Caffe Riace

YESS!! pasta :) and this place is so fancy. I feel like i was in Italy when I came here because of all the decorations, the statue, the water fountain, the outdoor and the indoor is just absolutely gorgeous. Im not just inlove with the place im also inlove with the Pasta. The portion is just right and sent me to food coma. Its so pretty here I want to take my mom and my sisters here.

We have eaten at CR many times in the past. The food, setting and staff have been great. Last night was different. There was only one waiter for the inside (no outside seating due to rain). Very nice and competent guy, but he was over his head. We waited over a half hour to order. Then another half hour to get our appetizer, which he brought with the salads. My main course wasn’t what I ordered and when it was delivered it wasn’t very good. Pasta Siciliana (sp). The Cheese Cake was horrible and we sent it back. For an A+ place on our Go To List, this was very disappointing. I am guessing a change in ownership or the Chef.

I visited this place with my husband not that long ago. The atmosphere was quite lovely and the outdoor seating is absolutely romantic. I had a delicious chicken pasta that was cooked perfectly and definitely spicy. It’s a bit pricey but totally worth it! If you go to Caffe Riace you need to try the outdoor sitting area in the evening for a romantic candlelit dinner.

Really loved the food here! Starting from when I sat down to left I received great service, the bread was delicious and I got the Carrettiera and it was so delicious!
Seriously craving this pasta all of the time. This restaurant is such a little gem with great service, delicious food and great art, you can’t go wrong at Caffe Riace!!!

The service and décor was nice, actually, I just remembered, there’s paintings of boosums on the wall.
That being said, this food is above average for California. And that being said, it was good enough to eat, but not good enough to bring home extras.
We had a good time here, despite hipster California taste buds.

Beautiful setting for dinner on a warm autumn night on their art-​filled patio.
We’ve been dining here occasionally for close to a decade now. The service is always warm though not always snappy.
We ordered the penne norma which was tasty but not special. My wife ordered the snapper special which was also fine but not exceptional.
The fried risotto appetizer with tangy tomato sauce was very good.
I probably should’ve ordered their famous canneloni di mamma because it never disappoints.

Café Riace is nestled on a small street on the outskirts of Palo Alto. My family and I came here on a Saturday night looking for some nice homey Italian food after a long week of work. We walked into the patio area where there was a small check in booth with two servers standing there talking amongst themselves. Neither came up to greet us, so my parents and I walked up and told them we had made a reservation. Both waiters continued talking — neither bothered to acknowledge our existence. Only after we loudly exclaimed «EXCUSE ME?!», did one server finally turn around and ask us how many people in the party. We were seated inside a small room with 3 other tables. After waiting about 10 minutes, we waved a server over to ask for menus. Yes… We had to ask for menus… Food was relatively fast to come out.
We ordered calamari (3.5÷5), antipasto (²⁄₅), sausage penne (³⁄₅), and seafood linguini (³⁄₅). The calamari was lightly battered and came with 2 dipping sauces. It was a very typical calamari. My only complaint was the fact that they didn’t have any crispy legs. That’s the best part of calamari! Instead there was a bunch of fried breading at the bottom of the plate. Antipasto was disappointingly small and lacking in variety. There were 3 small cuts of meats, 1 olive, 2 small pieces of bruschetta, and some peppers. For $ 12 I expected a lot more. Their meats looked like something I could buy from Safeway to make a sandwich with.
As for the entrees, the pasta was bland and lackluster. The sausage was hard as rocks and if I didn’t read the menu, I wouldn’t have known it was sausage at all. The seafood was cooked well, but they ran out of clams and their muscles were all empty for the most part.
Mediocre food is excusable, but what really pissed us off that night was the service. We had to ask to be seated. We had to ask for menus. We had to ask multiple times for water. We had to ask for bread, that other tables had gotten right when they sat down. Servers were slow and inattentive. Having to ask for a water refill once is ok, 2 times is understandable (we’re all human and we forget things sometimes), but 6 times is just inexcusable. Considering the high prices, mediocre food, and bad service, I will not be coming back here any time soon.
Pros:
— relatively empty and easy to make a reservation even on weekends
— lots of parking conveniently across the street
Cons:
— service was horrible
— food was nothing special (you could make similar things in your own home)
— everything is really expensive for the portions they give

