Palo Alto, CA - Osteria - 2005 [MOVED]

Type of Food: Italian - Tuscan

RATING (* for Poor - ***** for Excellent)

Food: *****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
Value: ****

No website, but here's a Google local listing.


GENERAL: Alright, I may be a bit biased on this one. I started eating here with my hard-earned fresh-out-of-school money back in 13 years ago. YES, I was a gourmet connoisseur since I was a baby. The food here is just SOOOO good that I keep on coming back, again and again. Find me one bad review (well, I meant on the food) on this place and I'll debate the reviewer online.

FOOD: I've never been to Tuscany but boy, the Tuscan cuisine they serve here definitely calls for a visit to Italy. Besides authenticity which I'm not qualified to comment on, this place is every food lover's dream - super fresh ingredients, homemade everything (not sure about bread though) and every dish striving to be perfectly done. Seriously, I've been here more than a dozen times and I've never had an OOPS dish.

I have my favorites here, like their carpaccio, heart of palm salad and ravioli, but I've also tried grilled fish (which I NEVER order since I'm a meat eater and I hate overcooked fish) and other pastas. I would say that pastas are safe - always good because they are freshly made in-house, and seafood will surprise the pickiest seafood lover. If you like veal, you'll end up renting an apartment upstairs.

SERVICE: If you have browsed those review websites, you would see how badly the service at this place is blasted by some reviewers, complaining about everything from lost reservations to impatient waiters. Well, service is definitely not one of their strengths. Having said that, you'd also see few complaints about them messing up orders or not responding quickly enough. They do their basic job well (what do you expect anyways - this is no Le Papillon!!), but that's all you'll get.

AMBIENCE: It's small, crowded, barely decorated, and noisy. It's not your typical happy hour hangout either (unless you are in your 50s and single). This place is packed with people who love the food and can appreciate AND afford to eat here regularly - so imagine me and my tennis player friend having carpaccio here after a serious match.... Nevertheless, it does have an European scent that goes beyond the food, so if you have a taste for the Old World, you'd like it, else you'd rather be in Zibibbo where you can enjoy a million dollar interior designer job while having mediocre food.

VALUE: If you've actually eaten at a place like Zibibbo, you know that Palo Alto restaurants can be slightly overpriced. Therefore, I actually think this place offer pretty good value compared to other similarly-rated joints. During one lunch there I met an elderly couple who seemed to know everyone around. They told me that they've been eating there once a week for the last ten years and they think they're getting a great deal. I guess it all depends on what's valuable to you - a nice and big table with lots of attractive waitresses, or plain good food.

BOTTOMLINE: If you go to a restaurant for its food, down-to-earth yet out-of-this-world deliciously prepared food, and you don't need to be pampered by waiters telling you how nice your tie is, this is the same. I can't say enough about the amazing food they serve - maybe until I visit Tuscany.

LAST WORD: This is not quite a French Laundry of Palo Alto, but reservation is seriously recommended (yes, occasionally they do get lost) - unless you enjoy standing in an uneventful street corner and surrounded by wandering students. Also, a starving student would need two entrees here (like I used to).