I'm not sure what the other folks are talking about, this is as good as it gets. Food and service were outstanding, as usual. Happy hour has some great deals and some great food. Wait staff are the real deal ! I eat here regularly and have never been dissappointed. If you really had an issue I'm sure management would have more the taken care of the issue.
Review Source:I went here today for brunch and had very bad serves
The waiter spilt water all over the table, didn't say sorry or offer to clean it up
The serves was extremely slow. We had to ask for the fresh bread over 3 times before they actually brought it to our table.
For the price I payed for my meal I expected way better serves than what I got.
The waiter was in an obviously bad mood and made me not want to come back.
In my opinion there is tons of great restraunts in the palo alto area to dine at other than here so I would pass this place at any cost.
I would rate it a negative 10 stars if I could.....if it would prevent anyone else from having the worst dining experience of their life.  First the service is beyond horrible.  Let's start with this, since we have not ordered at this point.  The bus boy took my order for sparkling water...( not given a choice for brand  etc.....just brought some off the wall bottle of water).  Then about 15 mins later the waiter came by and said ok you have your drink and I said we would like to order a bottle of wine so 10 mins later he brought the wine list and another 10 mins later took the order for the wine.  Don't worry it sounds like we will here all day but once we get to  the  food you will understand why it wasn't that long. Ok, so the wine came and it was hot (temperature just to clarify) this was a $60 bottle of Pinto Noir, mediocre, at best.  Also i had ordered calamari, as soon as I sat down and ordered the water.....it arrived about 20 mins later and i told my husband i would swear I saw a brooks brothers label in the rings as it was just like the cardboard from the cleaners for his shirts that had been breaded and deep fried, except that the cardboard would have been less hard and rubbery, all at the same time.Then, after I asked for bread after noticing the table which came after us,  had not only bread but their order (have to say it was breakfast for them and not bad, to be fair), we finally received some bread, the only thing that was close to being consumable....but hey you can people watch right.... (if it were in a location to people watch.  ( BTW, the people watching is sub standard, as it's too far down the ave.....just another FYI ).  Finally the waiter who looks like something out of a low budget euro trip film takes our order.  I order first and ask if they can add peas to my cappelini,as it sounds pretty drab as is, on the menu, I  was even going to ask for chicken but the response  was, what?  At any rate the waiter acted li he didn't even know they offered this in another dish.  After I was  done ordering, the waiter just stared at my husband who is for the most part very low key, my-husband said, are you ready for me as  he did not want to interrupt what seemed to be a painstaking ordeal for  the waiter while taking  my order.....the waiter grunts or sounds to that effect and walks away......this is the, last we see of the waiter, seriously.  The food was brought out by the bus boy (25 mins later) and no one came to ask what we thought about the food.  Well what can you expect when both my  husband and I looked  at our food and could not  eat it. Let me give a brief description .....imagine  microwave dinner of an Italian dinner from the dollar store, not sure if it exists but it is the only way I can describe how bad it looked..them imagine it sitting on a counter for 3 days or so and then being served to you already overcooked...red sauce is supposed to be red not reddish black.  Needless to say we paid the bus boy and left.....the waiter was never in sight again.  Now we had been to this restaurant  several months before and we liked the owner but thought the food was sub standard.  I said back  then  It will never last but guess people don't know what Italian food is supposed to taste like.  At any rate,  we decided to give it another chance....BIG mistake......we are sure this time that the food they served us is the last in a freezer burnt chamber somewhere and they are getting what last income and salvageable hopes of funds from people who believe this is a real restaurant .  I hope for everyone's sake they are going under because this place is pathetic.  I can only imagine what the kitchen must be like.....scary thought to say the least.  This is the  first review I have ever written and we have eaten all around the world and many types of food, from Gordon Ramsey's restaurant toGuy Savoy's in Paris.....I just felt to literally be robbed while dining  out I needed to advise others and if you choose to go anyway, its on you, when you can not eat the food and be treated like you are not a guest.  My husband and I are both professionals (MD and RN), so I truly believe we have some basic instincts on common courtesy, as well as; appropriate and safe food.
Review Source:I would like to say that Cafe Renzo makes the perfect gnocchi. Having studied Italian culinary arts (I lived in Italy for a bit), I can honestly say their recipe is right on the money. In addition, their minestrone is perfect. It is light and brothy and fresh. I was thoroughly impressed by these Sicilians (being of Northern Italian decent, our food is slightly different). Anyhow, I don't typically enjoy Italian food outside of Italy and this is one I'd recommend.
