Five places to try in Palo Alto

Tamara Palmer

— 3 min read
Five places to try in Palo Alto
Lokum (flash-seared tenderloin) with lemon mashed potato at Meyhouse/Photos by Tamara Palmer

If you want to explore the food scene in Palo Alto one weekend, here are some recommendations to get started!

Meyhouse (640 Emerson Street)

I was invited to have lunch at this beautiful, two-year-old Turkish restaurant yesterday and had surf (Orfuz: charcoal-grilled pink grouper skewer and Meyhouse greens) and turf (Lokum: flash-seared tenderloin with lemon mashed potato) as well as a ground beef lahmacun, a round flatbread that's only available during the day. We were instructed to top it with sumac-dusted onions, tomato and parsley and "roll it like a taco." We could have taken several of them down. The dessert menu features several homemade ice cream flavors, which shouldn't be skipped. We had two scoops of mastika-pistachio. There's a private room in the back where they have their live Meyhouse Jazz ticketed events, which seem like fun. Meyhouse also has a location in Sunnyvale.

Hand-carved Jamón Iberico and pan con tomate at Macarena

Macarena (420 Ramona Street)

I've never been to Spain, but I felt transported once I was eating a big plate of hand-carved Jamón Iberico and pan con tomate at Macarena, which opened in February and invited me in for dinner shortly after. Most tables had a big paella pan on it; there are five different kinds on the menu. We loved the Paella Negra con Vieiras, a squid ink variety with scallops, shrimp, squid, and dabs of aioli on top.

Black King Ramen with squid ink and black garlic at Ramen Nagi

Ramen Nagi (541 Bryant Street)

In 2018, Satoshi Ikuta chose Palo Alto as the first U.S. city to open Ramen Nagi, the "Universal Noodle Creator" with dozens of locations in Asia. It's become a personal favorite for imaginative broths like the squid ink and black garlic Black King and the basil-forward Green King. You won't find more customization options than on this incredible menu, which allows diners to choose salt and oil levels, thickness of noodles, and more.

The menu at Ramen Nagi (taken at the Century City location)

There will probably be a line, but it moves quickly. Ramen Nagi also has a Bay Area location in Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, and a few more in Southern California (Century City, Arcadia, La Jolla, and Costa Mesa).

Rosie Lychee coconut dessert at Tong Sui

Tong Sui (540 Bryant Street)

Across the street from Ramen Nagi, Tong Sui offers jarred coconut desserts and coconut water-based drinks. I've been here a few times, but yesterday I was completely blown away by the Rosie Lychee dessert with fresh lychee and rose jam and the Salty Coco Crunch drink, which is coconut water topped with salted cream and crushed pecans. Someone please bring this to me every day. There are also Tong Sui locations in San Mateo, Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Cupertino, and at Valley Fair in Santa Clara.

Assorted sweet and savory focaccia at GK Pastry

GK Pastry (2417 Park Boulevard)

The first four stops are all in walking distance from each other, and GK Pastry is a short drive away. When I went to this sweet and savory focaccia specialist after lunch yesterday (which was a Friday), all of the focaccias were sold out. Luckily, we stalled long enough for the manager to drop off some more, and I scored a lovely artichoke and goat cheese slab. I want to return to try the crab and pesto, which wasn't replenished yesterday, and some of the sweet ones, such as the chocolate-blueberry and the Dubai chocolate (which, naturally, costs four bucks more than the rest of the $12 selections). GK Pastry's original shop is in Mountain View, and a new Los Altos location opened just a few weeks ago.

See you next weekend!
Tamara

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