the savory items were completed, the server rolled over the dessert display to explain each option. We opted for the Layered Pistachio Cake as it seemed the most complex, and it definitely did not disappoint. The flavors were subtle, but they included wafers to create contrasting textures. The ice cream on top was also perfection. We also received a complimentary Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream which had really nice strong coffee flavor, however the texture was rather ice-y.
Beyond the food, the thing that makes this restaurant really special are the people and the service they offer. Whether it is noticing the small details like topping up your water or just crumbing between the dishes, they maintain a very clean aesthetic. The attitude of everyone working there also adds a lot to the experience. During this meal, I actually made plans to ask my partner to be my girlfriend. All I had done was make a short note on the reservation, but they took it and ran. They wrote a little note, and gave us a free dessert. Shortly after, I saw some of the chefs peaking over at our table with a thumbs up. Essentially inquiring whether my question was successful or not. After replying with my own thumbs up, I saw them pumping their fists and cheering for me. The whole experience at Protégé was perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Silva
Best staff from any Michelin restaurant I've ever been to. Food was delicious. Great experience overall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sweet Lee
I visited to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. Every single menu of the 7-course was really good. My favorite was the Trout dish. The outer layer that looked like the skin of the trout was actually the sauce. The trout was well-cooked, and the sauces and Riesling wine paired with it went really well together. I was a little disappointed that there was no separate wine pairing menu. My boyfriend paired a new wine with every menu. Thanks to that, I paid an additional $400. I supplemented the 14 days aged steak with A5 Japanese wagu, which was really good wagu, but it was too rich when eaten with deep fried mushrooms, so it wasn't that good. And the Tokaji that I had as a dessert wine was also great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Bob Lou
The food was good, but perhaps not phenomenal which is where the restaurant is priced.
Starting with their caviar egg, the caviar amount was a bit modest and I found it hard to taste the caviar amongst the yuzu sabayon and crab. Because the dish is fairly deep it is hard to get a bite with all three and I wasn't able to get much caviar flavor from the dish.
The sunflower caesar salad was decent but also fairly mundane. The brown sugar churros also were fairly mundane with a similar shredded asiago or parmesan topping. Each dish was pretty good, but didn't stand out.
The pretty plating, nice plateware, and coordinated service gives a fine dining atmosphere, but when half the food is topped with shredded cheese and feels uninspired, the food fails to meet the same benchmark.
Again the food is well executed, but I think at this price point, there are more interesting and innovative restaurants to dine at.
We opted for à la carte ordering, with a 20% gratuity automatically added. The Crab and Caviar was like a cloud, melting in the mouth, with a touch of yuzu that kept it from being too rich. The second dish, Fish and Chips, featured miso-marinated fish on a crispy crust! The Spanish Octopus was drizzled with a mousse, tangy and spicy, quite appetizing. For the main course, the Brick Chicken was flattened and had a crispy skin, with saffron rice underneath—very filling, though the rice was a bit salty. The Duck Leg Confit was average; I probably wouldn’t order it again. Since we booked late, we were seated at the bar, so the service felt a bit ordinary. For dessert, we had the Banana Cake, which was decent but nothing special!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Adam Clark
Food was fantastic, great service, relaxed atmosphere! Will eat there every time I’m in the Bay Area!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Peter Wong
Ala carte meal option, very tasty. Appetizers & entrees, delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hong Wang
Food is delicious and service is good. My family had a great time for birthdays celebration.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Jeff Sinfuego
Took my kids for dinner for my birthday. Love the appetizers and the wagyu steak but the pistachio layered cake is the highlight of my meal! Always a great place to have a fancy night out and celebrate something at protege.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spanish Octopus, Hamachi Crudo, American Wagyu Short Rib Pithivier, Brown Butter Parker House Rolls, Smoke and Mirrors Mezcal Cognac Aperol Egg White Peychaud's
Real flavor!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Each dish made me increasingly satisfied — recommend this place
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brick Chicken, Ricotta Dumplings
The food was good, but they surprise you with insane surcharges added to your bill at the end. I can't support shady business practices like this. Increase your prices or don't, but definitely don't bait and switch your customers to squeeze them for an extra 30%.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Definitely good quality food, but not nearly as memorable as restaurants in the same price point like the Chez Panisse cafe.
Would have expected more from ex-French laundry chefs. Crudo, lobster chips, oysters, and pork chops left more to be desired. Brick chicken was good.
Missed the acid note which is a dealbreaker for me
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
TL:DR; definitely elevated food/fine dining but other places do it better.
As far as fine dining goes this was on par. I think other places have an edge or accel in different aspects (be steaka'/ADEGa). Food was definitely elevated but I feel like the cheese course is a cop out. $250 per on the tasting menu and one of the courses is a cheese plate? Wack. Odd they didn't offer proper wine pairing waiter was helpful in providing choice and wine was fantastic but I found it interesting they didn't have a preselected pairing for the tasting menu
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Very pretty, very delicious, very expensive.
Every dish was a feast for both the eyes and the palate—elegantly presented with thoughtful attention to detail. While the meal was undoubtedly on the pricier side, the quality, creativity, and execution were excellent.