Review Source:My BF wanted Italian so we went there. They have daily HH so that is cool but you cannot sit outside and get the HH prices you need to seat on the third row which is inside the restaurant which is not ideal but I understand that alcohol cannot be served "outside." It was bit funny because you get a huge basket with rolls but I mean like 6 of them for two people, the dinner places are small so they want for you to get full on the rolls that are not even warm.
We ordered
Panzanella Toscana
$10.00
Heirloom tomato, mozzarella, cucumber, red onion, and homemade croutons, tossed with basil and extra virgin olive oil. - I enjoyed this salad it was fresh and very good.
Filetto al Gorgonzola
$26.00
Seared filet mignon wrapped in pancetta, topped with gorgonzola cream sauce and served with polenta and mixed vegetables. - The filet migon was cooked to perfection, pure butter but it was tiny ! I did not care about the polenta...is polenta, I would enjoyed it with baked potato.
HH prices - $3 beer which is smooth and not bitter at all, $5 well drinks and few more plus some food as well.
Horrible! Came tonight to sit outside and the restaurant was completely empty, they told us they couldn't help us as a party of 7 outdoors ???? Wouldn't you want customers? Completely empty, we were even willing to sit at separate tables! Never again HORRIBLE HORRIBLE service but I guess they'd rather have no customers than 7?
Review Source:If you can get over the rude waiters the food is amazing! Â The bolognese is to die for and the gnocchi is delish but unfortunately my friends and I are going to quit going due to the attitude of the servers. We have had the same experience on several occasions both together and apart. Â The food is so worth it but I like eating without attitude from the wait staff...too bad :(
Review Source:Came here for dinner out on a Thursday night date. We ordered
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara which we decided to share since neither of us were too hungry and we were looking forward to sharing desert. The pasta came and looked delicious in it's presentation. The pasta was heavy and a bit too much on the greasy side. The portion was plenty for us to share and be satisfied. We requested a desert menu and were less then impressed with what our choices were. We wouldn't return to Cafe Renzo as there's nothing spectacular about it.
Thought Cafe Renzo was A-OK. The service was fine, and it's nice that the layout is open enough to accommodate big groups. I think we saw a group of maybe 12-14 in there?
Food was pretty good, although hardly memorable. We ordered the Antipasto all'Italian (big meats/cheese platter) and calamari to start, and those were pretty good. I had the gnocchi alla sorentina for my main meal, and it was a little lukewarm, and a little rubbery. Don't get me wrong--I ate it, but it wasn't anything amazing. My husband had the Margherita pizza and everything was good but the crust...it was a little odd. Â The other members of the group had the same opinions of their meals--good, but not great.
Good happy hour! Friendly staff! Food is so so. I came here on valentines day weekend as a random thig, and my boyfriend and I did the pre fixe menu. The first and second course was yummy, but my main dish (the crusted fish) was overly sweet and salty. Dessert was good and had a cute presentation. The waiter also gave me a single red rose! Haha
Review Source:The outside is nothing fancy, the sign / font of the restaurant is very old / ordinary but the food seems to be decent. Came here for dinner with a friend after 3 studio class work outs, two of which ever back to back, so I was definitely ready to eat!
- Bread: their bread was okay... Not really that great to be honest. Nothing special or amazing. Just very plain. Their olive oil and balsamic vinegar tends to separate and did not mesh together - my friend and I found that very odd. We tried many times swirling it around with the bread to get both, but we always only ended up getting the olive oil part of the two... lol, very interesting...
- Caprese: not the best that I've had but not bad - I did really like the toasted bread that came with it thou!
- Ravioli: I did enjoy the spinach ravioli, I actually ate the whole thing (and I rarely rarely rarely finish my entrees, but it's just because I worked out so much before dinner that I could eat it all to gain some energy back). I really like the sage sauce that came with the dish. I couldn't have the tomato sauce that also came with it so I only had the sage sauce. It was good alone with the sage, wish they gave me more of it :)
Supposedly the gnocchi here is pretty good. I was debating between the two. The server said they are both popular, but he likes the ravioli more, so that's how I ended up with the ravioli. I think I'll come back in the future to try their gnocchi (seems like they have the "best" gnocchi from other yelpers). I shall judge when I try it next time.
