Always a wonderful meal with great service. We have had many special occasion dinners and lunches at Cetrella

The Happy Boy Farms Roasted Butternut Squash Agnolotti (I had a hard time saying it too) was divine! Warm greeting, very attentive waiters, my water was constantly filled. However, do I think the dishes are worth $20 plus? Not so much! I believe you are paying more for the ambiance and the overall fact that it is in Los Altos. My friends dish looked tasty, but once again, not worth $20 plus. I will come back again to give it another try to see if it is worth the $$$, but not any time soon. Overall, twas a lovely experience for lunch! read more

Excellent food! Great service! I recommend this place to all food lovers! Nice classy restaurant in Los altos . Ample parking available. I will definitely visit again! Cocktails are amazing ! read more

Cetrella - Lamb Shank - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Los Altos, California

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I had dinner there a couple nights ago and although it had so much potential, it was a major disappointment. My biggest issues were the bad ventilation and the price/value. All I could smell during the entire meal was rancid oil from some heavy duty frying setup, and I went home with my clothes smelling of oil. The whole restaurant had that heavy fried food smell which made it impossible to enjoy my meal. Also, the portions were very small for the price. My tab (for a tiny salad with the addition of a small piece of salmon on it) -- and no wine or dessert -- was almost $50. Some leafy greens, a couple beets, three walnuts, some dressing, ... wow. That was expensive. Something also wasn't right with the restrooms. Smelled like sewage pipes. Sorry. Wanted to love it. Didn't. At all. read more

This place is hit and miss. There are times when the food and service are impeccable and other times food and dessert turn out bland and uneventful. I find that Friday and Saturday tend to have better quality than Sunday! Last meal was served on a Sunday evening and it was really boring! We would've gone to Protege if it's open on Sunday! Ordered braised short ribs, ribeye steak, a couple appetizers and dessert read more

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We did take out recently after the shelter in place because we wanted to do our best to support local businesses. They delivered the food to the car without me getting out and it was fast and efficient. I was also able to get a nice bottle of wine to go with dinner for great price through their special. Still love the food and enjoyed it from the comfort of our home. Highly recommend! read more

My husband and I had a wonderful lunch at Cetrella. We ordered the butternut squash bisque and the beet and burrata salad for appetizers, the paella and the squash agnolotti for the entrées, and the chocolate trio and panna cotta for dessert. Everything was beautiful in presentation and simply delicious. The server was attentive and knowledgeable. We have lived in the area for over 10 years, but had never been to Cetrella. It is pricey, but we definitely plan on returning for a special occasion. read more

Really disappointing. We were a group of 4, and 3 out of 4 of us were incredibly dissatisfied with our entrees. Many dishes were bland, the fish was very fishy, and pork was dry. The only successful dish was the rib eye (on the grill option not the entree selection). Appetizer portions are tiny. Definitely not worth the hefty price tag. read more

This restaurant is overpriced and there is absolutely no ambiance. I'm shocked they are still in business.

Very rude representative. I called to place an order so that my husband can pick it up. When I said he will be there between 12:30 and 1 the representative- a man said you have to give me the exact time and was very rude about it. I don't face this at other restaurants where I place an order for a pick up they are friendly, courteous and say that the order will be ready within 30 mins or whatever time frame they have. This place has rude and insolent staff and this attitude will only drive customers away. read more

We love Cetrella! Been here many times and never disappointed. Yes, it's got a bit of trendy-ness, but somehow you can hear yourself think, and even carry on a conversation. Imagine! The owner is always welcoming and makes us glad we've come back. Love the variety of food. The Fritto Mista was perfection: piping hot, just enough batter and not a bit greasy. Their Silver Queen corn soup was like the essence of sweet corn. The big pork chop could have been an overcooked tasteless lump, but it was the opposite: juicy, full of flavor, and worth every dime. The cookie plate is so perfect for sharing. Our server was Veronica. If you look in the dictionary under "restaurant service mastery", there's a video of Veronica being Veronica, representing the optimum combination of presence, knowledge and graceful service. We'll be back. read more

I am almost certain that Cetrella gets the overflow from Los Altos Bar and Grill. Our party of 4 had dinner here on a Saturday night. Throughout the evening, our server continuously interrupted our conversations which we found rather annoying and rude. My swordfish came with a plethora of squash. A reduced portion of squash coupled with a second side such as swiss chard would have been nice. The rest of our party ordered the Filet Mignon that was served on a small bed of sautéed onions. The steak, from what I understand, was only satisfactory compared to high-end steakhouses such as Flemings. The steak was served with two small squares of truffled potatoes that were delicious. Cetrella has a nice ambience, but needs to up its game if it is to attract those who can't get into Los Altos Bar and grill. read more

Great food and excellent wait staff. Pasta dishes were awesome. Cocktails were wonderful. Had a great time.

