Protégé in Palo Alto

Beautiful, minimalist modern restaurant. Very clean and well organized. Got the Caviar and Crab app, a little pricey @$37 but very comforting feeling while eating. The Kale salad was also a little spendy @$22, but kept getting better with each bite. And then the pasta came. Expecting a simple dish with pasta, corn and beans but received an amazingly beautiful and delicious dish with multiple flavor notes. That sauce! So rich and yummy. But the Chocolate tart hit it out of the ballpark. Wow. You get what you pay for here--a stellar Michelin dining experience, unmatched by most of the competition. Great service, too

The food and service are fine but the two ladies were talking very loud and non stop next to our table. Given the price they are charging($300+ with tips and tax and health cost surcharges), there are much better values elsewhere in SF and NY. They also served Champagne with white wine glass and charged $90 for corkage!!

We went for our anniversary unique dishes and drinks. A great ambiance for a special occasion with a friendly staff. There is an open kitchen you can watch the kitchen team prep the dishes, this a special treat as the chefs are true craftsmen of their art.

Exceptional staff at Protégé! Our waitress was extremely kind, funny, and helpful with her suggestions! We went there on August 25th at 5pm. I don’t know what the waitress’s name was, but she has been the best waitress I have met in the US so far.The atmosphere is chic without being “heavy”. The food was good. Nothing exceptional, but good. There wasn’t any flavour mistakes in any of the dishes. The price was appropriate for the food that was served.Overall a great restaurant! Highly recommend!The only downside was the maître D who kept walking circles every 2 minutes which was slightly intrusive, but that’s just a minor detail.

3rd all time favorite place to eat. Achilles in Florence, Italy Per se in new York and then protege palo alto

Upscale. Everything (food, wine and service was perfect 👌. Price was about $400 for two starters, two entrees (of which one was a superb wagyu a5 rib-eye beef), one dessert, and 5 glasses of wine in total. Will be back!

Absolutely delightful tasting menu, 10/10. The "lasagne" will blow your mind, guaranteed. Only weak part of the dinner is the dessert, you can skip. The rest is absolutely world class. A5 Wagyu was out of this world.

We had a great dinner here. The service is professional but not stuffy. Similarly, the ambiance is refined yet laid back. The food was exceptional as well. The fish and chips turned out to be a delicate morsel of tuna with a kick served on a shrimp crisp. Our sea bream was prepared well and had nice crisoy skin to balance the tender meat. Light horse radish cream not overpowering. Citrus yuzu. Beautifully plated. Wagyu was served with black garlic and mushroom tempura, topped with salt. It was prepared well and fatty as expected. The duck was medium rare with crunchy skin, served with an interesting duck confit dumpling. Drinks and desserts also hit the mark.

Not always the most adventurous flavors, but an absolutely perfect use of them every time. The intimacy and congeniality of the staff makes this so much more enjoyable than the more reserved nature Michelin star restaurants usually have.

Dined last night and had an amazing time. Atmosphere was inviting. The food was so delicious. I had the ricotta dumplings and brick chicken. Can I just say, it was flavorful. The staff was attentive and the manager came to our table to check that we were having a momentus time. We will definitely be going back. My ending thought, if you have a chance to dine, do so and you wont regret it. So def 5 stars and a must!

Highly recommend for a nice evening out with significant other or a small group of friends!A phenomenal experience. We really enjoyed talking to the staff and learning about the development of each dish on the tasing menu. Im still drooling.

Amazing firsts each was a real delight.They have an amazing combination of tastes and are also beautiful.We had- Spanish octopus that was good and beautiful.- ricotta dumplings that are just amazing.- spring greens that are very good.- YellowTail aguachile that was excellent.- crab and caviar that was amazing in both taste and presentation.The mains are good but after the firsts you set your expectations high and they just cant make it.We had- brick chicken that was nice.- bone-in Berkshire pork chop that was good.For dessert we had a blueberry pie that was also good.The drinks were excellent.

First class all the way. Made the comment to my friends, this might be the most delicious, carefully attended, customer service focused dinner weve had. One of the best chicken (I mean its chicken how hard is it?dishes Ive had from under a brick. Scallops cooked perfectly. Amazing crab and caviar starter...and the Parker House Rolls...we ordered 2 sets. Do the simple things in the most spectacular way. It wasnt cheap...but unlike a lot of places, it was worth every penny.

