Macarthur Park

Decent place. High prices though. Not really for the young crowd. Parking is limited so be cautious.
This place is for the fancy business get together. Low key place so dont expect anything cool.

We have been going here for years and this place is great. We love the cobb salad and their service is always wonderful. A nice patio in the back for a private party as well!

Great food! It’s a bit pricey, but the ambience is worth it– very beautiful.
The night we went, a waiter dropped a bottle of aioli of some type, and it spewed EVERYWHERE. It was all over the man at the table next to us, and little droplets flew onto a few of us. The manager was extremely professional and apologetic, and they offered us a free appetizer as token of their embarrassment. Overall, they definitely recovered from the episode well in my book, and left things on a great note! We will definitely be back.

Went for a group dinner. I know it’s hard serving a roomful of people at once but the food was uninspired, maybe ok for a Denny’s, the service average, there was a big chunk of cork in my friend’s wine, they waved coffee cans around at the end but didn’t bring any cups so most of us who wanted coffee didn’t get any. I don’t know what it cost but I am guessing it was not inexpensive from the surroundings and location. Would not go back.

Meh. Overpriced. And I’m saying that as someone who has only gone here for work functions that were expensed. Bland food. The appeal for most people who have taken us here is that it is old school, fancy, and buttoned down. But, there are so many better options in the area. Cool atmosphere/​building, though. But I’m here for the food.

First time here and quite impressed! Friendly service and nice atmosphere. The bread is sooooo good!

Gave this restaurant another try after a disappointing Thanksgiving dinner.
Service was on point and the food was delicious. Fresh ingredients and the sauces were not overwhelming. Make sure to save room for dessert!

I love the happy hour here and the location is great.
The chef here is awesome, no doubt. YOu can tell he really puts work and perfection into the food and the bartenders are awesome also.
I am very impressed by this place. The crowd is nice the workers are nice.
THe place looks so nice on the inside too. Its a very refreshing place to chill.
I’ve had some memorable evenings and even days here.
Its a trip how something even as simple as potato chips tastes soo excellent here.
I really suggest trying the burgers and ribs.
OH and the onion rings are fantastic too.

Came here for a work-​related dinner — all in all pretty decent. Parking is a pain, so you have to valet. The place is large and airy — fairly attractive. The hostess and the servers were all very friendly. Clean restrooms. The private room in the back was nicely laid out. There was a set menu — I had the salmon. It was pretty tasty — portions are pretty big, I couldn’t eat it all. The mud pie for dessert was the best part. I’d definitely come back here for drinks and dessert.

Stuck in the ‘80s, unfortunately. Well-​priced happy hour drinks and bargain bar snacks are not enough to make up for the oil drenched food that came straight from the freezer to the fryer and out to my plate at the bar. The drinks menu wants to be in this decade– but my Blood Orange Old Fashioned with it’s muddled orange and maraschino cherry was straight out of 1981. The Moscow Mule boasted house-​made ginger beer that was really nice and ginger forward– possibly the best thing I tasted on this visit.
The building is beautiful, and the service was friendly. They would be a good candidate for «Kitchen Nightmares”– would like to see this beautiful building have decent food.

This is my first review and must be written! I’ve eaten babyback ribs across the US for 50 years. They were the wrong cut of meat. Some ribs were 1 inch wide. They were uncut and a steak knive could cut through the meat. It’s was over cooked and tough as nails. Open in 1981, I have ate the same item. The new owners lost a customer of 35 years! Service was excellent and made one mistake eating their food.

This review is for Happy Hour.
Happy hour is long and has very reasonable drink prices. $ 5.50 cocktails, $ 3 for beer, plus free potato chips and snack mix. It’s a great place to grab a quick drink after work while waiting for the train. You can sit at the bar, at tall tables for 3 – 4 people, or in booths (fit up to 6 people, maybe?). Its proximity to the Palo Alto Caltrain station and its happy hour prices are definitely its best qualities. The bike rack can be frustrating to use.