Nice place for dinner and drinks!
I came here with a friend on a Friday night. Pretty good atmosphere..not too trendy though and more on the traditional side in terms of environment (the ambiance kind of reminded me of Max's Cafe) but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
My mojito was really good and the food was flavorful. Yum! It's a bit pricey though but I guess that is to be expected from downtown Palo Alto.
Our waiter was really funny and entertaining. He kept talking to us in Italian which was kind of fun. At first I thought it was a little weird but after a couple of drinks I started playing along...ciao! Bella! I don't even know what I was sayin' but I know I had a good time.
I saw groups of friends there, families, people celebrating birthdays. It seems like a solid choice for any occasion.
Cafe Renzo is a great place for happy hour and dinner. The atmosphere is beautiful from staff to decor. Prices are reasonable and the food is really good. I particularly loved the Brochette as an appetizer and the Scallops made me very happy for my main course. Â I walked away pleasantly full and had just enough wine to hand my keys to someone else.
Review Source:This "Italian" food was heavy and untasty.
I got the carbonara which completely filled me up in one bite. And to mention our waiter recommended this dish. My guest received the penne arabiata. It was too hard for our tasting. Harder than al dente. And the spicyness overwhelmed the dish. Th service was ok... I noticed the bartenders had just been flirting and grabbing girls numbers-.- gosh. The interior looks clean and cheesy. Overall I would not go back. There are way better Italian restaurants on Castro.
I'm torn by this place. One part of me really, really wants to like Café Renzo simply because of the location, restaurant décor and great drink choices, but there are some things that make this restaurant just mediocre.
I came here for dinner on a Thursday night. One plus is that they have happy hour until 7pm and it's not just at the bar. They have a GREAT happy hour selection too that includes a gin fizz, apple martini, bellini, etc. All the cocktails are $5.
I got excited for the bellini because I feel like I rarely see that on a happy hour menu. It was good. I was very pleased. It's very light, and not too sweet.
There is a good selection on appetizers on the happy hour menu too. We got the Bruschetta and Fried Artichoke Hearts for $5 each. The bruschetta was good...it comes with four pieces and has great flavor. I would recommend. The fried artichoke hearts, however, were pretty...bad. My friend thought it was inedible. It was very dry and tasted like I was chewing on wood.
Next time I would want to try something else instead...perhaps the Pizza Margherita?
For entrées, there is a good amount of pasta selections. We had a hard time choosing, but we ended up getting the Gnocchi alla Sorentina ($16). If you like tomato sauce, this dish is soooo good. I thought the texture of the gnocchi was perfect and the sauce was perfection. Very flavorful. Very filling too. We ordered shrimp to be added to the dish and they charged us an extra $6. The dish itself was good, but the shrimp was soooo overcooked. Weird, because I rarely come across restaurants where shrimp is overcooked. It had like a rubbery consistency.
The pasta was still amazing...maybe the chef was having a bad day with the shrimp?
I would say Café Renzo has some really good dishes and I would come back to try more pasta dishes. However, when something is bad, it's pretty bad. I guess just know what to order when you go there.
The service here too is pretty mediocre. The service people here don't give off a friendly, welcoming vibe which I expect at nice restaurants.
This review is just for their happy hour!
I love happy hour on University Avenue. Â There are just so many spots to choose from. Â Cafe Renzo is a cute little spot with some great happy hour selections. Â I really loved the calamari. Â The batter was so light yet crispy and it came with some zucchini. Â All the appetizers were about $5-$7 and the wine was $4. Â The portions were good. Â
I also loved the service at this place. Â Our server was very chipper and fun. Â
Their happy hour menu was great and now I'm curious about their dinner menu. Â Cafe Renzo, I shall return!
I have come here so many times but never written a review. It's not the most high-end Italian restaurant but good hang-out place with friends or dates. Plenty of seatings both inside at tables, at the bar area or even outside on the sidewalk. The happy hour menu is good and it's on 7 days of the week! The foods are tasty and a good variety; the portions are great too. I have never had to make a reservation or waited for a table whenever I met with friends there.
I have had: different types of raviolis, seafood cioppino (great), rabbit meat, salmone piccata (very juicy and tender and big slice), saltimbocca (veal cutlet not in a roll form), calamaris, etc. The rabbit dish for some reason was not that memorable. The other dishes were all good. Service was quick and good too.
