Cafe Brioche

Palo Alto, United States

3.5

Closed now

28 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 650-326-8640
Website:
cafebrioche-paloalto.com
Address:
445 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miCalifornia Avenue
1.1 miMarguerite - Y Route To Tresidder Union Arrillaga Alumni Center
1.1 miStanford
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Palo Alto) 07:31 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Welcome to Café Brioche. Located on California Avenue in Palo Alto, we offer fine dining in a cozy bistro inspired atmosphere. Dine with us in our main dining room or enjoy the outdoor tables of our sidewalk café. Start your day with breakfast or brunch. Meet friends for lunch. Enjoy dinner with friends and family.

Our creative and colorful dishes are a blend of Southern French and California cuisine using the finest seasonal ingredients to make your meal with us a pleasure for the palate.

In addition to the menus, daily specials are listed on the menu board. The wine list features bottles from Southern France and California and wines by the glass with daily featured wine specials. Complete your meal with our house made desserts.

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28 reviews of Cafe Brioche

No registration required
Place rating: 2
Sunnyvale, CA
Eggs Benedict was not enjoyable. Eggs were hard boiled basically and the hollandaise sauce left much to the imagination to be called sauce. Habanero sausage scramble had zero spice should be called sausage scramble. The brioche was ok though
Place rating: 3
Portola Valley, CA
This place is pretty mundane and similar to Pastis right next door and although the atmosphere at Pastis was better, the food here is a bit nicer. It’s just an average brunch place and I liked what I had most of the times I went (I’ve been going multiple times with my family over the past five or six years) except for one time when I was served a raw egg. I can’t remember exactly what my order was, but I know there was an egg in a little dish at the side of the plate and when it came the egg was clearly raw. I complained to the man who brought my food and he wasn’t apologetic at all and kept telling me that it «wasn’t raw, it just wasn’t cooked all the way» Another thing to keep in mind is that they don’t take reservations and if you come at lunchtime it’s about a 45 minute wait, which in my opinion isn’t really worth it.
Place rating: 3
West Menlo Park, CA
For lunch I give it 4.5 stars. Great lunch menu, a little inconsistent in preparation. Sometimes I think it’s awesome — other times it’s very good. I get the tuna sandwich and it really is fantastic.
For dinner I give it 1.5 stars. The food preparation is sub par, the menu isn’t as good and the portions are set for 4 – 5 course meals.
Bottom line great lunch place, but i’m avoiding for dinner.
Place rating: 2
Woodside, CA
I still like this place. Have lunch there with a friend regularly. So, what’s my gripe? At one of our lunches we had a couple of glasses of a very nice Sancerre (check out Sancerre’s important role in Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast). I thought it would be great to get a case for drinking at home. I emailed the restaurant which kindly responded with the full name of the wine. I then found that the only people who sell it are on the east coast. So shipping would cost as much again as the product. Yet, unless the restaurant brought out a truckload themselves, there must be someone distributing the wine out here in Lotus Land. A series of emails to the restaurant seeking a connection has been ignored. Now liquor laws are a bit crazy, so maybe their guy can’t sell to me as an individual. If so, that’s ok but why not have the courtesy to respond?
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
CJ is an amazing host and the service at this place is 5 stars. The food is ok… the hamburger was good. If the food is improved then this place will Rock.
Place rating: 5
Redwood City, CA
Loved our breakfast and the service was great! Ordered croque madame and recommend the breakfast potatoes vs the fries that comes on the menu.
We look forward to go back :-)
Place rating: 2
Palo Alto, CA
Had two egg breakfast with Habanero sausage. Decent breakfast good scones. Had to ask for coffee refill, and no water was offered with meal. When we did request water took a Long time.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
A spring weekend, tables available inside and out, an early Sunday dinner before returning home from a concert at Bing Hall. Totally delightful experience and a good place for a small group to enjoy each other’s company and the food.
