Hemingway

Was in town on business for a week, Billy took good care of me. When I arrived on Sunday I was craving a cigar all day. The shop was closed the first time I walked by, but later, at like 8PM, fortunately, he was open. I was grateful to get a good Davidoff to smoke while walking around a new town. The rest of the week I bought several other fine cigars there. Billy was a great guy to chat with. I’ll always go back when I’m in town.

Best tobacconist west of the Mississippi, hands down.
I received service that went above and beyond «great». Billy is very knowledgeable and clearly an aficionado himself.
I have a new favorite cigar because of Billy. Chances are you will, too.

I’ve been by twice during normal hours on late Saturday afternoons, and both times they were closed with an inaccurate will-​return-​at sign in the window and somebody inside who said they were closed for a while. Impossible to rely on this place.

This is a Palo Alto classic. A masterpiece of this upscale town.
The owner, Billy, is a cigar aficionado and a master at his craft. He knows his cigars and always makes perfect recommendations, because he has had numerous successful locations throughout the Bay Area.
He carries the most exotic selection of fine Davidoff cigars from the 1980’s and up.
It’s always good to leave him a message and he will call you back immediately to let you know of his availability since the store does not have set hours.
If you have good taste for premium, high end cigars then this is your place.
I highly recommend it.

Outstanding selection of excellent cigars! The owner was quite helpful and a pleasure to do business with… I’ll be back!

I really don’t know how this place stays in business. They do have a good selection of cigars, but I’ve probably been here at least 5 times over the years and everytime I go the guy tells me they are closed. My friends and several other Unilocalers had this experience too. nevermind that the door is open or other people are in the store and the guy is standing right there at the counter…
I will say he’s not always rude about it, but seriously, what is the deal? I’ve given up. I get the sense this guy is great if he happens to decide he likes you. But I’d like to think being a polite paying customer is enough to not be asked to leave every single time I go in.

I’ve tried to enter this shop 2 separate times now. Both greeted by this half door that I nearly trip over, not to mention it’s always locked. I mean the open sign is on and the door is locked!!! So both times I reach in to unlock the door, as the owner approaches with a smirky «what do you need?!» Ill say I just want to look around, his response «We are having a private meeting, come back later!»
Like really? What a terrible business man! I have a hard time believing this shop is even in Palo Alto!

I’ve been in this shop of few times when I’m in the area, and the negative comments about service surprise me. I’ve always found the owner to be helpful and courteous, as well as willing to strike up a conversation. Yes, prices can be on the high side, but he stocks primarily premium labels and that’s just market driven. However, if you ask, he seems very willing to steer you in the direction of an alternative to name labels at a better price. I’ll admit the lack of posted hours can be frustrating, but I haven’t had a bad experience yet and will continue to return here until I do.

I recently moved to Menlo Park and decided to give this place a try… I have driven to downtown Palo Alto a total of 5 times, parked then walked over to this place only to find it closed! The last time which was today I drove by and saw that the half door top window was opened, so I then parked and walked over.
When I got to the place I tried opening the bottom of the door, which was locked, as I turned around this guy told me if he could help me. I told him I wanted to look around, he said well were closed thats why I was asking…
I dont know what this guy was thinking, he obviously didnt know my story or how much I was ready to spend (I was looking for some Xikar Cutters, 2 to be exact for gifts, plus some cigars for myself)…or any customer service for that matter! I just turned around and walked away, and I will def NOT be coming back!

This place doesn’t open on hours when you think it should be. I came here twice and on both times, the store was closed. Finally, I went back for the 3^rd time and they’re open! Wooo hooo! I bought something and handed Billy (the owner) my debit card. He said his machine is not working so he can only accept cash. The thing is, I never carry cash on me. I’m too lazy to go to ATMs to dispense money. So he said to just come back and pay for what i bought when I have the cash already. After forgetting it for how many days, I returned and paid him and he didn’t say nothing about it. Billy may seem like a snob but he is a nice guy.
The store has wide arrays of high end cigars, Flat screen TV mounted on the wall with high vaulted ceiling, would be nice to lounge here and smoke but you can’t come in here to do that. California Law.

I visit Hermingway’s whenever I’m in town. Love the shop, the selection and the conversation. Billy (owner/​manager) is a down to earth, knowlegdeable and friendly guy. Very relaxed, casual atmosphere and a terrific place to spend some time. Worth every penny.

This place has the best cigar selection I have seen in the us hands down. Only one place comes close and that is in Orlando. Once u get to know the owner it’s a cool place to hang and smoke I would give it five stars if they got the tv working to watch news. The owner Billie kader is one of the most knowledgeable cigars brains around and yes he is expensive but worth the it. You want cheap poorly kept cigars there are plenty of places for those, Billie fills those humidors daily and u can taste it. This place is for those who have the simplest of taste they only want the best. As far as service goes yes if u r new and waste people’s time and are too cheap go to macs up the street. I can’t tell u how many times I have watched cheap people waste billies time there, but that is the nature of retail now isn’t it. I have been smoking cigars for 31 years now and my taste has evolved. Thanks to Billie there is a place to smoke in palo alto.

