NOT going back!  We waited for an hour for an under-cooked burger and an average fish wrap.  We just sat there with no offers of additional drinks or apologies for no food. $45.78 tab didn't help either. Got to watch an inept  bunch of old guys in Hawaiian shirts trying to set up band instruments...seemed to be their first time.
Worst restaurant experience we've had in Los Altos!
Went to Maltby's last night to see the local band The Back Pages. Â What a super fun night! Â We did have dinner and drinks at Maltby's - everyone enjoyed their meal - we had the hamburger, a BLT sandwich, and a Fish Wrap. Â Fries were so crispy and the cole slow was tasty... Â All in all a good meal. Â Service was excellent. Everyone there was friendly - even helped us move a few tables together for our big group.
The house wines are good .. and a great value at $6 a glass. Â I stuck with Pinot all night and it was fine. If I was going to make it a fine dining experience, I would bring my own wine...
The band was fantastic, and Maltby's is a great venue. Â They cleared the tables off the dance floor, and we danced the night away. Â
A Great time was had by all. Â I will definitely be back!
WARNING; read the one and two star reviews before venturing into Maltby's and if you are not inclined to suffer do not partake. First I want to say the server was a lovely and very nice girl who did her best. Now; on to the evening, stale bread, a Casmo that one could not detect liquor, what tasted like 'old fish meat' taco small plate and over cooked burger sliders and nothing special to write home about.
The one redeeming factor was the salted peanuts, all you can eat. Then again, we figured that out after the bill came. Know-one told us.
Interestingly the onion soup looked good and there have been some Yelpers who gave it a positive bump in the night.
I had a martini and truthfully the well vodka tasted watered down, very weak. No one would do that; would they?
Very expensive, no price value; but, there were a ton of old people in there in the bar. I do mean old people, at 65 we brought the average age down 10 years. Oh that's mean of me; sorry guys.
The service was very slow and lacking even though it wasn't busy. We had 5 different servers it seemed. The food is over priced for the portion/quality of it. Got the Teriyaki Salmon salad, and it was basically lettuce with a piece of salmon on top.
Took forever for the check to be picked up after we paid. Not my favorite place to go downtown Los Altos. It was one of the few restaurants open at 8pm on a Sunday night.
3.5 stars. Â i am giving them the benefit because the food is good and their staff is always great. Â not sure the prices match up but it must be because the portions are quite large. Â the burger and fries will more than fill you up. Â the bowl of chili is huge and very filling. Â everything on the menu is tasty.
Review Source:rant
Went in last night, late-ish but still well within their hours of operation and we were told they were happy to serve us, but they were going to start cleaning the carpets soon.
We were grateful for the info and we decided to go to Pompei instead.
But that's just ridiculous. Â Carpet cleaning and other maintenance should never ever interfere with customers. Â Ever. Â Shouldn't be allowed to be close enough to even have to worry about it.
As I've said in other reviews, if you want to thrive in this business you need to make it ALL about the customer, not about you.
/rant
I was going to write an updated review but first I just read a review from 1/6/13 and 12/19/12. I can only say that you both must have been at a different restaurant or a different time zone. Kidding. My wife and I, both under 60, and our adult kids and their boyfriends ( 28 to 32) have never ever had a bad food experience or waiter experience. The owner, James Maltby, is very nice and a fun guy who also has kids. His staff is always there to help and his menu is very good. He is trying out some new music bands for the patrons and seeing if this will be a good addition. James is trying to bring in a more rounded age group of 20's- 30's-40's ages to let them see what his restaurant can provide. This is still a fun place to meet with friends and enjoy a fine meal without it hurting your wallet. We really enjoy eating at the bar and watching some of the sports on there tv's and interacting with other diners. The bar is fully stocked and the bar tender(s) are very good. This is a place where you can relax, kick back, enjoy a nice fun evening and the atmosphere is really nice. We saw some people dancing for awhile one recent Friday night about two weeks back to a live band and it was really fun. We see some local folks in here and have seen some business people in here after work and talking about business deals.Hi Tech, Low Tech, blue collar, white collar people. All types. Check this place out and give it a test. Anyway we still like this joint and we will continue to eat here.
One other thing, I'm pretty sure that all restaurants have a bad day once in awhile so give it another try. I was at another local high end restaurant in los Altos recently and the waiter was a real jerk but I came back again and all is good. I just mentioned the issue to the management.
