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Ethel's Fancy, Palo Alto, CA

Ethel's Fancy

4.9
4.9
507 Reviews
$50 and over
Californian

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 11 times today
  • Innovative
  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for creative cocktails
A hip and fun restaurant with chef's counter dining, serving thoughtful American cuisine, with an emphasis on local seasonal products.

Ethel's Fancy is open at 5 PM Tuesday - Saturday.

We have a small dining room with a limited amount of reservable tables. We do keep our Bar seats and a table in the restaurant open for people to walk-ins. Walk-ins are on a first come basis.

Please do not make multiple reservations with the intention of combining reservations to increase party size.

All guests must be present before your party will be seated.

To help provide a seamless experience for all our guests, we have allocated 2-hours for your group of 2 to 4 people.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Japanese, Contemporary French / American
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Thu 17:00–21:00 Fri, Sat 17:00–21:30
  • Phone number
    (650) 561-4860
  • Website
    http://www.ethelsfancypa.com/
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Executive Chef
    Scott Nishiyama
  • Location
    550 Waverley St, Palo Alto, CA 94301-1720
  • Area
    Palo Alto
  • Cross Street
    University Avenue & Waverley Street<br />Hamilton Avenue & Waverley
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 507 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.9
4.9 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.8Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.5Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Californian

  • Peninsula

    Best Overall

  • Peninsula

    Innovative

  • Peninsula

    Hot spot

  • Peninsula

    Californian

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Ethel's Fancy offers an extraordinary dining experience with "fantastic food" and "wonderful service." The menu is creative, featuring unique and flavorful dishes like the "to die for" pork belly and sesame pancakes. The ambiance is vibrant, with attentive staff ensuring a memorable visit. Perfect for foodies, it's a must-try gem.

507 Reviews

  1. Wayne

    Los Angeles

    1 review

    vip
    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was amazing and the waiter (LeAndre) was outstanding.

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  2. Rohit

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food and our drinks were inventive and excellent! Our server was attentive, and helpful. Overall, it was a great experience and I look forward to being back soon.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Brianna

    New York City

    11 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    11 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Service was excellent! Everyone we interacted with were wonderful and on top of it. Food was mixed - the two octopus and crudo share ales were fantastic and I would come back and order those again in a heartbeat. Swordfish was also good, though I admit I didn’t fully read the description and didn’t realize it was breaded. That is fully on me though. Pork belly was well cooked and seasoned but not as fatty as I expected/wanted, which was a bit disappointing. Two cucumber and persimmon apps were fine, but not memorable. The most disappointing were the cocktails - which were just mid - we tried 3 of them. However, our server/bartender offered an off menu option for the 4th that was far & away better than the other three. We told him they should add it to the menu.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Grace

    San Francisco

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on 30 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It was a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant last night, everything was delicious. Sesame Soft serve was a high note in the end. Thank you Chef and all the supporting staffs.

    Is this helpful?

  5. anne

    San Antonio

    31 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    31 reviews

    Dined on 30 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Loved every bite. Interesting and innovative food. I like how you can order a variety of dishes. Especially enjoyed sitting at the bar watching the very skilled staff do their thing. The halibut was the best I’ve ever eaten! Thank you, Chef!

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  6. Leo

    San Francisco

    25 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    25 reviews

    Dined on 24 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fabulous food. Fabulous service. This place should get a Michelin recommendation!

    Is this helpful?

  7. Kathy

    Seattle

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 24 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This is our favorite restaurant in Palo Alto. Incredibly delicious and unique food. Incredible service!

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  8. Eve

    Mobile

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on 23 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    delicious and inventive good and attentive service

    Is this helpful?

  9. Ted

    San Francisco

    65 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    65 reviews

    Dined on 23 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    I try to go to Ethel's Fancy every month or two. Always wonderful interesting food and very good service.

    Is this helpful?

  10. Rebecca

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 23 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food, great service and wonderful ambience. Chef Scott has created a restaurant that is top of its class.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Ethel's Fancy is rated 4.9 stars by 507 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 11 times today
Google Map for Ethel's Fancy

550 Waverley St, Palo Alto, CA 94301-1720

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    University Avenue & Waverley Street<br />Hamilton Avenue & Waverley
  • Area
    Palo Alto
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Thu 17:00–21:00 Fri, Sat 17:00–21:30
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Japanese, Contemporary French / American
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Scott Nishiyama
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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