Really expensive for lunch. I don't think there is much of a difference in price from dinner. I got the burger here and it wasn't anything special. It was one of the "cheapest" items on the menu and cost around $25 including tax and tip. Not worth it. The decor of the place reminds me of Cheesecake Factory for some reason and isn't very welcoming. It is a very large space and could potentially be a nice place for happy hour, but it just doesn't have a very nice atmosphere which is a shame. Service was also quite slow. We had planned on only an hour for lunch but it ended up being 90 minutes. The place wasn't that busy either. Servers just were super inattentive. Water wasn't replenished and food came out super slow. There are plenty of other places in downtown Los Altos that are a better deal for lunch and better quality food. read more

We left the overcrowded Los Altos Grill to find sanctuary at Cetrella. We were greeted friendly and seated immediately, even without reservations. The Happy Boy Farm Beet salad was the best salad ever with a nice detail of roasted pumpkin seeds. Filet Mignon and Pot Roast were excellent too. Affogato ice cream for dessert. Overall an amazing dining experience! PERFECT, PERFECT INDEED! read more

Cetrella - DATE NIGHT - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Los Altos, California

The best restaurant in Los Altos. Been there dozens of times and never disappointed, excellent food and service.

Love this place! We used to go to Cetrella in Half Moon Bay and I am so happy to see that they opened up a restaurant in Los Altos! Food is delicious, recommend beets salad, octopus, pork chop. For dessert my favorite one is Chocolate Trio read more

We came here recently with a large group. My friend suggested we try this place because he thought the food was good. I walked away from this restaurant feeling disappointed and overall didn't have a good first time dining experience. First of all we ordered for our children and their pasta with meatballs came out fast. Shortly after we placed our order but we didn't get served until over an hour later. We kept asking the waiter where's our food and he simply just said it's coming. A group that was behind us arrived at the same time as us left way earlier than us. Our thinking was that the kitchen just simply forgot our table's order. The restaurant was not packed that night so I'm not sure what took them so long to cook our food. When we asked the waiter why our food took so long he simply said it's just the kitchen and sometimes it takes longer....hmmm...yeah...right...I was not buying that excuse. When my Genoese Linguine came it was so undercooked I had to ask our waiter to send it back and recook it. One of my friends also ordered the same and he also had to send it back to the kitchen. I've never tasted such hard pasta in my life. Also they overcooked the clams because it was super hard to chew. I felt like I was chewing on a clam jerky or something. My hubby's Short Rib was good and also their soup was decent as well. Maybe I just ordered the wrong dish but I'm not sure how you can mess up on pasta?! We sat down at our table around 6pm and didn't finish until after 8:30pm! Now imagine how crazy and bored our kids were by then....the worst part was when the manager tried to shoo our kids to another corner to keep them quiet. My hubby was not happy about it...if our food was here on time we would've been out of there within an hour. The waiter comp us for the dessert just because we were so unhappy with the whole dining experience. Bombolini and Tahitian Vanilla Panna Cotta were great though. Overall I was a bit torn because some of our dishes came out horrible but others were great. I'm going to give 2 stars for this review just because of this dining experience. read more

Food is excellent. This is fine dining so expect to pay a premium. Was here today (March 11th for brunch) .... my mushroom omelette was very good. The location is very convenient and parking is opposite of the restaurant .. downtown Los Altos gets busy so parking sometimes is a pain to find. read more

