The Cool Cafe

My friend and I came here for lunch one day when our intended lunch destination had a line out the door. We quickly hopped on Unilocal and found this gem! It’s tucked away in the corner of an office building so if you weren’t paying attention, you could easily miss it.
I got the chicken, bacon, and avocado panini which was good– but nothing mindblowing. The rest of the items on the menu looked a lot more exciting though. My friend got the Cobb salad. Chicken was well marinated and the blue cheese block was (surprisingly) delicious.
A little pricey for my taste, but I wouldn’t mind coming back to try the other items.

By far the best place to eat in the area and there are many tasty items, however, the 6 $ SMALL cup of soup was very disappointing. It was tasty but really not worth the 6 bucks for the size you get.
8.9

Ordered lunch for a large group while filming in the area. It was great working with Jesse the manager and Carlos the chef. Myself and the crew were blown away by how outstanding and fresh all the sandwiches, salads, sides, and everything else was! And for those who think it’s expensive — it’s basically farm to table which is worth it in our book! Highly recommend and would make it a point to stop in if ever in the area again.

The Cool Café is probably the best place to eat within the vicinity. Their food is extremely health centric and of the highest quality. I frequent this place quite often as I work nearby and have yet to be disappointed. The chicken sandwich here is my go to, along some some organic tea and a seat on the outdoor patio. Lunch of champions lol… I would definitely recommend this place for lunch, especially if you work in any of the nearby businesses. This place is often less crowded than most in MP and is a lot healthier than the selections in EPA.
Pros–
Menu
Healthy options
Organic
Teas
Constant changing menus
Cons–
Slow
Expensive

Food was ok but sort of bland and boring =(Even the mocha was not that great. service was really good though.

I eat here almost every week. This food is delicious; clean, tasteful, satisfying. I love their mushroom burger; every bite makes you want more and more. I’ve also had some of the salads and they’re good. The combo half sandwich and soup is a great option. I rather pay an extra dollar for cleanliness and tasteful, organic food than go cheap. The cashiers are extremely friendly and helpful. Try to get your food before 12pm!

Pro:
— one of the few gourmet light lunch places near my work (Menlo Park)
— can order online ahead to pick up
— organic, local produce and healthy menu
Con:
— portions are small
— pricey, because I guess it’s local, organic, and whatever fad things are in these days
— wait is longer than expected if you order on the spot (10 – 15 min) for what looks like a small café with not much traffic
I eat here a lot because my company is nearby. And I often order it for visiting guests.
Things I like:
flank steak sandwich — my top favorite. juicy, thin-​sliced steak in lightly toasted bread.
cobb salad — like a cobb salad should be, big and got all the right ingredients
Things my co-​workers like: chicken sandwich, pork sandwich, cauliflower salad
Things I don’t like:
mushroom burger — sorry, maybe it’s because I’m generally not vegetarian, but it tasted bland and kind of dry. I myself make better portobello marinade.
beet salad — it’s mostly arugula with very little dressing and small bits of semi-​hard beets, boring and really hard to finish when it’s just arugula

I had the wrap once, it was a bit dry but overall good and healthy. I haven’t tried other items on the menu but my coworkers seem to like it. The café has a nice seating area outside.

Cute little café with a friendly staff and fresh food. My friend that also works in Menlo Park introduced me to this place last week, and I was surprised I had never heard of it before. It’s a hidden gem tucked away inside a corporate plaza. We arrived at 12 noon, and it was pretty empty. The place quickly filled up after we had ordered though, so I suggest coming early to beat the usual lunch rush.
I ordered the chicken curry salad which came on top of a bed of spinach with a light dressing, crushed cashews, and sweet peaches. Everything was light and delicious and guilt-​free! They also have alot of other menu items to choose from, such as burgers, sandwiches, and soups. I would say that this place is a little pricy, but really… everything in Menlo Park /​Palo Alto area is, so I can’t really complain.

The food at cool café is delicious and organic and guilt-​free.
However, the portion sizes are a JOKE. typically, I don’t mind paying a little exa for add-​ons when the food is worth it. I have come to the café several times and each time I order the same meal. I usually add on extra chicken or extra bacon to my cobb salad because the portions are so small. I have even ordered extra lettuce before!
The problem is, despite charging for extras ($ 3 for chicken, $ 2 for bacon), they don’t actually PUT extra of the stuff on the salad.
After complaining twice, I actually took a salad home and weighed it. It is the exact same weight as when I didn’t pay an extra $ 5.00.
For $ 12.00 ($ 17 with the «extra add ons»), I expect more.
The entire meal fits in the palm of my hand.
THAT’S NOT COOL.

organic is usually code word for expensive. many famous sourced purveyors here. fresh ingredients. curry chicken salad, with spinach, cashew, peaches. seasonal menu also, which right now happens to be peaches. overall good but not a high traffic area.