My favorites included the foie gras cannoli, the crab and caviar pairing, the rabbit loin, and the chèvre d’Argintal—a choice from the cheese cart. The chef’s flavor combinations harmonious, demonstrating both boldness and finesse. Each plate reflected a high level of artistry, with intricate design elements that felt imaginative rather than excessive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a time. We had booked a reservation for 7:45 on a calm Tuesday evening. After being greeted by the host we were walked over to our table for 2 in the lounge area for the a la carte menu. Immediately the attention to detail caught me as the host brought out water and poured some into our glasses. Afterwards, our server Annie greeted us and offered a very detailed description of each dish. She said that normally people order 1 item from each category on their menu: “snack”, “appetizer”, “entree”. I suppose, abnormally, my partner and I opted for 2 snacks, 2 appetizers, and 1 entree. The two snacks we chose were the Lobster Chips and the Crab and Caviar. Lobster Chips were subtle in flavor with really nice balance and texture. The Crab and Caviar, is super hyped up, and it was good, but I think the hype was too much. It was really delicious with really punchy flavors all balanced together nicely, but at the end of the day it is just egg, crab, and caviar for 35 dollars. For appetizers, we chose the Spanish Octopus and the special of the night, the Mochiko Fried Softshell Crab. The Spanish Octopus was by far the best bite we had that night. Incredibly tender, while crispy and charred, the octopus left me confused. I couldn’t understand how it was possible to have octopus be that texture. The Softshell Crab was indeed quite special as well. It had a ton of bright flavors from the subtle spice to the sweet and sour grape tomatoes. Everything in that dish was great, but when compared to the octopus, it simply couldn’t compete. Eventually, our Brick Chicken arrived. With perfectly crispy skin and juicy chicken, this was quite a delightful dish. It left me savoring every bite in awe of everything we had to eat thus far. After the savory items were completed, the server rolled over the dessert display to explain each option. We opted for the Layered Pistachio Cake as it seemed the most complex, and it definitely did not disappoint. The flavors were subtle, but they included wafers to create contrasting textures. The ice cream on top was also perfection. We also received a complimentary Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream which had really nice strong coffee flavor, however the texture was rather ice-y.
Beyond the food, the thing that makes this restaurant really special are the people and the service they offer. Whether it is noticing the small details like topping up your water or just crumbing between the dishes, they maintain a very clean aesthetic. The attitude of everyone working there also adds a lot to the experience. During this meal, I actually made plans to ask my partner to be my girlfriend. All I had done was make a short note on the reservation, but they took it and ran. They wrote a little note, and gave us a free dessert. Shortly after, I saw some of the chefs peaking over at our table with a thumbs up. Essentially inquiring whether my question was successful or not. After replying with my own thumbs up, I saw them pumping their fists and cheering for me. The whole experience at Protégé was perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best staff from any Michelin restaurant I've ever been to. Food was delicious.
Great experience overall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I visited to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. Every single menu of the 7-course was really good. My favorite was the Trout dish. The outer layer that looked like the skin of the trout was actually the sauce. The trout was well-cooked, and the sauces and Riesling wine paired with it went really well together. I was a little disappointed that there was no separate wine pairing menu. My boyfriend paired a new wine with every menu. Thanks to that, I paid an additional $400. I supplemented the 14 days aged steak with A5 Japanese wagu, which was really good wagu, but it was too rich when eaten with deep fried mushrooms, so it wasn't that good. And the Tokaji that I had as a dessert wine was also great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food was good, but perhaps not phenomenal which is where the restaurant is priced.
Starting with their caviar egg, the caviar amount was a bit modest and I found it hard to taste the caviar amongst the yuzu sabayon and crab. Because the dish is fairly deep it is hard to get a bite with all three and I wasn't able to get much caviar flavor from the dish.
The sunflower caesar salad was decent but also fairly mundane. The brown sugar churros also were fairly mundane with a similar shredded asiago or parmesan topping. Each dish was pretty good, but didn't stand out.
The pretty plating, nice plateware, and coordinated service gives a fine dining atmosphere, but when half the food is topped with shredded cheese and feels uninspired, the food fails to meet the same benchmark.
Again the food is well executed, but I think at this price point, there are more interesting and innovative restaurants to dine at.
Restaurantji Recommends
Protégé
📍 250 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
We opted for à la carte ordering, with a 20% gratuity automatically added. The Crab and Caviar was like a cloud, melting in the mouth, with a touch of yuzu that kept it from being too rich. The second dish, Fish and Chips, featured miso-marinated fish on a crispy crust! The Spanish Octopus was drizzled with a mousse, tangy and spicy, quite appetizing. For the main course, the Brick Chicken was flattened and had a crispy skin, with saffron rice underneath—very filling, though the rice was a bit salty. The Duck Leg Confit was average; I probably wouldn’t order it again. Since we booked late, we were seated at the bar, so the service felt a bit ordinary. For dessert, we had the Banana Cake, which was decent but nothing special!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Food was fantastic, great service, relaxed atmosphere! Will eat there every time I’m in the Bay Area!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ala carte meal option, very tasty. Appetizers & entrees, delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food is delicious and service is good. My family had a great time for birthdays celebration.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Took my kids for dinner for my birthday. Love the appetizers and the wagyu steak but the pistachio layered cake is the highlight of my meal! Always a great place to have a fancy night out and celebrate something at protege.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spanish Octopus, Hamachi Crudo, American Wagyu Short Rib Pithivier, Brown Butter Parker House Rolls, Smoke and Mirrors Mezcal Cognac Aperol Egg White Peychaud's
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