Protege was, simply put, very disappointing and very overpriced. Neither the food (decent but uninspiring) nor the service (impersonal) was good enough to warrant the price tag. The nice ambience and great mocktails were not enough to save the day.A whopping 28% in hidden fees (automatic 20% service charge and 8% "health surcharge") made it even worse. For a 1-star restaurant, you can really do better.Food: most dishes were decent, but uninspired, and in our view definitely not worthy of a star. Starting with the good: the white asparagus with caviar was excellent, as was the mushroom lasagna with madeira sauce. The sablefish, quail, and wagyu (drowned out by the other flavors on the plate), however, were all uninspired and boring. The vegetarian menu was of similar quality, though we found the entree (filled red lentil crepe) tasteless (and absolutely not fine dining). Only the dessert was truly great and worthy of a star.Service: impersonal and unenthusiastic. Interactions with servers were just.. boring. Especially in a Michelin-star restaurant, you expect servers to _want to be there_ and give their guests a night to remember. And then there's the little things: lack of knowledge about dishes (nothing beyond the memorized list of ingredients), inaudible explanations of dishes, not being asked if we wanted a wine pairing.. the list goes on. (One server was excellent , by the way, though he only served a few dishes: a young fellow with a dashing moustache)Price: this would all have been OK if this was a $100-per-person restaurant. But it wasn't. We spent well over $500 per person for the tasting menu and two drinks per person. It is absolutely not worth it at that price point.And please, in a one-star restaurant, be open about your pricing. A 20% automatic service charge and 8% "health charge" are not OK.Vegetarian options: Limited and generally worse than the non-vegetarian option
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Wagyu Ribeye, Selections from Our Cheese Cart, Black Truffle Lasagna
Liyaqat Hussain
Very nice
Dee Mackenzie
We had the most delicious meal last night at Protégé. Each course of the tasting menu was perfection. At the end we couldn't choose a favorite because they were all equally incredible. Our server, Fleur, was so knowledgeable about the food and the wine and gave us wonderful recommendations for the perfect wines to compliment the various courses. The whole experience was wonderful and I can't wait to go back sometime.Dietary restrictions: They made sure they were aware of all of my dietary restrictions and ensured the food I was served was safe for me to eat by making small adjustments when needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wagyu Ribeye, Sorbet
Olivier Cali
Among the best new American restaurants of the South Bay. Attention to details, focus on the ingredients, beautiful colors and flavors, the taste of haute cuisine that stays approachable (try their lobster chips) and fun (delight your palate with a caramel mushroom-infused ice cream). Staff is trained and friendly, setting is polished and warm. A must-go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Randy F.
The Humble ChickenOn a menu with lobster, crab, caviar and A5 Wagyu, the chicken entree looks a bit out of placeAnd while I was tempted by the shortrib and the A5 ribeye, this is my second visit ordering the brick chickenA chef once told me if you see a humble dish on a fancy menu, it’s probably earned a right to be on the menu (in reference to Zuni Cafe chicken)I love the preparation and I’m guessing it includes a salt brine, spatchcocking, and salted the skin for that extra crispy finishThe other items, especially the desserts, are pretty fantastic too? Brick Chicken $39 / Short Rib Pithivier $53 / Crab and Caviar $35 / Lobster Chips $24 / Milk Bread $10 / Spanish Octopus $30 / Truffle Lasagna $60 / Pear Tart $17 / Cap Mushroom Ice Cream $6?Protege (Palo Alto, CA)There is limited outdoor dining but most dining is indoor either a la carte or prix fixe. All credit cards are accepted and reservations are available on Tock.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brick Chicken, Crab and Caviar
Dora Cheng
I shared a lovely evening with my husband here. We had the tasting menu and two glasses of wine. Amazing food every course and amazing staff as well.I am lactose intolerant and one of the servers made sure to check which cheese I can have from their cheese board without getting stomach upset. Turns out I can have the brillat-savarin after all :)One of my favourite dishes out of the whole tasting menu was the pavlova. Wow, best pavlova ive had in a while! The meringue wasn't too sweet and the coconut, thai basil, pineapple flavors were refreshing to the palate after our wagyuu.Will come again for the a la carte next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Gilbert Siegel
Everything was absolutely delicious.
Jing Wu
Our server, Patrick, made excellent recommendations. He highly recommended the John Dory entree, and we absolutely love it! The dish's taste and texture are both innovative and harmonious. Additionally, the Spanish octopus is a standout; the tenderness of the octopus and the sauce work perfectly together. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spanish Octopus
Squirrel Friend
Protege is an amazing premier dining experience. Service is great; even though, they can pay a little more attention to details. The most notable dish for me was caviar with crab. I think the head chefs here used to work at French Laundry. I would come back to Protege for more meals. I can't say the same about French Laundry. Sometimes the students do surpass the teachers. ?