Came here for their annual Thanksgiving dinner for the second time. This year champagne/​mimosas were not included. The stuffing seemed raw with dry breadcrumbs unincorporated into the otherwise tasteless dish. Most of the sides were room temperature at best and we were seated at the beginning of the dinner service. Salads and carving station turkey/​salmon were well done. Cranberry sauce is especially tart, so be forewarned! The highlight was the pear/​carrot cake. While the restaurant is festively decorated, the food was just ok/​not appetizing. We’ll be going somewhere else next year…

Came here for the $ 49 holiday buffet. It was not worth writing home about, but the ambience was nice and festive. They really highlighted their ribs as their specialty, and they were probably a 2 out of 10 as ribs go. The meat was really tough and unflavorful and the BBQ sauce was really thick and too sweet.
The other food items were as you would expect for a large size buffet feeding hundreds of people. The best food item there is their tangy cole slaw. Otherwise most of the other food was cheap ingredient items (Boiled carrots and string beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. They do have prime rib, sliced turkey, pork loin and shrimp cocktail, but they are bland and unremarkable.

Went for a company holiday luncheon here. They had prime rib, salmon, turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and dessert, none of which tasted that great (did not eat the prime rib). Also, the vegetarians were left to fill up on a bunch of side dishes.
So overall… stay away (especially if you are a vegetarian)…too many better choices in PA downtown.
Thankfully I did not have to pay for the lunch.

Really good place for a nice American dinner. Their entrees are awesome and the ambience is really great.
Only one con– parking is terrible and so is the ease of accessibility… (Valet has to step up their game)

My company’s holiday party was here. Restaurant itself was really pretty and the holiday decorations made it look even better. I was expecting a lot when it came to the food but sadly, it was disappointing. There was prime rib, turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad, stuffing, pumpkin pie… it was basically a Thanksgiving dinner and it was buffet style. The prime rib was the best thing there was and it was just ok. I didn’t think it had enough flavor and although I ate a medium cooked piece, it was pretty dry. I couldn’t care for the rest honestly. I think the fact that it was buffet style lowered the quality of the food but I expected so much better. I would be willing to come back on a regular dinner day and try ordering from their regular menu to see if that changes anything.

THANKSGIVING DINNER BUFFET: I do highly recommend this restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. The buffet was spectacular and the food was so good. It is worth every penny to eat dinner there. HOWEVER, we had a reservation for 6:30 and had to wait 45 minutes for our table, which is maybe OK considering the day. But the biggest offenses were the cranberry sauce which was god awful, and one does need good cranberry sauce with their turkey and stuffing!!! The second big offense which is the worst by far is they ran out of Pumpkin pie.
MACARUTHER PARK — How can you run out of Pumpkin by at 7pm, especially when you have a whole dining room full of people still eating.
I still recommend them but next year you better have enough pie! :-)

Thanksgiving Buffet — absolutely delicious, every dish. A grand variety of traditional and less traditional dishes, expertly prepared. Not too noisy, festive atmosphere with the fireplaces and historic architecture. Attentive cheerful staff who were very accommodating and calmly dealt with the dynamics of large family groups. Fussy eaters and even low-​carb dieters had NO complaints. And a cheese course on the dessert table for the Europeans. My family’s first time, I hope it becomes our tradition.

Nov 12^th my wife’s birthday after a Giants game I decided to take her to Macarthur Park to have a late lunch. she ordered the Rib’s and I ordered the Kobe Burger. The Rib’s were tuff and hard to chew according to my wife the Membrane was not removed which made the rib’s hard to take a bite of and the Kobe Burger was fair and the Waiter forgot to bring any condiment’s and the table we sat at wobbled throughout our meal. Least to say I/​we were very disappointed because the Ribs they Boast about were not even close to what my wife expected.

Last night did happy hour there for the 1^st time in about 20 yrs and I had a great evening. Staff was very friendly and attentive as well as the prices perfect. I will be returning soon!

