Cafe Epi

I have breakfast here often when meeting friends and it’s usually fine, but today was disappointing. I ordered the full breakfast and after 15 minutes, nothing. It wasn’t crowded so I guess the waiters where chatting and not paying attention. Finally a waiter brings my plate, and everything is cold. It had been sitting on the counter for a good 10 minutes. So I asked them to replace it, and instead, then bring it back reheated in the microwave. Not very flavorful, and some parts hot and some still cold. Not a good experience. Next time, i’ll just have coffee.

When waiter #1 brought my Americano it was so hot that it burned my tongue. I mentioned this to waiter #2 who brought the rest of my food, suggesting that they check their coffee temperatures before serving. He said it wasn’t his fault because he wasn’t the one who served the coffee. When I paid my check, I mentioned the coffee problem to waiter #1. He said it wasn’t his fault because the espresso machine is calibrated by the manufacturer and can’t be reset. I asked, «In other words, the restaurant has no responsibility?» Needless to say, I left no tip and I won’t be back!

We get catering from them for lunch. $ 12 for a smoked salmon sandwich. Supposed to have cream cheese and capers. Found ONE caper on half my sandwich. One small swipe of cream cheese under the salmon, I even thought they might have forgotten it. Not to mention they were incredibly stingy with the salmon. Side salad is just greens with no toppings.
Hopefully sit-​in is better, but this is still really crappy of them. I’ll need to order something else next time. :(

Just walked past Peet’s and Blue Bottle to go to Epi for a piece of pastry.. I bought it, returned to my office — where I found mold on it.
I took it back to them, and they said.. «oh take another one». That one had mold on it too. The young man behind the counter had no interest in making a customer happy, so I told him I’d let others know of this on Unilocal… he just said… «do whatever you want», as if I were the problem.
If mold is allowed to grow on what you can see on the counter display case… imagine what goes on in the back, where you can’t see.
You can have the place. I’m thru.

Convenient location downtown. Quite a few options for food. Comfortable environment. Mediocre food though.
Their burgers are promoted as their special, but they’re fairly dry and bland.
Eggs Benedict is not worth ordering. Eggs were not cooked correctly and sauce wasn’t very appealing.
A decent choice if you have a group with a mix of interests in food and want a fairly low price.

Best breakfast I’ve had in a while. Had the heathy omlette… so tastey. I would definately go back for breakfast. I did think it was a little pricey… but the quality was quite high

Not a fan, left feeling incredibly unsatisfied. The chicken on my salad was dry around the edges .
The service was nice, but it was 8:30pm and only 6 other people were in the restaurant.
My friend said their burger was great but the dessert was definitely dry and not fresh.
I am not sure if I’d go back. There are so many other restaurants I still need to try on University Ave. Oh well, I guess by reading the reviews it can be a hit or miss experience

I forgot my wallet at home today and they accept Papal as payment. So I ordered on the Paypal app. Super fast, super easy to get food. Staff did not seem very friendly. seems they were recovering from the lunch rush. Who knows? As far as my food, I went to Unilocal 1^st and that got me excited. Sadly my french fries were hard, possibly over cooked or just from the bottom of the barrel :(I was really hungry so I dug into my chesse buger too fast and found that my patty was some what under cooked. Boy, I hope I don’t get sick. I’m scared to finish it. I might give this place another chance. but I don’t know. I’ll try breakfast next time.

10÷30÷15: I was just around the Stanford area to do an errand and I figured I’d walk around and explore cause I’m not here too often. Kinda felt like a burger and I saw the burger signs outside, and it looked good, so I came in. This is a full-​on café with a pretty large menu, not just serving burgers, but I really wanted my meat…
1. New Yorker Burger (Angus beef, pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss and Thousand island dressing) $ 12.95: Was okay. Comes with fries, which were okay but not fried very well. The cashier asked me how I wanted the meat and I said «medium,» but what I got was mostly well done. Except for ¼ of it in one section, which actually was medium. Not sure how they happened to cook it like that, but anyway, that’s how it was. Not juicy, and despite being «angus beef» wasn’t that good. The pastrami was strange – kinda stringy and dry. Never had pastrami taste like that. Overall was alright, but not good enough for the price. ⁵⁄₁₀.
Maybe their other items are more impressive, but this burger was not.
I saw a few people with their laptops out, so it looks like a good place to do your work and sip a drink.
³⁄₅
#american #café #burger

My co-​workers and I have been coming here quite a few times these past year and half. Every time we came I always ordered this California Sandwich with a side of fries. (Their fries tastes just like In n Out. AMAZING) One day my co-​worker had to try this sandwich because she didn’t understand why I kept ordering it whenever we went. After one bite, she was sold and has been ordering that sandwich since! Last week my second co-​worker decided to give it a try and she loves it!
Moral of this story: Get the California Sandwich with side of salad or fries :
Their service is great and food isn’t too long of a wait.
Tip: they have wifi, just ask for the PW.

