Food, coffee, laundry, hanging out & sightseeing

Tina
Food, coffee, laundry, hanging out & sightseeing

My favorite cafes

Independently owned and run by people who love and live super high quality coffees and teas. Baristas are awesome perfectionists. Choices are phenomenal for both purists and those who like creative mixing of flavors & ingredients. Coffees roasted on site. Funky, communal vibe, total lack of pretense. Completely outdoor. Wear appropriate outdoor attire. Good place to work.
6 locals recommend
Backyard Brew
444 California Ave
6 locals recommend
Independently owned and run by people who love and live super high quality coffees and teas. Baristas are awesome perfectionists. Choices are phenomenal for both purists and those who like creative mixing of flavors & ingredients. Coffees roasted on site. Funky, communal vibe, total lack of pretense. Completely outdoor. Wear appropriate outdoor attire. Good place to work.
Great location, lattes, and pastries at the library and great mission to provide employment opportunities to different abled people.
Ada's Cafe
3700 Middlefield Road
Great location, lattes, and pastries at the library and great mission to provide employment opportunities to different abled people.
Well known pour over coffee chain founded in the Bay Area. Most have areas to sit & work. Mint mojito is my fav.
195 locals recommend
Philz Coffee
101 Forest Ave
195 locals recommend
Well known pour over coffee chain founded in the Bay Area. Most have areas to sit & work. Mint mojito is my fav.
63 locals recommend
Coupa Cafe - Ramona
538 Ramona St
63 locals recommend
70 locals recommend
Caffe Trieste
601 Vallejo St.
70 locals recommend
Nice place to change up the WFH routine and work or use for informal meetings.
Coupa Cafe
4748 W El Camino Real
Nice place to change up the WFH routine and work or use for informal meetings.

Food scene

11 locals recommend
Ramen Nagi Palo Alto
541 Bryant St
11 locals recommend
21 locals recommend
Joanie's Cafe
405 California Ave
21 locals recommend
Kali Greek Kitchen
451 California Ave
45 locals recommend
Terún
448 California Ave
45 locals recommend
14 locals recommend
Jin Sho
454 California Ave
14 locals recommend
Nobu Hotel Palo Alto
180 Hamilton Ave
18 locals recommend
Bird Dog
420 Ramona St
18 locals recommend
94 locals recommend
Evvia Estiatorio
420 Emerson St
94 locals recommend
8 locals recommend
Chef Zhao Kitchen
2180 W Bayshore Rd
8 locals recommend
13 locals recommend
Alpine Inn Beer Garden
3915 Alpine Rd
13 locals recommend
Every Sunday from 9am-1pm all year
27 locals recommend
California Avenue Farmer's Market
400 California Avenue
27 locals recommend
Every Sunday from 9am-1pm all year
30 locals recommend
Flea Street
3607 Alameda de las Pulgas
30 locals recommend
337 locals recommend
Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Ave
337 locals recommend
11 locals recommend
Chez TJ
938 Villa St
11 locals recommend
Good food great view of the Bay
95 locals recommend
The Slanted Door
Ferry Building
95 locals recommend
Good food great view of the Bay
12 locals recommend
Madera
2825 Sand Hill Rd
12 locals recommend
6 locals recommend
Taverna
800 Emerson St
6 locals recommend
Great paella, tapas, and cocktails. Heated outdoor seating available. Be sure to visit their market for take home sangria.
Telefèric Barcelona
855 El Camino Real
Great paella, tapas, and cocktails. Heated outdoor seating available. Be sure to visit their market for take home sangria.
Multiple food vendors all in one venue. Indoor and outdoor seating.
State Street Market
Multiple food vendors all in one venue. Indoor and outdoor seating.
Full service grocer store 2.5 miles from the studio on El Camino Real. Accessible by bike or bus if you don't have a car. Tesla Supercharger in . Shop in-store or use your Amazon account > under the Groceries tab for pick up or delivery.
341 locals recommend
Whole Foods Market
4800 El Camino Real
341 locals recommend
Full service grocer store 2.5 miles from the studio on El Camino Real. Accessible by bike or bus if you don't have a car. Tesla Supercharger in . Shop in-store or use your Amazon account > under the Groceries tab for pick up or delivery.
Popular grocery store famous for their packaged foods from around the world. Especially ideal for shopping for one or two people. Great selection of cereals, oils, pastas, booze, candy, and snacks. They also have fresh produce.
84 locals recommend
Trader Joe's
855 El Camino Real
84 locals recommend
Popular grocery store famous for their packaged foods from around the world. Especially ideal for shopping for one or two people. Great selection of cereals, oils, pastas, booze, candy, and snacks. They also have fresh produce.
Bistro Elan
2363 Birch St
Popular and nearby. About .5 miles from the studio, convenient shop for sundries. Excellent sandwiches.
Driftwood Deli & Market
3450 El Camino Real
Popular and nearby. About .5 miles from the studio, convenient shop for sundries. Excellent sandwiches.
I've not shopped here yet, but I'm listing it here b/c it's walking distance to the studio. I've been to other Grocery Outlet stores in other cities. Generally they will carry some produce in addition to packaged staples at good prices.
Grocery Outlet
I've not shopped here yet, but I'm listing it here b/c it's walking distance to the studio. I've been to other Grocery Outlet stores in other cities. Generally they will carry some produce in addition to packaged staples at good prices.
Locally owned. Delicious thin crust pizza. Beer on tap.
State of Mind Slice House
Locally owned. Delicious thin crust pizza. Beer on tap.
Excellent coffee for takeout, but not good for working or hanging out. Not much seating.
17 locals recommend
ZombieRunner Coffee
344 California Ave
17 locals recommend
Excellent coffee for takeout, but not good for working or hanging out. Not much seating.