We stumbled upon this restaurant by accident. Â From the street we couldn't tell if it was a pub, chain or English-Irish dinner place. Â We had children with us and would have never brought them in if they had said "pub" or "bar" on the sign, but we didn't know any better so we brought our children in with us. Â That said, when we parked we could see high chairs stacked up from the windows outside and took that as a sign that it was alright to bring children (wrong). Â Also to be noted, we came on a Sunday at 5pm (it's not like we were bringing children on a Friday night at 9pm). Â
When we walked in the door, the hostess started to seat us and then someone behind the bar noticed we had two children and literally redirected her to the back of the restaurant over near the service door. Â It was like being exiled. Â He very noticeably rolled his eyes when he saw the children. Â (Strike 1)
We have been to many places and seen children poorly behaved and it is awful. Â However, our children are very quiet, more quiet than most adults... and are accustomed to joining us at restaurants for dinner. Â (They frequent Los Altos Grill quite a bit and are often the talk of the restaurant for their mature behavior at such a young age). Â We are very proud and on the rare occasions that they are less than perfectly behaved, one parent will immediately escort the child out of the restaurant while the other requests the check and to-go boxes. Â (IE we are normal people, foodies at heart, but absolutely can appreciate the value in a nice, quiet dinner out and have raised our children with this expectation). Â
We sat down and looked over the menu. Â The black truffle fries were to DIE FOR- absolutely DELICIOUS and would have overcome our entry experience. Â The rest of the food was ok, not great, but not bad either- average pub food. Â The burgers were good, the jambalaya shouldn't be allowed to be called jambalaya (but being from the south, I'm a tough critic). Â
However, strike 2 happened when we looked down at the children's menu which stated that they allowed children that are well behaved and 'remained seated' was a little ridiculous. Â (I understand a restaurant trying to encourage parents to enforce good behavior, but to put it in writing right off the bat gives off a very negative tone). Â Poor behavior in a restaurant by a child should be addressed in the same way it would be to an adult- the manager should step over and ask the family to fix the situation immediately or leave. They didn't have a notice on the bar menu saying that drunk adults weren't allowed to misbehave, so why say it to families? Â
Obviously, that's something every (good) parent should know and be courteous enough to other diners to ensure. Â But, it really irritated me. Â
Strike 3: after ordering they took the menus (normal). Â However, my son wanted to continue to practice reading it so I went and asked the hostess for another menu. She literally rolled her eyes and spoke to someone at the bar above me saying that she's already given me one, therefore I don't need another. Â What?!?! why does it matter in a restaurant where almost all of the patrons are elderly if we borrow one kids menu for 5 more minutes? Â
For mediocre food and obvious hatred of children, I really don't care to return. Â If only the sign had said "pub or bar" this whole situation wouldn't have even happened. Â But alas, that's the way it goes. Â It is also worth noting that we were the only diners in the restaurant under 65.
I've have had so many bad experiences at this restaurant I can't believe it. First when our kids were young the owner used to treat us rudely as if the kids were badly behaved so we stopped going back. Then years later I went to lunch with friends and we all ordered the same lunch special salad but he brought me a different salad that was twice the price and when I questioned it he then publicly and very rudely blamed me for the error and didn't offer a solution. Â He said something like "Well next time you'd better be more careful when you order."Today I went for xmas lunch with friends and two of us had salads that were nothing more than chopped lettuce and vinegar for $13 (me, the Tostada, my friend had the Greek). They both had hard slabs of chicken on top which were flavorless and hard to chew... just awful.
Review Source:I learned about this place from an old Australian co-worker. Considering I used to not live that far from it., I had no idea it existed. However the one time I went, things were on a weird path. A different co-worker joined us and before  making it in, took a header in the parking lot and fractured his arm. Didn't know it at the time but he sat in pain and I offered to take him to the hospital to check it out. He refused and the dinner went with grimaces the whole time. Even though we were aiming for British fare, they have stuff from all over the place, cuisine wise. Fish&Chips and bangers were alright, they just didnt get me excited. Good British fare is just so had to find. Guess the search continues...
