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Palo Alto has no grand brasserie, but it has a solid set of French kitchens for a city its size. A bistro downtown turns out steak frites and onion soup. Two small dining rooms near California Avenue cook Paris classics and seasonal California French plates. A creperie on Ramona Street has made buckwheat galettes since 2006. Add three pastry shops with serious croissants and a wine shop that leans toward Burgundy and you can eat French from breakfast to a late glass of wine.
This guide covers the French places we confirmed were operating in late 2026. Each name links to its page in our business directory, where you will find hours, the address and the sources we used. For the wider restaurant scene, start with our food and drink guide.
Bistros for dinner
Three restaurants carry most of the city's French dinner trade. They differ more in mood than in menu.
Zola, Bryant Street
Zola sits at 585 Bryant Street in downtown Palo Alto. It now runs together with its cocktail bar under the name Zola + BarZola. The restaurant says it has cooked market-driven French food since 2014. Its dinner menu follows the shape of a Paris bistro: French onion soup, escargots in garlic and parsley butter, steak tartare, duck confit and roast chicken, then a steak frites section with hanger, flat iron and a dry-aged ribeye.
Zola serves dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. and is closed Sunday. BarZola opens at 4 p.m. with cocktails and a menu from the same kitchen, which makes the bar a useful fallback when the dining room is full. On Monday through Thursday a set bistro menu runs from 5 to 5:30 p.m., with soup or salad, a main and dessert. That early window suits a pre-theater dinner before a film at the Stanford Theatre. Older listings show 565 Bryant Street. The restaurant now uses 585, so use that number for directions.
La Boheme, California Avenue
La Boheme is a French bistro at 415 California Avenue that dates its menus to 2014. The dinner card is pure Paris: escargots, onion soup with Swiss cheese, a charcuterie board with duck rillettes and Bayonne ham, warm goat cheese salad and a croque monsieur. Its wine list has a name of its own, La Cave de Marie, after Marie-Pierre, who helps guests pick a bottle.
La Boheme is the most flexible of the three. It serves lunch Tuesday through Friday, a breakfast and brunch menu on weekends with a long list of omelettes and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed Monday. Book by phone or OpenTable and note whether you want to sit inside or out, since the restaurant says indoor seating is limited.
Bistro Elan, Birch Street
Around the corner from California Avenue, Bistro Elan at 2363A Birch Street calls its cooking California French. Expect lighter takes on French dishes alongside seasonal produce: scallops, local lingcod, duck leg confit and a grilled skirt steak, with a menu that changes by season. The wine list leans French, with Burgundy, Champagne, Sancerre and the Rhône well covered. Many wines come by the glass or half bottle.
Hours are short, so plan ahead. The website lists lunch Wednesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sunday through Tuesday. Reservations go through OpenTable.
A new French-Italian bistro on Page Mill Road
The newest French option is The Rendezvous at 195 Page Mill Road, near the Park Boulevard end of the California Avenue district. It opened in June 2026 as a bistro and wine bar. The Almanac reported that chef Maxime Roucoule brought back dishes he cooked at Pastis, the Cal Ave bistro that closed in 2022, such as escargots, mussels and pâté. The owner, Giuseppe Carrubba, also runs Kirk's Steakburgers and Caffe Riace.
The Rendezvous works across the day. Mornings bring espresso and pastries such as a pistachio croissant. Lunch covers a croque monsieur, quiche and salads, plus Italian sandwiches. Dinner adds the French bistro plates. The wine list runs to about 300 labels and roughly 40 percent of them are French. It has no website of its own yet, so check its social media for current hours before you go.
Crepes and galettes
Crepes are the easiest way into French food at lunch. Palo Alto has two very different takes.
- Bistro Maxine, 548 Ramona Street. A small creperie that opened in June 2006 near the Hamilton Avenue corner. It says its griddles and its batter mix both came from France. Savory crepes come with wheat or buckwheat batter, the galette au sarrasin of Brittany. Fillings include the Complete with egg, ham and Swiss cheese and the house Maxine with spinach and mushrooms. Lattes come in a bowl. Order ahead for pickup through its Square site.
- Crepevine, 367 University Avenue. A family-owned Bay Area group with a big menu. Savory and sweet crepes share space with omelettes, Benedicts, pancakes, sandwiches and pasta. It opens at 8 a.m. every day, which makes it a reliable breakfast stop downtown. A gluten-free crepe is offered as a swap, though the restaurant warns that cross-contamination can occur.
Bistro Maxine is the choice for a quiet galette at lunch. Crepevine suits a group with mixed tastes or kids who want pancakes.
Croissants, pastry and bread
French pastry is where Palo Alto has improved most in recent years. Each of these shops bakes its own viennoiserie.
Mademoiselle Colette, Lytton Avenue
Mademoiselle Colette at 499 Lytton Avenue models itself on a Parisian cafe. Founder Debora Ferrand is a Cordon Bleu trained pastry chef and the company says it uses imported Beurre d'Isigny butter. The case holds plain and almond croissants, pain au chocolat, kouign amann, a goat cheese kouign amann, palmiers, eclairs, fraisier, Parisian flan and macarons. Bread runs to pain de campagne, baguette and an olive loaf. The shop opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday, so it is a morning and lunch stop.