My hubby and I dined at Protege recently and it was a mixed experience for us. Food and service started off well, and then turned sideways toward maybe the 3rd or 4th course of the tasting menu. The food became heavier and less well-balanced with not much to offset the richness. The dessert was also supposed to resemble strawberry shortcake, but lacked the crumble (or had very littlethat matches its namesake. We also noticed the service became slower toward the 5th entree course and definitely the last 7th dessert course, where one table received their dessert, finished their dishes, AND had their plates picked up before we even got our desserts.We had hoped to enjoy this, since my husband and I typically don’t spend this kind of money eating out. When we do, we try to focus on places that are worth it. This did not meet that expectation for us.

Luuuuv the sesame pear salad, it’s my favorite dish of the night. Everything was lovely.

First visit since last July. Downgraded to a 4, considered the price and execution. The stuffed churros were an experience of flavors and textures! Totally worth getting. The salmon poke was delicious again. Enjoyed the caviar and crab - particularly the caviar. Drinks were really good. Miss the pretzel though; the focaccia was amazing but didn’t hit the spot the way the pretzel did. The sugar snap pea salad was nice and fresh but I wouldn’t bother getting it again. Similar for the yellowtail appetizer. The pork chop was a tad over cooked this time; fairly disappointing considering how perfect it was the first time.July 21, 2021:I would definitely prioritize a visit here if you’re in the area. Creative and delicious food. Amazing, and not that expensive when you look at Bay Area restaurant prices.Got the à la carte menu on the outside patio. Pleasant to sit outside but you may be distracted by foot traffic; maybe it’s just me.The snacks and the pork chop were amazing.Got a second pretzel instead of dessert. Light and chewy with delicious salty honey butter.Hamachi crudo wasn’t as flavorful or interesting as the “fish and chips” snack.Was a little underwhelmed by the brick chicken - wonderfully crispy but not as tasty as the tender pork chop. My spouse and I both preferred the pork chop.Can’t wait to go back! Maybe we’ll have room for dessert this time, but I bet we’ll fill up on bread again.

After 1st and 2nd visits, I gave a 5 star review: "Michelin star food and service while allows you to order on menu in an expensive neighborhood. 2nd time here and will come back again."Then we did come back for a 3rd visit, unfortunately I have to change to an 1-star. Yes you can say it is our problem showing up with 3 people (sister visiting from out of countrywith a 2 people reservation on a "busy" Friday night. We were told by the owner/sommelier that they cannot add a seat or accommodate my wife and I sitting on the bench side with the other sit on the chair on 2 people table. so he presented us two options, one person go eat somewhere else, or we will forfeit our $200 deposit and they will not refund. When I say I really liked your store and even wrote a 5 star review but this experience doesnt live up to it. I got the answer "we dont care online review. we dont even read them".What makes even worse is my wife noticed during the meal, they sat two people in a four people bench. Not sure if that group has someone bailed out last minute or what.So if you want to go eat there, make sure to book the exact number of people, they wont refund or accommodate extra person from my experience. and i dont know if they will hold your deposit if you have one less person.

Caution!!! They DON’T refund you the deposit if your are not coming with the party size exactly the same with the booking!!! It’s rude of the restaurant owner to let one of us leave the table, no flexibility, no accommodating at all. Totally destroyed the way we can enjoy with such an expensive dinner. The owner said it’s fully booked, but my picture showed how the restaurant looks like since we sit down for 1.5hrs. The owner even said he doesn’t care about review. Will never come again.

I had an amazing dinner experience here with three friends. Protege had a great atmosphere, friendly staff, and delicious food. Everything was quite tasty but if I had to pick a favorite from each course it would be the crab and caviar, ricotta dumplings, brick chicken, and espresso cookies. We’ll definitely be back!

