Where to eat near Cubberley

Cubberley Community Center does not look like much from Middlefield Road: a sprawl of low 1950s school buildings, parking lots and playing fields. Inside, it is one of the busiest places in south Palo Alto. Children take ballet in one wing, artists work in old classrooms, sports teams fill the gyms and once a month book lovers line up for the library sale. All of those people need to eat. Cubberley has no cafe.

Luckily, a small shopping center sits a short walk north along Middlefield Road. This guide covers it first, then the places a short walk or drive beyond. Every business linked below has a page in our business directory, with hours as each place published them in October 2026. For the campus itself, its rooms and its future, see our Cubberley Community Center guide.

Cubberley in brief

Cubberley opened in 1956 at 4000 Middlefield Road as Ellwood P. Cubberley High School, one of three public high schools in Palo Alto. The district closed it in 1979 after enrollment fell. The city has run it as a community center since 1990. Today it holds dance and music schools, child care and education programs, health groups, 17 studios in the city's artist program and a 317-seat theater. Our history of Cubberley High School tells the longer story.

The site's future is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Measure J is a city sales tax measure that the city links to rebuilding Cubberley. For now the campus works as it has for decades. Its neighbors up the road do the feeding.

How far things are

Distances are straight-line estimates from the middle of the Cubberley campus. On foot, allow about 20 minutes per mile.

Charleston Center: next door

The Charleston Shopping Center on the 3900 block of Middlefield Road is Cubberley's de facto cafeteria. It is a walk of about 3 to 5 minutes from most of the campus. Everything shares one surface lot.

• Peet's Coffee: opens at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. on weekends, with indoor seating, outlets and Wi-Fi. Handy before early fitness classes.
• Mountain Mike's: a family pizza parlor with dine-in, carryout, delivery and a party room. It lists hours from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday to Sunday and until 10 p.m. on Monday.
• Subway: sandwiches and breakfast at 3962 Middlefield Road, open from 8 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends.
• Rick's Ice Cream: an ice cream shop dating to 1956, the same year Cubberley opened. It is now run by the founders of Pints of Joy and mixes classics with Indian-inspired flavors.
• Piazza's Fine Foods: a family-run grocery founded in 1979, with house-made sausages, a full deli and catering. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Food by Cubberley activity

Dance and music classes

Classes often run back to back after school, so parents end up waiting on site. A Peet's coffee or a slice from Mountain Mike's fills the gap. Rick's makes an easy reward after a recital.

The library book sale

The Friends of the Palo Alto Library run a large used book sale at Cubberley most months, with main, bargain and children's rooms. The next listed sale is November 14 and 15, 2026. Lines form early. Grab coffee at Peet's before you queue and a deli sandwich from Piazza's after. Traffic is heavy on sale days, so biking in helps.

Sports in the gyms and fields

Weekend tournaments in the Pavilion and on the fields bring whole families for the day. Piazza's deli and Subway are the quickest ways to feed a team. Mountain Mike's lists delivery for orders too big to carry. Note that the city's amenities sheet says Gym A does not allow food or drinks, so eat outside.

Theater nights

The 317-seat theater hosts dance, concerts, films and lectures. For a sit-down dinner first, Dohatsuten or the south El Camino Real restaurants are closest. Allow time to park back at Cubberley before curtain.

A short walk or drive beyond

• Dohatsuten: a Japanese ramen kitchen and izakaya at 799 San Antonio Road, with slow-simmered broths, a build-your-own ramen and small plates. About 0.4 mile from campus.
• Ada's Cafe: a nonprofit cafe in the Mitchell Park library building that trains and employs people with developmental disabilities. Breakfast, lunch and espresso, closed Mondays.
• Taco Bell on East Charleston Road: a dining room open until 10 p.m. and a drive-thru until 1 or 2 a.m.
• Dinah's Poolside Restaurant: the all-day restaurant at Dinah's Garden Hotel on El Camino Real, with breakfast from 7 a.m. and dinner until 9 p.m. daily.

Mitchell Park is about half a mile north and makes a good picnic stop between activities. Our Mitchell Park food guide covers it. For the full south El Camino strip, from Korean tofu soup to steak, see our El Camino Real food guide.

Late and early

Cubberley's classes and events can run into the evening. Most of the area closes by 9 p.m., with two exceptions. Mountain Mike's lists hours until 2 a.m. Tuesday to Sunday, the latest pizza in this part of town. Taco Bell's drive-thru runs until 1 a.m. most nights and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. At the other end of the day, Peet's opens at 5 a.m. on weekdays and Piazza's at 7 a.m. every day.

Parking and getting there

Cubberley has large surface lots. The Charleston Center has its own shared lot, which is smaller and fills at lunch and on weekend mornings. If you are already parked at Cubberley, walk to the food rather than moving the car. Cubberley is also easy to reach by bike from most of south Palo Alto on quiet residential streets. Our biking guide covers the city's bike routes.

Dietary needs

Choice is narrower here than downtown, so it helps to know what each place offers. Piazza's deli can build sandwiches and salads to order and sells packaged snacks for most diets. Rick's rotates its flavor list, so ask what is dairy-free that day. Dohatsuten lists a build-your-own ramen, which makes it easier to leave out ingredients. As always, confirm allergies with staff, since small kitchens share equipment.

For visiting families and teams

Out-of-town teams and families often come to Cubberley for weekend tournaments, recitals and performances. The closest hotels are on El Camino Real, about a mile west. You can compare hotels near south Palo Alto along that stretch, with several in walking distance of the south El Camino restaurants.

Frequently asked questions