La Baguette, Stanford Shopping Center
La Baguette is an independent boulangerie and patisserie at 170 Stanford Shopping Center, run by owners it names as Scott and Natalie. It bakes a baguette tradition and other loaves, croissants, eclairs, napoleons, macarons and fruit tarts. Quiche Lorraine and sandwiches cover lunch. In December it lists a bûche de Noël. It is open daily, which helps on a Sunday shopping trip. See our Stanford Shopping Center guide for parking and layout.
Manresa Bread and Marvel Cake
Manresa Bread at Town & Country Village is not a French bakery by name, but its pastries use a traditional viennoiserie method with cultured French butter. Downtown, Marvel Cake at 250 University Avenue is known for custom cakes but also keeps a French-style pastry case with croissants and laminated pastry.
More French baking is on the way. Croissanté has announced a shop at 321 California Avenue and San Francisco's Arsicault Bakery has announced a Palo Alto shop at 388 Cambridge Avenue, aiming for early 2027. Opening dates for bakeries slip often, so check before a special trip.
French wine to drink or take home
Several of the bistros above pour French wine seriously. Bistro Elan's list covers Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne. Zola's list is rooted in France. La Boheme's owner will pair a bottle with your meal.
To take a bottle home, Vin Vino Wine at 437 South California Avenue is the obvious stop. Its co-owners include Guillaume Bienaime, who also runs Zola. The shop's selection leans toward Burgundy, along with Italian bottles and balanced California wines. Our bars and wine guide covers wine bars for a glass after dinner.
What to order: a short French menu glossary
| Dish | What it is | Where we saw it |
|---|---|---|
| Steak frites | Grilled steak with fries | Zola |
| Escargots | Snails baked in garlic and parsley butter | Zola, La Boheme, The Rendezvous |
| Croque monsieur | Ham and cheese sandwich with béchamel | La Boheme, The Rendezvous |
| Duck confit | Duck leg cooked slowly in its own fat | Zola, Bistro Elan |
| Galette | Savory buckwheat crepe from Brittany | Bistro Maxine |
| Kouign amann | Caramelized laminated pastry from Brittany | Mademoiselle Colette |
| Fraisier | Strawberry and cream cake | Mademoiselle Colette |
Menus change with the seasons. Treat any single dish as an example rather than a promise and check the restaurant's current menu online.
Planning a French meal
- Check the day. La Boheme is closed Monday, Bistro Elan is closed Sunday through Tuesday and Zola is closed Sunday. Sunday dinner is the hardest French meal to find in town.
- Book weekend dinners. Zola and La Boheme both fill on Friday and Saturday nights. Use OpenTable or the restaurant's own booking link.
- Go early for pastry. Croissants and kouign amann sell out. Arrive before 10 a.m. on weekends.
- Mention allergies. Bistro Elan's menu does not label vegetarian or gluten-free dishes, so call ahead. Our gluten-free guide lists places that do label their menus.
- Park smart. Downtown and Cal Ave garages give longer free time than the street. Our parking guide explains the limits.
Good to know
- La Boheme and Bistro Elan are both a short walk from the California Avenue Caltrain station.
- Zola's early bistro menu runs only from 5 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
- Mademoiselle Colette closes at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
- The California Avenue farmers market on Sundays is a good place to pair a pastry with fruit. See farmers markets.
Beyond Palo Alto
If you want a longer French evening, the Peninsula has more. Mademoiselle Colette has sister shops in Menlo Park, Redwood City and Atherton. Those three locations list private event spaces. Our guide to eating in Menlo Park covers restaurants just over the city line. For a guided taste of the wider Bay Area, browse Bay Area food tours that start in San Francisco.
Within Palo Alto, a classic day might start with a kouign amann on Lytton Avenue, move to a galette on Ramona Street at lunch and end with steak frites on Bryant Street. All three sit within a 10-minute walk of one another in downtown Palo Alto.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a French restaurant in downtown Palo Alto?
Yes. Zola at 585 Bryant Street is a French bistro with a cocktail bar called BarZola. It serves dinner Monday through Saturday and is closed Sunday. Bistro Maxine on Ramona Street serves crepes during the day.
Where can I get French food near California Avenue?
La Boheme at 415 California Avenue is a French bistro that serves weekday lunch, weekend brunch and dinner. Bistro Elan is around the corner at 2363A Birch Street and serves a California French menu Wednesday through Saturday.
Where can I buy croissants in Palo Alto?
Mademoiselle Colette on Lytton Avenue, La Baguette at Stanford Shopping Center and Manresa Bread at Town & Country Village all sell croissants and other laminated pastries. Popular items often sell out by early afternoon.
Are there buckwheat crepes in Palo Alto?
Yes. Bistro Maxine at 548 Ramona Street makes savory crepes with either wheat batter or a buckwheat batter, the galette of Brittany. Its website does not say whether the buckwheat batter is free of wheat, so ask if you avoid gluten.
Which French restaurants in Palo Alto serve lunch?
La Boheme serves lunch Tuesday through Friday and Bistro Elan serves lunch Wednesday through Friday. Zola is dinner only. The Rendezvous on Page Mill Road serves sandwiches and quiche at lunch.