We were four people spanning a 25 year age spread and we all found the menu interesting and the service attentive and well-​paced The food was very tasty and had enough subtlety to be interesting and hearty enough to be filling. (beef bourguignon, coq au vin, petrale sole), the wine selection fine, the desserts appropriately rich and dense.
My one complaint: they couldn’t seem to manage the shades/​umbrellas to keep the sun from being very bothersome (we were inside). By the end of dinner the sun was in the eyes of two of our party in a way that made it uncomfortable. Still, we’d gladly return.
Place rating: 4
Mountain View, CA
Been going there on and off for over close to 10 yes now. I am ever disappointed with the food.
Their scones are delicious. I just wish they added more choices in the veggie sandwiches. They just have one portobello sandwich on the menu for all these years!
They don’t take reservations so on weekends do if you there around noon, expect a 30 min wait min. But the brunch is worth it.
Place rating: 2
Palo Alto, CA
Great location, good service but unfortunately the food is not up to snuff. The classic French dishes are just, quite frankly, edible. The French onion soup doesn’t have much flavor or character. The Steak Frites says skirt steak on the menu but it’s Flank or Flat Iron. I know that sounds borderline food snob but it’s like saying chicken thigh in the menu and getting duck breast. Regardless, it was also not very flavorful, basically edible. The fries were also not very tasty — and it’s hard to screw up fried potatoes!
My wife’s dish — the grouper — was quite tasty.
It’s strange that they cannot get the staple French bistro dishes right.
I’d love to come back but I can’t see myself ever doing so.
Place rating: 5
Stanford, CA
The service here has been incredible both times I went in with my boyfriend for dinner. Highly recommend the gnocchi, and the calamari is great too!
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
Been here twice for dinner now, and super impressed by the duck entrée, cooked to perfection, delicious truffle matched potatoes and brussel sprouts. Also really like the truffle fries. I would avoid the gelato, though. Ours was really icy, but could have just been a bad batch. I will continue to return to Café Brioche!
Place rating: 4
Union City, CA
Solid 4 star for a quaint Bistro on a busy street. Why not 5 stars, I would have liked the Omelet to be more of a Parisian style, it was small and over cooked and they were stingy with the Home style potatoes. I should have ordered the Croque Madam. As a matter of fact as We were leaving everyone Else’s meal looked much better than mine. Oh well live and learn.
Place rating: 4
Quincy, MA
So it was New Year’s eve and like always my boyfriend and I had yet to make plans. We decided to go out for a nice dinner but a lot of the restaurants were closed or word for private parties only. So we ended up here at Café Brioche. They had a set menu but there were a lot of good choices on it.
We started with the white wine flight to share and it was pretty tasty. We ordered some of the beignets with goat cheese as an appetizer. They were phenomenal.
For our main dishes, my boyfriend order the duck and I ordered the crab ravioli. My boyfriend said the duckwas delicious and cooked to perfection. And I thoroughly enjoyed my crab ravioli.
The restaurant itself was very quaint and the staff was very attentive. It was decorated for New Year’s eve and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
Place rating: 2
Los Altos, CA
We have been regulars at Café Brioche but recently they changed the menu and raised their prices. Our first visit since the changes was very disappointing. I ordered the short ribs and found them so tough and fatty that I couldn’t cut them with a knife, much less chew them. I complained to the waiter who was also the owner. He apologized and said he’d bring me a new plate right away. Twenty minutes later he brought a new plate and the short ribs were still tough, fatty and totally inedible. They are obviously using very poor quality meat.
The wine list is extensive and expensive and they only offer a very limited numbers of wine by the glass, only 8 choices out of the long wine list of approximately 60 – 70 bottles. It will be a long time before we return.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
********************** 1461 *********************
Charming little bistro on California Strip of Palo Alto, French & California cuisine, good wine list by the glass for the area, well priced, and they serve generous portion.
