Caffe Riace

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Dinner with LDP group

So before I start, I will preface my comments with Caffe Riace is a wonderful place to have a lazy lunch on a sunny day. By lazy, I mean service is not fast at all so expect to take your time, but also because Caffe Riace has all outdoor seating and it is wonderful to sit in the sun.

For dinner in Palo Alto though, it gets kind of cold. Especially when there is slow service with everything from ordering to the bill to re-lighting your heat lamp. The last one is important.

Caffe Riace is located right inside the corner of Oregon Expressway and El Camino in the business district. During lunch hour, the parking complex is completely full, as is their patio dining area. The decor is interesting--Romanesque fountains and statues of pontificating naked men all within the inner courtyard of an apartment complex.

The food is pretty good. They have traditional antipasti, I like the melenzane (eggplant) one. Caprese salad and bruschetta are other options. For dinner tonight, I tried to custom order gnocchi with bolognese sauce (gnocchi is on the menu with a different sauce, and the shells with bolognese was a special). It ended up working out, but the waiter tried to push back because they have a small kitchen? I had quite a bit of food envy when Jeff Y and Andrew's seafood linguine came out, it was quite spicy with lots of stuff on top. Sarah also had a great chicken dish.

The antipasti range from $7-$10 and main dishes $15-$25, so we ended up at $35 per person including tax and tip (and without wine).

Overall, Caffe Riace was not that impressive today, though I was happy to spend time with my LDP group again. I recommend going for lunch when you have a lot of time.

200 Sheridan Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-0407