Theres something about Protégé that comes across modern while not too haughty. It is absolutely chic but welcoming. It is not daunting yet you know you are about to be have a special experience.Reading about the chefs being French Laundry alumns, we went in with excitement. And we were not disappointed.The pretzels were wonderful, the sweet potato churros were innovative (but somewhat on the bland side). The oysters and the crab+caviar were definitely eye openers. The sea bass was wonderful and the octopus was served with a twist of Thai soup. The food definitely does not come across pretentious or overly decorative. They genuinely feel like the chefs pushed culinary innovation and experimentation and it works. You will be treated to something you havent tasted before, and that will put a pleasant smile on your face.Protégé is a special place, but very approachable. It is local. It is chic ans proper. And it will create an amazing date night for anyone.

Great food and service. Thanks to the team and Chef for making our Friday night memorable.We had a 5 course meal and the entire meal felt like a carefully orchestrated melody for the palette.

Wonderful. We had the chef’s tasting menu. One highlight was our server, who was delightfully attentive and gave us great suggestions on wine and cheese selections.I’ve had quite a few tasting menu meals before, and this ranks so highly both in terms of food and service quality.The salmon was inCREDible - a smoky sensation but with buttery soft texture. I don’t know how they prepared it, but I’ve never quite had salmon like that. The dish with caviar and horseradish was also wonderful.Hope to be back! Great for special occasions.

Great service. Worth a visit. Seasonal updates are nice. However, cranberries in chocolate chip cookies should be an optional choice during season as some people may not like cranberries.

Had the tasting menu to celebrate a special occasion and it was worth it. The dishes were crafted with absolute perfection!! Flavors were beautifully balanced and no shortcuts were taken in highlighting the amazing quality of the ingredients used. Don’t expect anything to blow your mind in terms of creativity but you won’t be disappointed in the execution of each dish. God, I wish I had something else to celebrate so I can go back!!

The a la carte menu showcases the chef’s all-time classic dishes like Brick Chicken, Ricotta Dumplings, and Spanish Octopus, but the tasting menu really takes it to the next level. One of the highlights was the Burgundy Truffle 9-Layer Lasagna, paired wonderfully with Barbaresco from Piemonte. Both earthy, complex, and incredibly aromatic. We also really enjoyed discussing wine selections with Master Sommelier & Owner Dennis Kelly, who’s always friendly and provides professional recommendations on what varietals, appellations, and winemakers to choose. I highly recommend Protégé as the go-to restaurant for having a great evening with thoughtfully paired food and wine.

The presentation and the service were very good. The food was nothing special. Not much flavor in anything really (Spanish octopus might be an exception). My party tried - appetizers: crab/caviar (disappointment, the sauce is so reach that it overwhelms all the flavors), prawns, octopus, fish and chips, salmon); entrees: pork chop, monkfish. Everything is just “meh”. Not sure what the hype is about.

3.5 Overall a good dining experience. Service is great.Main course (Monkfish and Brick chickenare very salty though. The best thing in the meal is the plum tart. Warm tart, balanced sourness and not too sweet. Best way to end our Protege journey.

The tasting menu is fair for Palo Alto. The wagyu ribeye is somewhat disappointing. Most enjoyable items: amuse bouche, Siberian caviar and Monterey Bay abalone.

Amazing food and lovely service. My favorite dishes are the pretzels, the caviar, and the wagyu (my boyfriend likes the brick chicken more). That being said, all of the dishes we got were very very delicious and thoughtfully executed. The desserts are solid too but they aren’t as great as the snacks and entrees.

Amazing meal! Really interesting flavors and the vibe/ambiance is fantastic. Great outdoor seating too! Get the brick chicken and pork chop. 😋

What a great dining experience! From the minute I walked in, Erin made me feel at home. She even introduced me to Nicole behind the bar, who was a doll!! She really made my solo dining experience top notch.The octupus was perfect! Nice portion, cooked perfectly, with unique flavors I hadnt experienced but thoroughly enjoyed. The lasagna was a special and there were no shortage of truffles, what a treat!Thank you for making ny first Palo Alto dinner exceptional Protege 😍.

