Portola Bistro

Loved everything about this revamped spot!! Great friendly service, the warm Napa cabbage salad that takes me back to Town, the atmosphere!! A 10 out of 10 experience . No full bar yet Fyi,....The pappardelle pasta may have been the best I ever had and the pizza was delicious as well !! Easy to access with plenty of parking and right off 280

I love the ambience of this place. The lighting is perfect. The server recommended the fried artichoke. They were flakey and crispy, fried to perfection, and definitely unusual, as I've never had that dish before. My fiancé ordered the halibut special with beet sauce and risotto. Presentation was awesome and the fish was juicy and tender. I ordered the ribeye steak with potatoes. I requested medium rare but it came out medium well. The server promptly took it back and had another one done for me. The 2nd one was perfect and great charred aroma from the grill. The potatoes were amazing with the crunchy top and bottom. We also ordered the bread pudding and it pudding was hot with cold ice cram on top for contrast. The wait staff was awesome! Very attentive and responsive. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

They replaced one overpriced, decent French Italian restaurant with another. There are so many things that could've been done with this amazing location, such as putting in something similar to State Street market in Los Altos. I just don't understand. This is such a hub for Portola Valley and Ladera and the opportunity is wasted on boomer food.If you do go, the lobster ravioli and fried artichoke are the highlights here.

Being in Palo Alto for the evening, we quickly stumbled upon this restaurant while searching for restaurants in the area. The restaurant is located in a small strip plaza. The lighting and ambiance was nice, cozy, and quaint for a special occasion.On the menu, I appreciated the wide variety of more casual items like Salads and Pizza to more formal dishes like Steak and Salmon.They provide bread that was nicely heated and a spread.The French onion soup was a nice sized portion and great balance of flavors! The steak tartar was good, however, we wish it was accompanied by a few more pieces of bread to eat it with.The beef dish was delicious. The broth/soup was very beefy and full of flavor. The accompanying potato it was topped with was nicely presented, however, rather dry. The seafood pasta was made al dente and quite delicious!Overall, we were satisfied with our meal! Good service. Nice ambiance. Fair pricing. Great for special occasions- and they sing happy birthday too!

We made a reservation for 7 for a birthday dinner so didn't have a problem with getting seated. Would recommend to make a reservation because the place was full around after 6pm.Service: 3/5Our server didn't really pay attention to our table as much and water didn't get refilled as often. They also didn't have bowls for soup... I also observed our server making faces while she was taking our orders. Ambiance: 4/5It gave off a casual vibe for a $$$ place. Not sure why but the vibe just wasn't there to call it a proper restaurant. The chairs were also uncomfortable to sit on.Food: 3/5Entrées were NOT big enough to be shared with others. Pricey for rather small servings but all the dishes we got were delicious.Appetizers:Calamari - Nothing to rave about.Scallops - They were done nicely but the sauce didn't go well with the scallops.. we also noticed that the sauce changed into a solid form very quickly.Fried artichokes - This was delicious. There were potatoes too. Everything was fried nicely yet still soft on the inside. French onion + pumpkin soup - I liked the pumpkin soup more as it was creamy and tasty.Entrées:Fishermen's chowder - I expected more seafood in this for a whooping $40+Vegetarian risotto - This was so tasty and cooked perfectly. I only wished there was more vegetables other than few pieces of mushrooms and asparagus.Lobster ravioli - Dish of the night. You must get this.Filet mignon pizza - Thin crust! Overall, this pizza was delicious but the meat was overcooked so tough to chew.

I was disappointed by this spot that has been on my list for awhile. The ambiance was perfect but unfortunately everything else fell short. The food was only okay which was disappointing especially for the prices. The waiter was polite but offered no assistance in accommodating a food allergy. He offered no suggestions of entrees or guidance in what could be made to avoid the allergy. While the wait staff was polite they bordered on too absent and by the end we started to wonder where they were. Unfortunately, I won't be back for dinner again.

I share another reviewer's completely negative review of the $30 burger. Basically, all bun and very little beef. And poor quality at that. I'm giving the restaurant two stars because my daughter was satisfied with the pasta dish.

I somehow did not take a picture of the beet salad but that was my favorite dish. It was very thinly sliced beets and the components in the salad complemented wonderfully.

Great service. Great food. Halibut is delicious. Definitely will go back again. Very nice atmosphere.

Our female server for our Saturday brunch along with the kitchen staff was the most courteous, professional , flexible and gracious. My beet salad (without beets, I don't like them) was modified perfectly. Thank you, chef! Lovely environment also. Tuna Tartare was delicious.