Chow

This is my favorite breakfast place. I LOVE Marion’s cottage cakes. Real maple syrup is on the table. The organic chicken sausage scramble is super too — the eggs are so light and fluffy. Delicious coffee and very good service. The best breakfast! My complaints… the rickety outdoor table and chairs, the noise level inside and not wild about their lunch/​dinner menu.

Very disappointed with this restaurant, not with the food per se, but the prices are freakin’ –astronomical– and the service is bad (you never see one of the many waiters roaming around when you need more water, or anything, sad). I even had to complain to the manager about the service but it did no good.
You’ll find a LOT of rich people in here, mainly because they’re the only ones that can afford to eat at these places. $ 8 for 4 – 6 oz of chicken salad, $ 15 for a salad?
Never again

Dear chow Lafayette,
I feel as if I am a loyal customer and support you as best as I can– but when I come in for a $ 3.50 container of your yummy blue cheese dressing and a few pieces of fruit and am charged $ 7.50 I am perplexed. Especially as there is not a price listed for the fruit. Even after I checked back with the clerk to see if I indeed was charged $ 4.00 for 3 tangerines, and I was assured that @$ 3.00/# it would have been about $ 3.20– I am left to wonder what the extra charge was for. No itemized receipt was provided… I will think twice before buying from you again.

Breakfast is fresh, go for the English muffins as a choice of toast. Had the chicken apple egg scramble. Will come back again! The staff is friendly too!

Food was over priced, but fresh and delicious. Service was awful, but it was a busy Saturday night…

Over the years, I’ve eaten at Chow dozens of times, and it’s always been good. In fact up until today, I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. And although it’s very likely I will still enjoy meals at Chow in the future, never again will I order their spinach salad … food poisoning! I was just fine before having lunch there today, but starting about an hour after and for the rest of the afternoon, I was not so fine!

Had a wonderful brunch out for bestie’s bday here. I’ve been to Chow in SF many moons ago and felt Lafayette chain and staff were somewhat more friendly and attentive. The quality w/​emphasis on organic and free range really shows in the vibrance and freshness of dishes and drinks. It ain’t cheap, but you really get great presentation and flavor for what you pay for. The location is just lovely, in a very busy, quaint town of Lafayette. Restaurant is kid friendly! They had step stools in the women’s restroom for little ones to wash their hands and a cute little changing table for the babies. Ran into one of the managers when the toddler escaped our table and into staff area… I apologized and he smiled and said, he’d offer her an apron but w/​o one that’ll fit her just yet. Lol definitely coming back to this Chow and check out all the wonderful Lafayette eateries in the vicinity.

Love the freshness of the food and how they pay attention to organic foods.
This will defiantly be my new lunch spot!

Breakfast review:
I had smoked salmon scramble and a cappuccino. Cappuccino was perfectly made. Like, right on. The scramble had two poached eggs which were perfectly poached. A lot of places foul them up… watery and way too runny. These were spot on, not runny, slightly firm. Flavor of the dish was good, ample amount of salmon. Would come back here.

I usually like this place but when sitting for over 15 minutes and no waiter/​waitress greeting interaction or offer for coffee, unacceptable.

I come here with friends for breakfast and evening snacks and drinks.
We love it for the ambiance and service. The food is consistently up to a good standard. It’s a little more expensive than your normal breakfast place because they use organic and while products which is worth it to me in the long run.

Chow in Lafayette, what can I say. I’ve been coming to this place for the greater part of a decade now. I’ll be completely honest, I only come here for breakfast. Haven’t bothered with any other meal. I’m not particularly mind-​blown by the dinner or lunch menus from what I’ve seen.
Breakfast: I think I have literally ordered the eggs benedict and the French toast hundreds of times by now. Ask for extra marscapone on the side with the French toast. I haven’t had better French toast yet and the eggs benedict is fantastic, comes with salad and potatoes that are that are perfectly crispy.
I would definitely recommend the huevos rancheros here, the pancakes, and the pork carnitas scramble but I have these infrequently. I would say the rest of the breakfast menu is just okay. Branched out and had the poached eggs the other day and they were fine.
Service here has always been good for the years I’ve been coming, and unless something drastic changes I’ll keep on coming for breakfast when back in the bay!

Best eggs benedict EVER. I don’t know how they get their eggs so fluffy but they are wonderful and runny like I like them. Perfect hollandaise sauce, the potatoes are cooked well but lack flavor. Service was fast, and there was no wait on a Tuesday morning-​Weekends are a different story. Would recommend this place to everyone.

Yuck, what happened to this place? We have been coming to this location of Chow since moving to the east bay. But this is our second or third time in a row we have left feeling disappointed. This time a group of 20 of us had called ahead to make reservations one week before our lunch plans. We called again to confirm the day before our lunch plans. But when we arrive for lunch, we were told they «lost «our reservation. WTAH? Anyway that meant that 20 adults were squeezed into two tables that really only should have fit six each. So, err, no, I will not be checking the «good for groups» survey item.
That would have been bad enough, but the food was very uneven. Cold, soggy french fries. Bland veggie burgers. Fish tacos that came out wet, on cold tortillas, for a price that could have fed a whole family at a taqueria. Listen, there are too many other good options in Lafayette area to waste time and money here.
Chow, it was nice while it lasted, but we’re done. It’s not me, it’s you.