I've been here a few times and now feel comfortable giving a comprehensive review. Â First the good: Â The food and drinks are great, and at resonable prices. Â The place is very clean great setting for 2-4 people. Â The only reason that they don't get 5 stars is that each time I've been there they have been so under-staffed that it takes 20+ minutes to order a drink and then you really have to flag someone down to order food.
My review is for the bar area only. I have not eaten dinner there as they are reservation-only and I rarely plan dinner far enough in advance to have a reservation. Â The bar area is great, but there is usually a wait for a place to sit.
$6 is the min your gonna pay for a 12oz beer. Some specialty drinks are as much as $22. For a drink?! The food is pretty fing good though. Pancetta carbonara is just barely worth the $16 for 16oz of food they bring ya. I got got full but expected more for pasta, a little meat and I mean a little meat, pun intended, n sauce. A $17 jar of William Sonoma carbonara sauce is the way to go to feed 4 people for a total of $2 more. $12 for a 5oz crown n coke. So $70 for two average meals  that I would expect from f ing olive  garden. can I get a lil suckie  suckie with that uncle junior?  Verry nice place though. Looks like all the wood has all been handmade and stained by Jesus himself.
Overall it's a 4.
1 for having carbonara! 1 fr having the balls to drop a hundred thousand into a Italian anguwfe
Cafe Renzo is a great place for dinner. I've been there three times, twice for dinner. The first time I ordered one of their specials, a prosciutto risotto, which was so delicious and a big quantity. I saved my left overs for lunch the next day. I've also had their lobster ravioli. The sauce was creamy and the lobster was amazing.
If you're a gimlet lover like I am, order a cucumber gimlet. It's not on the menu but it should be. They have a basil gimlet on the menu that I have not tried. I like mine on the rocks.
I the most recent time I've visited Renzo is for happy hour last week. My cocktail was very weak (the peach gin and lemonade one). I was forewarned by fellow yelpers that this is common but wanted to try it out anyways. My friend and I ordered the asparagus and mushroom spring rolls but couldn't taste nor see any mushroom or asparagus in them. We also ordered the fried green olives, which were tasty and all the ingredients listed on the menu were there.
All in all, stick to dinner dates for Cafe Renzo. You won't be disappointed and you'll get the full effect of what they have to offer.
I flippin' love this place. Yesterday afternoon's holiday shopping in Palo Alto called for some nourishment beforehand. So I stopped in at Renzo's fine establishment, because of the apparent comfort and elegance of their outdoor seating. What a good call that ended up being! I didn't make it inside the restaurant, but it looked lovely. Outside, there are cozy heat lamps, comfortable woven chairs and intimate tables. It was as great on the brisk Winter day  as it looked.
We were promptly greeted by our server. We began with a Saint Germain elderflower Prosecco cocktail for me and a Prosecco for my dining companion. The house bread is very toasty and defies easy description. It's crusty on the outside, with a soft and chewy middle. Its flavor is rich, complex and perfectly complimented by the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
For my late lunch, I had the Capellini al Pomodoro. Since I often to prefer to eat less meat, I usually order vegetarian entreés. Doing so can offer the additional advantage of seeing the true skill of of the chef and quality of the ingredients. Sometimes the simple dishes allow the real glory of a meal to shine. For a pretty astounding $12, the Capellini al Pomodoro was possibly the best angel hair pasta with tomatoes and basil that I have ever eaten. My companion enjoyed the Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, which he described as 'amazing.'
After the excellent meal, I asked our waiter about the wonderful bread (that I knew had to be housemade). It turns out our waiter was Renzo Azzarello, himself. The bread is faithfully prepared using his mother's recipe. He explained that what he could not prepare in house was ordered from friends in Italy.
While we were already full, this information was enough to warrant trying the tiramisu and coffee. The marscapone and coffee are from Italy! It could have been my delighted gushing over the meal, but we were sent a sample of the Limoncello, also house prepared.
It was a truly perfect dining experience. I know I can sometimes be a little generous with my stars (in fairness to me, Yelp needs half-stars for its reviewers), but this place really, really deserves a fantastic rating.
