I made a frivolous attempt to come to PA for the sole purpose of finding my grandfathers "favorite" Thai restaraunt (which he didn't know the name of) and find out it was closed to the dismay of two grandparents in their 80s who are hungry and need to take their pills. Determined, we trek on and after several menus looked at and environments scoped out, I point out this little gem. Satisfier with the setting , they approve. I'm a little concerned because they are both quite selective, and not incredibly adventurous. I'm enthralled because I love the food and can already smell the aroma of goodness soon to be consumed. So, the menu is amazing. Plenty or slighlty more exotic dishes, with plenty that will satisfy the more bland palate as well. For example they had a pad Thai which my grandpa ordered to my disapproval. The menu also offered a great selection of veg dishes which is always a huge win in my book. The food was very fresh, flavorful, and well prepared. The staff was fantastic as well. The setting is really nice. Modern with some inspiring art connecting you to the food. It is very open which is splendid with the great PA weather too. Overall, I was very impressed and will 100% return. Preferably with a more adventurous group so we can try some foods out together. read more

Good tasty food with a nice amount of spice! Tried both the lamb and the beef. The lamb could have been better. Service was sometimes a little slow to fill drinks but very friendly. read more

Burma Ruby - Burmese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Great food, and saves you a trip and wait for going to Burma superstar. It's the same menu and taste the same. This is the same as Rangoon ruby just 2 blocks away. As usual, the tea leaf salad is a must have. The fiery dishes are great too. Glad they opened up more locations. read more

Burma Ruby - Tea leaf salad - Burmese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Came to BR for a midweek dinner with business associates. Decent bar and creative list of tiki-style drinks, but the food was just ok. Friendly service, good appetizers, and the tea leaf salad is worth a try. I'd come back here for happy hour and snacks. Food: "Family-style" portions were a bit smaller than expected, but as it turned out, we ordered enough dishes to make it work. Appetizers we liked: calamari (tentacle lovers be warned, it's bodies only) and vegetable samosa. We also really enjoyed the tea leaf salad - with all of its varied textures, you will find something about it you like. Main dishes we liked: Lamb kebat, garlic noodles with duck (super-garlicky!) Main dishes not-so-much liked: Catfish on the bone (breaded, fried, and then sauced, which was just a mushy mess), sesame chicken (as advertised, just unremarkable compared to, say, House of Nanking in SF), country-style lamb (lamb and potatoes, also not super-interesting) It's a big menu, and I think there are enough dishes that have good flavor and texture that I would be happy to try other things on a return visit. Service: Good service. Drinks took a while for our party of 8, and were not exactly as ordered (a Manhattan ordered on the rocks served up, and a couple of mixed-up tiki-drink orders). Not worth complaining about, in my opinion, but if you are fussy like that, then be warned. Food came out very quickly after ordering, which was great, and servers were very friendly and helpful in suggesting dishes. It's not their fault that I didn't love everything! Vibe: Modern-Southeast-Asian-Chic. Dimly-lit dining room with "clean lines" and modern touches. They have a patio that would be great anytime. It is a comfortable place and not cold despite its modern feel. I also found it easy to talk and be heard, despite the high ceilings, which helps as I age (gracefully, I hope). Family-friendly: Yes, for slightly more mature palates. Stroller brigade should probably stay away (or maybe come in for lunch and stick to simple dishes). Summary: I'd come back to Burma Ruby for the warm and friendly service, the appetizers, the tea leaf salad, and the mellow-but-modern feel. Probably won't be a "go-to" when I'm in DTPA, but it would be a good place to start off an evening. read more

I had the firey chicken and tofu.. It was kinda boring and dry. My friend got the lamb curry which he thought was great, my other friend got a noodle dish. We also had the bread appetizer which was excellent. I'm sad my dish wasn't good but I wouldn't mind going back to try something else. read more

TL;DR - We planned to meet at Rangoon Ruby (?) but ended up here instead. LOL. Ok.... I've been in Palo Alto long enough to know that university is usually a pretty chill place to eat. Like... nothing stuffy or overly polite? The staff here joke around with you.... but its awkward. When we had dinner, this place seemed like a date night kind of place and everyone was dressed up. We all showed up in jeans and sweaters, ha. We were asked if it was anyone's birthday.... like that was the first question. Awkward. The service was friendly, but it felt stuffy and awkward overall. The food is decent? I mean, my friends said it was ok. Nothing special, but tasted good? Tea leaf salad is the go to dish and was tasty. We also got a chicken salad that was pretty good as well. It seemed like the price and the product didn't really match up..... $20 for a tiny plate of beef comprised mostly of gigantic pieces of onion bigger than the beef? I dunno..... Definitely not gonna be on top of the list of places I go on University. read more