Went here for breakfast and it was delicious. Everything is farm to table and it tastes great. They have a wide variety of menu items.
The place was extremely busy when we were there but it was a Saturday morning so it makes sense. The prices were a tad steep for the coffee especially since the waiter could only make it around for 1 refill.
Overall though I enjoyed my experience here.

I had an enjoyable time eating a late breakfast here. My boyfriend, his parents and I came here after our morning walk and were seated right away.
Everything here is marketed as «healthy and organic», which is pretty awesome. I ordered the Blueberry Pancakes and they were pretty tasty. Two others in my party also ordered pancakes and they liked theirs as well. For the whole table, we also ordered a Fruit Plate, that came with an abundance of fruit to munch on – all of which was very fresh and sweet. For a drink, I ordered coffee, which was good (but how could you really go wrong with coffee?).
Service was quick and friendly. Although, they did forget to bring out jelly and butter when asked (which wasn’t that big of a deal). Prices seemed reasonable for what you got and also the area.
There’s also a small bakery and deli connected to the restaurant. We were tempted to buy some sandwiches for later, but opted to go elsewhere (even though the sandwiches looked good too).
I’d probably come here again next time I’m in the area.
Cheers!

I came here yesterday (Thursday) afternoon around 11:45ish, with two other adults and two children (ages 2 and 3). Our first choice that afternoon was Roam, which according to the note on the door, was closed because of equipment issues. Boy am I glad Roam had equipment issues, and the women I were with suggested we go here instead.
I literally had the best burger of my entire 24 years of life!
I ordered the Local Lamb Burger which was $ 14.95 and it came with a yogurt/​cucumber/​mint spread and a choice of salad, fries or minestrone. I chose fries as my side and asked for a side of ranch to go with (if you are wondering what the white sauce is on the left in my picture).
I have never had a lamb burger before and I cannot believe I have deprived myself for so long. This was seriously the most ridiculously scrumptious burger of my life. I felt like I finally understood what Marshall from How I Met Your Mother was talking about when he described the best burger in New York «…This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread, Robin. This is God, speaking to us in food.» I almost ordered a salad as my side and thankfully I talked myself out of that nonsense. The fries were salted to perfection and cut thinly. I love thin fries! In the past 24 hours I have thought about that burger at least 10 times! I cannot wait to eat at Chow again, mainly for the burger, and I guess to try out the other menu items.
Our waiter was named Loy, according to our receipt, and his service was spot on! He was so attentive to our needs and extremely kind to the children at our table. If only al waiters could be a awesome as Loy.
We parked in the parking lot that Chow shares with the surrounding shops, it was metered parking that accepts $ 1 coins, quarters and credit cards.

Another great experience at Chow! This place is amazing, I love the food here and the environment !
with the recommendation from my friendly amazing server Chelsea, I ordered the Eggs Benedict! Never have I had that b4 and I wanted to try something new so I asked her what she would recommend me .
Couldn’t been made any more perfect ! Hands downs best breakfast I had ! Very tasty and I would recommend this too anyone who has not tried it or is looking for the best breakfast meal! Thank you Chelsea for your amazing service and choosing me a perfect breakfast ! Nothing’s better than starting your morning right !!

Stopped into Chow for the first time, looking for a salad to change up my usual meatcentric lunch diet. Heard great things about the place, and it left me wanting more.
The décor is nice and cozy, large main dining room with a fireplace and long bar area. We were promptly seated, and each table has a few menus ready for you. Quickly we spotted wontons on the appetizer section, and we liked the salad selections as well.
We ordered the steamed wontons, and I ordered the organic chicken salad while my friend had the Thai chicken salad. The wontons were tasty, but were not spicy as the menu describes them. The salad was very good, poached chicken with apples and a ginger dressing. My only regret was not ordering the large portion.
Our server was very attentive and cool, totally explained the difference between the Thai chicken salad and the organic chicken salad. He also recommend ordering the fried wontons next time. Solid lunch place in Lafayette and very close to the 24.

Although it’s certainly not the best restaurant in SF, Park Chow has long stood as one of my go-​to spots. The food may not be amazing, but it’s still solid across the board after all these years and incredibly consistent. However, I’ve always been curious if the same could be said for their other locations. So now, eight years after my first trip to this Chow, I can now say… yes!
While this location is nearly identical to Park Chow (same décor, same look, same friendly staff), the obvious difference is that this one has a mini-​market inside. I highly doubt this would completely replace going to an actual market, but it’s still pretty cool how you can grab dinner here and/​or pick up prepped dishes, produce, meats, wines, beers, and more.
Like with everything else, the menu is also a match, from the range of offerings to the prices. Out of my usual orders though (like the Lamb Burger, Grilled Pork Chop, and Pot Roast), I had to get my favorite — the FUSILLI PASTA with Chicken and Sausage ($ 14.95). The pasta is always cooked to a perfect al dente and I love how the sauce is more savory than sweet, unlike so many others. Plus, since it’s thicker, the sauce sticks onto the pasta that much better. Add in all of that chicken and sausage and this is a delicious and filling dish!
Now, it might seem odd that Chow gets just four stars when I’ve previously given Park Chow five, but it really had more to do with the latter’s rooftop patio than anything else. The ambiance up there is perfect, whether it be for get together’s with friends and family, or for an intimate date. Plus, for me, going to Park Chow doesn’t require a 45 minute drive and $ 5 for toll. In any case, if/​when you do come here, don’t forget to order the Ginger Cake dessert!