It is a treat that i can visit a 1 Michelin star restaurant and can bring my dog. It was a beautiful evening in Palo Alto. The pavement was clean, table all setup with white linen. The staff was wonderful, attentive, knowledgeable and not overly intrusive. The food - starting with the oyster and the rosé mignonette - fresh and delicate, I love oysters, I can eat multiple dozen, but if you are not a lover like me, this should be the place that will change your mind - try one (or more - just to be sure). The hamachi crudo was good, but we have fresh hamachi from the fish market often, so we were not that excited about it. The pretzel was the cutest size and so delicious with that butter. Then come the burrata and grilled stone fruits, such a fresh dish, it makes you feel healthy at every bite :)... Next was the grilled octopus, this was the most tender piece of protein that was perfectly seasoned - yummy... Then the finaly, the pork chop, this pork chop was the best pork chop I had - it was thick, great balance of fat and lean, moist, with a perfect umami flavor that i thought was the perfect entrée. The chocolate dessert was decadent, not too sweet and just the right amount. We celebrate with the Blanc de Blanc sparkling and the Lafon Bourgogne which was awesome!Next time I will find a sitter for the dog and reserve the inside table to try the prix fixe menu.

We had a great time here! Delicious food, attentive service, relaxing environment, and its even kid friendly too! I had a very high expectations knowing this is a Michelin star place and maybe on the food front expected even a little more, but still very delicious and probably appropriate for the price. Thank you for the great experience!

⭐️ Amazing food and service. Highly worth a trip. Love the casualness and overall ambience making it very comfortable. Two separate visits, one in the lounge and one in the dining room. Both were excellent dining experiences. Definitely Michelin Star worthy. We keep coming back because Protege gets it right at all levels.

The tasting menu is an absolute delight. Take your taste buds on an adventure for the evening.There are also extra courses not on the menu, so its a fun time...Another cool thing to note is that while they do not have a proper "wine pairing" with the tasting menu, they feature the most unique selection of half bottles of wine so you can devise your own pairings. They are more than happy to suggest which wines with which courses. Quite ingenious! Loved it!! Needless to say, service is top notch.

I rarely give a 5-star rating, and before coming to Protégé, I didnt expect to love it, but I did!To be clear: we sat outside and ordered a la carte, we did NOT do the tasting menu.As we first sat down and ordered, there was an air of pomp - your standard Palo Alto kind of "were high class" that initially made me regret my choice of restaurants. Our server was nice, and walked us through the menu, recommending that each person order at least one thing from each category. As I did the mental math on the pricing, I took another gulp and grimaced. For four of us, we ordered three snacks, two appetizers, and four entrees.I have to be honest - everything was fantastic! We started with the oysters, the "arti-tots", and the fish and chips. The oysters (one to an orderwere fantastic, super fresh, served with a foam of rose and mignonette. The artichoke tots (four to an orderwere salty, tender inside but crunchy outside, and packed way more flavor than your average tater tot. I might prefer these from now on! The fish and chips (two to an orderwere the only thing I wasnt over the moon about - I wanted just a bit more flavor from the raw tuna, but the texture was spot on and the crunch from the chip was perfect.Our appetizers didnt disappoint either. The Spanish octopus was cooked perfectly and the ricotta dumplings were probably my bite of the night. Those were four to an order, and I could have eaten the whole thing myself, and then some. Theyre incredible rich, creamy, and pillowy.We didnt share our entrees, though I snuck a bite of everyones. I got the John Dory and I have to say, it might have been my least favorite of the bunch. It was really good, and the other dishes were just SO flavorful where the fish was much lighter. The pork chop was hands down my favorite of the entrees, with layers of texture and flavor. The chicken was crispy outside and juicy inside, and the pastilla packed a lot of dark, earthy flavors. Long story short, you cant go wrong.Definitely come with a group so you can try more things without the bill getting too too crazy. That said, this is a special occasion type place, so expect to shell it out accordingly.For a birthday, anniversary, or other event, Id definitely come back.

Superb food, amazing wine and attentive service. All is excellent albeit at a bit of a price. In my mind its totally worth the experience!

We celebrated our anniversary last year with a wonderful take out meal from protege. The food was prepared and packaged with care. The dishes looked great and tasted amazing. We hoped to enjoy a meal at Protege again in the future.

Everything about this restaurant is amazing. From the very beginning we felt welcomed by the staff who were all so accommodating! Even after we left, we felt so content with our experience. They gave us parting gifts in the form of little tea cakes that were so good! I would highly recommend the hen egg. Best single dish I have ever eaten in my life so far.

The seafood was fantastic and the wagyu was delicious. The desert was disappointing. The wines were quite good but poorly paired with the food (e.g., a Cabernet that completely overpowered the wagyu). Given the price point this seems like a restaurant that has a lot of promise but needs to get the kinks worked out.