This place was great. A little pricey for lunch but the ambiance is what you're paying for. I would probably give it 5 starts if the desserts weren't so over priced. Take your out of town friends here and really impress them. Also, be aware that all dishes seem like a "personal" size rather than "family" style. read more

Excellent service but poor quality of food. The waiter was very attentive making sure that our glasses of water were full. But the experience that's supposed to be the highlight of the meal: taste did not come to par as compared to other restaurants in the downtown area. I've had better food at Tamarine down the street or even Crepevine. It was my first experience experimenting with Burmese food. It could have been because of my virgin taste buds but I've never been to a Burmese restaurant before. read more

Went on a busy Friday night, food was solid although it felt a lot like the typical Asian-fusion dishes you could expect (but I'm no Burmese food expert). They were able to alter my meal to make it vegetarian as they offer tofu for other dishes. Food portions are small! Not a perfect 5/5 because one of the drinks never came (but wasn't charged for it). read more

Burma Ruby - Coconut milk soup with tofu instead of chicken (forgot what the dish is called) - Burmese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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Great costumer service, good flavor in good and portions are plenty! My husband and I ate from one appetizer and one main dish with steam rice. I will be back! read more

I would come here just for the tea leaf salad. Seriously. (though some may find it a bit too salty) I preferably like the flavor-town it's packed in it. Pretty unique salad that I've never really tasted anywhere else and it's fairly healthy - minus the sodium. The place is very modern, filled with colorful lights shining against the walls on the bar, with outside heating lamps and decent silverware. The warm meals however, were really lacking. I believe I got the chicken curry or something and it was overly cooked and had very dry pieces of chicken. My friend and I really couldn't finish more of this plate because of how bad it was - though the sauce wasn't as bad. The bathrooms were oddly placed too - one of which is near the kitchen door in a tightly squeezed spot. My waitress was also pretty bland - she did nothing wrong, but she seemed to be in an off-mood from looking at her behavior - probably having a bad day. read more

The restaurant is beautiful and spacious, the food delicious, the service friendly, considerate and very competent. We had the tea leaf salad (a must!), lettuce cups with shrimp, pumpkin stew with pork and garlic noodles. We used to go up to San Francisco to get my Burmese good fix. So glad this is nearby! My friends took me here recently and although we didn't mention to the staff it was my birthday, they overheard us talking and brought out a special dessert topped with a sparkler at the end of the meal! As we were leaving, the waiter called out and handed me my sweater which I left behind. Now, that's service! read more

Tea leaves salad is a must try. Mocktails are a little sweet for my taste but they are still good.

The food is "meh". The Sesame Chicken tastes rubbery and over-cooked, the tofu was mushy, and noodles were bland.

I've been to some Burmese places in the Bay Area, to be fair, the food here is average, however I have to talk about the service. My friend and I waited like 20 to 30 mins to get our food which was fine. We ate slowly because we hadn't seen each other for a year but I did pay attention if there was a line waiting and asked the waitress about their closing time, luckily there was no line, plenty of empty seats around us and 3 hours till they close so I thought it was okay to take my time. We ordered 2 drinks, 1 salad and 3 entree to share, 20 mins after we got our food, the waitress asked us if we wanted to wrap our food, excuse me? My friend even didn't finish half of his dish, it made me feel she didn't want us to eat there at all. If I pay hundred dollar for the food and drink, didn't I deserve to enjoy my food for at least 30-40 minutes? If you wanted to provide fast food level service please charge fast food price and expect to have a fast food tip. I ended up leaving hungry because our food was bagged, on top of that, my salad was missing...I felt embarrassed that I recommended this place to my friend who never tried Burmese food, that is said if you wanna have good dinning experience, avoid this place. read more

This is by far one of my favorite restaurants! As a vegetarian, I have a good number of options but always order to fiery tofu and vegetables, and the tea leaf salad. The service is impeccable, and the food quality is nothing short of fresh and clean. They have great service and are always willing to answer questions. It's a must try! read more

We were a large party of 15. We were celebrating my brothers birthday. Since we were all in a good mood we excused a few dishes that were not up to the mark. The bill was a hefty one since we ordered drinks. After about 10 minutes of leaving the place we realized that we left all the gifts cards on the table. Went back and the server gives us two cards. We told him there were at least 4/5 cards and they said no. They promised to look into it and call us back. Gift cards were worth 200 dollars. We followed up a few times and they kept denying it. After my friend posted the review the owner got back saying can you please cancel the gift cards. When we told him we cannot do that. He said he can't help and hung up. Please be very careful of your possessions. If you leave anything back consider it gone. Owner has a bad attitude to handle these issues. Will never go back or recommend this place to anyone. read more

