12/08/08

Lots of seats, free internet, good food

by asuka33

I have met up with friends and coworkers at University Coffee Cafe many times - great place to sip coffee and do work while waiting. There is free wifi and plenty of seating. Plus, the coffee is reasonably priced for the area. Highly recommended as a resting place before heading off to do other things

• Pros: Free internet! Great location
• Cons: None

11/20/08

Great hangout for rich Stanford Profs

by Moe

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

Very ordinary chai

02/12/08

really bad

by cacophony777

I decided to try this place while in the area on a business trip. What a mistake! The food was almost inedible. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Food, Service, Parking, Cost

09/02/07

The worst service!

by frenchpopdream

Went to the University Cafe as a recommendation from my sister. We walked in and were not greeted. We stood around for a minute before we were motioned to a table by a passing waiter. Water was promptly placed on the table and menus brought and then...nothing. No waiter to take our order no attempt to get drink orders...nothing! My bf flagged someone down and we ordered and bread and with a tasty tomato dipping sauce was brought and then nothing again!

Our glasses were filled with water every 2.5 seconds but no food for about 35 mins. My bf asked someone to check on the food, for which he received the reply "It's busy." I looked around and it wasn't! The food was brought and my friend and I ordered the same dish. I got mine first, it was almost cold. My friend got his and is was almost twice the portion size of mine and looked VERY DIFFERENT. Mine looked and tasted as though it had been stiing around for a long time before being brought out. The rest of the food was without issue.

We ate and waited and waited for someone to clear the dishes and bring the check and nothing! My bf AGAIN asked for the bill and when it finally came it was not our bill! The food was okay but rather forgetable. The service was the worst I have experienced in a long time and I felt bad that this was my suggestion and it was so off the mark.

In summation: There are so many better places on University Ave to eat at where the food is just as good and the service is a thousand times more attentive.

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: service!!!!

06/29/07

Bad Customer Service

by shayrah

Food was OK--once we got it. We waited at least 45 minutes before asking about our food. Once the food was finally brought out, it was not to order. I am allergic to onions and asked for no onions on my meal, but it arrived with onions literally all over it. I sent it back and it took more than an hour to receive my meal. Patrons at tables who came in 30 minutes and 45 minutes after us received their meals within minutes after mine. The "manager" only made excuses and clearly didn't feel the 'customer is always right'. The menu looked great, and I looked forward to having dessert but decided differently. Big Disappointment.

• Cons: Service

03/17/07

Best ambiance, food, service. Great coffee. AeONsafe WiFi

by aeonsafe

Truly a landmark spot in Palo Alto. In the middle of Unviersity Avenue, both the exterior and interior represent the Stanford University avenue scene. Great food, service and crowds of students and professionals working, meeting, and chatting. This hotspot uses the AeONsafe secured WiFi, which is faster than AnchorFree and fully encrypted wireless. Since it is secured, I work there more frequently.

02/10/07

Bossy Waiters

by cwuhoo

The service here is absolutely awful! I went here with a friend for lunch. After we were done with our meal, they took away our plates, utensils, and napkins as we continued to chat. At one point some gum that was stuck under the table got stuck on my sweater - gross!!! Since they had taken away my napkin, I took the napkin from the table next to me to clean off the nastiness on my sweater.

At that point, an extremely rude waiter walked up to me and said, "excuse me, if you need a napkin, there's a stack on that table over there. Don't take the napkins from the other tables, those are for our dinner guests." WTF!!!! First of all, why is he ordering around the customers, secondly, he's acting like I'm not a legimate customer, as if I didn't pay for my meal! What a jack@#$. Thirdly, if they had properly cleaned the table in the first place, I wouldn't need to grab a napkin from another table - this place is not sanitary. I won't be going back to this place. The meal and the service were definitely NOT worth it!

• Cons: rude waiters

Editorial Review

by Contributor

This cafe's high-vaulted ceilings house both latte-sipping students and Palo Alto professionals discussing work over pasta and sandwiches.

02/19/05

Not a happy coffee house

by cheerio84

With only fair coffee and mediocre food, the University Cafe is, however, a nice place to hang out and talk. But not much else. The combination of a sit-down restaurant and coffee house is really not a workable arrangement, with those eating crowded together in a noisy dining area and coffee drinkers corralled to the back of the establishment. If you want a good cup of coffee, there are plenty of other nearby options and more than a few restaurants serving food of much higher quality. Additionally, the barista had no idea what she was doing when I last visited and in past visits to eat, the waitstaff was incredibly slow and unhelpful.

• Pros: Fun, Cute
• Cons: Crowded, Noisy, Poor waitstaff