What is going on with this place?
No, seriously. That wasn’t a rhetorical question. For reals, what is going on with this place? I would like for the owner/​manager to respond and let me know. I think more than a few people are curious.
This place has sentimental value for me – it was the location of my first date with my now-​husband almost 8 years ago. It was the first Italian restaurant he and I went to after we both got back from studying abroad in Italy. Let me tell you, once you’ve lived in Italy, Italian food in America is kinda ruined for you (sorry, I’m not meaning to sound snooty). But the food at Caffe Riace still somehow managed to wow us when we got back from our extended stay abroad. It was THAT good. We even came at times where one of the owners would bring us random dishes to try. Just a delicious meal and fun atmosphere.
As an anniversary gift when we were still dating, my then-​boyfriend got me a $ 100 gift certificate to Caffe Riace that we did not have a chance to use before we moved to Southern California for 5 years.
Now that we’re back in the Bay, we knew one of our first stops had to be Caffe Riace. We never intended to use our extremely old $ 100 gift certificate, but from the most recent Unilocal reviews, it sounds like they wouldn’t have honored it anyways, even if we had tried.
Our most recent experience, about a week ago, was extremely unpleasant. We walked up to the hostess stand and there was no one to greet us. To be fair, someone came over quickly. When we informed him that we had a reservation, he spent a little too long looking through the computer. While he didn’t mention anything, it seemed like he never found the reservation.
We were seated at a table on the far side of the outside courtyard. The table was positioned right next to a large plant that stuck over the table. My husband sat down and had to lean to the side all night long, so as not to be poked in the face. When we sat down, the host even made a comment about how they should probably trim that down. Um… yeah. That’s probably just a maintenance thing that you do and not «probably» consider doing. Our host also went on to inform us that they were out of all the specials and pretty much all the entrees from the back side of the menu.
We waved off these initial annoyances as the quarks of a local small restaurant. Our waiter came to our table and took our appetizer order and further explained they were out of the specials due to a large party during the afternoon. Weird, but fair enough. We ordered our entrees.
Our two appetizers came out pretty fast, although not at the same time. My husband wasn’t impressed, but I found nothing wrong with them. I was hungry and they tasted okay to me. At this point, there still wasn’t anything for me to hold against the restaurant. Then things snowballed.
After we waited a little longer, our waiter came back out and informed us that the kitchen was a little backed up because there was only once chef. He apologized profusely and said he would keep us posted.
Around this time, the original dude who seated us walked past. We asked him if we could get some bread as a table next to us had some. With annoyance, he mumbled something about how they don’t have bread. He made it sound like they never in their whole existence as a restaurant have served bread. When we asked for clarification, he said they ran out. Of course they did.
Our waiter came back a while later and said they were still backed up, but he was working on it. Again he apologized. A short while later, our waiter came back with bread. Huzzah! Bread that is magically baked and appears!
We kept waiting, as patiently as possible. We noticed that other tables were getting inpatient. One mom and dad duo go up and talked to the manager.
After about two hours of us sitting there, my husband and I finally resolved that we would ask the waiter if there was an estimate on how long our food would be. Our waiter informed us that management had just made a decision to only serve tables that came in before a certain time, as it was getting late and they were apparently running out of more food. He said he wasn’t sure if we were going to make the cut, but he was going to find out. We stopped him before he walked away and told him that we would cut our losses and leave. He again apologized. This poor dude. We honestly felt so bad for him and wouldn’t have stayed as long as we did if it wasn’t for his heartfelt concern and apologies.
I just feel realllllllly bad for those patrons that night that waited for hours only to «not make the cut» and were told they would never receive their food. Yikes…
At least they comped our appetizers.
I hope that someday we’ll be back. But this restaurant somehow needs to return to it’s former glory before that happens. Such a sad shame that an amazing restaurant has fallen so hard.

This one hurts me to post.
My wife and I had our very first date here back in college. We had a great time, and the few times we returned after that, the food was excellent, as was the ambience and the service.
We returned yesterday for the first time in five years — and it was probably one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. Ever. Anywhere.
The host wasn’t really friendly, and when he seated us, he told us that they basically didn’t have a full quarter of their menu. He also seated us in a table with a plant that was sticking out over the side, right at head level. Why even put a table there?
Our waiter informed us that the reason they were out of so many things is because a large group rolled in earlier and basically cleaned them out. They were even out of bread. Kinda ridiculous that one group could incapacitate them, but that’s fine. We put in our order, and some appetizers. We got the appetizers in fairly quick fashion, but it was clearly substandard quality. The caprese used mozzarella that had a not-​quite-​thawed texture, and the tomatoes were pale, tough, and rather tasteless. The antipasto Riace was a little better, but not much.
We found out a little later (after about 45 minutes of waiting) that they only had one chef due to an emergency. Our waiter was really nice, so we tried to stay. After about another half hour, we learned that the owners were trying to take stock of their inventory to figure out how many meals they could actually make, and our waiter didn’t even know if we were on that list. Rather than waiting to find out, we just cut our losses.
At the very least, they comped us for the Appetizers. However, I would have rather had a great meal and paid for it than sat through that nightmare.
Even the menus looked cheap for a restaurant that has the kind of price point that they do.
I would like to say I’d go back, but I’d prefer to remember them for how they used to be than what they’ve become.