Ok I love the fact the everything served here is local, sustainable and healthy, but the value just is not there! When i eat here (2x now) I feel like they put me on a diet that I don’t want to be on!
So far I have tried the beet salad and the grilled chicken sandwich. Both were served with very little extras.
The first time, my company ordered-​in for us and I blindly chose the beet salad thinking it would be a healthy option. The beet salad was a handful of arugula, with a few beet cubes and cheese sprinkles. How is that lunch? I would get it if it were served as a starter course, but I was still hungry after eating that salad.
Last time, I tried the grilled chicken sandwich, because I did not want to leave hungry and we ate at the restaurant. There were 7 of us and it took over 20 minutes to get our order. I mention it because it is a long time for all the people behind us in line to wait to get their orders. When our orders came, they forgot to serve my iced tea, and they left one member of our party without his lunch for about 5 minutes. Finally even though several member of our party got the same thing, the same order would come out with different sides.
It was just very inconsistent and needs some polish on the service. The food is fresh and healthy, but not filling.

bottom line: tasty and fresh, somber atmosphere
the food is great here, super fresh and tasty. i usually get the burger or the flank steak sandwich. the sides vary from day to day but my favorite is the orzo. the water, which you get yourself, is sourced from the hetch hetchy river. the only thing i dont like is the atmosphere — it’s very quiet and de-​energizing to the point where i feel like i’m at a musuem (which works for the other location).

Grass-​fed? Local? Free-​Range?!
Oh man! I found my little hidden gem! I definitely would not have found this place had a friend not mentioned it but I am obsessed.
The prices are decent, about the 7 – 14 range for good quality food.
I got the cobb salad, which was gorgeous and a bit pricey, BUT you do get a lot of meat and cheese so it is worth it.
The location is kind of hidden and kind of within a more industrial area, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for them because they have a ton of customers. The service is good, more of a get your own drinks/​silverware type place. The food takes a while to come, but it is definitely worth the wait!
WILL BE BACK SOON:)

I have to downgrade this place, mainly because the ingredients in the Cobb salad were very skimpy. The chicken in particular. I think it was an end part of a breast (~¼ of a breast, if that), sliced across horizontally into two very thin pieces and then grilled. And the greens barely covered the bottom of the container. For $ 12, I expect more. The sandwiches are a better choice here.

The food here is good and fresh… gotta appreciate that no matter who ya are! The BAD news is that it’s HELLLLLLAAAA expensive!!! I got a turkey sandwich (ok, Diestel turkey with grilled butternut squash, greens, and honey dijon aioli), chips (ok, jalapeño kettle chips fried in a delicate truffle oil (just kidding about the oil)) and a SIX OUNCE cup of (DELICIOUS) butternut squash soup… and that came to just under $ 20!!!
Are you kidding me?
I mean it’s good and everything butttttttt…

I was introduced to Cool Café by a coworker one lunchtime when we were sick of the options at the strip mall at Hamilton and Willow and its turned out to be a real gem.
I dont go as often as I should as its a further walk from my place of work but I have only ever had excellent experiences here. The food is always amazing and the ambience and the staff are also excellent.

On the mean streets of Menlo Park business park tucked away in a little parking lot there lies a sleepy little café that gets it crackin from the hours of 11am to 2:30pm.
I guess it’s only fair to write a review after going here on 3 occasions and having a different sandwich each time.
Chicken Club
Turkey
Meatball
Great sandwiches. That’s all.
Will I be back?
If my wallet is feeling heavy.

There’s no bad food at Cool Café. It’s all seriously delicious. My favorites are the Cobb Salad and the Chicken & Bacon Sandwich on a baguette. I eat here often, but will admit it’s a bit pricey — most organic restaurants are. It’s in Menlo Business Park at the corner of University & O’Brien. Be sure to stop in here for lunch; they aren’t open for dinner!
Oh, and if you’re in a hurry, be sure to call-​in your order. It may be delicious, but it isn’t fast food!

According to all the signs around the cozy and stylish space, they only use organic, local, sustainable produce and meats. They have a list of all their vendors posted up so you know your meats are from Niman Ranch, Marin Sun Farms, etc.
So, the sandwiches, salads and soups are not cheap but I found my Mediterranean sandwich with baba ganoush, tomatoes, olives, spinach and feta to be incredibly tasty. Tintin enjoyed his grilled ham and cheese and we both liked the curry cauliflower soup although a stronger curry flavor would’ve been nice.
It’s an extremely convenient location if you work one of the companies in the business park. I’d come back to check out some other items.