Awesome meal, from the mini black truffle grilled cheese served with their roasted tomato soup to what was by far the best chicken Ive ever eaten.Awesome service, attentive and friendly at every interaction.The ambiance is cool, but it feels like more of a hip gastro pub than it does a fine dining experience if you go for the a la carte menu. If you make tasting room reservations you will find yourself in a more reserved seating area in order to focus on your experience.The service and food will definitely have us coming back!

Torn between 4 and 5 stars - 4 stars for value in terms of what you get when you order a la carte (with a 5 month old baby there was no way wed survive the tasting menuhowever, the staff + service were a solid 5 stars and the food was mostly 5 stars. We really enjoyed the fish + chips, the roasted tomato soup w grilled cheese, and the Spanish octopus. The brick chicken was pretty good too. The ricotta dumpling however was a tad too salty for our taste. Overall, great restaurant with a really nice staff - in particular the maître d and our server, Claudia.

Enjoyed my meal here a lot. I can see this place possibly earning another Michelin star at some point. All of the dishes served were excellent (did the fixed menu). My only complaint was that each dish took a really long time to come out and the long gap between dishes affected my appetite by the end. Would come back and try ala carte next time.

The service was great!The food was sophisticated.This place really put a lot of thoughts on their food. Case in point, my complaint for years about serving coffee with cold cream. High end restauran or cafes in Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong serve cream hot, otherwise it chilled the coffee! This place heat cream. Thats thoughtfulness!The flavor of the foods were all impressively tasty, complex and sophisticated.The presentation was great, the dining ware selection was tasteful.The only complain was a very noisy table behind us. The lady laughed like a very loud hyena (no jokesand the others at that table was loud as well. Frustrated and annoyed others in the dining room. For a classy restaurant, the servers should at least request them to refrain themselves and be considerate when dining at a classy restaurant.

Went here for an a special dinner. The host was kind enough to give us a larger more private table when we arrived. We opted for the tasting menu and everything served was on point! The A5 upgrade was definitely worth it! Definitely worthy of the Michelin ⭐️

A friend of mine suggested coming here, and boy am I glad she did! The experience started off with an excellent cocktail that included a "jello shot" blood orange garnish, which was a stroke of genius. And that really set the tone for the rest of the meal. I found each dish to be delicious, beautifully presented, and creative. Was such a fun dining experience. Highly recommend.

Nice cozy atmosphere, great for dates. Hubby and I came for dinner on a Friday and place was packed. We wanted to be able to pick what we wanted to eat, so we sat on the Lounge side. Service is attentive.Hubby had the Fuyu Once and the Bannerman. Both drinks were great but the Fuyu Once had a hair in it. We sent it back and when the replacement arrived it had another smaller hair on it. Bleh.For apps we had the fish and chips (amazing, this is like tartare on a puffed rice chip), house rolls (this is okay, like Hawaiian rolls with grated butter), and the hush puppies (beautiful, delicious, but oily).For our entrees we did the brick chicken and the trout. Both were delicious, the skin on the chicken is spot on crispy. The trout was incredibly tender and soft. Recommend!Finished with apple pie (that dessert cart is so cute). Crispy on bottom, pink apples inside. The French toast ice cream complemented nicely.

Food and dining experience was fantastic. The drinks at the bar before dinner was perfect. All the staff were friendly and very personable. Definitely worth it for our special occasion and cant wait to come back.

Protege is a much needed addition to the Cal Ave food and bar scene. So glad they chose to come here vs University Ave. Start with the incredible staff - Trent behind the bar is a magician supported by Kara who was extremely attentive and walked through the food options beautifully. Allison was a wonderful hostess who also made the experience more fun. This place is busy all the time but it’s easy to see why. Loved the brick chicken and the short rib inside the pastry was creative as well as tasty. Hushpuppies crazy good. Just all around worthwhile but plan ahead or be prepared to wait. Worth it!

This new place is awesome! Fantastic service, delightful and delicious dishes. We had the fixed menu, but asked to replace some of the deserts. The bread here is divine and the desert were sooooo good! The price are high but totally worth it. My new favorite place in Palo Alto. We will definitely come back again.