Straits Cafe Palo Alto
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Phone: (650) 494-7168
- Cross Street:
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 11:30am- 2:30pm, 5pm-10pm, , Fri-Sat 11:30am- 2:30pm, 5pm-11pm
Editorial Review for Straits Cafe Palo Alto – by Laura Reiley
The Scene
Straits may be the nicest looking restaurant on the Peninsula. The dining room is outfitted with lots of teak, orchids, and Balinese furniture. An exotic patio is a marvel: One would never know that El Camino is just a wall away.
The Food
Chris Yeo brought Singaporean cuisine to San Francisco with much fanfare in 1987. Yeo opened a second Straits Cafe in Palo Alto in '98. Straits serves marvelous Singaporean dishes that will put your senses into overdrive. Drawing influences from China, Malaysia, India and Indonesia, the cuisine can be homey, spicy, sweet, bright, and sometimes even zany. Definitely go heavy on the appetizers. Grilled oysters, satays of all kinds, Chinese-inspired springrolls, and grilled Indian bread with curry sauce are tops. Start out with a Singapore Sling or another potent cocktails.
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User Reviews for Straits Cafe Palo Alto
06/18/2008 Posted by Kasenna
Unfortunately we were told by our management this place was superb and that our company celebration lunch had to be here. We arrived to no air-conditioning on a 100+ day and they didn't even have a fan turned on. Appetizers amounted to 1 small triangle shaped bread the size of an appetizer, and 1 other appetizer per person. Main dishes were served that could feed 4 people to tables of 11-12. My boss didn't even eat more than rice and a few bites of the main courses because he was concerned there was not enough food for employees. We had to ask to have rice delivered. It was almost like they were going out of there way to insult us. And this was a set price luncheon. The word of mouth after this party from our 50+ employees will last for the next year. Most of the good reviews on this website are from 2006. They had great reviews from our management - most who went regularly in 2006, but the place has gone downhill. Don't under any circumstances plan a group event here.
Pros: Hostess is friendliest person in the entire place
Cons: Small portions, overpriced, service, no airconditioning, management
04/21/2007 Posted by rfranklin01
I first learned about Straits in Santana Row, which wasn't like a restaurant, but more of a nightclub. They told me that they have two more locations in the bay area. One in San Francisco, and one in Burlingame. I later found out that there is another one in Palo Alto but Santana Row insisted that Palo Alto was closed down. When I visited Palo Alto, they told me that they are an independent entity and not affiliated with the other three locations even though their menu is similar. WOW what a difference! First of all, its a classy restaurant atmosphere, with no loud obnoxious music, no dancing, and perfect outing for a business dinner which my company has often. The service is impeccable where we got our drinks and food in a timely manner, even when the restaurant was busy on a weeknight. The bartender really put time and effort into making the cocktails, as did the kitchen because the food was fantastic! Wonderful wine list too. My business dinners will be at Straits Palo Alto regularly.
Pros: food, drinks, ambiance, parking, business
Cons: hard to find
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