My friend and I went here at 3:40PM on a weekday for drinks and a late lunch. Â We were a few minutes early for happy hour, so I asked the waiter if they'd honor happy hour. Â He said he'd check with the owner. Â
In the meantime, my friend and I sat at one of the tables (the place was deserted, of course). Â I didn't see the exchange but my friend saw the waiter ask the owner. Â They both glanced over at our table and laughed. Â Then the waiter came back and said they wouldn't honor happy hour. Â Seriously? Â By that time it was 15 minutes til...
Well, we ordered drinks anyway and I got a caesar salad for lunch. Â The dressing on the salad was pretty good but overall nothing stellar. Â I make a better gin & tonic at home, too. Â
The waiter seemed to sense we weren't impressed. Â He was friendly, especially towards the end of the meal. Â And the owner got the $9 for my gin & tonic. Â However, with so many better options in walking distance, I don't think I'll be back.
I do not drink so their happy hour specials are useless. Even though the happy hour appetizer deal was enticing, I find it very difficult to order 4 platters of fried bar foods to get the 5th one free. I have been doing super well on my diet, furthermore establishments will have a hard time trying to sway me from my diet.
Service was slow. It was SLOW.
We were seated roughly before 6:15pm this evening but we did not get to order our drinks or appetizers till at least 10-12 minutes afterwards. A good 20 minutes then our bread showed up. Can you tell me why a party of 12 have just 2 small plates of olive oil to dip our bread in?
A little over an hour went by - our entrees weren't served yet.
I ordered the gamelli all a carcerata - $15. This deserves no stars. The portion is super small and the taste reminded me of either Olive Garden or Pasta Pomodoro, only very bland.... I do not know if it is because I can make my own pasta (dough and everything) or the fact that my teacher, Chef Brunson taught us how to make all these authentic Italian sauces from scratch; my sister's former beau is Italian and taught me what he knows in the kitchen as well but believe me, I can replicate this dish for a whole lot more and for half the cost. I wasn't about to consume my entree since it is now 9:15pm but by looking at the dish in the box, I almost wanted to smash the box.
I wasted $15.
My daughter ordered a kid's macaroni and cheese. When we got home, it was macaroni but w/ butter... loads of butter and not a lick of cheese. They took forever to service us, BOH took forever to get our food bagged (thanks for giving us 1 utensil set for 2), thanks for the extremely overpriced offerings (for just $20 or a little more, I could have gone to a steakhouse, thanks FOH for ignoring my daughter because she wanted to ask for a kid's menu; apparently our server failed to grab one, and thanks for screwing up our order.
This is the first on my Palo Alto list that I strongly dislike.
Woah there, $3 beers, $4 wines, and $5 cocktails at a gorgeous Italian restaurant in downtown Palo Alto - are you kidding me? From 4-7pm, this plus select finger foods in the $5-7 price range can be all yours. Pretty freakin' sweet.
Being at the end of University Ave (across the street from the old Borders and next to the Apple store), I always walked by Cafe Renzo assuming it was overpriced - little did I know that they offer probably the best happy hour in PA. SO glad the bf and I stopped in last night!
Service was phenomenal (apart from the uber awkward hostesses who didn't seem to quite know what was going on with seating). Our waiter was very attentive and even came to remind us that happy hour was ending, so we loaded up on drinks before 7 (score). I loved they didn't rush us either. Even though the restaurant was packed, we were able to sip on our assortment of drinks (we stocked up for HH) and leisurely munch on our food. By the way, the bread they give you is delicious (like any good Italian restaurant should be). Hot, fresh, and accompanied with oil and vinegar. Yum.
We ordered the calamari ($7), which was really tasty and good portion size. Came with little bits of zucchini, a spicy marinara, and classic tartar sauce. BF had two $3 beers, and I had a glass of the sauvingon blanc and a glass of champagne. Champagne was surprisingly good - fruity but not too sweet. I definitely recommend it. We were also eyeing the margarita pizza, which several other tables around us had ordered but decided to save it for next time.
That being said, I cannot wait to come back for another round of HH at Cafe Renzo. Highly recommended!
The service was so bad, I wanted to Yelp the place while I was in it.
Disclaimer: I was VERY hungry when I came in.
Upscale dining. Extensive wine menu.
Seafood soup: With clams, calamari, & fresh fish in a tomato garlic broth was decent
Eggplant Parmesan: Average
Something like Penne Arabiatta: Good
Service: Fail.
I had a waiter who seemed very intimidating to talk to, so even though we wanted to customize the order, we just let it be. Furthermore he barely attended to us, had to send the message we were ready to order several times through other waiters.
