Bistro Elan

4.7

28 Reviews

$31 to $50

French

Make a reservation

2 people

Jan 21, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 5 times today

Experiences are available.

Neighborhood gem
Great for outdoor dining
Good for special occasions

Bistro Elan serves French dishes created mainly from ingredients obtained from the local farmers. The cozy interior is ideal for a date night or a small celebratory dinner with friends. The open kitchen offers a homey feel where you can enjoy an apple salad or La Quercia Prosciutto before moving on to an entrée of local Petrale sole or a Sonoma duck leg confit. Bistro Elan offers outside seating. Dine on a pan-seared Scallops or Flat Iron Steak in the open air.

Bistro Elan has a modest international wine list that has been carefully chosen to pair well with each dish. Finish the evening meal with a dessert like Coffee ice cream, roasted strawberry ice cream, caramelized Valrhona chocolate mousse or a slice of Almond cake.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
French, American, Californian
Hours of operation
Lunch Wed–Fri 11:30 am–2:00 pm Dinner Wed–Sat 5:00 pm–8:00 pm
Phone number
(650) 327-0284
Website
http://www.bistroelan.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Barry Stiles

Location
2363 Birch Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Neighborhood
Palo Alto
Cross street
Also public parking lot is located across the street.
Parking details
Public Lot
Additional
Beer, Dog Friendly, Gender Neutral Restroom, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

Valentine's Day
$50.00 per person
Prepaid
Feb 14, 2025 only
Join us for a special Valentine's Day *Note The $50 is a deposit for the reservation, deposit will be refunded when you arrive at the restaurant. Menu Subject to change due to seasonality and product availability Prix-Fixe Dinner February 14, 2025 *Fresh Oyster American Sturgeon Caviar ** Red & Gold Beet Salad Little Gems, Fresh Mozzarella & Strawberry Vinaigrette ** *Cast Iron Seared Flat Iron Steak Roasted potatoes & Crimini Mushrooms Red Wine Sauce Or Roasted Mary’s Chicken Breast Tagliatelle Pasta, French Green Beans Lemon Caper Cream Or Honey Glazed Chilean Sea Bass Orzo with Sautéed Bloomsdale Spinach & Blood Orange Sauce *** Raspberry Ice Cream Almond Cookie & Valrhona Dark Chocolate Cake Creme Fraiche Whipped Cream $135.00

What 28 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7

4.7 based on recent ratings

4.7Food
4.6Service
4.4Ambience
4.2Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Bistro Elan in Palo Alto offers an intimate, French bistro vibe with "delicious food" and "super friendly service." Diners praise its "amazing food," including standout dishes like halibut, sea bass, and mussels with garlic sauce. The restaurant is cherished for its "personalized and caring service" and is ideal for a memorable date night.

28 Reviews

A
Andrew
VIP
San Francisco
54 reviews
3.0
54 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 5
Wonderful intimate, cozy space. Sadly, unlike past visits when the food has been superb the food was merely average. My cream of mushroom soup was way too much cream and not nearly enough mushroom. The swordfish, despite a nice bacon caper sauce was very under-seasoned and had to be rescued by the tableside salt shaker. The fantastic chocolate mousse for dessert almost made up for everything.
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A
Allison
VIP
San Francisco
22 reviews
5.0
22 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
We always have a wonderful dinner at Bistro Elan. The food is excellent, and the staff is lovely - very helpful and accommodating. It’s one of our favorite places.
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C
Clara
New York City
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined 4 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Amazing dishes and service. The team was very helpful. Restaurant only has a few tables which make it intimist. Great wine selection.
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C
Carol
New York City
12 reviews
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on December 20, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
It's a wonderful restaurant - I think one of Palo Alto's best. Very personalized and caring service and really delicious food. And you can hear your own conversation.
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T
Tim
VIP
San Francisco
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 13, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Best kept secret in the entire Bay Area. Amazing food and the staff/owners are truly wonderful.
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S
Sivan
San Francisco
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 7, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
What an incredible meal! We both got fish (halibut and the sea bass special) plus deliciously crispy bistro fries and everything was amazing! Super flavorful and not too heavy. Highly recommend for a date night. Place is small and intimate - a true bistro vibe.
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h
harry
San Francisco
5 reviews
5.0
5 reviews
Dined on November 24, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Great food and service. Not cheap, but it's Palo Alto, so nothing is. Well priced list of very good wines.
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T
Tony
London
69 reviews
5.0
69 reviews
Dined on November 17, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Always excellent. Very much like a bistro in France. Small and very personal.
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M
Michael
San Francisco
7 reviews
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on November 16, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 5
The food was delicious. I had the scallops and the perssimon salad.
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T
Tom
VIP
San Francisco
47 reviews
4.0
47 reviews
Dined on November 14, 2024
1. Overall 4
2. Food 3
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
I went to the restaurant specifically to have the tri-tip tartar. Now, steak tartar is raw steak, right? Not at Bistro Elan. The steak was slightly cooked, so it was more like a slice of meatloaf than steak tartar. Disappointing.
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FAQs

Bistro Elan offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 327-0284.

Bistro Elan is rated 4.7 stars by 28 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Jan 21, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 5 times today

Experiences are available.

Order delivery or takeout

2363 Birch Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Dining areas

Additional information

Cross street
Also public parking lot is located across the street.
Neighborhood
Palo Alto
Hours of operation
Lunch Wed–Fri 11:30 am–2:00 pm Dinner Wed–Sat 5:00 pm–8:00 pm
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
French, American, Californian
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Public Lot
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Barry Stiles
Additional
Beer, Dog Friendly, Gender Neutral Restroom, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
http://www.bistroelan.com/
Phone number
(650) 327-0284

Bistro Elan

Make a reservation

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

Experiences

Valentine's Day

Menu

What 28 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Review summary

FAQs

Does Bistro Elan offer delivery through OpenTable or takeout?

How is Bistro Elan restaurant rated?

Is Bistro Elan currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information