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Ethel's Fancy, Palo Alto, CA

Ethel's Fancy

4.9
4.9
544 Reviews
$50 and over
Californian

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 19 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Innovative
  • Lively
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.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Japanese, Contemporary French / American
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:30 pm
  • 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 Parking
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 544 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
  • 4.9Food
  • 4.8Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.5Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Californian

  • Peninsula

    Best Overall

  • Peninsula

    Best Food

  • Peninsula

    Innovative

  • Peninsula

    Hot spot

  • Peninsula

    Californian

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Ethel's Fancy in Palo Alto captivates diners with its inventive and "unique" California cuisine, crafted by Chef Scott. The ambiance is described as "modern, energetic, and vibrant," making it perfect for special occasions. Guests rave about the "superb service" and "incredible" flavors, especially the "delicious" rigatoni and "phenomenal" sesame soft serve.

544 Reviews

  1. Alonso

    VIP

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Sat at the bar and Stephen was awesome. The food was flavorful and interesting while being very down to earth and approachable. We came on Valentine’s Day so it was a set menu but the stand outs were scallop stuffed mushrooms, salt and pepper octopus, milk bread and wagyu sirloin. Can’t wait to come back.

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  2. Marianna

    Hawaii

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was very good. Prefixed menu was well presented. Services was excellent. Will come again

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  3. Joyce

    VIP

    San Francisco

    8 reviews

    5.0

    8 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The milk bread was the star! The steak was perfect as was the little gem salad.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Vincent

    VIP

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Food is unique and delicious. But what standout is their service

    Is this helpful?

  5. Michael

    VIP

    San Francisco

    37 reviews

    5.0

    37 reviews

    Dined on 9 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We'll absolutely be back! Ethel's Fancy completely exceeded our expectations!! We went there to celebrate our 21st anniversary. We chose Ethel's as the menu looked very innovative and it had great reviews (Thank you OpenTable patrons!). It did not disappoint. The food was incredible, service impeccable, and experience memorable. It was everything we wanted and more!

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  6. Sudeep

    San Francisco

    12 reviews

    5.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on 9 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We loved every aspect of our dinner there- the service, the food, the ambiance. Everything we tasted was perfect and we can’t wait to go back!

    Is this helpful?

  7. Naomi

    VIP

    San Francisco

    33 reviews

    5.0

    33 reviews

    Dined on 8 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Such a unique menu! I love to drop in and see how regular items like their delicious milk bread and their pork belly have been refreshed seasonally. The live fire cooking makes everything pop.

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  8. Wendy

    VIP

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 8 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was outstanding. Service even better. We dined in the back room so it was quiet. We’ll be back.

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  9. Michael

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 6 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    They were running slightly late on reservation time but the front of the house manager made sure to check in with us and offered drinks while we waited. Definitely not needed but both my wife and I appreciated the gesture and that set the overall experience for the rest of our night!

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  10. Minjun

    Phoenix

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 6 February 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Short menu, easily out of items. I would suggest order once and order all.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Ethel's Fancy is rated 4.9 stars by 544 OpenTable diners.

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

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 19 times today
Google Map for Ethel's Fancy

550 Waverley St, Palo Alto, CA 94301-1720

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    University Avenue & Waverley Street<br />Hamilton Avenue & Waverley
  • Area
    Palo Alto
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:30 pm
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Japanese, Contemporary French / American
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Scott Nishiyama
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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