My wife is a BBQ ribs fiend… so when I discovered this place, which isn’t too far from home and it just so happened to be our 10 year anniversary, I figured– hey, let’s give this place a shot. I booked the table through OpenTable and was immediately greeted upon entering. When I gave my name, the girl in front said, Happy Anniversary! and that wasn’t the last time I heard those words from the staff at MacArthur Park. Our server, Patty was on top of it. She also congratulated us and informed us that our dessert was on the house… we hadn’t even ordered our food yet! Sweet.
To start, we ordered the seafood appetizer for 2 and shared the full rack of ribs with french fries and this crazy good coleslaw made with horseradish. I don’t even like coleslaw… but I’m a definite fan of theirs now!
We also brought a bottle of wine (since it was a momentous occasion) and Patty immediately opened our bottle and waived the corkage fee– seriously, at this point, I’m over the moon and back with the service from her.
Overall, this place rocked it. It wasn’t pretentious at all– it felt very casual. We will definitely be back.

The restaurant is a historical landmark, being built in 1918 by Julia Morgan, the first female architect who also designed Hearst Castle and The Greek Theater.
MP has valet parking, as well as a friendly and /​efficent staff. My friend had the pork chop/​mashed sweet potatoes that looked good; she said it was good, too. I had the blackened fish special/​spicy with spinach & polenta; the meal was served with fresh, warm sourdough bread. All the food was good but nothing extraordinary. We also shared a spinach/​beet salad; MP gives good portions.
We were too full for dessert. There’s a full bar/​big screen TV with sports on. There are tables outside in the back courtyard, which were occupied by a private party.
I’d try it again… saving room to try a dessert!

OK… so i REALLY wanted to love this place. i remember it from way back when — it used to be such a hoping place… but now. unfortunately their menu is SO LIMITED and the food is ok but not sure if it’s worth the price you pay…
First I have to say the service is AWESOME… everyone is friendly and helpful and they were great!
And to be fair — I wasn’t feeling 100% but we had a gift card and thought we’d better use it… for $ 50 we got:
* Bowl of Clam Chowder (it was the soup of the day)
* The Roasted Beets and Blackberry Salad
* Southern Cassoulet
* side of veggies — green beans and asparagus (special of day)
* glass of beer
hhhmm guess we were in a veggie mood… so positive — if not a meat eater they definitely had veggie dishes to choose from…
The Clam Chowder was very good — especially with the warm bread they serve! And the bowl was an excellent dinner sized portion — broth was creamy — lots of clams not too many potatoes… very good!
The Roasted Beets and Blackberry SALAD… now I bold SALAD because I assumed there was going to be some SALAD… but it was just Roasted Beets and Blackberry with some sprinkle of shiso leaves for greens… OH wait and ONE pickled ginger with a few slices of plums… for $ 11 I was very disappointed — this was tiny and while tasty could have used arugula salad to make it more of a «SALAD»… or reduce the cost… And also note to the chef — a sprinkle of goat cheese on this salad would’ve enhanced the overall flavor and I probably wouldn’t flinch at the price tag then either…
Hubby loved his Cassoulet! He cleaned out his plate and used the rest of the bread to clean out his plate… his comments was the braised kale hit the spot and he never had grilled Avocados but it worked with this dish and the sauce was very flavorful and he loved it!
The side of veggies were cooked perfectly — not soggy with the right crispiness and seasoning…
I would say this place is a 3.5 — where I did like it but not a «fan» where I would make the effort to go again… the menu was just too limited…

Had a private event here for my company and we were put in a private room. It was beautifully decorated and quaint. The room was the coolest (in temperature) room since it was SO hot out that day which was very nice.
Our guests seemed to enjoy the event and very convenient because it is right by the caltrain station at PA.
The service was also very well done. The servers were attentive to the needs that I requested and very respectful. Definitely hope to return.