This review is for the restaurant service and reservation.
I was very excited to experience Caffe Riace as my first step in exploring the California Avenue food scene. I made my Friday dinner reservation online for Caffe Riace. However, upon arrival I was told by the hostess that the place was already closed for the night. It was around 8:15pm when I got to the restaurant which supposedly won’t close for another 2 hours. Furthermore, I received no explanation nor update call regarding the early closing hour that day. It was very disappointing that the restaurant reservation is disorganized in such way. Next time, I will certainly think twice before choosing this place. And it is probably a good idea to confirm that they are opening for business at your hour of choice…

This place has a very nice setting. very romantic and exclusive. However, Food was not extraordinary compared to to the other Italian restaurants I go to in Palo Alto but comparable. It is also a bit pricy for the amount of serving and quality of food and presentation. Their menu has a wide variety of great selection.
Certainly a good place to go for a change but be prepared for the very slow service, and slightly pricy plated servings. Less than 100gms of cod with 2 pcs of broccoli and a few green beans for $ 21++is I guess expensive.
And by the way if you are planning on bringing in a cake for your celebration, forget it! I was told $ 20 – 25 by the receptionist and was billed $ 50.00 and when asked, all the server said was — «that’s what my manager said and he is the owner!»

We discovered this restaurant via Groupon and we had been loyal groupon customers over the years, coming in whenever there was an available Groupon sale. Tonight we finished our meal and presented our Groupon… And we were told that they had decided they weren’t taking Groupons any more, even currently valid ones purchased previously.
They gave us a number to call to get the cost of the Groupon back, but that doesn’t take into account the savings that we were counting on to make our meal less expensive.
This is dishonorable of them — they could have chosen to honor existing ones and simply not create more. Instead they have chosen this path and lost our business, and doubtless those of other customers who were presented with a nasty surprise alongside the check.

Words cannot describe how awful the service was. We waited over 2 hours for our entrees and when they finally arrived each plate was staggered by 5 – 10 minutes each. The manager literally said she would rather have 10 1-​star reviews than consider comping anything on our bill. Plates were wrong and steaks that were ordered rare were well-​done. Palo Alto has so many delicious restaurants, please save yourself the headache and eat somewhere else.
Also we order the «Kobe/​burrata» app and the cheese was Brie… the «porcini» mushrooms on the rib eye were literally white button mushrooms. If you print it on the menu, serve it. Pretty simple.

Came here for a work lunch with some partners. Café Riace is a very interesting place. We actually didnt even go inside, as it seems most of the restaurant is outdoors. We sat within the giant courtyard amongst elegant statues, art, and moped-​décor. Unfortunately, it was a few weeks ago so the weather wasn’t the bed, still slightly cloudy.
The service was top notch and the food was just okay. I ordered a salmon dish that was actually pretty good. I thought the caprese salad was slightly lacking though. Overall, it was a good experience.

I found out this place because I had purchased a
certificate — it didn’t make a dent here at all, LOL! (but at least we enjoyed our meal)
They had super delicious bread served with olive oil (with olives). My husband had the veal chop — I tried a tiny piece (because I’m usually against eating veal) and it was very tender/​juicy. I had the orecchiette with Italian sausage + broccolini — I’ve never had this type of pasta so I decided to give it a try. It’s a hat-​like shell pasta and the sausages were yummy! We shared an apple strudel for dessert, which was not overly sweet and paired very well with banana ice-​cream.
Overall, this place was very good but definitely on the pricey side!