Pros: - Amazing bread - Brussles Sprouts were fantastic Cons: - Slow service - Servers didn't know what had nuts...terrible for those allergic - Food arrived cold - $5 for each basket of bread refills (WHAT?!) I went here for my Grandmother's birthday, at brunch time. Menu items were higher than average ($20+ for entrees), and plates were very small in size. Although the food arrived looking beautiful, the majority of our items ordered were cold. For a party of seven, forty minutes is a bit long to wait for our food after ordering. I ordered the Kale and Pear salad, and the Brussles Sprouts. Both were delicious, though I wish I got a bit more salad than a bread plate full. EVERYONE at the table devoured my spouts. They were lemony, creamy, and crispy...definitely something I'd order again. The pork shoulder hash my husband ordered was underwhelming and under seasoned. Our table also had two orders of the Ahi Tuna salad, but the wait staff mentioned they didn't have a dressing for the salad aside from Old Bay...if you're serving ahi, maybe a little soy would be nice? Desserts were delicious. I got the chocolate trio to share with someone, and we ordered the cookies for the table. My grandmother ordered the Panna Cotta. Waiters had no idea if any desserts had nuts...disappointing. For the price, I will not be returning. Service was strange to say the least. read more

Cetrella Los Altos is now offering high-end Mediterranean-rim and California coastal cuisine delivered 2 your car in their parking lot. Call 1-650-948-0400. Good people, good food, good service for tough times, shown re-plated Paella, Short Rib read more

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Our first time eating in the Los Gatos restaurant. Nice decor. We were there for the Easter Brunch prefixe menu. Food was excellent. Four star given because not impressed when waiter poured coffee into a teacup! read more

Great food better service. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about all menu items. My water glass never empty!

This afternoon I received a random act of kindness from the owner which made my day. My neighbors were not home nor work so thank you. I have also had some delicious food at the restaurant. I will pass on the random act of kindness. Susan read more

Have now been here three times since it opened, and perhaps my expectations were too high, but I feel like they should be doing better. When you walk into the dining room, you start with the perception of a very oddly configured room. It helped me to understand why it is that way when I was told that the owners' other restaurant has a killer view, because this one is set up as if everyone would want to enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the "view" is of a divey pizza place and a parking lot - one of the least compelling views in what is actually a fairly cute little town. Otherwise, the interior feels cavernous and unfinished - undecorated. Very odd, and not a warm space in which to spend time. Not quite sure what's going on with the staff, but the only feeling I get from my servers is that they're either nervous or scared. An odd thing to say, but there it is. I get the feeling that Cetrella is not a fun place to work. The end result is very funny service in some cases. For example, when last I was there, my wife and I decided we needed to drink water strategically, because after literally every sip, there was a guy at our table to top it up. Food is the reason this is two stars and not one. The first visit, the food was all off. New kitchen, new opening - I get it - takes a little while to get things together. Second and third visits the food was better, but they're still not getting temperatures and timing right. I was really excited about this opening - would be great to have a good higher end restaurant in Los Altos. Hope they can get better. read more

I was excited to try Cetrella when they first opened few months ago. I felt disappointed and based on other reviews here, so were many others, so it looks like they didn't improve. Mainly, this is due to their inflated prices, which are not warranted for the quality and amount of food you get. I think most neighbors and retailers were excited that a fine dining was coming to downtown Los Altos, but our expectations weren't met with this opening. I wonder if rent here is so high they pass it on to patrons charging ridiculous prices for subpar food. One can find better and for half the price nearby for sure. Cetrella doesn't deliver accordingly for being high end restaurant, unfortunately. Food was very underwhelming and service was just plain awkward. read more

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LOL A good attempt to make the atmosphere trendier. Entrees are on the pricier side for no reason. Bread and butter? Laughable. Let's start with appetizers. The strawberry kale salad was phenomenal -- highly recommend. However the crab cake was average, didn't even want to try the foie gras by the look of it (but others said it was ok!), the Spanish style squid had a weird sour sauce. The pairing of that was not the best. Flavor profiles of dishes are confusing and does not work. For example, the filet mignon -- blue cheese and dill or fennel cream on fried truffled polenta (with no truffle taste) paired with very sour king mushrooms. A mix of creamy and sour. 2 tastes that should never go together. I ordered the filet medium well, it came out pretty dry. Uni clam linguine? I like pasta al dente, but this pasta was just under cooked. Didn't try the pot roast but multiple people in my party ordered it. Majority of it was fatty meat and 2 head shakes when I asked them both if it was good. What about the cod? The special guest said it was good! But also says this restaurant had great food so maybe an outlier. Either we ordered horribly or this was just an average, overpriced restaurant. The service saved this review from a 1 star. read more

Cetrella - Spanish style Octopus -- which it was not. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Los Altos, California

