Just a few blocks east of Polk Street, the tiny bar has been known to host weekly parties that rake in a dizzyingly eclectic mix of old-school queers, hipsters, drag aficionados, and the occasional curious tourist. Aunt Charlie's Lounge: In the gritty, unvarnished meatiness that is the San Francisco Tenderloin District, this beloved drag bar is an SFO institution of considerable acclaim.

Want to limit your search to the places our readers selected as 'The Best?' These restaurants, cafes and eateries were the winners in our most recent 'Best of Palo Alto' contest. Looking for a good place for a weekend brunch? These restaurants offer special brunch menus. View a PDF of a [ useful listing of restaurants published in our printed Visitors Guide. Check the calendar for other theater, music and dance offerings in Palo Alto and at Stanford. The much-loved Palo Alto Children's Theatre has it's own dedicated stage at the community center and has ignited the acting passion of many local children. Palo Alto Players, a popular community theater group that was the Peninsula's first theater group when formed in 1931, offers a regular schedule of plays at the Lucie Stern Community Center in Palo Alto. A few restaurants and bars feature live music or DJs.įor live theater, check out TheatreWorks, a nationally-acclaimed group that draws from throughout the Peninsula and Silicon Valley. A popular bar scene consisting of mostly non-local young professionals and some Stanford students keeps downtown Palo Alto going until after 1 a.m. Restaurants are the focal point for nightlife in Palo Alto, and it's not uncommon for them to still be seating customers at 10 or 11 o'clock on weekends.

Chang's, Max's Opera Cafe, Il Fornaio, Gordon Biersch and Buca di Beppo all have Palo Alto locations.

Chains including The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, P.F. Visitors looking for familiar but quality food will find lots to choose from. Most of the best restaurants are relatively small and independent, and without reservations you can expect to wait up to an hour or longer, especially on weekends. It is a favorite dinner spot for locals living throughout Silicon Valley and visiting tourists and business people from around the world. Palo Alto is home to some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, in many cases rivaling the best restaurants in San Francisco.

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