If you’re looking for a cramped, over priced and snobby place to buy cigars then this is your place. Otherwise stay away. If you’re looking for either real or counterfit cuban cigars you can smooze the guy and he will pull them out for you. of course they are overpriced, but if your still shopping there you should not care.

Hemingway is distinguised by a pair of wooden indians at it’s entrance, a brave and a squaw. not sure why. indians adorn cigar stores. indians don’t smoke cigars.
hemingway stocks mostly premium high end cigars at premium prices. expect to pay a few dollars more per ‘gar here. didn’t expect and didn’t see any flavored cigars, swisher sweets, or knockoffs.
davidoff (20 – 32.00), cohiba (19.99+), ashton, romeo juliet, paragas, and most high end ‘gars represented. didn’t see memorable maduros, just premium brands who also happened to make maduros.
service solicitious, helpful, and humorous.
store is really cramped. ‘gars stored in humorized standing cabinets. empty boxes standed everywhere.
ashton maduro (16.99) was a strong smoke but not noteworthy of of being a maduro.

My husband and my dad occasionally enjoy smoking cigars so I’ve been keeping my ears open to find out where they like to buy them. One night, on a spontaneous date to Palo Alto, my husband decided to stop at this shop to see what they had. He wasn’t to familiar with cigars at the time but the guy helped him make a couple selections and threw one in for him to try. Since then my husband has discovered his preferences and knows what he likes and what he prefers to stay away from. Recently we made another stop at Hemingway where he was pleased to find out they carried his favorite cigar. Again the guy who works there/​owner (?) was a big help when my husband had questions and seems pleased to educate the non-​smoker, like me, if he feels your truly interested in learning the tobacco world. He’s really a nice, helpful guy. I made a Christmas gift purchase earlier this week which he helped me decide on. I felt he was honest about the quality and didn’t try to push anything outrageously priced. The great thing was that he remembered my husband and the last time we had come in to the shop. Unfortunately, I decided to return the item last night, but had no problems doing it. He didn’t even question why. Probably because he knows my husband and I will be back. Instead I bought a couple of my husband’s favorite cigars for his Christmas stocking. My mom also bought some for my dad.
Today my husband claims Hemingway to be his favorite cigar shop and I just like going in there because it smells good and the staff is friendly.

Love this place, I used to live above it in the apartments so Billy and I became good pals. Unfortunately I moved away and don’t get a chance to stop in that often anymore, but every time I do it is like I never left.
Some people don’t like the customer service, that is because they don’t have a sense of humor/​get sarcasm. Sucks to be them, I bet they think many people in the world are mean and hurtful… booohooo poor you… My only complaint is all the displays make it quite tight for some of use not built like an asian school girl, but you just have to tiptoe through the tulips and not act like a bull in a china shop.
As for their hours, they are open when ever the hell they feel like being open and closed when ever they feel like being closed. Who cares, just give them a ring if you aren’t sure.

Horrible customer service! I went in around 6 pm to return an item, the man tending the store ignored me then proceeded to cut in front of me as i stood at the front counter with his back to me! I told him i had a return and he responded rudely «then why did you buy it?» After letting me in the store, he then chose to tell me they were closed and to come back tomorrow. When I called from home later to ask when he closed he said 8, 9, or 10! They have good cigars but better people deserve my money in this economy!

Everytime I’m close to University Ave., I make it a point to drop by and chat with the Hemingway staff. Ali is usually there during the night times and is more than happy to help you navigate through their expansive collection.
I’ve yet to meet the owner, but Ali has always made it a point to provide service as if he owned the damn place, going even as far as to call the owner on my behalf to sort out some deals — highly appreciated!
Those damn sofa recliners look ridiculously comfortable.
Shameless plug — Ali works in IT and only recently came to the US and looking to expand his network in the industry! Trade him some insight for a cigar lol.

The best selection of premium cigars bar none. Billy is very personable and knowledgable. About a dollar or two over most prices, but the vast selection makes up for it.

I can only give this otherwise outstanding tobacco store 4 stars since my experience there has been minimal. I’ve visited three times, and every time the place was great. The staff has been very helpful and knowledgeable about an entire range of tobacco products (from loose leaf tobacco to cigarettes) on each occasion.
The décor of this place is pretty interesting, in a good way. Kind of like how I expect a tobacco shop should look. Lots of wood, lots of tobacco. There’s a little lounge area in the back, but I’ve yet to kick it in there, though I really want to. It looks very comfortable.