This is based solely on Mother’s Day brunch. We had a reservation for early afternoon for brunch and things were still hustling and bustling at that point.
There was a fairly wide variety of things but all things you’d expect to see on a brunch buffet generally speaking. Maybe the exceptions would be the bbq ribs and bbq chicken.
The food was, at best, about what you’d expect on a buffet line. By that I mean it was passable but not remarkable in any way. The prime rib and scrambled eggs were good, and I thought the french toast was pretty good considering it was sitting in a hotel pan over some sternos. The bbq chicken was not good however… even the dark meat was a bit tough and dry.
Service was generally good although stretched a little thin given the crowd. We had to actually flag someone down to take our drink orders and our plates weren’t cleared between our 2^nd and 3^rd visit to the buffet.
I get the impression that their plated dinners would probably be better and so I will likely come back another time for dinner to try it out.

I almost don’t want to write a review because I don’t want people to know about it… it’s that good.
They have one of the best happy hours in palo alto, if not the best when you take food and service into concern. Their prices for happy hour are standard to a smidge higher, but well worth it. The service is never lacking, they have potato chips that they provide (which are super tasty), bar nuts (which all my friends cannot get enough of), a fantastic wine and beer list, plus cocktails. with good whiskey on Happy Hour… what more would you like?
I’ve also been here for a few company events, their catering and small party-​scene is pretty swell. From what I recall the most challenging part was to find the bathroom but that was because we were in a private room.
Sidenote: There are two booths that are a part of the bar that are included in happy hour, and everything I have eaten here has been divine.
Overall, I plan to come here again and if you haven’t been I’d say give it a try. Keep in mind they have limited parking unless you want to do valet, so if you’re waiting for your train and you have a few minutes to spare, stop by. I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself.

Asked our nice server what are the items they’re most well known for and he suggested the fish tacos and bbq ribs:
— fish was overcooked and flavorless.
— bbq ribs tasted okay, but was also way overcooked and bordering tough. No slow and low here.
Really do like the location and feel of the restaurant. Seems like a chill place to hang out and have a drink. I guess that’s all I’ll have at this place.

I don’t know how this place doesn’t have 5 stars — had an amazing meal last night! Service was impeccable and we were asked throughout our meal how everything was and if we needed anything, very sweet. I agree that parking is a bit of an issue — they offer valet for a fee, but its Palo Alto — parking is a premium — take the train! Station is across the street!
My boyfriend had the prix fix meal — he started with Hot Browns — um, to die for! Its turkey, a cheesy yummy sauce, delicious bacon, grilled tomato on rye toast. We both could have had that as our stand alone meal! He then chose the shrimp and grits — shrimp were perfect, the grits (which I don’t normally like) were cheesy goodness and oh so delicious.
I opted for the prime rib (only offered on Sundays). The size of the meat in front of me was insane. It was by far the best prime rib I have ever had — the au jus was delicious (in fact I dumped it on my mashed potato after I was done with the meat), the meat was tender (could cut with a fork). It was served with a huge baked potato and deliciously prepared broccoli florets. It was amazing. At one point, I thought about chewing on the fat pieces just to make sure I got all the meat — it was that good. Now mind you I feel into a food coma afterwards, but worth every bite!
We had the moon pie for dessert — delicious. It was just the right amount of sweet!
The wines by the glass were reasonably priced too! Pleasantly surprised by that.
The place itself is lovely — I love the rustic charm and the open feel of the place. Looks like the bar would be a great place to grab a drink too!
I would highly recommend this place — great food, reasonably priced for a higher end restaurant. We will be back with his family — there are a lot of other items I want to try out on that menu!

Came by for a private party the other night and the experience left a lot to be desired. Parking in their private lot was valet only…
The restaurant itself seemed dated although they did have many awards… none that I recognized?!?
Party started off with appetizers… chips and salsa… pass
Dinner buffet started off with a Caesar salad which was poor. …it was over-​creamed and the lettuce wasn’t fresh…
The Macaroni & Cheese didn’t taste fresh and was bland.
The ribs were mediocre and barely passing.
The tri-​tip was also mediocre… at least it was cooked medium…
The slow roasted turkey I heard tasted like chicken and was very dry…
The fruit tart wasn’t fresh… and was absolutely disgusting…
Tip: Park on Alma and walk through the train station to avoid valet parking.