Excited to try a new place in Los Altos and feel hugely disappointed. Food portions are tiny and way overpriced for what you get. My poor kids kept saying they were hungry even though they got adult portions. They ordered the filet mignon which was served with an old potatoes that tasted rubbery and inedible. My tagine pasta was boring, lacked flavor and tasted nothing like the description. The oysters did not taste fresh and should have not been served. After asking for bread about 5 times I was told they are trying to stop serving bread. Ok why would they do that? Portions are too small and without the bread what would we eat? To top it off they charged $8 for one scoop of ice cream that was a kids portion. So sad that Los Altos can't get the restaurant scene right. Just waiting for a good restaurant to pop up around here. read more

Another fancy-pants restaurant in sleepy little Los Altos. Overall, the food was exactly as the rating would describe - just OK. For the higher price tag, I honestly expected a little bit more. You're looking at $15-25 entrees and $25-40 entrees - basically prices that are comparable to nearby Los Altos Grill. This was our first time, and we decided to go with the marinated octopus entree and two pasta entrees. The octopus was probably the highlight of the meal. It came with a more generous portion than I had anticipated (5 servings) and was very flavorful. It came with a grilled lemon, avocado puree, and romesco sauce, all atop small fingerling potato slices. The octopus was surprisingly tender and flavorful - not at all chewy as some others that I have had. The lemon and avocado added a pleasant brightness to the dish. The only problem I had was I wish there was more potato! For entree, I went with the linguine with uni and clam. Besides the orange creamy color of the pasta, I did not really taste the uni. However, I will say the dish came with a good amount of clams. The dish was a little spicier than desired for my liking, but not so much as to prevent me from finishing my plate. The other entree ordered with the fettucine with braised rabbit. This dish was also tasty, but was a little stew-ier in flavor than we predicted it would be. For the final bill, I don't think we enjoyed our food as much as we should have. Again, everything was good, but nothing that really WOW'd us or made us look forward to our next trip. If given the choice, I think I would probably choose Los Altos Grill, with comparable pricing but better food IMO, at least 80% of the time. read more

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The HMB mainstay has opened a branch in the new Main Street construction in downtown Los Altos. It's a large building and takes up most of the block. I overheard it can seat 240 people with a large PDR area downstairs plus an upstairs. We sat in the main dining room and had a late meal. I dont think many people know it's open yet so it was pretty empty. Got the NY Steak, Carpaccio, Fingerling Potatoes and Semifreddo for the meal. All the dishes were well executed but I think the steak was a bit on the expensive side, even for American Wagyu, However I'd rather pay more for quality than less for something mediocre or bad. There are a number of pastas on the menu that Id like to try next time. Service is very sharp but then we had like 10 servers to 6 diners so it's to be determined when they seat a full house. Definitely worth coming back though as Los Altos hasnt had a higher end place since Ambience down the way. 4.25 stars read more

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We just had the best experience at Cetrella. We attended their Saturday night jazz festival dinner. Small group of folks in their back cozy room. A quintet of jazz musicians including a singer that were wonderful. Excellent food.Could have stayed for hours which they encouraged us to do! read more

Cetrella has raised the fine dining bar in Los Altos and I hope it encourages the other restaurants in town to up their game. Love that they are open 7 days a week for lunch AND dinner (with a full bar). Is Centrella the best restaurant you've ever been to? Probably not. But it IS the best restaurant in Los Altos, and it has brought a level of class and sophistication (without being snobby) that our town has sorely needed. The interior is beautifully done, the menu offers SO MANY options, the food arrives promptly and is presented elegantly, but most importantly, everything tastes delicious. Our party had the risotto (yum!), the agnolotti, the brined chicken, and the special fish, a whole roasted snapper. Even if you think you don't like kale salad, try the kale salad. We all loved our food. Our server was a bit overattentive, but I would much prefer that over being invisible. She seemed genuinely interested in making sure we were having the best possible experience, and she made some excellent suggestions regarding the menu. I will happily overlook the fact that she recommended the "Hair-loom" tomato salad. read more

Good Potential. Some things they should adjust and learn from Los Altos Grill Likes: - good menu selections. Something for everyone. Nice salads at lunch - nice locations and decor. - On OpenTable - Open later and at lunch which is hard to find in Los altos Area for Improvement - Same prices as Los Altos Grill, but much smaller portions - Staff and owner are over attentive. Comes across as amateurish - Most preparations were good, but a couple were poorly executed. They should compare their grilled artichoke to that at Los Altos Grill for example. I could make this same statement about several menu items. LAG sets the bar in Los Altos and is richly rewarded for it. Cetrella team needs to go study that winning formula and adjust some things read more