I was disappointed to see that the red velvet pancakes had been discontinued, probably for a while now. Anyhow, I ordered the strawberry banana pancakes, and my boyfriend got the California omelette with roasted potatoes. My pancakes were pretty averages, but I was amazed at the quality of the take out orders. My boyfriend really enjoyed his meal, and I was very happy with everything in the end. This review is solely based on the take out order. Perhaps we’ll return for dine-​in service.

I ordered a turkey sandwich with fries ($ 9.95) but since I was ordering delivery I had to have a minimum of $ 10 so I added a tea (which was out of stock and I was asked to choose another from the menu). The total came out to be 17.05 with tax and $ 3 delivery and then a REQUIRED tip of $ 2. I’m sorry, WHAT?
Food arrived very quickly and now I know why. The sandwich was BASIC as can be. Bread, cheese, lettuce, turkey, avocado. No sauce. Nothing special. If I hadn’t added a special request for tomatoes and onion, it would have been blandER.
Not impressed at all.

A friend and I were in Palo Alto for another event and decided to get some breakfast. Café Epi had tables available so we decided to give it a try. We both had the Florentine Benedict which was very good. The English muffin was a nice size (thinner), and the eggs were cooked nicely. Restaurants often put far too much hollandaise sauce on their egg dishes but this was not the case with Café Epi. The eggs came with just the right amount. The fresh fruit on the side was also very good. We did not try any of their baked goods but they looked good so I would definitely come back to try them.

Café Epi has a huge selection of food to choose from and everything is very affordable and approachable. It is primarily a family ran local’s spot and that alone makes it stand out from the ever increasing creep of chains coming into downtown Palo Alto. It is a place where you can sit down and enjoy a good meal at a good price. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. You can tell that they care about their customers by the amount of time spent having conversations with their regulars which there seems to be plenty of.
Every time I have come here, there have been local’s reading books, doing homework, watching tv, and just hanging out in this welcoming spot. In the end if you’re looking for a night out and something a little more fancy, go somewhere else but if you are just looking for a no frills place to sit down and have a decent meal, come here. There are fewer and fewer establishments like this on University and that alone should have you supporting them.

Don’t be fooled by the vaulted ceilings, marble countertops, and oak-​colored furniture; Café Epi may feel and look luxurious, but the prices are astonishingly affordable. Come here to work on your laptop with their fast and free wifi, catch up with a friend for a casual dinner, indulge in a cute dessert from their display case, or enjoy the happy hour on M-​F at 3 – 6:30pm. The happy hour prices are great, including $ 3 draft beers, $ 4 wines, $ 2.50 fries, $ 5 calamari, and $ 5 sandwiches with a side salad.
Here is my breakdown of their overall 4-​star rating:
* 5 stars for value. Where else can you expect to order an $ 8 panini and gaze out of a large open-​air window at countless Teslas, Maseratis, Ferraris, [insert luxury car brand here] driving past? All menu items are very affordable for this swath of downtown PA, where the roads seemed paved with riches.
* 4 stars for service. All waitstaff are really friendly and nice. However, they’re usually too busy to tend to you immediately after you enter. [Note: see «organization» section below)
* 3 stars for food. Their diverse menu features lots of paninis, burgers, pastas, and salads, and an extensive brunch menu that I’ll need to try someday. Most of their items, especially their vegetable sides, taste healthy and delicious. In general, the paninis are great, especially those with portabella mushrooms. The prosciutto and spinach panini is average — the prosciutto (more like ham than true prosciutto) is overpoweringly salty and the spinach is slightly cold despite it being in a warm panini. I think the overall flavor could be enhanced with some spread or jam.
* 3 stars for organization. It’s easy to be confused when you enter. Should you sit down and wait for someone to bring you the menu? Or should you go straight to the cash register and order, even if there’s no one there? After being here numerous times, I’m still not exactly sure. Usually people are left idling around in their confusion for a few seconds or a few minutes after walking in. Whenever I’m here, I see numerous people leave just after they enter.
Overall, though, this is a fantastic fast-​casual café/​restaurant that combines affordability with elegant ambiance. Café Epi has something for everyone!