I will never patronize this place. Horrible customer service, and atrocious business practices.
I made a reservation for my father’s 75^th birthday on a Tuesday at 6:30pm. When we arrived at Café Riace, I told the host my name and that we had a reservation. He (the host) was looking around at all the empty tables outdoors (no one was sitting outside), and then back at the tablet that they used for reservations. I was told that «only seating outside was available (mind you, it was 6:30pm and 58 degrees outside)». Puzzled… I asked why we could not be seated inside, the response was… «Did you request to sit inside???» My answer…“No. I wasn’t given the option.” I was a little perplexed by this, since this was not mentioned to me when I called the restaurant and spoke to someone about a reservation. When I explained to the host that I had not specified, since 1) this was our first time dining here (and ignorant of the need to specify), and 2) that when I made the reservation I was not asked, nor given an option of outdoor seating or indoor seating.
Due to the low temperatures, dining outside would not have been a pleasant experience. Thus, I inquired of the host how long would the wait be to sit indoors, explained that it was my father’s birthday and that it was way too cold to sit outside (clearly this was evident since he was standing outside in the cool breeze and 58 degree weather as well). The host stepped away, and came back to inform me that the wait would be 45 minutes to sit indoors, and that typically there is a minimum of $ 500-​$ 700 that needs to be spent to sit indoors. I then asked to speak to the manager. To my chagrin, I was then told that the manager had conveniently «just left»… Right.
Given the options, with no manager in site; I took the card of the owner, told the host that this was a horrible display of customer service, and we left. We ended up at an old favorite, where we had a lovely meal.
In closing, I have never experienced service such as this in my life. I have dined at many restaurants, and this was the worst case of accommodation and service I have ever had, whether on a regular day and especially FOR A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. For if it is the policy of a restaurant the need for the consumer to specify indoor or outdoor dining, it should be made clear by the taker of the reservation when a reservation is being made. Secondly, in the case of an instance like we experienced this evening where there was not even an apology is inexcusable, and classless. Lastly, this low-​level of customer service in total is deplorable, and ludicrous.
I was really looking forward to dining here on my father’s birthday. I will NEVER attempt to patronize this establishment again after this experience. This restaurant, and the owner should be ashamed of themselves.

Myself and a friend made reservation for lunch on a weekday. As we arrived we waited for someone to come and guide us. The people working are really polite and know the art of treating people. We wished to be seated in their outdoor seating area but were asked to be seated inside probably because we went there almost at 2 which is a mere half hour before closing.
As we were seated they served us olive oil with bread which tasted good. For the entrée i ordered Gnocchi al Pesto. The portion size was enormous considering it was lunch and the server was fun and served us a lot of cheese atop our entrée. Very good feast and loved the ambiance and service. Definitely returning.

Parking is convenient as it is right in front of the place.
When I arrived, there was a group of people standing so I could not see where the front desk area was. I was told that the inside had been booked fully and only outdoor seating was available, I wish I would’ve known that as I booked my reservation. The host was very nice and helped get the heater started for my table.
Here is where it gets bad. The server seemed like we were a burden to him. He asked if we wanted wine or drinks and then just answered it himself, saying, «no, right?» He then just walked off. I actually did order a glass of Prosecco and he just shrugged it off. Food came out fast, too fast if you know what I mean. Food was meh. If the service was great, I wouldn’t have really cared if the food was average or not but it was just a bad experience. We had the Groupon and It was good to try but I will not be back.

Omg, food is fantastic. Creative dishes of seafood, pasta, and vegetables. Service is so so, and a little crab shell in a ravioli. Dessert were fantastic best cannoli ever.

Caffe Riace is a fantastic Italian place tucked away off the main roads. It has outdoor seating with flickering light heaters that make for a romantic ambience. The food is great, the prices reasonable, and the service is impeccable. Can’t do much better than this!
We ordered two dishes: the fettuccini with pesto sauce, sun-​dried tomatoes, eggplant, and chicken (one of the specials that night, $ 20-​something), and the Linguini Tutto Marre, with clams, mussels, fish and prawns ($ 20.5). The seafood in the linguini was really fresh, and you could especially taste that in the shellfish. Both dishes were extraordinary though, with the fettucini also blending together the right amount of tartness from the sun-​dried tomatoes with the textures of the eggplant and chicken and the flavor of the pesto sauce. The food was top notch. You can also order wine by the bottle or by the glass, as well.
I was impressed by the prices. Given the ambience and the décor, Caffe Riace had surprisingly reasonable prices. Most pasta entrees ranged from $ 15 to $ 22 dollars, and it also never hurts to use the Unilocal $ 10 for $ 20 or Groupon $ 20 for $ 40 deal as well. This brings the meal to an even more reasonable level, which is great for the quality of the food you get.
Lastly, I have to say that the service was also magnificent. We had a really nice waiter, who didn’t snub us because we looked young (we’re just Asian!) and explained a lot of the dishes and the history of the restaurant to us. With ample parking, getting there was also super easy.
Overall, Caffe Riace offers a unique dining experience that is surprisingly less well-​known given it has so many reviews on Unilocal.Go for the experience, but stay for the food, and the service. Our new favorite pasta place!