This is the kind of place Los Altos could really use, and it shows... They've barely been open a week and it's packed even though the place is huge -- a bit Cheesecake Factory-ey IMO but it's not a big deal. And good food, though I do wish the portions were more generous for the price (but price isn't going to hurt them much with the rich old folks crowd). I tried the old fashioned, which was in a martini glass, more like a Manhattan. But it tasted good, and I guess that's what counts. The carpaccio was tasty (the fried capers a nice touch) but they sneakily put all of the arugula in the center of the plate to hide the fact there wasn't any carpaccio there! The amount you actually end up with is VERY small. The salmon pizza was also good but could've used more salmon. It was on pizza bread not flat bread though, so it was more filling than the salmon pizza I like at Carpaccio in Menlo Park. So far I've tried two pastas there. The cappelletti with truffle polenta and meatballs was very rich as expected, and very good. The texture of the polenta filling was a bit weird at first, being all mushy, but it tasted great. I also hesitantly tried the gluten free linguini with uni and clams... I would have preferred regular linguini but they assured me the gluten free didn't taste too weird. It was still a bit strange -- the texture and taste just weren't right; how could they be? -- but the spiciness of the sauce covered somewhat. Still, I wish they'd offer regular pasta. read more

Excellent fine dining restuarant in Los Altos. Large, airy atmosphere and the food is excellent. Was here for lunch and the food was fresh, staff was very friendly and helpful. Wish the bar area stayed open for longer on the weekends - I think this would become a great hangout place for the not-so-old people in Los Altos looking for a late evening place to hang out. read more

Excited about a new Los Altos restaurant....but they probably should have been more prepared for the crowd on a Friday night. We waited 40 minutes to finally get our drink order, bread costs $7 (we were told because it was made there?). Appetizers and Pasta dishes were quite tasty and well-presented. Steaks very over-priced and food was a bit over-cooked. I wish them luck...but, they do have a few kinks to work out before I would return. Oh well...back to Los Gatos for dinner. read more

All style with little real stuff . Average pasta , average wine. The thing which ticked me off was insane waiting times. The Deserts were superb !! read more

We ran across this beautifully lit place as we were strolling through Los Altos downtown looking for ice cream. As promised, we made it out to get a drink and dinner yesterday. The Kale salad was exquisitely done. The Tajarin which we ordered next was terribly disappointing, it was soft and mushy. Much as I hate to do this, I had to send it back. To our pleasant surprise, the manager came by, explained that's the way Piedmontise make it and it was an in-between dish. He followed it up by sending a beautiful complimentary watermelon salad. Even the chef talked to us about it after the meal. We really appreciated the service. The Ricotta Gnudi which followed was a thing of beauty, just perfectly executed. Was happy to see a full restaurant at dinner yesterday, hopefully a sign of turnaround to restaurants in Los Altos. read more

Up until we received the bill, this place would have gotten 4 stars (over cooked salmon and food took too long). However, we were significantly overcharged when the bill came and management would do nothing to make amends. Not only will we not be back, we will take every opportunity to inform everyone we know not to eat at this restaurant. It is unfortunate because the wait staff was superb. read more

Thank god we had a reservation. I'm not kidding, if you're trying to dine here on a Friday or Saturday night, MAKE A RESERVATION. We arrived a smidge early and I saw 2 couples turned away, after they decided the bar wasn't the dining experience they were looking for. BUT, in Cetrella's defense, they did have seating there available. The menu here had something for everyone in my party, which I'd like to add, was my birthday party...so laa deee daa. The group I was dining with managed to sample nearly every appetizer they had, okay maybe not, but close. I had the mixed greens, Dad had the Foie Gras, my Godfather had the Spring Island Mussels, and his wife thoroughly enjoyed the Kobe Beef Carpaccio. For dinner we all tried something different, with the exception of my Mom and Godfather who both ordered the Duck. Mom said it came out a tad rare for her taste, but my Godfather said another minute on the cook top would have ruined it...so there you go. For dinner, my wife had the mushroom risotto, and had enough left over to enjoy it for a small snack the next day. My Dad opted to order the Braised Short Rib, and I had the Grilled Filet Mignon served over the horseradish creamed leeks. My filet was cooked to absolute perfection, and I really enjoyed the leeks, not being a leek fan. I think that everyone in the group was happy with the overall experience, and would probably go back to sample other menu items. read more