Review Source:Service was slow (it was not busy) for the post-lunch rush. The server was delayed on bringing me my drink. He served me someone else's shrimp salad and walked off before I could tell him. I ordered the smoked trout salad and it was delicious. A little pricey but at least the food is good. Would I come back? Yes, I'm sure service was a fluke....if not, a third time will not occur.
Review Source:Great food. Â Excellent service. Â Very reasonably priced. Â Have eaten there a few times now and have enjoyed each meal tremendously. Â Good selection of different salads. Â Tried the Sicilian salad once and the skirt steak salad another time. Â Both were very tasty. Â Also enjoyed their version of a BLT. Â Maltbys appears to have a wide selection of sandwiches that will satisfy diverse appetites.
Service was very friendly and very attentive.
Came here because I'd never been with some friends and have to say that my return is unlikely. The place has a old diner sort of feel with a bar & open-ish cooking area. Most of the clientele were about 20 years older than us. I think there were only 2 waiters in the restaurant. It took a while for the server to come to us and the first thing we asked for was water for everyone. She then took the other drink orders and our drinks that we ordered came to us, but not the water, before she came back for the food part of the order. We didn't get water until we specifically asked for it again when our food was served.
As I read the menu, I could not believe how much the salads cost and my friends said they were huge. So any thought of that healthy choice, went away because they cost more than most of the entrees. I then focused on sandwiches/burgers, but by the time I added up the extras, it was better to move to the entrees. I ordered bouillabaisse. It came as the perfect size for my appetite, but was greatly overpriced for what I got and really didn't have the flavor I was expecting. I also thought I'd have leftovers.
In addition, we had children with us and there does not appear to be a child's menu, so the kids ordered appetizers. Fortunately my child has a small appetite, so that portion worked for him, but the other kid's parents had to supplement from their plates so he would have enough.
The dessert was overpriced & too big for one person to possibly eat. It didn't occur to the waitress to ask if we wanted coffee with the dessert when we ordered it, then she asked after the dessert was finished. I just wanted out.
A charming restaurant in Los Altos that specializes in British fare but with some surprises and twists.
My friend Russell and I stopped here for dinner before seeing Little Women The Musical by the Los Altos. Â We were a little worried since the place wasn't very busy and it was a Friday night. Â (Where does everyone in Los Altos eat on Friday's?) Â The outdoor seating looked comfortable and the evening was beautiful so we chose to dine here.
The menu has a definite focus on British cuisine. Â It has your standard fish and chips, bangers and mash, and calf's liver. Â However there are some nice salads, entrees, appetizers and gourmet fries. Â For $5 you can get a decent heap of fries with Italian, Greek, Thai, Santa Fe or Acapulco inspired toppings. Â (Garlic and Sweet Potato are also available.) Â Each one comes with your choice of a dipping sauce. Â There are about 12 or so options. Â The sweet chili ketchup is amazing. Â We tried the Thai and it has some good Thai seasoning and was quite hot. Â It was good, but not the best ever. Â I felt disappointed like I wanted something more (pad se'ew brown sauce drizzled on fries?)
I had the Maltby's salad which was butter lettuce topped by warm pecan crusted goat cheese. Â I also had the roasted fennel soup which was phenomenal. Â
After dinner we split a cobbler. Â It was like a small pie. Â The crust was very thick and biscuity. Â The filling was apples and blackberries, heavy on the uncooked apples. Â The vanilla ice cream was phenomenal and so flavorful.
The service was slow but I think there may have only been one server for outside and inside. Â It wasn't really busy but she probably had 10 tables. Â
I have to say based on the soup and salad I had I would definitely return. Â I thought it was amazing and who ever is in the kitchen knows what he/she is doing. Â The al fresco dining is a great bonus.
I just went here after walking blocks and blocks around the area. This is a English restaurant. I mean British, not English. Anyway, as Jim P. pointed out, this place serves fish and chips, bangers and mash, and lots of different varieties of fries. From regular fries to chili fries.
I had the fish and chips. It was OK. Nothing special, but it was very pricey. Perhaps because it is located in Downtown Los Altos is the reason for why the food on the menu is expensive, even for lunch.
It is a place that is best to go with a group.
This is a local comfort food place in Los Altos; fish and chips, bangers and mash, great fries. Excellent selection of beer on tap, including Old Speckled Hen which is a personal favorite.
Staff always friendly and efficient; food is consistenly good. If your in the area; definately worth checking out.