This little café is located on University — downtown Palo Alto. We passed by this café all the time and their sign «Kobe beef hamburger» always kept us curios. So we decided to try it this time. There is a cute bakery in the back, and the front is the small restaurant and street seating.
Hum Hum Ho Ho, absolutely nothing special for a burger that cost $ 12.95. First it is not juicy or tasty, it needed seasoning. For being Kobe beef, it didn’t even seem fatty, make me think that it wasn’t even Kobe. I don’t even think the burger was ¹⁄₃ of a pound, it seem flat and skinny. The fries was really good.
Well, at least we tried it.

(Review for their breakfast)
Sat down, and noticed surrounding tables didn’t have beverages or food. Waited 20 minutes for a waiter until I had to flag one down.
Finally ordered. While I was waiting, the table to my right received their food but were missing their side of fruit, toast, and request for no onions.
Directly across from me a lady ordered a veggie burger but received a regular meat burger.
Once my food arrived (French toast and fresh squeeze orange juice) I was very disappointed. The orange juice was very sour, almost like carbonated water was added to it. The French toast were very soggy and wet. (Wet bread does not taste good)
Not once did a waiter ask me how my food tasted, or how I was doing. I had to flag them down for water (which arrived 20 minuets after I requested) and flag them down for my check (which they did not pick up I had to pay at the register)
The waitresses were wearing tank top, flip flops and booty shorts that showed more than what I wanted to see at 9am during breakfast
Overall bad experience.

Came here with our baby.
Waited for a while but no one helped us so we got our own menu from the counter.
Ordered northern scramble and egg Florentine. Hollandaise sauce was very hard, it tasted and acted like a solid brick of butter. Food was mediocre for the price. I ordered mine with avocado, but avocado was ultimately forgotten.
The waitresses were friendly, but one of the waiter could not be less polite; telling my wife to «hey move your baby!» A slightly more polite tone would have been nice to hear. I noticed he was rude to other waitresses as well, maybe that’s just his ‘bossy’ personality.
Will probably wait for the line at cheesecake factory next time.

«Best Kobe Beef Burger in Town.» Yeah… no.
My husband and I decided to try this place out, and were extremely underwhelmed. We both ordered burgers, and pretty much left more than half of our dinner on our plates, as the food was not good.
Though they were not busy when we came (about 3 other tables were being utilized), the service we received sucked. I’m guessing it’s a family-​run establishment, as it looked like the staff were having a family dinner together, a few tables away from us, thus causing us to be consistently ignored.
When our server would finally acknowledge us, she did so whilst chewing her dinner. *Le sigh* Where are the manners?
You have to order and pay at the counter beforehand, so that attributes to the crap service — their mentality screams «We got your money, so the crap to non-​existent service starts now!»
This place is in an okay location, with tons of potential, but they are not living up to it.

I’ve no complaints bout this fine establishment.
Been comin here on and off over the years for lunch since my younger days as a Starbucks Barista.
Love the sandwiches! Bread’s so soft!
Tri tip’s my fave, but they’ve got’t all from breakfast to burgers! Salmon and salads as well as pasta and pastries!
Really nice alcohol menu to entreat yourself to.
No alcohol?
Smoothies, espresso bar, lovely array of bottled drinks.
And if you’re really cheap, then ya can jus help yourself to the water station which usually has a fruit or citrus in’t.
Love the pastry selection too!
Can’t help havin me some tiramisu on a Tuesday!
Yoga moms, there’s sumthin forya too so no worries! Yogurt and fruits w granola or jus fruit salads.
Nice way to start your day on a healthy note.
What I love bout the food’s that it’s not greasy!
Presentation’s very tidy and appealing!
Definitely call ahead to grab a bite on your way to or from the train station!
Bön appetit!

Service is terrible today before 4:00 i was ignored for longer, until I leave the place, it es guy in the bar and server !!! Be more professionals