Bistro Elan

AMAZING meal here. They don't have the nicest patio in this neighborhood - it's tighter than the expansive ones on California Ave. And the servers tried to be unobtrusive. But the tiny menu had so many standout dishes. My friend and I split:--chilled cucumber soup (subtle and refreshing)--Smoked Salmon on a potato waffle with dill crème fraiche--bucatini with eggplant & tomato sauce (a flavor BOMB)-- local lingcod with fried capers in a brown butter shallot sauce with sautéed spinach: AMAZING. We loved it. Other things: The complimentary bread was nothing to write home about. The amuse bouche was refreshing. The wine list had some affordable gems. We enjoyed our bottle of Alsatian Riesling for $35. Overall, if you care more about the FOOD than just the patio, come straight here. We'll be remembering this meal for a long time!

At Bistro Elan off of California Ave in Palo Alto having the best ling cod I've ever had outside of Chicago. Barry's preparation of crusted ling cod is so damn good, I slow down when I eat it so I can savor every morsel.

Tucked away in Palo Alto, this eaterie is a gem! With an occupancy max of 24, this allows it to be a charming and quiet place to catch up. The staff is friendly and with impeccable timing. The food is sooo good! We had the steak and the bucatini, both seasoned to perfection. The steak came out beautifully. Clearly a family owned business, this place is worth a try.

Flavorful fresh food, friendly service. This may be my new go to date spot in the peninsula! FOOD:- Acme bread- smoked salmon waffle $19 (YAY): loved the dill crème fraiche. Waffle was good, but couldn't really note the potato. - scallops $38 (YAY): perfectly cooked, loved the basil oil it was served with and the fresh tomato salad that had a slight red wine vinegar marinade taste to it- steak $39 (YAY): S.O said the steak was perfectly cooked. Tomato salad on point and the fries were excellent as well Reservations available via Tock. Would come back!

This restaurant served delicious scallops for dinner, leeks on the side. excellent service. A beautiful evening outside. Highly recommend.

We were excited to go to Bistro Elan as it looks so cute from the outside. We went to celebrate my husband's birthday, but sadly this restaurant was a big disappointment. Located near the popular California Avenue in Palo Alto, this restaurant is on a side street which, unlike Cal Ave., is not blocked to traffic. There is plenty of parking in 2 nearby lots. The restaurant itself is very small - only seating 24 people. The restaurant bills itself as "California-French" cuisine and the menu is very small, with all the dishes having a French flair. The service in this small establishment was on point. Our biggest disappointment was the food. We started with the sautéed broccolini with spring garlic, burrata cheese, breadcrumbs, and balsamic reduction. The broccolini was perfectly cooked, and the creaminess from the burratta made this a delicious if not somewhat filling appetizer. We also tried the potato waffle with smoked salmon, cucumber, and crème fraiche which was simply a dry waffle with a few slices of smoked salmon on top, with a side of creamy chopped cucumber. To me, this dish was uninspired. I took the salmon off the waffle, spread the creamy cucumber on the waffle, and then dropped the salmon back on top. Minor change, but the addition of the creamy cucumber directly on the dry waffle helped quite a bit. Not a bad dish, but the execution was just a little off. For entrees, we had the gremolata-crusted Petrale Sole with sautéed spinach and fried capers. This was quite good. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the fried capers added a nice little crunch. The other dish we tried was a Duck Leg Confit with frisée, kohlrabi, smoked duck breast, and green beans. Sadly, this dish was a total failure. Duck Confit is a popular French dish in which the duck is slowly cooked in duck fat until the meat is meltingly tender, and then the skin is crisped. When done correctly you end up with a soft, tender duck leg with a crunch from the delicate crisp skin. However, the Duck Confit we were served at Bistro Elan was not tender at all - it was incredibly tough, and nearly impossible to cut through. For a chef in a French restaurant to not know how to cook Duck Confit correctly is a huge miss. The Duck Confit made it into a to-go bag and our dogs enjoyed it with their dinner, but we were disappointed that it was not something we could eat. My advice to this restaurant - if you can't make a traditional dish correctly it's best to take it off the menu.

A gem in the new Palo Alto. Great food, great wine. The specials (Bay Scallops and Duck Meatballs), Caesar salad with buquerones. Great Madeira. Chocolate sorbet was intense. A great bday celebration. Keep it going!

Really wanted to enjoy the restaurant- have been many times before. Prices have increased so expectations have increased. Crab pasta was tasteless, crunchy (!) because of too many chopped peppers and bucatini that was not quite al dente. Rare steak was literally blue- inedible. At over $200 for two that included dessert, the meal was not worth it. Will probably not return.

Delish seafood in a warm, intimate neighborhood bistro with the most charming waiter! Desserts were really tasty too.

Went to Bistro Elan based on some word-of-mouth recommendations. Big mistake. After reading the recent reviews here, I probably would have made the same mistake. The ambience is charming, but the food was a big disappointment. Tried the waffle with salmon appetizer, and it was just bland. The waffle was tasteless, as was the cucumber sauce. We also ordered the pear and prosciutto with greens, but someone forgot to wash the greens, as their was sand/dirt on the greens that was experienced by all of us sharing this dish. We returned it. They offered to remake or we could order something else, but since all the other appetizers were salads, we opted to pass. We ordered three entrees to share: the halibut special, the sea scallops, and the cannelloni. Bland, bland, and bland. The cannelloni was especially disappointing, as the pasta was extremely mushy and the tomato sauce seemed to be there primarily to add some color. The best food of the evening were the tiny "complimentary" crab cakes. They should consider adding this to the appetizer list. A saw a recent review that described this place as the best restaurant in Palo Alto. Having eaten in many Palo Alto restaurants, I have to strongly disagree with that reviewer.