Crepes and waffles in Palo Alto

Crepes and waffles are two of the easiest meals to please a mixed table with. Both can be sweet or savory, both suit breakfast or dessert and both are quick. Palo Alto has a small French creperie that makes buckwheat galettes the way they do in Brittany, a family-run Bay Area cafe that serves crepes from breakfast to dinner, a 1923 diner with a Belgian waffle, a New Orleans restaurant with fried chicken and waffles and a dessert shop that turns a fish-shaped Japanese waffle into an ice cream cone.

This guide covers each of them, with the dishes as each restaurant names them on its own menu. Every place below was confirmed in late October or early November 2026 through its own website or a verified page in our business directory. Places outside Palo Alto are within about 12 miles.

At a glance

Crepes, galettes and waffles explained

• Crepe. A very thin pancake of wheat flour, eggs and milk, cooked on a flat round griddle and folded around a filling. In France sweet crepes are a snack or dessert.
• Galette. The savory crepe of Brittany, made with buckwheat flour. It is darker, nuttier and lacier than a wheat crepe. The classic galette complète holds ham, Swiss cheese and an egg.
• Crepe Suzette. A sweet crepe in a sauce of butter, sugar and orange, often flamed with orange liqueur.
• Belgian waffle. A thick waffle with deep pockets, made in a heavy iron. In the United States it usually means a yeasted or leavened batter served with syrup, fruit or cream.
• Chicken and waffles. Fried chicken on a waffle with syrup, a soul food pairing linked to Harlem in the 1930s and to Southern cooking long before that.
• Taiyaki. A Japanese fish-shaped waffle cake, usually filled with sweet red bean.

Crepes in Palo Alto

Bistro Maxine, 548 Ramona Street

Bistro Maxine is a small French creperie between Hamilton and University avenues. Its website says it opened in June 2006 and that its crepe griddles and batter mix come from France. Savory crepes come with a regular wheat batter or a buckwheat batter, the galette au sarrasin. The house crepe, the Maxine, holds egg, spinach, mushrooms and Swiss cheese. The sweet list covers the French cafe standards: lemon with honey or sugar, banana with Nutella, sautéed apples with cinnamon and caramel, dulce de leche and a Suzette with butter, sugar and orange juice. Lattes come in a bowl.

Online ordering runs through Square for pickup. Hours at a small cafe change with the seasons and outside listings do not always agree, so call before an evening visit. Ramona Street between University and Hamilton is car-free, which makes the sidewalk tables pleasant on a sunny day.

Crepevine, 367 University Avenue

Crepevine is a family-owned Bay Area group with eight cafes. Its Palo Alto menu lists more than a dozen savory crepes, each served with home potatoes or fries and organic greens. Examples include the Florentine with spinach, mushrooms, glazed onions and jack and cottage cheese, the Greek, the Kyoto with tofu and shiitake, the San Francisco with salmon and dill Havarti and Le Delice, a plain ham and cheddar. On the posted menu savory crepes ran from about $17 to $20.

Sweet crepes come with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream at a single price, listed at $11.95. The list includes the Stanford, with strawberries, bananas, Nutella and chocolate sauce, the Jamaican, with caramelized bananas in a caramel rum sauce, Midnight Blues and a S'Mores crepe. A gluten-free crepe can replace any crepe for $1.50, though Crepevine warns that cross-contamination may occur. It opens at 8 a.m. every day and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There is a kids' menu with mini pancakes.

Waffles in Palo Alto

Palo Alto Creamery, 566 Emerson Street

The Palo Alto Creamery is a diner and soda fountain that says it opened in 1923. Its menu lists a Belgian Waffle with real Vermont maple syrup and a Chicken & Waffle with buttermilk chicken strips. Both are served in the morning only. The Belgian waffle was listed at $16.25. Breakfast is otherwise served all day, so latecomers can switch to pancakes or brioche French toast. The Creamery opens at 8 a.m. daily.

Nola, 535 Ramona Street

Nola is a New Orleans-style restaurant in a 1908 building by Pedro de Lemos. Fried chicken and waffles sits in the Nola Classics section of its menu alongside jambalaya and étouffée. Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nola takes no reservations and is closed on Mondays, so arrive early on weekends.

SomiSomi, 440 University Avenue

SomiSomi is a soft serve chain built around taiyaki. Its signature is a goldfish-shaped waffle cone stuffed with a filling and topped with soft serve in flavors such as ube, matcha and milk tea. Plain taiyaki is sold on its own. It is open from noon to 10:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, which makes it the latest waffle in town.

At the markets and on the street

The downtown Saturday farmers market listed Crepes Divine among its 2026 vendors, making crepes to order between produce stands. Vendor lists change through the year, so check the market before you go. Our farmers markets guide has the details. The Waffle Roost truck specializes in chicken and waffles and appears around the Bay Area on a changing schedule posted on its social pages. Our food trucks guide explains where trucks park.

Nearby

Crepevine's Mountain View cafe is at 300 Castro Street, about 6 miles south and a short walk from the Mountain View Caltrain station. It is a good backup when the University Avenue cafe has a wait on weekend mornings.

Dietary notes

• Gluten. Crepevine sells a gluten-free crepe swap. Buckwheat has no gluten, but many galette batters add wheat flour. Bistro Maxine does not say whether its buckwheat batter is wheat-free.
• Vegetarian. Crepevine's Florentine, Greek and Kyoto crepes are meatless. Bistro Maxine's Maxine crepe has no meat.
• Eggs and dairy. Crepe and waffle batters use both. Ask about vegan options before ordering.
• Nuts. Nutella contains hazelnuts. Ask about shared griddles if you have a nut allergy.

When to go

Weekend mornings are peak time. Crepevine and the Creamery both open at 8 a.m. The shortest waits come in the first hour. Waffles at the Creamery are morning only, so do not plan a 3 p.m. waffle there. For dessert after dinner downtown, Crepevine's sweet crepes and SomiSomi's taiyaki both run well into the evening. Our brunch guide lists more weekend morning options.

Frequently asked questions