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Burmese food is one of the Bay Area's quiet strengths. San Francisco has had Burmese restaurants for decades and the cooking has spread down the Peninsula. Palo Alto has one Burmese restaurant of its own, a block off University Avenue. Three more sit within a 15 minute drive up El Camino Real in Menlo Park, Redwood City and San Carlos. If you have never tried it, a tea leaf salad is reason enough to start.
Each restaurant on this page was confirmed in October 2026 through its own website, its first-party ordering page, a booking page with recent activity or a verified listing in our business directory. Menus change, so treat individual dishes as examples.
What Burmese food tastes like
Myanmar sits between India, China, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh and its food shows every border. From India come flatbreads, samosas and curries. From China come wok-fried noodles and tofu. From Thailand and its neighbors come sour, salty salads built on lime, fish sauce and crunchy toppings. The result is its own thing: bright, sour and savory, with a lot of texture.
A few dishes appear on almost every Burmese menu in the Bay Area:
- Tea leaf salad (lahpet thoke). Fermented tea leaves tossed with fried garlic, split peas, nuts, seeds, tomato and cabbage or lettuce. It is mixed at the table in many restaurants.
- Mohinga. A fish broth with rice noodles, lemongrass and ginger, often eaten for breakfast in Myanmar.
- Palata. A flaky layered flatbread, served with a curry for dipping.
- Nan gyi dok. Thick rice noodles with a coconut chicken sauce.
- Coconut rice. Rice cooked in coconut milk, the usual partner for curries.
- Samosa soup. Broken samosas in a sour lentil broth, a street food favorite.
Rangoon Ruby, 445 Emerson Street
Rangoon Ruby is downtown Palo Alto's Burmese restaurant. The restaurant names Chef Max Lee as head of its kitchen and describes its style as a fresh, modern take on Burmese cooking. The Palo Alto website also uses the name Burma Ruby, so you may see both names on menus and receipts.
The menu is long. Appetizers include vegetable samosas, salt and pepper tofu, Northern fried tofu made from yellow bean powder and palata with coconut chicken curry. Lotus root chips appear in season. Soups include mohinga, listed as a catfish chowder with rice noodles, lemongrass and ginger, plus a creamy coconut noodle soup and the samosa soup. Salads cover the tea leaf salad, a rainbow salad built on four kinds of noodles, a ginger salad and a pickled mango salad. Noodles include nan gyi dok, garlic noodles and a Burmese take on pad thai that the menu calls its most popular dish.
Salads come on romaine or, in the traditional style, on shredded cabbage. Say which you prefer. The bar leans toward Tiki cocktails and the restaurant suggests its namesake Rangoon Ruby drink for first-time guests.
The kitchen serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day, then closes until 4:30 p.m. Dinner runs until 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant recommends booking, which is good advice for weekend dinners downtown. Takeout runs through SpotOn and DoorDash. It also caters and hosts private parties. Our downtown guide covers parking near Emerson Street.
Burma Love, Menlo Park
Burma Love opened on July 19, 2023, in the Springline development at 1300 El Camino Real in Menlo Park, according to its booking page and The Almanac. It belongs to the Burma Food Group founded by Desmond Tan, which opened Burma Superstar on Clement Street in San Francisco in 1992. The Almanac described Burma Love as the group's contemporary younger sister.
Its booking page describes regional specialties with a contemporary twist, a cocktail program and the classic Burmese staples. At opening the menu included tea leaf salad, platha with dips, mohinga and a lamb shank curry. Lunch runs daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a weekday happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. and dinner every night. It is about 10 minutes north of downtown Palo Alto by car. Our Menlo Park food guide covers the rest of the area.
Burma Spice, Redwood City
Burma Spice is a smaller, more casual restaurant at 490 El Camino Real, Unit 140, in Redwood City. Its first-party ordering page lists the Burmese standards: tea leaf salad, samosas, garlic noodles, coconut rice and nan gyi chicken curry. It also lists a chicken biryani, a nod to the Indian influence on Burmese cooking. The page says orders placed there are commission free, which helps a small restaurant more than a delivery app does.
Lunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. every day. Dinner starts at 4:30 p.m. and ends at 8:45 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 9:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Our Redwood City food guide lists other places nearby.
Rangoon Ruby, San Carlos
Rangoon Ruby's sister restaurant is at 680 Laurel Street in downtown San Carlos, on the town's main dining street. The menu style matches Palo Alto's, so it is a fallback when Emerson Street is full on a Friday night. Check the San Carlos menu and hours on the group's site before you drive.
How to order a Burmese meal
Burmese food is built for sharing. A plan for four people:
- Order a tea leaf salad for the table. It sets up everything else.
- Add a crunchy starter such as samosas or fried tofu. Add palata with curry too.
- Pick one noodle dish and one curry with coconut rice.
- Add a vegetable stir fry such as string beans or eggplant with garlic.
Order a little less than you think you need. Portions tend to be generous and the salads are filling. If you like heat, ask for chili on the side rather than raising the spice of every dish.
Burmese food sits close to Thai and Indian cooking without matching either. Our Thai food guide and Asian food guide cover the neighbors.
Vegetarian and allergy notes
- Vegetarian. Rangoon Ruby marks vegetarian items and notes vegan options on dishes such as the Rangoon noodle and Burmese pad thai. Mango tofu, string beans, eggplant with garlic and broccoli with garlic can anchor a meatless meal.
- Fish and shrimp. Mohinga is a fish soup. Several salads use dried shrimp or fish sauce. Ask for a version without them if you avoid seafood.
- Nuts and seeds. Tea leaf salad usually contains peanuts and sesame. Tell your server about allergies before you order.
- Gluten. Rice noodles and coconut rice are naturally free of wheat. Palata, samosas and soy-based sauces are not.
Our vegetarian and vegan guide lists other meat-free options in Palo Alto.
Getting there without a car
Rangoon Ruby is a short walk from the Palo Alto Caltrain station. Burma Love in Menlo Park is a few blocks from the Menlo Park station. Downtown Redwood City and San Carlos both have Caltrain stops within walking distance of their main dining streets, though Burma Spice sits on El Camino Real south of downtown Redwood City. If you are visiting the Peninsula for a few days, you can compare hotels along El Camino Real and reach all four restaurants easily.
Good to know
- Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby are the same Palo Alto restaurant.
- Rangoon Ruby's kitchen closes from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., so plan a late lunch carefully.
- Burma Love runs a weekday happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m.
- Burma Spice takes commission-free orders on its own ordering page.
- Hours change around holidays. Check each restaurant's site before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Burmese restaurant in Palo Alto?
Yes. Rangoon Ruby at 445 Emerson Street downtown serves Burmese food at lunch and dinner every day. Its menu covers tea leaf salad, noodle dishes, curries and Tiki cocktails. The Palo Alto website also uses the name Burma Ruby.
What is Burma Ruby in Palo Alto?
Burma Ruby is a name used by Rangoon Ruby's Palo Alto restaurant on its website, menus and receipts. The old burmaruby.com address now points to Rangoon Ruby at 445 Emerson Street. We could not confirm a separate Burma Ruby location on University Avenue in 2026.
What should I order at a Burmese restaurant?
Start with tea leaf salad, made with fermented tea leaves, fried garlic, beans, nuts and seeds. Add palata flatbread with curry, a noodle dish such as nan gyi dok and coconut rice. Mohinga, a fish and rice noodle soup, is the national breakfast dish.
Where else can I eat Burmese food near Palo Alto?
Burma Love at 1300 El Camino Real in Menlo Park opened in July 2023 and belongs to the group behind Burma Superstar. Burma Spice is at 490 El Camino Real in Redwood City. Rangoon Ruby has a second restaurant at 680 Laurel Street in San Carlos.
Is Burmese food vegetarian friendly?
Often. Rangoon Ruby marks vegetarian dishes and notes vegan options on dishes such as its Rangoon noodle and Burmese pad thai. Watch for dried shrimp and fish sauce in salads and soups. Tea leaf salad usually contains peanuts, so mention allergies when you order.