Lovely wine list although a little bit loud. Lovely wine list although a little bit loud. Lovely wine list although a little bit loud Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: Noisy and... More

Lovely wine list although a little bit loud. Lovely wine list although a little bit loud. Lovely wine list although a little bit loud Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: Noisy and smelly
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Based on a good experience a few years back, I decided to hold a birthday party for a friend here. I called and was told that they have other big parties at 730 that will make the kitchen busy, so... More

Based on a good experience a few years back, I decided to hold a birthday party for a friend here. I called and was told that they have other big parties at 730 that will make the kitchen busy, so they gave me an 8pm reservation. We got to our table and it was 25 minutes before a server showed up. Some guests that arrived late were treated rudely by the hostess. Then the birthday boy found a mosquito swimming in his drink. We tried hard to attract attention (i.e. said "excuse me" and then waved hands wildly in the air) when the waiter came to the other big table in the room. He finally noticed us about ten minutes later. In the mean time, the birthday boy's wife (a vegetarian) discovered some suspicious brown tidbits in her gnocchi, that she had, naturally, asked for without meat. Turned out, they had forgotten to not put the bacon in. This is easily the worst service I've seen in my life (and I've even been to Vienna!). If you want to eat with a large party, find *any* other place. Pros: Ambience, Tables for large parties Cons: Service is abysmal
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So my husband and I and another couple went there last night for dinner and it was just terrible what we saw. We were seated in a booth overlooking the open kitchen, seemed nice at first. But it... More

So my husband and I and another couple went there last night for dinner and it was just terrible what we saw. We were seated in a booth overlooking the open kitchen, seemed nice at first. But it turned really bad! We saw the chef in front of us, who we later learned was the executive chef!! constantly yelling angrily at the cooks and the waiters. He walked up and down the kitchen obviously mad and yelling at everyone around him. My husband joked that at least we were getting a show. I've had tempermental bosses before but this was extreme, and I felt so sorry for everyone he yelled. And if that's not the worst part, he said that "he was looking to kick someone's a** (butt)"!!! We just couldn't believe that this was going on right in front of us. Never going back and promoting such a place. DON'T SIT IN THE KITCHEN IF YOU HAVE TO GO OR JUST DON'T GO!!! Pros: Don't even remember the food or drinks Cons: Abusive chef, angry atmosphere
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I expected a little more professionalism from a restaurant of this caliber in Palo Alto. Coming from the industry myself I understand that it is management?s job to handle confrontations between... More

I expected a little more professionalism from a restaurant of this caliber in Palo Alto. Coming from the industry myself I understand that it is management?s job to handle confrontations between their servers and customers promptly and with tact. Whom ever the young women claiming to be the General Manger of this establishment was, clearly was not qualified to manage a restaurant or staff of that size. Immature behavior and embarrassing for the guest is how I would describe the situation and I wasn?t directly involved just a witness to an ugly scene. It?s unfortunate because my wife and I were visiting the area from Southern California and our friend who had attended Stanford mentioned it was one of the best places to eat in town. The food was ok, took forever, but the service or lack there of was pretty apparent. I would not recommend this to anyone
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Zibibbo used to be one of my favorite restaurants. But over the years the quality of both the food and service have gone down while prices have gone up. Recently we had a birthday party for a friend... More

Zibibbo used to be one of my favorite restaurants. But over the years the quality of both the food and service have gone down while prices have gone up. Recently we had a birthday party for a friend and the service was awful. We were seated on the patio which was really dark, and when we asked if we could get more light, the staff laughed awkwardly and wandered away. It took several requests before they turned up the lights. When they brought the food we were told we 'had' to eat 'family style' (with all plates in the middle) because that is the kind of restaurant they are - the servers actually argued with us when we asked to have specific plates put in front of specific people. It also took several requests to get them to clear away our empty appetizer plates in order to make room for our main courses. Also, a coupld of the dishes were so salty as to be almost inedible. Bring the old Zibibbo back!!! Pros: quality ingredients, interesting options Cons: poor service, terrible lighting on patio, very salty food
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This is my favorite restaurant in Palo Alto. They have a great menu that changes continually to highlight seasonal items. Preparations are fresh, creative and tasty. The ambience is wonderful and... More

This is my favorite restaurant in Palo Alto. They have a great menu that changes continually to highlight seasonal items. Preparations are fresh, creative and tasty. The ambience is wonderful and integrates a romantic sensibility with a noisy energy, giving the place a buzzing vibe. The wine list is awesome -- with rare finds and wonderful treats -- but also pricey. Wait staff is great --- warm, personable and highly knowledgable.
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One of my fav restaurants. It can be kind of loud, but it is a great place for groups. The menu has something for everyone and it is all served family style so folks can try a little bit of... More

One of my fav restaurants. It can be kind of loud, but it is a great place for groups. The menu has something for everyone and it is all served family style so folks can try a little bit of everything. The duck on saturdays is really good, but so is most of their rotisserie menu. They have a huge wood fired rotisserie. If you're in palo alto, you should definitely stop by and check this place out.
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this place in a sf or ny would have no chance. in palo alto, however, it fills an important niche of smart casual with good food. the wine selection is quite good but overpriced. the service is... More

this place in a sf or ny would have no chance. in palo alto, however, it fills an important niche of smart casual with good food. the wine selection is quite good but overpriced. the service is clumsy. i wouldnt recommend it, but i do tend to keep going for some reason.
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I don't think Zibibbo knows what it wants to be. It claims it serves family style, but a dish barely serves one person contentedly -- I'd definitely recommend ordering one entree per person in your... More

I don't think Zibibbo knows what it wants to be. It claims it serves family style, but a dish barely serves one person contentedly -- I'd definitely recommend ordering one entree per person in your party. Which would be fine, except that the dishes are expensive; you're talking $12-20 per dish. The quality of the food isn't bad, but the selection is very fancy, meaning that each dish is some attempt to be exotic. The service is a bit iffy, too; we had a large gathering of people there, about 20 of us total, and they refused to handle separate checks (and didn't offer any other suggestions, such as doing separate checks for each of the five tables we were using, etc). On the up side, the restaurant is beautiful, it has a European outdoorsy feel to it, and is quite nice to simply sit and enjoy the quiet just off University Ave. PROS: Nice ambiance CONS: Expensive, questionable service, small portions
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Based on my dinner at Zibibbo last night if given a scale of 1-10 to rate it I would give it a 5. An average of a 10 for location and atmosphere and a 0 for the food. I had the misfortune of... More

Based on my dinner at Zibibbo last night if given a scale of 1-10 to rate it I would give it a 5. An average of a 10 for location and atmosphere and a 0 for the food. I had the misfortune of ordering Pallella, an all time favorite of mine. Suffice to say what the waiter presented was a long way from what I was expecting. A pan of WAY overcooked rice (to the point of being hard and stuck to the pan) with 2 shrimp, 2 musscles, and a few pices of sausage whose texture resembled crispy bacon thrown haphazzardly on top. I have been to Zibibbo in the past and have not been dissapointed. Perhaps it is simply a question of their needing to take Pallella off the menu unless they are going to comit to doing it properly. Pros: Great location and atmosphere Cons: terrible food
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