I am unimpressed. Â The prices are too high for what you get. Â I understand that it is Los Altos, but $14 for fish and chips? Â C'mon! Â I ordered a spinach salad with grilled chicken. Â For $12, I expected a meal-size salad, but what was served was just slightly larger than a side salad. Â Poor value.
Many many many better options out there. Â If you are in the mood for a pub atmosphere, drive five minutes to Tied House in MV. Â They have a much broader, better and cheaper menu. Â Try the smoked salmon fish and chips...truly amazing.
I guess the thing to remember about Maltbys is that it classifies itself as a pub, so you ought to expect pub food (as Julia R pointed out in a previous review). Â Pub food has its own distinct style and is not my favorite.
This is something I forgot when I took my wife for a casual impromptu dinner one chilly Thursday evening in downtown Los Altos. Â
We started with soups (perfect for a cold and rainy evening). My wife had the onion soup and I settled for the soup of the day - split pea soup. Â Neither were very inspired and were fairly thick and filling. So much so that we opted out of eating anything further - we just never had the appetite.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was fairly warm and friendly, but our waiter was a little inattentive and forgot to bring us our tea that we had ordered on sitting down.
Very average.
Definitely a local hang out place, I frequently see friends and neighbors here. Â And since this is a pub..... expect pub food!
That being said, I do love to come here for lunch and get their homemade soup and salad combo. Â The soups are fabulous (particularly the tortilla, but I've tried so many and they've all been wonderful!) and I usually order it with the mixed green salad. Â The spinach salad's good for a change of pace, but I'm a green salad girl at heart. Â Served with sliced baguette and butter and you're all set. Â
I also come on occasion for dinner and enjoy their entree salads. Â The rest of my family likes the traditional heartier fare, but I appreciate that the menu offers lighter alternatives as well.
For the beer drinkers, I understand that the selection of beers on tap is pretty extensive (my husband likes the Belgian). Â And for the rest of us, they have a nice selection of wines by the glass, and a full bar for the cocktail drinkers.
Friendly service, good food. Â I like it!
The bottom line is I'll come back, so it's almost four stars.
Two visits:
- burger and half a house salad with pistaccio goat cheese. Â Nicely done, with a good bun that wasn't greasy (it's funny how most premium burgers with good meat have a greasy bun). Â Burger was medium rare as ordered. Â Had Fuller's ESB on tap. Â The fries were very warm but not hot.
- prime rib with yorkshire pudding (their sunday special) a few years back. Â This was disappointing as the pudding was a small slightly tired disk. Â (Though come to think of it, I haven't had any Yorkshire pudding that is even close to that Patricia makes in her kitchen, so it always seems disappointing.) Â This wasn't cheap at $28 and it was very so so.
The ambience is pretty rustic and simple. Â They have 8 or so beers on tap and they are decent imports (Stella, Fullers, Grimbergen, Old Speckled Hen, etc). Â Prices are good.
O.M.G. I just got back from the worst lunch ever.
Picture this: I'm having lunch with one of the head honcho's of my company, a woman who I'd love to have as a mentor, who I'm trying desperately hard to impress. So I take her to the one place in downtown Los Altos she hasn't been so she can have her first real American cheeseburger (she is Kenyan).
She gets served her cheeseburger and her first reaction is "Oh we should have gone to McDonald's, this doesn't look very good". I get served my salad ... A EFFING ROACH CRAWLS OUT OF IT. Of course being the nervous fumbling idiot that I am, rather than scream and return the food, I hide the roach under my napkin rather than disappoint this woman even more.
Needless to say I barely ate and I think this woman thinks I'm crazy but I will never EVER return to this place.
Let's look at this in a relative way.
There are not a whole lot of places to get a beer in Los Altos, and so this should be taken into consideration when handing out stars.
Also, I know the owner of this restaurant, and so I might be biased.
However, I eat here all the time (not for free, despite my connections) and enjoy it because I am not being overcharged, which is something that happens a lot for mediocre food in this particular town.
I would say that prices are "chili's" prices, but much better food. Some of my favorites include the French Onion Soup, Fresh Petrale Sole, Caesar Salad with grilled prawns (best dressing you'll ever taste) and the Maltby's House salad.
Any of the above are great with a pilsner, or something from the well-compiled wine selection.
