Outdoor seating for lunch in Mid-Peninsula

[san carlos girl]

Some friends are looking for place for a "nice" lunch where they can sit outside and take advantage of the weather. Somewhere between PA and Burlingame would work best.

[LPC]

I ate at Bravo Fono just the other night. I absolutely adore their butter lettuce salad, and then the sole meuniere entree with the lemon butter sauce and capers. Classic french-american food, down to the boiled potato with parsley and the perfectly cooked few spears of asparagus.

And really amazing friend hungarian garlic bread (lagnos).

[markseiden]

in palo alto, a chinese place with a nice flowery
terrace (and excellent food) is hunan garden on el camino
3 blocks south of oregon expy/page mill. it also has those
infrared heaters if you want.

another option for eating outside is, of course,
cafe borrone (sidewalk seating), and it's next to kepler's
bookstore.

[biotech bob]

I haven't been to Mistral's in Redwood Shores in a long time. But the last time I was there it was great food. Great sunny patio, perfect for a casual lunch and nice enough for a business meeting.

[LHalliday]

I like Mistral also, but they've mostly enclosed the patio so they can use it year-round. It doesn't have a total outdoor feeling anymore.

[LHalliday]

I concur with Bravo Fono -- it's a great place to sit outside and the food is good. A few more suggestions in Foster City (where I live): Most of the restaurants at the Edgewater Place shopping center (anchored by an Albertsons) have outdoor seating on the lagoon. Chevy's and Portofino come to mind. No great food here, but the water views are really nice. Also, weekdays only, Cafe Savini at the bottom of the Metro Tower (the tallest building in Foster City behind the Safeway/Longs shopping center), has outdoor seating on the edge of a very pleasant little park in front of the Metro Tower. Cafe Savini has good sandwiches, salads and pastas. Pasta Grotto, a neighborhood place in the shopping center on Shell Boulevard, has a few outside tables. It's just a view of the shopping center and parking lot, but somehow I like it there (not many tables and they're far enough away from each other that you get some space and privacy). I prefer the Swiss specialties to the Italian ones there.

[Karen_Schaffer]

Caffe Riace in Palo Alto has a great patio with excellent statuary (see photos) and good Italian food.

http://www.cafferiace.com/

[Melanie Wong]

Caffe Riace's patio is gorgeous. Here's a thread from last year with advice on ordering and some more photos.

[ML8000]

Zibibbo in PA has a patio area which is quite nice. Reports have been up and down. Anything roasted seems safe. I remember brunch being good...breakfasty things.

[Mari]

The Empire Tap Room in downtown Palo Alto has a great patio.

[Jefferson]

In Palo Alto, it has been a long time since I've eaten at Bistro Elan on California Ave., but their back patio is a somewhat-well-kept-secret that you might find available on a nice afternoon.

[Mick Ruthven]

Bravo Fono in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto has a very nice patio area with umbrellas and good food. It's a bit pricy, but it's a great place on a nice day and at lunch time when other places are crowded I've never had a problem getting a table on their patio.

[rednails]

The first place that comes to mind is Crepevine in Burlingame (Burlingame Ave). It is counterservice, but the food is delivered to your table. The food is very good (pasta, lots of brunch type dishes, salads, sandwiches etc) and a lot of bang for your buck. But I guess it also depends on your definition of "nice," meaning, if you want a white tablecloth meal, it ain't the place.

Steelhead Brewery also has a patio, it's about a block from Crepevine (off Burlingame Ave. in between Lorton & California Drive). Full tableservice, but still not white tablecloth. Also good food, and good bang for the buck.

I can't think of any place in San Mateo that would fit this request....