West Park Bistro

Best in San Carlos for Brunch, Lunch or Dinner. Owner operated so you know the buck stops with your server if you have a concern. The menu is creative and changes periodically.
GREAT WINE LIST! Very solid spot for 7 days a week any meal you want.
Have a date? ask to be seated in the wine cellar, O and if you’re feeling frisky have them close the curtains for you.

Went out with a friend for a casual Monday dinner, thinking maybe another place on Laurel St. Parked near West Park Bistro and, having never even hear of it, just walked in. Beautiful place, very warm and considerate server, and absolutely perfect food. Octopus was exquisite, sea bass fresh and delicious, and the skirt steak was mouth watering. Go there soon!

I love west park bistro! I have been here for brunch, lunch, and dinner. I came for lunch yesterday and had ahi tuna poke, calamari, and fish tacos. All 3 items were some of the best I’ve ever had. Especially the fish tacos… I haven’t found better anywhere around here! Everything was extremely fresh. The calamari was to die for… not chewy or rubbery (unlike other places I’ve tried). I also had margaritas made with casamigos blanco which were VERY good. The owners and bartenders are so kind. I already want to go back! New favorite on laurel!

We were here for dinner and could not be more pleased with the service, food, and ambiance. Expertly served by Murat Akkus, one of the restaurant partners, I had the filet mignon expertly paired with asparagus wrapped in bacon while my companion had the sea bass, a West Park Bistro favorite. Their wine selection is impressive. And there is a separate wine room which can be used for private parties. Our meal was complemented with a glass of Argentine Vincitin 2010 Malbec, a superb vintage, flavorful and robust. A delicious experience, West Park Bistro is the «new kid on the block» other restaurants on Laurel Street in downtown San Carlos will try to imitate. Open for lunch and dinner, we will be back for more culinary delights from our recent discovery.

Had lunch here for Valentine’s Day.
Ate on the patio with our 2 YO and our Pup.
My hubby ordered a draft beer for himself and a Blood Orange Mimosa for me. Wasn’t a ton of the Blood Orange flavor, but the drink was tasty. We split the Gem Salad as an appetizer, and is was delicious. Almonds, apples, grapes, blue cheese and Goddess Dressing on a bed of romaine. Best part of our lunch! Hubby ordered the Lamb Sandwich which was quite tasty. And I ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Nicer version of the one you find packaged at Starbucks. Chicken was a tad dry. Overall decent experience, prices were good (Tab came out to $ 57) and it’s a nice date spot– we would come again, but we were not overly impressed or wow-​ed.

Food was ok at best and pricey. Not much flavor even with heavy sauces. Staff is friendly but seem like they are very green in the restaurant business. Better step it up or you are not going to last. I don’t think I will return.

Went here on Sunday for lunch/​brunch for the first time and really enjoyed my meal. I had the smoked salmon benedict which was very good and instead of using an english muffin it was on baguette style slices of bread which I thought was a nice twist. My dad got the lamb sandwich and fries, he ate the whole thing, so I’d say he enjoyed that as well. Wine list is great. Service was good. The big windows bring in a lot of natural light which is always really nice for a lunch or brunch outing. Will be back for dinner some time.

Have hosted several corp events here because event manager, Robert, always shows professionalism and flexibility with menu planning, changes in party size etc.
Anxiously hosted a private event on Saturday in the wine room, with family and friends. I was anxious as I didn’t want this to feel like a corp event but an intimate family/​friends celebration. Between Robert going the extra mile with personal touches for the event, the chef spending time with us over dessert and Onur, the proprietor, greeting everyone in our party, I could not have asked for a nicer evening with family/​friends. I highly recommend this team of professionals and will be dining again at West Park very soon.

I came her with high hopes that the food would be good and something that would make me come back. Unfortunately, I was disappointed and can’t honestly say I would be back. I ordered the lobster crab cakes which were a little undercooked to start with. After that I had the Chicken Penne which was served with too much sauce and the Chicken tasted as if it was cooked awhile ago. After the disappointment I left and had dessert somewhere else.
The service however was great. I’m not sure I would eat dinner here again but maybe stop in for a glass of wine. You can never go wrong with a glass of wine.

I have been here many times. So first try their goat-​cheese appetizer, then go with skirt steak. You will never go wrong!

Really great wine selection but overpriced.
I came here with a girlfriend and we ordered a total of two glasses of wine and the cheese plate. Our total turned out to be $ 50 and the cheese plate was not overly creative, expansive, or tasty. The cheese plate came with some crackers, nuts, fruit, and four cheese. I was only a fan of two of the cheese; the other two were either too intense with the flavor (the blue cheese) or had no flavor.
The wine, however, was great. I was surprised they had Decoy Cabernet, which is hard to find. I haven’t had this wine in almost two years but it definitely still tasted fantastic.
Would return solely for drinks but that’s about it.

We were here on Halloween eve and was served by a cleverly dressed Clark Kent. Having said that, even Superman himself could save the overall experience.
We arrived around 6 and waited for an outside table. It was a pleasant evening and the street had just reopened after being closed for the San Carlos Halloween event.
After settling in, we ordered our food and wine. The calamari appetizer came out quickly and «Clark» located the last bottle of the wine we ordered. Here’s where it went South. The entrees took over 30mins to come. Admittedly, they were pretty good but like other before me, the kitchen needs to get out the food more quickly (hopefully without sacrificing quality.
The place is certainly much busier than the restaurant before it so it must be pretty good as long as you looking for a long, leisurely meal.

