(650) 327-0830

1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025 37.4576 -122.191

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CAFEBORRONE.COM

Last updated 9.05.09

Category:

Restaurants, Art Galleries

Catering Services:

Restaurant Management

Restaurant Special Features:

People Watching, Outdoor Dining

What People Are Saying About Cafe Borrone

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Food – The chalkboard menu is hard to read, so go for the fresh muffins, scones, and divine coffee drinks in the morning; at lunch bite into the chicken-salad sandwich, and after dark branch out and try a glass of red wine and a little pate. – – The Scene – Cafe Borrone is an institution in Menlo Park. The plaza in between the two spots is dotted with cafe tables overflowing with beautiful people just cracking the spine of a new purchase. Borrone is a casual, order-at-the-counter kind of place that still turns out sophisticated sandwiches, salads, and…

Editor's Tips

Don't Rush It:
Be sure and make some time to browse next door at Kepler's Books.
Jampacked:
Owners Rose and Roy Borrone and their kids took over Kepler's annex a couple years back to add more room, but it still seems packed to overflowing, especially on nights when there's live Dixieland jazz.
Also Try:
Another coffeehouse in Silicon Valley on par with Cafe Borrone.
2 Star Rating: Below Average

07/22/07

Affogato Affront

by gbheron at Citysearch

We have always liked Cafe Borrone. But since they have no e-mail address on their website (consider this a demotion in stars, too!) I am posting publicly how disappointed we were with the affogatos last night.

Affogatos should be a fun, festive drink. In the style to which we're accostomed--from It's Italia in Half Moon Bay--this lively dessert dish should be served as follows: big scoop of well-frozen, high-quality vanilla ice cream in a large martini-shaped glass with whipped cream and shaved dark chocolate. A little maple syrup-type pitcher with 3 oz of espresso is served on the side. The guest pours the espresso over the ice cream in several installations and eats w/ a spoon.

The CB version was in a coffee mug with about a milliliter of coffee and no shaved chocolate (despite asking if I could have a chunk of chcoclate to shave w/ their nutmeg grinder--felt like the tuna sandwich scene in Five Easy Pieces). I was horrified to see the counter guy scoop half-melted Dreyer's into my cup when the menu board had promised Haagen Dasz! He said they ran out of HD. Hmmm. Do I believe that? So we had a drab, minimally-coffee'd, mushy, melted mess in a mundane mug.

SO disappointing. Please learn how to make a proper affogato!!

  • Pros: good food, good wine, great desserts, outdoor seating, next to book store, easy to park
  • Cons: bad affogatos
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

04/15/07

great coffee and ambiance

by sthor75 at Citysearch

Cafe Borrones is a great coffee shop and restaurant. It has a great seating arrangement inside and out. I would highly recommend.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

06/21/04

Great spot!

by krafty at Citysearch

This is a great cafe and is located right next to Kepler's--one of the best bookstores in the area. Although very crowded at times, it's a great place to catch up with friends.

  • Pros: good food, great location, near great bookstore
  • Cons: , hard to get table at
3.5 Star Rating: Average

08/26/02

Great location but overpriced food!

by cwgentry at Citysearch

Great location, great patio, cheerful cashiers and (usually) friendly waitstaff. But that doesn't justify the overpriced food ($6.50 for a green salad? $0.50 to add whipped cream to your drink?). But there isn't a better place in Menlo Park for meeting friends

  • Pros: Great patio, Friendly cashiers, Good location
  • Cons: Overpriced, OK food, Lack of seating
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