Sightseeing

8 locals recommend
Stanford Oval
20 Palm Dr
8 locals recommend
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 3rd St
813 locals recommend
432 locals recommend
Exploratorium
Green Street
432 locals recommend
668 locals recommend
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
668 locals recommend
168 locals recommend
Rancho San Antonio County Park
168 locals recommend
Arastradero Preserve Loop Vista Point
Arastradero Creek Trail
Los Trancos Preserve
55 locals recommend
Dunes Beach
55 locals recommend
27 locals recommend
San Gregorio State Beach
Cabrillo Hwy S
27 locals recommend
553 locals recommend
Ocean Beach
La Playa St
553 locals recommend
1721 locals recommend
Golden Gate Park
1721 locals recommend
208 locals recommend
Legion of Honor
100 34th Ave
208 locals recommend
189 locals recommend
Ferry Building
189 locals recommend
727 locals recommend
Twin Peaks
727 locals recommend
46 locals recommend
Point Reyes Lighthouse
46 locals recommend
27 locals recommend
Anderson Collection
314 Lomita Dr
27 locals recommend
41 locals recommend
Stanford Dish
400 Reservoir Rd
41 locals recommend
18 locals recommend
Thomas Fogarty Winery
19501 Skyline Boulevard
18 locals recommend
Live music weekly
32 locals recommend
San Gregorio General Store
7615 Stage Rd
32 locals recommend
Live music weekly
Los Trancos Preserve
545 locals recommend
Coit Tower
545 locals recommend
55 locals recommend
Dunes Beach
55 locals recommend
1721 locals recommend
Golden Gate Park
1721 locals recommend
255 locals recommend
Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd
255 locals recommend
995 locals recommend
Yosemite National Park
995 locals recommend
354 locals recommend
Carmel by the sea
San Antonio Avenue
354 locals recommend
75 locals recommend
Mendocino
75 locals recommend
156 locals recommend
Point Reyes Station
156 locals recommend
51 locals recommend
Yountville
51 locals recommend
Redwoods in Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Reservations required.
134 locals recommend
Muir Woods Visitor Center
1 Muir Woods Rd
134 locals recommend
Redwoods in Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Reservations required.
Perfect forest bathing location. Beautiful winding drive. Short and long hikes. Parking fee.
Portola Redwoods State Park
9000 Portola State Park Rd
Perfect forest bathing location. Beautiful winding drive. Short and long hikes. Parking fee.

Self care

Best spa in town
30 locals recommend
Watercourse Way
165 Channing Ave
30 locals recommend
Stanford Coin Wash
2045 El Camino Real
Laundromat
This laundry service will pick up and deliver your cleaning. Simple account set up on their web site.
PurpleTie
2181 West Winton Avenue
This laundry service will pick up and deliver your cleaning. Simple account set up on their web site.

Entertainment

ShowPlace ICON Mountain View
2575 California St
9 locals recommend
70 locals recommend
Nola
535 Ramona St
70 locals recommend
Love going to this long time Palo Alto establishment to browse books and gifts before walking to dinner at Teleferic Barcelona. Get an ice cream or coffee afterwards, this shopping center across the street from Stanford University has something for everyone.
Books Inc.
Love going to this long time Palo Alto establishment to browse books and gifts before walking to dinner at Teleferic Barcelona. Get an ice cream or coffee afterwards, this shopping center across the street from Stanford University has something for everyone.
Excellent outdoor amphitheater venue for live performances.
Frost Amphitheater
Excellent outdoor amphitheater venue for live performances.
Community center with expansive park space, library, tennis and pickle ball courts, free to use.
22 locals recommend
Mitchell Park
600 E Meadow Dr
22 locals recommend
Community center with expansive park space, library, tennis and pickle ball courts, free to use.
One of my top 2 favorite movie theaters in the area with reclining leather loungers. Full bar and dinner menu. They'll bring it to your seat.
AMC DINE-IN Sunnyvale 12
150 E McKinley Ave
One of my top 2 favorite movie theaters in the area with reclining leather loungers. Full bar and dinner menu. They'll bring it to your seat.
Great district in nearby Mountain View. Cafes, restaurants, shops, and bars.
Castro St, Mountain View, CA, USA
Great district in nearby Mountain View. Cafes, restaurants, shops, and bars.

City advice

Ways to save

Laundrymats and Laundry Service

Here’s a search results list of nearby laundromats. https://maps.google.com?q=laundromat%20near%20me Here's the laundy service that I use. They pick up and deliver: https://www.purpletie.com/
Getting around

Planning for Getting Around & Traffic

Palo Alto is a small town with only 67k residents. But the number of people that come here to work, play, or study doubles on weekdays, and nothing demonstrates this daily transformation as clearly as weekday rush hour although it’s slightly better than pre-pandemic. I recommend checking Google Maps or Waze for optimal commute times. If you are going to San Francisco and are vaccinated, take Caltrain. You can even bring a beverage—any beverage! Great way to use that hour to catch up on reading.
Customs and culture

Food Takeout & Delivery

I suggest using a delivery service like Amazon Prime Now, Whole Foods, Good Eggs for prepared meals and groceries. I recommend ordering takeout and using curbside pick up service whenever possible. You can search on "restaurants near me". Order on the restaurant's site when possible so they get paid directly. We avoid services like DoorDash or Postmates because they take a big cut. Food recommendation: Kali Kitchen (Greek), Zareen's (Indian), Terun (Mediterranean), Pastis (French), Flea St. Cafe (Calif), and Izzy's (bagels). For coffee we like Ada’s Cafe and Backyard Brew.