Restaurants to Impress Clients in Palo Alto 2026
Published · Updated
The 2026 impress-clients pick in Palo Alto is Evvia Estiatorio. Editorial runners-up: Protege, The Sea by Alexander's, Tamarine, Ettan, Vina Enoteca.
Six Palo Alto rooms close a client. A Greek power room open since 1995. One Michelin star on California Avenue. A Japanese-influenced seafood tasting. The tables where Sand Hill Road signs.
Six Palo Alto Tables to Impress a Client
Open since 1995 at 420 Emerson Street, sister room to San Francisco's Kokkari. The wood fire runs all night. Grilled lamb chops and the rotisserie chicken are the orders; dinner $80 to $150. This is Silicon Valley's original power room, the table venture partners have used for thirty years. Book it when the client matters.
A one-Michelin-star room on California Avenue from French Laundry alumni: chef Anthony Secviar and Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly. The seven-course tasting runs about $150, with a more relaxed lounge menu up front. The wine service is the draw for a client who knows the list. The table that signals you came prepared.
The seafood flagship of the Alexander's Steakhouse group, at 4269 West El Camino Real. Japanese technique meets Californian seafood: caviar service, A5 wagyu and tiered seafood towers. The fixed tasting runs about $195. A precise, quiet room for a client who expects the best of the bill. Book it to make the point.
A Michelin-recommended modern Vietnamese room at 546 University Avenue, dark and art-lined, family-style by design. The shaking beef and lemongrass plates pass around a table well. Dinner $80 to $150. Private dining and a focused wine and sake list close a group. The order that lands when the client is tired of steakhouses.
Chef Srijith Gopinathan, formerly of two-Michelin-star Campton Place, opened Ettan at 518 Bryant Street in February 2020 with owner Ayesha Thapar. The California-Indian menu and the courtyard read as serious and current. Dinner $80 to $150. The table for a client who reads the food press.
Owner Rocco Scordella's Michelin-selected Italian room in the historic Stanford Barn at 700 Welch Road. Handmade pasta, Stanford-farm vegetables and a deep cellar. Dinner $55 to $90. Steps from the medical school and campus, it is the client lunch or dinner near Stanford. Book it for a working table with a serious wine list.
How to Book
Book Protege two to three weeks ahead; the tasting room is small and books out. Evvia and Tamarine take a weekday business table within a week, longer for Thursday and Friday. The Sea, Ettan and Vina Enoteca usually seat a client dinner within a few days.
6:30 or 7pm on a weeknight reads best for business. Ask Evvia for a banquette and Tamarine for the private room if the group is more than four. For the quietest table, take Protege's tasting or The Sea early in the evening.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 editorial pick is Evvia Estiatorio at 420 Emerson Street, the Greek power room open since 1995 where grilled lamb chops and rotisserie chicken run $80 to $150. For a Michelin table, Protege on California Avenue serves a seven-course tasting at about $150 with Master Sommelier wine service.
Evvia is the established business room, used by venture partners for thirty years, with banquettes and a long wine list. Protege adds a one-Michelin-star tasting and a Master Sommelier, and Vina Enoteca in the Stanford Barn suits a working dinner near campus with handmade pasta and a deep cellar.
Dinner runs about $195 for the tasting at The Sea by Alexander's and about $150 at Protege. Evvia, Tamarine and Ettan all sit at $80 to $150 a head depending on wine. Vina Enoteca is the value table at $55 to $90, a strong working dinner near Stanford.
Protege on South California Avenue holds one Michelin star, run by chef Anthony Secviar and Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly, both French Laundry alumni. Tamarine, Ettan and Vina Enoteca are Michelin-recommended rooms rather than starred, and all three handle a client dinner well.