I have gluten-sensitivity and asked specifically for items without wheat. He seemed pretty ignorant of such a thing (unforgivable in such a fancy restaurant) and came back telling me that the item I wanted does not have "dairy". Don't want to nitpick on other issues, but the service has turned me away from this place.
And how can I forget- The Creme Brulee was bad. The crust was not burnt and soggy (not crispy). Would rather go to La Strada down the road for my Creme Brulee.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been expecting to be whisked away to the streets of Italy in this happy hour.
Located in Palo Alto's ave with quintessential neighborhood charm, this cafe seemed set up to succeed - Caprese salad, Bruschetta, and Calamari, anyone?
I should have gone with the eats, but went with the libations instead. Unfortunately, I wasn't whisked away by any means.
Price-wise, you'll be saving a few dollars if you go from 4-7 pm on weekdays. You'll be able to get beer, wine, spirits, and Stuzzichini (Finger Food) for a discount.
If a fancy and tasty cocktail is what you're looking for, on the other hand, I'd avoid going to Cafe Renzo - or maybe just evading the Lemon Drop vodka or Gin Fizz. Unless, that is, you enjoy the taste of house vodka or gin overpowering the rest of the drink.
To be fair, I didn't give the flavor of Italy a fair chance at its STUZZICHINI (Finger Food), GLI ANTIPASTI (Appetizers) , I PRIMI (Pasta), or I SECONDI (Carne).
If I ever find myself in the mood for Italian food again, I'll be willing to give it a shot.
An excellent place along University Avenue for lunch! (Especially the caprese -- fantastically fresh mozzarella!)
Cafe Renzo has a great, fancy-cafe type feel, and is pretty spacious on the inside, despite it's relatively modest storefront. A great thing about Cafe Renzo is that they have a fairly large and delicious-looking menu. Not only do they offer both brunch (breakfast/egg type dishes) and lunch until 4 P.M., but they also seem to offer dinner entrees for lunch as well. Great for those who like their options.
To start with, Cafe Renzo's bread is unlike other bread at other restaurants. The rolls here actually have real flavor, which is a decided plus. I ordered their caprese appetizer, which was FANTASTIC. It had the freshest burrata mozzarella I've ever had, along with some equally yummy tomatoes.
I ordered an omelette with Italian sausage as a main course, and it was also tasty. The eggs were soft and cooked to the right consistency -- no overly hard, rubbery eggs here! The filling was a solid amount, and the sausage had great flavor without being too salty.
All the servers were really polite and they were very on-the-ball as far as refilling my water, even though I could have done this myself since the carafe was on the table. Bonus points there.
My lunch experience at Cafe Renzo means I will definitely be back to try their dinner selections!
My grandmother once said, "Great food is what attracts patrons; great service is what keeps them." Â Many amateur restauranteurs fail to understand the latter concept. Â And, many restaurants learn this important fact far too late from their graves.
I believe Cafe Renzo has not grasped this concept quite yet. Â From my two separate frustrating experiences here, it makes me wonder if they ever will.
The following review is based on my last experience at this restaurant several months ago back in March 2012.
Upon walking into this Americanized Italian restaurant, I was instantly greeted with a host station as well as a chaotic group of patrons clustering in a tiny space with no sense of direction. Â The two hostesses working the second night I visited seem to be in disarray, highly flustered, wearing a permanent angry scowl. Â I don't completely blame them as they appear more frustrated with the table system than intentionally rude.
My girlfriend and I were escorted to our seats half an hour later. Â The dining room resembles a provincial, homely restaurant you would find in a countryside -- wood panelings and off-white wall papering -- but with some Vegas gaudy aesthetics of floral prints and combination granite installations. Â Our server was a tall man, like a giant stomping through a miniature city of tables.
