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St. Michael's Alley, Palo Alto, CA

St. Michael's Alley

4.8
4.8
798 Reviews
$31 to $50
American

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 13 times today
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Charming
Established in 1959, owners Jenny Youll and Mike Sabina expanded the once small coffeehouse of St. Michaels Alley into this intimate dining establishment in 2009. The restaurant provides three comfortable spaces for a dinner out with friends, date night, or a complete private event. The main dining room is wood paneled and intimate. The front room / bar area is more casual and social, yet still offers tables with linens and the full menu. The solid wood bar is a favorite dining spot for many of the regulars and locals. A beautiful outdoor patio is most enjoyable on warm summer days and nights as it open to the sky. Enjoy a cocktail at the full bar before venturing into one of the upscale and relaxed dining spaces of St. Michael's Alley.

The restaurant is currently offering the Autumn Menu on the Patio as well as takeout, Tuesday through Sunday starting at 5pm.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    American, Californian, Comfort Food
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Tue–Sun 5:00 pm–8:45 pm
  • Phone number
    (650) 326-2530
  • Website
    http://www.stmikes.com/
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Catering
    At this time, catering is on a Pick-up only arrangement. Please call 650-906-8060
  • Private party facilities
    We can accommodate private and semi-private groups. For a full buyout, the dining room seats up to 50 people. The bar seats an additional 20 people, but is separate from the dining room. Price for the entire restaurant for the entire night ranges from $7,000 - $10,000. Two semi-private spaces are available and separated with a heavy curtain. The smaller space seats up to 20 people ($2000-$2400), and the larger space up to 26 people ($2400-$2800). Please call us at 650-326-2530 for more information.
  • Location
    140 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
  • Area
    Palo Alto
  • Cross Street
    High St.
  • Parking details
    Street Parking and Public Lot Under Building (800 High St.)
  • Public transit
    Caltrain - Palo Alto, University Avenue
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine
Gift card

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Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 798 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

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

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • Peninsula

    Best Ambience

  • Peninsula

    Romantic

  • Peninsula

    American

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
St. Michael's Alley offers an exquisite dining experience with "excellent food and service." The menu boasts diverse, beautifully presented dishes, including standout favorites like Branzino and duck. The atmosphere is "calm and inviting," perfect for celebrations or intimate dinners. While some find noise levels high, the overall experience remains "wonderful and memorable."

798 Reviews

  1. Timothy

    New York City

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    I grew up in Palo Alto and have patronized St. Michael's Alley since it opened at its original location many years ago, and have always found the food and service worth the considerable expense. This time, we reserved a table for New Year's Eve on line, and were not informed that there would be an expensive fixed price menu with extremely limited choice for two out of three courses. As a person with shell fish allergies and a strong dislike of mushrooms and other fungus such as truffles, there was nothing I could order for the first course and only one second course option without fungus or shellfish. Our sullen (almost rude) waiter seemed more intent on explaining the many reasons why he couldn't accommodate my "limitations" than on finding a solution. (We overheard other friendlier staff working out accommodations for other customers' similar limitations, and ultimately our server agreed to an accommodation already offered to other diners.) The most disappointing part, however, was that the food was really not up to St. Michael's Alley's high standards -- and was definitely not worth the high price we paid. We will give the restaurant another chance on a future visit to Palo Alto, and we'll keep our fingers crossed that this was a New Year's an anomalous occurrence.

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  2. Steven

    San Francisco

    17 reviews

    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    St. Mike’s has a wonderful combination of atmosphere, great service (on all levels; friendly, knowledgeable, tuned into what you want), and really good food. The specials are always worthwhile. There are different areas in the restaurant: the bar, outdoors, and two other rooms so even though the place may be crowded, you don’t lose the intimacy. Great attention to detail. We’ll be back soon.

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  3. Roy

    VIP

    San Francisco

    31 reviews

    5.0

    31 reviews

    Dined on 23 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent restaurant. Delicious food, lovely service, nice ambiance in the main dining room. Highly recommend for a romantic evening.

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  4. Tony

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 19 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Nice cozy restaurant with nice atmosphere. The food was great and the service too. Just a little loud from boisterous folks at neighboring tables. But still romantic and fun at the same time.

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  5. Genevieve

    VIP

    Central Coast

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 16 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We hadn’t been to St Michael’s in quite awhile. Visited last night and were not disappointed. Food, service and ambience were all great. Had a wonderful dinner- the winter menu is great. I had the seafood pasta special which was fabulous. Highly recommend.

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  6. Alex

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on 8 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Came here for a winter date night, took seating outside which was well lit and heated to mitigate from the chilly environment. The service was prompt and informative as the server rattled off the different specials. Definitely recommend the rack of lamb. The high light was certainly dessert

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  7. Marisela

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 1 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our dinner and desserts were amazing. Best server last night. Outdoor patio was warm and quiet.

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  8. Ravi

    Las Vegas

    8 reviews

    4.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on 1 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Very convenient walking distance from Westin Palo Alto. Nice restaurant with good ambience. Service was great but tapered off as the night progressed. Food was average, portion on the skirt steak was suprisingly small.

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  9. brad

    VIP

    Los Angeles

    3 reviews

    2.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 28 November 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Had the skirt steak and gritty and only ate half of it. Someone else had tuna and was ok but not tasty. Arugula salad was not edible dressing was too strong. Service was slow despite us being in bar area and plenty of people just people weren’t attentive to the 4 tables seated there. I gave 2 stars because i used to come here regularly and it was good but this was first time back in a year and won’t be going back

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  10. Joel

    Central Coast

    14 reviews

    5.0

    14 reviews

    Dined on 27 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our server, Ella, was fantastic as always. The seasonal menu hit the spot with some new items that were different from when we ate last time. The stick toffee pudding for dessert was delicious. Can’t wait to go back again and try more items on the menu.

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FAQs

St. Michael's Alley offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 326-2530.

St. Michael's Alley is rated 4.8 stars by 798 OpenTable diners.

St. Michael's Alley does offer gift cards which you can purchase here.

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 13 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for St. Michael's Alley

140 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    High St.
  • Area
    Palo Alto
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Tue–Sun 5:00 pm–8:45 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    American, Californian, Comfort Food
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking and Public Lot Under Building (800 High St.)
  • Public transit
    Caltrain - Palo Alto, University Avenue
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Website
    http://www.stmikes.com/
  • Phone number
    (650) 326-2530
  • Catering
    At this time, catering is on a Pick-up only arrangement. Please call 650-906-8060
  • Private party facilities
    We can accommodate private and semi-private groups. For a full buyout, the dining room seats up to 50 people. The bar seats an additional 20 people, but is separate from the dining room. Price for the entire restaurant for the entire night ranges from $7,000 - $10,000. Two semi-private spaces are available and separated with a heavy curtain. The smaller space seats up to 20 people ($2000-$2400), and the larger space up to 26 people ($2400-$2800). Please call us at 650-326-2530 for more information.
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Gift card

Send gift cards instantly by email or print to present in person.

Send a gift card
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