*Has vegan options. Staff was accommodating and atmosphere was warm and lively. The TEA LEAF SALAD was a bit too oily and heavy for my taste. According to my burmese friend there was too much fermented tea leaf in the mix so go easy on the tea leaf Burma ruby! The coconut rice, mango shrimp, & fiery chicken tofu WERE OFF DA HOOK. Definitely gopher it. read more

Fantastic food! We had a party of 4 and did family style so we can have some variety. We ordered the the Tea Leaf Salad, Calamari for our starter and then had the Jalapino Mino Chicken, Ruby Shrimp, Basil Lamb for dinner along with some white rice. All of it was yummy. Opportunities for improvement was that we could barely hear our waitress and there is a lot of noise in the restaurant. Second they sat us at the table next to the bar and we got a lot of strong kitchen smells. The smell of some chili peppers cooking in the air made me cough and another person at our table. Maybe better ventilation in the kitchen area. I would definitely be back despite the noise and strong chili cooking smells but would ask for a table away from the bar or outside. read more

Palata with curry was good, also enjoyed the tea leaf salad very much. Service was good, but I felt a certain disconnect with the ambience... I don't know... But what matters is the food. The beef kebat as amazing and also the shrimp curry was wonderful. I would definitely come back and also recommend to my friends and family. read more

Burma Ruby - Burmese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

This place is awesome! The Tea leaf salad is fantastic. If you're looking for good Asian food... This is the spot. Great location! Plus, if you get lucky enough to eat at the table next to the owner Mr. Lee... It's another experience! I've eaten here 4 times and like it every time. read more

I don't know why they only have 3.5 stars, but this place has a great service and the food, OMG it's so delicious, it's an assault to my tastebuds, I love it!!! Definitely I will come back to try different plates. read more

We sat outside on a lovely afternoon, great location. Our server was incredibly friendly and make great menu suggestions. Definitely try the tea leaf salad, I'm still craving it. Would absolutely go back and recommend to friends and family. read more

Great food and service! Highly recommend! Don't listen to these particular Palo Alto folk where it's impossible to get 5/5. Come out you'll enjoy this place!! read more

Great food I love their traditional salad and the dessert , nice and friendly people , I will come again , cozy place big like read more

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Went here last weekend and the food was so yummy!! We got the walnut shrimp and a beef dish with coconut rice. Both were delicious!! Plus we had an awesome waitress, Desiree! It seems silly, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to drink and she was super helpful! She was so friendly. Not sure if the whole staff is that way, but she made our lunch outing great! read more

Amazing food amazing desert! Me and wife loved the tea leaf salad and the palata dessert. Will definitely come back! read more

We went to Ragoon Ruby initially but the wait was like 90 minutes so one of the waitress suggested that we go for the sister company which is next door to Apple Store. She called and reserved the table for us. Reached there in like 5 minutes by foots from Ragoon. It has a pretty fancy bar that anyone might thought it was a club than a restaurant. We ordered tea leaf salad, duck noodles and fish soup. Tea leaf salad was tasty but if the sauce was a little less, I think it would taste better. Noodles was yummy but the fish soup somehow was missing something. Maybe because the soup wasn't hot enough. Waitress was very friendly, good customer service for sure!!! read more

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Unimpressed. Overpriced for mediocre food. I have had much better tea leaf salads at other places, this one had too much oil in it. It was only half full when we ordered and our salad came out fairly quickly, but our main dishes took forever, I'd hate to see what it would be like if it was full. Very loud as well, don't go if you don't like that type of atmosphere. read more

Food : 8/10 Ambience: 7/ 10 Price 5//10 pricey for kind of a place Service:9/10 Value for money:8/10 Tab:50 with wine (100 for 2 with tip) Good for veg. read more

I found myself in Palo Alto tonight looking for something uniquely Palo Alto. So I decided to try Burma Ruby. It looked beautiful and impressive from the outside, so I thought I'd try it. The hostess was wonderful. The food was not exceptional but was good. I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken, at the waitress' suggestion. The attitudes of the staff were a mixed bag - at best. My waitress had an ironic and seething attitude. Due to this I did not have a pleasant feeling as I ordered and ate. Her attitude changed about 2/3 into my meal when another staff member gave her a correct-your-attitude direct look. Respecting this change of heart I left her her a tip. Two of the male servers who filled my glass and brought me my food had appropriate, good attitudes and this helped my feeling as I ate. Her attitude reverted again to something seething when she left me my bill and we left off. As I left the restaurant, the man seated at the doorway, whose job it was to greet and say goodbye to customers, gave me a very unpleasant and unequivocally, unmistakeable, seething and clearly dismissive "Thank You." I really don't think I'll be returning. I am just not at all interested in restaurants that do not have an agreed-upon and well-managed professional attitude across all their staff, especially when located on upscale University Avenue in Palo Alto. I'm sure I'll find a better experience elsewhere. read more

