Sweet Maple

About Sweet Maple

Sweet Maple is a breakfast and brunch restaurant at 150 University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. It is part of a small group that started in San Francisco. The brand describes its food as American breakfast and brunch "with a touch of Asian influence." Its locations page lists restaurants in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Santa Monica and Cupertino.

The first Sweet Maple opened in 2010 in San Francisco's Lower Pacific Heights. Palo Alto Online reported the Palo Alto plan in December 2019. The restaurant was set to replace Amber Dhara, an Indian restaurant that closed at this address that month. Owner Hoyul Steven Choi, who runs the business with his wife, had targeted an August 2020 opening. The paper reported the Palo Alto restaurant open for breakfast and brunch in February 2022.

Plans that changed along the way

The Palo Alto restaurant did not open in quite the form first described. In 2019 Choi told Palo Alto Online that dinner would be "New American with some modern Korean mixed in," though not fully traditional Korean food. At the time the couple also ran a Sweet Maple at SFO and Berkeley Social Club, their first Korean restaurant. When the restaurant opened in 2022, the paper said it hoped to add dinner the following month. The current hours on the website show breakfast and brunch only, ending at 2:30 p.m.

What is on the menu

The dish Sweet Maple puts front and center is its bacon. The restaurant calls itself the "Home of Millionaire's Bacon," a registered trademark. It describes the bacon as extra-thick and slow-cooked for hours with brown sugar and spicy peppers until it turns sweet and spicy. The company says the bacon was featured on the Discovery Network show "United States of Bacon."

The other signature the brand names is the "Big Hip," a deep-fried French toast. When the Palo Alto restaurant opened, Palo Alto Online also described matcha moffles, scrambles, eggs Benedict, sandwiches and a version of huevos rancheros made with chicken breast. It reported a fried rice made with Shin Ramyun, the Korean instant noodle brand, as one of the Asian touches on the menu. Menus change, so check the Palo Alto menu page on the website for what is served today.

The brand's website also mentions bottomless mimosas and bloody Marys. Drink offers can differ between locations, so ask the Palo Alto restaurant before counting on them.

Ordering and private events

Sweet Maple takes online orders for the Palo Alto restaurant through its website. Takeout is handy for a weekday breakfast meeting or a late start at home. The restaurant also hosts private events, which suits a birthday brunch or a team gathering on a quieter weekday morning. The website has a page with Palo Alto details and the local menu. You can reach the Palo Alto restaurant by phone or at [email protected].

Who it suits

Sweet Maple suits a weekend brunch with friends, a family breakfast or a visitor who wants to try the brand's signature bacon. Thick bacon cooked in brown sugar is rich, so it works well shared at the table. Stanford families in town for a weekend will find it an easy walk from the train and the hotels downtown. Because the restaurant closes at 2:30 p.m., it is strictly a morning and lunch stop.

Tips for visiting

• Go early on Saturday and Sunday, when brunch demand peaks.
• Share an order of Millionaire's Bacon with the table rather than ordering one each.
• Order online for pickup if you only want the bacon and a coffee.
• Use the Palo Alto menu page rather than a San Francisco menu when you plan, since dishes and drink offers can differ by location.
• The Palo Alto Caltrain station is a short walk down University Avenue.

Our Palo Alto brunch guide covers other morning favorites. The downtown Palo Alto guide has ideas for the rest of the day. Our guide to staying downtown lists hotels within walking distance.

Location and getting there

Sweet Maple is at 150 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, in the Downtown area of Palo Alto. Our Downtown guide covers what else is around.

The Palo Alto Caltrain station is less than a quarter mile away, a walk of a few minutes.

Parking: street spaces and city garages with posted limits (see parking in Palo Alto).

Hours

Hours from the business's own website, checked October 29, 2026.

What is nearby

• Verve Coffee Roasters, cafe, under 0.1 mi
• Yummy Future, cafe, under 0.1 mi
• T-Mobile University Avenue, shop, under 0.1 mi
• Starbucks University Avenue, cafe, under 0.1 mi
• Mac's Smoke Shop, shop, under 0.1 mi
• Lytton Plaza, under 0.1 mi
• University Avenue, under 0.1 mi
• Cogswell Plaza, 0.2 mi

Other restaurants nearby: Onigilly (under 0.1 mi); Sprout (under 0.1 mi); Arya Steakhouse (under 0.1 mi); Pho Ha Noi (under 0.1 mi). Browse the full restaurants list.

Before you go

• Popular dinner spots in Palo Alto fill up on Friday and Saturday nights, so book ahead where the restaurant takes reservations.
• Many kitchens close earlier than in big cities. Plan to order by about 9 p.m. on weeknights unless the posted hours say otherwise.
• If you have allergies or dietary needs, call ahead or check the current menu on the restaurant's website.

About this listing

Checked October 29, 2026 against Sweet Maple official website; Sweet Maple locations; Palo Alto Online: San Francisco's Sweet Maple to bring brunch, Korean fare to Palo Alto (December 13, 2019); Palo Alto Online: Sweet Maple brings its Millionaire's Bacon and other brunch hits to downtown Palo Alto (February 9, 2022). How our listings work. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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