A good place for date nights or just catching up with friends, especially on week nights.
Place rating: 2
Mountain View, CA
Just go to Pastis, really. We came here for brunch/​lunch at 1:30pm on a Saturday. We were able to get a table here faster than at Pastis (our original destination), so we figured we’d try it out.
Service appeared somewhat annoyed at you at all times, and careless. We ordered florentine benedict, beignets, and 2 eggs over easy with chicken apple sausage. The florentine benedict was sloppily made, and tasted that way too. The smoked salmon was also cooked (if you prefer smoked salmon in its uncooked/​smoked state like I do), although that’s just a personal preference. Beignets were average and the texture was a bit too hard, dense, and dry. I like my beignets a bit lighter. The eggs and sausages weren’t memorable either, so I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t return here.
The best part about this restaurant is its name. I love brioche… too bad their brioche is subpar as well.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I’m a big fan of the tuna steak sandwich they serve at lunch. Fresh perfectly cooked tuna (medium rare), lots of avocado and light/​tasty bread. It’s decently priced for being a fish dish (~$ 12 – 13)
They serve bread in the beginning, which I don’t really car to overly carbo load at lunch but is a restaurant gesture I always appreciate.
The service was very friendly and there’s plenty of inside and outside seating.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Solid four stars.
Came for lunch, got a lovely table outdoors (perfect weather, too!), and enjoyed a full meal with zero rush in under an hour.
You’re hard-​pressed to find a lunch spot with waiter service where you can be in-​and-​out like that. Coupled with the parking on California Ave, weekday lunches are usually limited to fast spots. Kudos to Café Brioche for being able to deliver a full-​service meal within the constraints of a work-​lunch timeframe.
House bread was the only thing that missed the mark. There’s «fresh baguette» crispy and «forgot the baguette on the counter last night» crispy; the bread here was the latter.
Entrees: Blanc de Dinde (roasted turkey sandwich with brie cheese and black olive tapenade) and Coq au Vin (chicken breast with roasted potatoes and fingerling carrots).
I had the turkey brie sandwich, and it was pretty good. Solid flavours, if a bit stingy on the filling. The light airy bread helped make up for it, so I was satisfied overall.
My friend’s roasted chicken looked phenomenal. I was struggling not to dive over the table and start eating it. The carrots looked perfectly cooked… everything looked great, really.
Both of us were full and happy upon leaving.
Bonus points: Patio is dog friendly! :)
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
The service is amazing. They make an effort to remember you and show genuine interest.
Food is always good — the lamb sandwich and skirt steak in particular are outstanding.
On top of all that, the ambience is cozy and inviting without being pretentious. Perfect for a romantic dinner or a casual brunch with friends.
The service alone is enough to keep going back, but with all three boxes checked this restaurant is a no-​brainer.
Place rating: 4
Stanford, CA
I have been to this place a few times now. The last time I went I ordered a New York steak and the time before that I ordered some duck breast plate. Not a huge fan of the wine sauce that came with the plate but overall the food was good (maybe a tad too expensive).
However, the reason this place is such a great restaurant to eat at is because of the amazing service. The waiters and servers make such a big effort to try and remember as much as possible about you. This attentiveness really makes you want to give back. Furthermore, whenever they do mess up your order or get something wrong they always have a great answer and are apologetic and try to fix it right away.
I come back more for the service of this place than the food itself. Although the food is good too.
Place rating: 2
San Jose, CA
It is sad for me to say that this is one of the worse brunch place I have ever been lately…
I got the oatmeal coated french toast. I was expecting some sweet fluffy french toast but what i got is a dry taste french toast and somehow it reminded me of fried tempeh (soy patty) :(. That’s pretty sad…
My friend got the florentine benedict. It came with smoked salmon and 2 poached eggs. They cooked their smoked salmon which is new for me. BUT the problem is with their poached eggs!!! One of the poached eggs is perfect with the runny egg yolk but the other poached egg is well done! it is hard poached egg… how can you do that? do you use 2 different pots to make 2 poached eggs?