It’s unfortunate that there are only 5 stars here. In every category this place deserves 6…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wagyu Ribeye, Spanish Octopus, Black Truffle Lasagna, Bavarian Pretzel Epi, Hamachi Crudo
Protege was, simply put, very disappointing and very overpriced. Neither the food (decent but uninspiring) nor the service (impersonal) was good enough to warrant the price tag. The nice ambience and great mocktails were not enough to save the day.A whopping 28% in hidden fees (automatic 20% service charge and 8% "health surcharge") made it even worse. For a 1-star restaurant, you can really do better.Food: most dishes were decent, but uninspired, and in our view definitely not worthy of a star. Starting with the good: the white asparagus with caviar was excellent, as was the mushroom lasagna with madeira sauce. The sablefish, quail, and wagyu (drowned out by the other flavors on the plate), however, were all uninspired and boring. The vegetarian menu was of similar quality, though we found the entree (filled red lentil crepe) tasteless (and absolutely not fine dining). Only the dessert was truly great and worthy of a star.Service: impersonal and unenthusiastic. Interactions with servers were just.. boring. Especially in a Michelin-star restaurant, you expect servers to _want to be there_ and give their guests a night to remember. And then there's the little things: lack of knowledge about dishes (nothing beyond the memorized list of ingredients), inaudible explanations of dishes, not being asked if we wanted a wine pairing.. the list goes on. (One server was excellent , by the way, though he only served a few dishes: a young fellow with a dashing moustache)Price: this would all have been OK if this was a $100-per-person restaurant. But it wasn't. We spent well over $500 per person for the tasting menu and two drinks per person. It is absolutely not worth it at that price point.And please, in a one-star restaurant, be open about your pricing. A 20% automatic service charge and 8% "health charge" are not OK.Vegetarian options: Limited and generally worse than the non-vegetarian option
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Wagyu Ribeye, Selections from Our Cheese Cart, Black Truffle Lasagna
Very nice
We had the most delicious meal last night at Protégé. Each course of the tasting menu was perfection. At the end we couldn't choose a favorite because they were all equally incredible. Our server, Fleur, was so knowledgeable about the food and the wine and gave us wonderful recommendations for the perfect wines to compliment the various courses. The whole experience was wonderful and I can't wait to go back sometime.Dietary restrictions: They made sure they were aware of all of my dietary restrictions and ensured the food I was served was safe for me to eat by making small adjustments when needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wagyu Ribeye, Sorbet
Among the best new American restaurants of the South Bay. Attention to details, focus on the ingredients, beautiful colors and flavors, the taste of haute cuisine that stays approachable (try their lobster chips) and fun (delight your palate with a caramel mushroom-infused ice cream). Staff is trained and friendly, setting is polished and warm. A must-go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Humble ChickenOn a menu with lobster, crab, caviar and A5 Wagyu, the chicken entree looks a bit out of placeAnd while I was tempted by the shortrib and the A5 ribeye, this is my second visit ordering the brick chickenA chef once told me if you see a humble dish on a fancy menu, it’s probably earned a right to be on the menu (in reference to Zuni Cafe chicken)I love the preparation and I’m guessing it includes a salt brine, spatchcocking, and salted the skin for that extra crispy finishThe other items, especially the desserts, are pretty fantastic too? Brick Chicken $39 / Short Rib Pithivier $53 / Crab and Caviar $35 / Lobster Chips $24 / Milk Bread $10 / Spanish Octopus $30 / Truffle Lasagna $60 / Pear Tart $17 / Cap Mushroom Ice Cream $6?Protege (Palo Alto, CA)There is limited outdoor dining but most dining is indoor either a la carte or prix fixe. All credit cards are accepted and reservations are available on Tock.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brick Chicken, Crab and Caviar
I shared a lovely evening with my husband here. We had the tasting menu and two glasses of wine. Amazing food every course and amazing staff as well.I am lactose intolerant and one of the servers made sure to check which cheese I can have from their cheese board without getting stomach upset. Turns out I can have the brillat-savarin after all :)One of my favourite dishes out of the whole tasting menu was the pavlova. Wow, best pavlova ive had in a while! The meringue wasn't too sweet and the coconut, thai basil, pineapple flavors were refreshing to the palate after our wagyuu.Will come again for the a la carte next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Everything was absolutely delicious.
Our server, Patrick, made excellent recommendations. He highly recommended the John Dory entree, and we absolutely love it! The dish's taste and texture are both innovative and harmonious. Additionally, the Spanish octopus is a standout; the tenderness of the octopus and the sauce work perfectly together. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spanish Octopus
Protege is an amazing premier dining experience. Service is great; even though, they can pay a little more attention to details. The most notable dish for me was caviar with crab. I think the head chefs here used to work at French Laundry. I would come back to Protege for more meals. I can't say the same about French Laundry. Sometimes the students do surpass the teachers. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This restaurant is really good for families dinner and makes yourself in comfort zone.And corporate with you as they can.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice Service and food in Palo
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vegetarian options: Limited vegetarian items in the menu. However everything we tasted were very good.Parking: Good parking nearby
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ricotta Dumplings
Lovely ambience and beautiful food. I also especially enjoyed their drink "goose on the loose".
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brown Butter Parker House Rolls, Dark Chocolate Torte
Fantastic restaurant for food and date.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5