Along with its sister Rangoon Ruby, Burma Ruby has quickly become a University Ave favorite. They're always busy but we can usually manage to get a table for 2 without much wait. Stylish modern interior with color cycling mood lighting; a bit noisy but not too bad. Like everyone says, get the tea leaf salad starter. The Palata appetizer is also super great. Honestly sometimes I feel like I should just get one of each as my entire dinner. Their entrees are good too, mind you -- the meat is tender, and the curry is interesting -- the Kebat and Country Style curries are particularly delicious -- but the tea leaf salad is such a perfect balance of textures and flavors that it's easily my favorite dish. (The food and service are identical to the Rangoon Ruby on Emerson, though the decor is flashier at Burma Ruby -- pick whichever one is convenient to you or has less wait.) read more

The service with this place is a hit or a miss. We keep going back because of the food. Today's customer service was a definite miss. We ordered the Tea Leaf Salad and my husband requested chillies on the side. Our server forgot about it and was not accessible or visible enough for us to get his attention. Only when the other server brought the main dishes out and we were close to finishing the salad, did we get the chili sauce on the side from the second server. The Tea Leaf Salad definitely had more oil this time and some ingredient (couldn't pinpoint) tasted a bit stale...maybe the yellow lentils. But we enjoyed the rest of the food. At the end, when our server came to take away the dishes, he took away the scooper spoon that came with my fresh coconut juice. I asked for it and it took him a few minutes to come back with it. And then this other server just took away my daughter's plate while she was still working on it. Granted there were just little Pad Thai left in the plate but is it too much to expect him to check with her before yanking away the plate? We were in the middle of a conversation and it felt like servers are in a rush to clean out. It's the little things that make a restaurant's customer service good or bad. read more

I would rate this place higher but they sat us before close and they tried to rush us out. If you're going to sit someone who is paying for a meal at least grant them a fair opportunity to finish eating. I'm not talking two people lingering. I mean two people spooning food in their mouth with some conversation mixed in. I get you want to go home but then just say sorry we can't seat you now and move on. read more

I've been to Burma ruby a few times before. Food was never spectacular, but never disappointing either. This time both food and service were terrible. Pumpkin salmon stew is not a stew but badly tasting curry with a lot of huge chunks of pumpkin and small quantities of salmon in it. And when we politely told this to the waitress, she educated us that this is how stews are supposed to be and didn't stop by us for any of the next turns even after we called out for the cheque. read more

I tried the tea leaf salad with the vegan option. I've tried the same salad at different places, but this ones the best. Also we had the fried banana for desert, which was good as well read more

Let me just say I hardly ever give 1 star reviews... This is the sister restaurant to Rangoon Ruby, which is just a few minute walk away. We went to Rangoon Ruby first, but since this place had less of a wait we ended up eating here. The food is decent, as should be expected from a relatively upscale place in downtown Palo Alto. The reason this place is getting 1 star --. First, our waiter was legitimately drunk. My friend and I kind of laughed at each other, a little nervous because we weren't sure what we were supposed to do. His speech was slurred, he was borderline yelling, and he was spilling water all over our table. Luckily, he only took the drink and food order, and the manager/owner (not sure who it was) took over for the rest of the meal. We didn't complain at the time mostly because we were just tired, and didn't want to cause a big deal especially since someone else had taken over. Since the manager took over and was nice, we left a decent tip and left without saying anything. A few days ago I went to check my credit card bill and I see a $52 charge from Burma Ruby. I don't have meals this expensive, and I would have remembered if the bill came out to be that high. I even double checked their menu and what we ordered and I told myself that there was no way I spent that much. I then called them, and the lady told me to send them an e-mail with my credit card information and contact info. I received an e-mail a few days later with a copy of the receipt and bill to see that yes, it had been overcharged. She responded basically with "oh I can ask the waiter to change it if you would like." What kind of response is this?? Yes, that is why I contacted you in the first place -- charging people inappropriate amounts is illegal, and she is still acting like she is doing me a favor by giving me my money back. This is so ridiculous! And I'm pretty sure it was the drunk waiter who ended up charging the bill. If it happened to me, I'm sure this isn't the first time, and I know many people probably go paying their bills without much notice. Avoid this place PLEASE!!! read more

This is not definitely not a place for vegetarians. The samosa soup was just ok and the kebat was forgettable. Can't complain about the service or the ambiance. I don't see myself coming back here again. read more

Appetizers were amazing. So we were disappointed with the entrees Mind you we are vegetarian. The pad Thai was very good from the entrees The pina colada was excellent. The service was very good. read more

This place is so classy! I love it! Food is delicious but the last two times I been here I had tummy aches :/ Food is till good tho! I probably won't be back for a while . read more