I ordered the Bistecca ai Funghi, Cafe Renzo's New York steak entree. Â My girlfriend ordered a pasta dish with seafood, which I cannot recall its proper name. Â Her entree looked delicious with a creaminess to the pasta's flesh. Â My dish, however, was over 2 minutes under medium rare; the middle fibers of the meat were purple, shiny, and lukewarm to the touch. Â It's an honest misfire that many restaurants would happily take back. Â However, when I told our server about the situation he seemed rather reluctant to take it back. Â I felt like a kid in juvenile court having to preface that I did not take a single bite from the steak. Â He finally apologized and removed the steak from the table. Â
My replacement steak did not arrive until 30 minutes later. Â My girlfriend who eats like a turtle (albeit a cute and beautiful turtle) was completely done with her entree when I began mine. Â Thankfully, however, the new steak was nicely reddish-pink in the center despite the uneven the sear. Â I must also note that the quality of meat was not spectacular or completely fresh given the beef's light sweetness was not present. Â
Our unprofessional waiter, while friendly in demeanor, never came back to check on us. Â He even had the audacity to carry a 10-minute conversation with an elder couple sitting at an adjacent table. Â The waiter kept asking the elder couple about their vineyard, which ultimately led to the waiter sharing a glass of wine with them. Â Yes, that just happened. Â Meanwhile, patrons from his other tables looked visibly pissed off as to how unresponsive he was to their tables. Â From that point, I quickly developed the same angry scowl I was greeted with earlier. Â I caught the scowl plague.
My check took another 20 minutes to close. Â Why? Â I don't know. Â The server wandered around the restaurant like a fish swimming in an unfiltered fishbowl. Â He seemed bored in his lack of self-awareness. Â He finally came back to check on the elder couple and then turned and glanced at me to say, "Oh, right! Your check." Â
I am giving this place 1.5-stars as its critical service flaws and food quality control are corrective with tremendous edits. Â With that said, based on my experiences here I cannot recommend this restaurant to 99% of the population until major changes are made. Â For the 1% who enjoy torture porn with their food, come here and enjoy.
- This review is focused on the happy hour menu, which we have consistently liked.
- The special menu for the happy hour lets you order 5 items for the price of only 4, and it includes should amongst roughly the following: Â Cheese Pizza, Calamari, Fries, Onion Rings, Spanikopita, Olives, Bruschetta, Pigs in a Blanket, Fried Stuffed Olives, Fried Artichoke hearts, and some spring roll that we don't ever get (I think it has mushrooms in it).
- I find the Pizza is quite good, and also recommend the Spanikopita (very flakey). Â The other items are also good, depending on your taste preferences.
- Happy hour drinks are a bit of a mix. Â They offer Moretti for $3, which is a passable beer. Â There are a smattering of house wines for $4, which I wouldn't really recommend. Â And, there are a number of $5 cocktails, which is where I would say is the best choice.
- Service for us has always been solid or better. Â It seems like the gentlemen there are real deal Italians, which is nice.
Definitely a good place to sit at the outside tables and do the happy hour special. Â It's a go-to place for us on that note. Â I definitely give them props for their HH menu!
SWU (Seriously What's Up) happy hour from 4-7 pm! $3 beers, $4 wine and $5 cocktails. And the appetizers are buy 4, get the 5th for free. If you needed an excuse to get a little cray cray on a weeknight, here you go, folks!
My recommendations:
Go for the $3 Moretti or $5 mimosa (they're not just for breakfast anymore) to drink and if you're with a group, go ahead and split 5 appetizers. They're not *huge* but there's certainly enough to go around. Calamari, mini pigs in a blanket and margherita pizza were the highlights.
Probably not the smartest thing to pig out right before a workout class, but it's also not a good idea to go to such a function on an empty stomach. Carbs, right?
Sit at the bar, grab a few seats and enjoy! This is a happy hour that most working folk in Palo Alto can enjoy.
I had a great time with Yelpers last week for an UYE Happy Hour at Cafe Renzo.
The appetizer deal (buy 4 get 5th FREE) was awesome!
I arrived about 15 minutes later and the group already ordered the appetizers. I tried the deep fried calamary, the cocktail sauce was the BOMB! It certainly had a bit of a kick from the horseradish but it was very refreshing at the same time. The calamary was not thickly battered, crunchy in the outside and not overcooked so the calamary was not too chewy, very lightly salted so that the dipping sauces highlight all the delicious flavor.
I also tried the deep fried artichoke, it was good too. I must admit it was my first deep fried artichoke (I've had artichokes but just never the deep fried ones) and I'll certainly order it again and again! yumm!
I also had a slice of the Pizza Margherita that was VERY DELICIOUS and FRESH! The crust was very thin, the tomato sauce was very refreshing combined with the chewy melted mozarella cheese and the fragrance from the basil leaves...it was divine!
Great prices on some cocktails, wine and moretti (beer)... yummmm!
I will certainly come back for their happy hour and a meal!
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