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Café Brioche is one of my fav restaurants in PA. Great place to go after a yoga class at Samyama or a mani and pedi at La Jolie. Here are my fav dishes (in no particular order):
1) Chicken Caesar — my fav!
2) Duck Confit
3) Green tomato appetizer — OMG this was great!
4) Steak and Fries
5) Cheeseburger with thin fries
6) Salmon dish for lunch or dinner
7) Calamari appetizer
8) Crème Brûlée
9) Café Latte with a dollop of whip cream
10) Seafood Paella with Risotto
11) Brunch dishes are AWESOME — loved the Banana bread pudding French toast!
As you can tell, I got to this place pretty often:)
Place rating: 5
Santa Clara, CA
This is my wife’s and my favorite breakfast place. We often drive from our home in Campbell to enjoy this little café. We have always had great service, even though it can be busy on the weekends, and our food has always been wonderfully delicious. I have to say that the scones are the best I have ever had. Though they offer other baked goods, I always get the scone.
They usually have a special of the day that is always incredible. I prefer the egg dishes here, but have also had the pancakes and french toast, and would recommend them. Overall, this is my favorite breakfast place in the area. I have eaten at Joanie’s Café down the street (they use to be next door), but it pales in comparison.
Place rating: 4
Annapolis, MD
No wait, friendly and prompt service, and tasty high quality food.
Diverse menu included breakfast scrambles, omelettes, and a special of banana bread pudding french toast (delicious). Lunch menu had croque madam (ham, cheese, and fried egg) and several sandwiches and salads.
Nice lively Sunday crowd but not too loud. Fresh brewed iced tea with plentiful refills.
Place rating: 3
Stanford, CA
This review is for brunch only!
The inside of the restaurant looks like a slightly cleaner diner with French decorations. The table is shabby and the leather seats are slightly torn. It’s not romantic, but is charming in its own diner-​way.
On food:
— Florentine eggs benedict: The eggs were poached perfectly, but the Hollandaise sauce did not have enough of citrus flavors and didn’t quite hit the right buttery note. The spinach was cooked okay, but the smoked salmon on top of the spinach wasn’t great. It was definitely not too salty, but also did not have an appetizing color nor nice flavor. The side of home fries it comes with were seasoned nicely and the roasted red bell peppers were a nice touch.
— Two eggs + bacon: The bacon was on the thicker side and was fried until crispy. Two eggs were requested to be cooked sunny side up and the execution was fine. Brioche wasn’t great; it did not have nice buttery taste and the texture wasn’t quite right either.
In short, the food is executed correctly but there isn’t much wow factor to it. It’s a nicer looking diner without much character. If you want a regular brunch quickly, then there isn’t a line here so it’s convenient to go to.
Place rating: 3
Santa Clara, CA
I’ve been here years ago, and had their eggs benedict. It wasn’t memorable for me, but came back for lunch a couple of weeks ago.
It’s quaint inside, love the interior and touches. It wasn’t too busy on a Friday afternoon and our party of 6 was given ice water and delicious french bread with butter. We all ordered sandwiches, and I went with the duck confit after debating between the lamb and duck. The waiter said the duck is much more flavorful and got fries instead of salad.
Midway through our wait, we were told that 2 of my coworkers order, veggie burgers, was not available. They were given a menu to decide and it took forever for them to come back with their new order. With that, 4 of us got our food while they had to wait. Minus the star for that.
My duck confit sandwich had plenty of meat, and it was pretty good but dry. The fries were cold, and tasted like a fast food chain’s, but McD’s has way better fries than here. I do appreciate they give you a salad even with the fries.
Overall, the food was okay, prices are good, and will have to try the leg of lamb sandwich everyone raves about next time!
Stanford, CA
What an absolute treat!!! My friend and I had such a nice brunch here. Staff was friendly and attentive. The décor is so cute, I love the dark colors. We felt like we were in a little French café. The portobello sandwich was divine. We will be back soon!!! Can’t wait to bring more friends here