Scallops were great. Service is good. A little pricey than it should be, but a solid spot.

The food was amazing and the service was superb! I typically have scallops but i tried again tonight and so happy I did! They were delicious and the bbq skirt steak was A+. I left there so full and satisfied.

2 stars for ambiance but otherwise the food and service is not worth the price. The food, simple things like spaghetti & meatballs ($ 19!!) and the burger, is incredibly bland and way over priced given the quality.
We ordered the ahi tuna starter and it, literally, is only 3 thinly sliced pieces of tuna.
Service is slow and the server was no where to be found after our meals arrived so we couldn’t order refills on our drinks. Sticker shock and very disappointed.

We had heard good things about West Park Bistro from friends and we were excited to try it out. We’re so glad we did because we had a truly enjoyable evening.
For starters we went with our waiter, Onur’s recommendations, the grilled octopus and the bacon wrapped dates. Both were delicious but my personal favorite was the octopus. I couldn’t believe how tender it was. Yum.
I had the cedar plank salmon for my entrée and it was without a doubt the best salmon dish I have ever had.
Service was friendly, knowledgable, and efficient, and the food was outstanding. We can’t wait to come back!

With only 5 tables occupied on a Sunday late morning /​brunch, 3 front of house folks (manager, server and hostess), 3 guys working the line kitchen I think… it took almost 40 minutes to produce 2 breakfasts.
The hostess was sweet but totally lacking in any confidence dealing with table service. She seemed dumbfounded, overwhelmed and really uncomfortable. Tables were shouting across the empty outdoor tables «Can I get a refill of coffee?» only to have her disappear inside.
No single person was in charge of checking our table. The hostess brought bread, then set up a table adjacent to us while we’re sitting there, 30 minutes in, staring at her — smiling, inquiring… She said nothing and carried on busying herself with the table.
The server girl forgot the order and had to come back and get it again.
Finally, at 37 minutes I stood up to go inside and ask, politely, what the hell was going on (our neighbors were having a lovely meal but I think that’s because their host was another server on an off day, personally bussing his table). The rest of us ordinary folks outside were just… forgotten.
Standing in the doorway to watch the people inside I saw what looked like a firedrill of incompetence. Arms flailing, orders overtalking each other, nobody sure what should come out of the kitchen. Again I’m counting 6 or 7 people here… and you’ve got 5 tables occupied. And they were totally confused.
The bacon side we ordered (granted not a typical menu item) hadn’t seen a paper towel or drip rack. It was swimming in fat.
The food wasn’t bad otherwise. It was ok. But the failure to show any competence at all in table service or order timing, or kitchen management was really all I needed to see to know that no matter how pleasant the food that eventually came out, we wouldn’t be back.
Finally the poor sweet hostess came with her manager to clear the table. I’m still drinking coffee but there are odds and ends to collect. She takes everything, and my coffee while it’s obviously half full. I ask for it back. She puts it down and it slops all over the table.
She’s embarrassed. I felt bad for her. A sweet girl, but she shouldn’t be asked to serve tables if she’s had no training and it feels so foreign to her.
100% Amateurish. If you must order, get take-​out. And expect to wait a long time for it.

I really wanted to like this place! Like the set up and bar area but other than that nothing memorable.
Meatballs were super bland and a little tough. Meat quality was ehhh.
Filet was cooked properly but seriously lacked seasoning!
For the money you pay it was super lackluster. Unfortunately won’t come back!

The FIL and his wife picked this place to meet for dinner last Friday night.
We were seated immediately, (they had made a res, and were already there.)
It took a bit to flag a someone down to order a drink, and quite awhile for someone to return to take our order.
In fairness, we did send the server away once, as we hadn’t decided on food yet.
We shared a burger and appetizer meatballs.
The burger was (surprisingly) cooked perfectly. The fries were not and we sent them back to get them more crispy. It took awhile to get the new batch and honestly, they weren’t much more crispy.
The meatballs were bland, and there were HUGE raw cloves of garlic in the sauce. Very glad I didn’t bite into one of those.
We took them home and hubby doctored them up for a leftover meatball sandwich.
There were also onion rings ordered that never arrived. We forgot about them until after we left. Since the FIL paid, I don’t know if they were on the bill or not.
Service was definitely lacking. We rarely saw our server, and had a hard time getting his attention to stop by the table so we could ask for ketchup, return the fries, etc.
Most of the food was fine, drinks were fine. The prices were ridiculous.
I’m not one to often complain about pricing, I understand it takes a lot to keep a restaurant profitable, especially with the exorbitant rents in the Bay Area.
I can think of half a dozen places off the top of my head that serve the same dishes for less and are better, and in some cases higher quality.
I wouldn’t return on my own, but if the family suggests going (and paying) we’ll probably be back.

Sad to see that Viva La Vita passed. It was great when it opened but i never had a chance to go back when they expanded. Looks like WPB took over the large space. It’s sleek and new looking though the part of laurel it’s on is more quiet than the rest of downtown. Sat outside on a nice day. Beef tartare was standard but the bread and herb butter was good. The duck ragout and salmon however was an uptick to the appetizer. Service is straightforward though they werent busy. It’s promising but if the whole space were full it maybe a different story. Perhaps pricey for lunch but on par for dinner prices