Return to Maltby's? Â I would not could not on a train, I would not could not in the rain, I do not like Maltby's this is true and I'm willing to bet you would not too!
Expensive!! I don't remember what I ordered that was so freaking fabulous that it should cost so much. The staff was not particularly personable. Â I've had much better in Los Altos Village!
My cat is in kitty prison at Adobe for treatments (this sucks), so I find myself in Los Altos a lot these days. Â I walked over here for lunch today while waiting for the vet to get out of surgery. Â
I had a burger and fries. Â Ordered medium, got more like well done, and the burger itself was underseasoned. Â Fries were OK; still haven't found the world's best fries. Â It was kind of refreshing that they didn't give me a ridiculous portion of fries, actually.
They did forget to charge me for my soda, which was nice. Â
I guess overall I would go with "kinda meh," but I'm willing to believe they have other good stuff and I'm feeling charitable with the stars.
I like Maltby's.
Pros:
- good draught beer selection, generally some locals + a couple belgian and/or germans  (although I do wish they'd rotate out their selection a bit to be a bit more seasonal)
- solid bar food (apps, sandwiches)
- reasonable prices
- one of the few places in downtown Los Altos I can walk to on a Friday night to drink a couple beers
- nice staff
Cons:
- they close too early
- entrees might sometimes be .. disappointing. I ordered the duck cassoulet one night and absolutely hated it .. it was stodgy and tasted off
Don't let that last 'con' phase you - my fiance and I have eaten there many times and we have both always enjoyed our meals - I think the duck was an anomaly.
Maltby's is THE Los Altos dining experience. Â I grew up in Los Altos, and can't seem to eat here without seeing a few neighborhood faces. Â The owner is a British transplant who serves a combination of comfort pub foods (try the bangers and mash, or one of the pies) and California cuisine (like the teriyaki salmon salad, DELICIOUS daily soups, or sandwiches). Â A great many beers on tap, including Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada, Pyramid Hef, Newcastle, Guinness, and more.
The food is overall highly satisfying, but you wont be dreaming about it for days after. Â Dining experience is fun, with trivia cards at your table to keep you busy while you wait. Â Maltby's is the perfect solution to the weekly "where should we eat tonight?" dilemma. Â If you are trying to show a taste of the town to visitors, however, I would opt for another selection.
This was the first restaurant I ate in in downtown Los Altos. Â It was very nice of my friends to take me out to lunch to welcome me to town. Â They are very health conscious friends so there must be some redeeeming health queslities to Matlby's reatruant. Â This is one of the old standards of long time Los Altos residents. Â
I thought the food was just OK and over priced for what it was. Â I had salmon and a salad. Â The salmon tasted like artiificial sweetener. Â Very stange. Â The salad was quite good. Â I was tempted to rate it more stars, but I haven't been back. Â Have never been tempted to go back. Â I guess it is just not a destination for me and that means 2 stars.
This is an interesting place to check out in downtown Los Altos. Â I'd give it a 3.5, but it doesn't quite deserve a 4. Â I've been here on three separate occasions for brunch now and it's a nice place to have a liesurely meal with family and friends. Â They have a couple of tables outside which is nice on a cool summers day. Â
There's a decidedly English twist to the menu and the corned beef and hash is real, chopped corned beef... not that canned corned beef and hash stuff you'd find in a diner. Â The service is a bit on the slow side, but the waitstaff is nice and doesn't rush you at all. Â Overall, the food is pretty decent and the pricing is inexpensive for brunch. Â I think most of their brunch offerings are around $10. Â Oh yeah, you should definitely get a side of their onion rings... tasty stuff.
Oh yeah, they have a decent selection of beers on tap as well. Â There's a bar area where you can just order a pint and watch what's playing on the flatscreen above the bar. Â Check this place out.
Cute, AND right around the corner from Main Street (which means more parking and less commotion). Â You seat yourself-- but they always acknowledege you when you walk in (to avoid that awkward, "did they see us?" situation).
It's similar to diner food (patty melts, club sandwiches, milkshakes), but then there are also some upper echelon entrees as well. Â Everything I have ever had here has been fantastic.
BEST PART OF MALTBY'S.... little box of Trivial Pursuit question cards on every table in case you get bored. Who doesn't love that??
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,307 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,905 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
