Palo Alto Lounges

Café Niebaum-Coppola
473 University Ave., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.752.0350
The wine list is extensive at this Palo Alto restaurant and lounge with liberal selections from the venerable winery of Niebaum-Coppola as you might have guessed. The café itself serves a variety of Mediterranean styled dishes in their sumptuous dark wooded space and, as an added bonus, all of the wines they have available can also be purchased to go for at home consumption.

Cibo Bar and Grill
3401 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.493.2411, 800.492.7335
Located inside Palo Alto's Creekside Inn, Cibo Bar and Grill does a fantastic menu of Mediterranean and Californian infused cuisine to satisfy your hunger pangs and also has an extensive, well-developed drink list to satisfy, well... your other pangs. At Cibo all of the restaurants cuisine is available in their chic lounge, which is a true blessing from this newer Palo Alto restaurant hotspot.

Cocktail Lounge at Palo Alto Bowl
4329 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.948.1031
If you've never drank at a bowling alley bar then you're certainly missing out on a staple of the Americana diet, perhaps you should check out this cultural adventure in the Cocktail Lounge at Palo Alto Bowl where you can get blazingly drunk and are actually encouraged to try to knock things down. Besides the abject retro coolness of the Cocktail Lounge at Palo Alto Bowl and the stiff cocktails, there's an arcade here with pool tables and video games if your diversionary tastes don't include bowling, but seriously they should. Palo Alto Bowl also changes up your normal gut overhanging, Miller swilling bowling alley atmosphere by offering theme nights that include DJs and karaoke.

Dan Brown's Lounge and Sports Bar
4141 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.493.9020
A tale of two bars in one, Dan Brown's Lounge and Sports Bar in Palo Alto is a retro styled chill out lounge in the front part and a raucously partying sports bar, complete with 10 televisions, in the back. Further amenities in the back sports bar include pool tables, foosball, pinball and air hockey—the absolute best game to play while drinking to cull the weak from the herd—so diversions are no problem at Brown's Lounge for the die hard group of local bar regulars and the occasional light smattering of Stanford students.

Evvia Estiatorio
420 Emerson St., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.326.0983
Reminiscent of an outdoor Greek taverna even though the restaurant is indoors, Evvia in Palo Alto serves California inspired Greek cuisine to chic Silicon Valley socialites who dine in the airy confines or lounge in the sophisticated bar. The wine list at Evvia is incredibly well developed as well, sampling a little bit of everything form around California and the Mediterranean that pairs excellently with their cuisine.

La Bodeguita Del Medio
463 California Ave., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.326.7762
Probably the only place in the Bay Area where you can sip on aged Cuban rum while puffing away on a cigar is La Bodeguita Del Medio in Palo Alto, a Cuban inspired lounge, restaurant and all around hang out spot as you may have surmised. The main drink list is, of course, derived from the best of what our little socialist island neighbor to the south has to offer and their mojitos are some of the best around, plus any bar that allows you to smoke imported cigars indoors while you sip on your drink makes it straight to the top of our list in smoker unfriendly California.

Lavanda Restaurant & Wine Bar
185 University Ave., Palo Alto, California; 650.321.3514
The upscale older set in Palo Alto wines and dines at Lavanda, a French-Mediterranean bistro style restaurant that boasts over 600 wines (30 of which can be ordered by the glass) for your drinking pleasure and their tapas menu certainly hits the gastronomic mark. This sophisticated Palo Alto restaurant and lounge is a must for any wine aficionado; you caught that little 600 wines tidbit earlier, right?

Luna Lounge at The Westin
675 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.321.4422
The perfect place to kick off a classy night out on the town is the Luna Lounge in Palo Alto where you can sip on some classic martinis by the Westin's heated pool or enjoy the comfortably chic ambiance indoors. The kitchen serves up light Mediterranean inspired fare and the Luna Lounge's extensive California wine list features the best of what our viticulturists have to offer.

Maddalena's Café Fino
544 Emerson St., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.326.6082
Maddalena's Café Fino in Palo Alto provides the more mature set with a place where they can kick back, listen to some cool live jazz stylings and sip on some of the finest martinis we have ever had. This 1920's style art deco masterpiece in addition to playing host to live jazz also has cabaret acts roll through on occasion to tickle the ivories of Maddalena's grand piano. This Palo Alto lounge and live music club is a total throwback to a more stylish bygone era and a welcomed drinking diversion from today's clubs whose musical selections usually only span the hampered DJ spectrum.

Nola
535 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.328.2722
A little more refined than the Bourbon Street juke joints that it was inspired by, Nola restaurant in Palo Alto serves the Stanford masses classic New Orleans grub in a funky setting that makes you want to linger for hours in one of their two lounges or on the open air patio and Nola makes it incredibly easy to do just that. We've actually spent entire days at this local Palo Alto restaurant and bar when we're missing The Big Easy or just have an inkling for something different for which Nola's can always deliver with their excellent Creole style grub and completely dangerous Hurricanes.

Pavilion Bar at Spago
265 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.8333.1000
Wolfgang Puck's venerable Spago restaurant in Palo Alto serves innovative Asian infused American and pan-Mediterranean cuisine in a sophisticated atmosphere to the delight of Bay Area diners. Even though the world-class Pavilion Bar actually occupies an entirely separate area than the main dining room, patrons can, thankfully, still order from the main restaurant's menu or the bar menu which features more snack-like foods. Whether in the main restaurant at Spago or the Pavilion bar, every guest to this Palo Alto restaurant institution is treated to an extensive wine list that boasts interesting choices that pair perfectly with the eclectic cuisine.

Stoa Restaurant and Wine Bar
632 Emerson St., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.328.2600
Stoa Restaurant and Wine Bar in Palo Alto can get a little pricey, but this sophisticated eatery is well worth it because the Mediterranean inspired vegetarian dishes never fail to astound and Stoa Restaurant is one of a handful of late night dining options in downtown Palo Alto. Of course Stoa features a full bar, but the real treat here is their vast wine selection which features unique selections from California and Europe. Also, Stoa hosts live jazz music on Tuesdays and Fridays making this Palo Alto restaurant and bar much more than just another local eatery.

Sundance the Steakhouse
1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.321.6798
Sundance the Steakhouse's low-key rustic styled bar in Palo Alto is a great place to start or end an evening out, with a friendly, knowledgeable staff who can also pour you up a killer martini that goes perfectly with their American steakhouse fare. The beer selection at this local Palo Alto restaurant and bar is slim, but if your gastronomic inclinations lean more toward the red meat variety, you'll always be better off with some of Sundance's fine wines or liquors to wash down the beefy goodness.

Tamarine
546 University Ave., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.325.8500
Tamarine, Palo Alto's premier Vietnamese restaurant, is also home to one of the hippest bar scenes downtown. Maybe it's because of their excellent small plate Vietnamese cuisine that can be ordered in the bar, maybe it's because they're known for their exotic martini menu that infuses unique flavors expertly, or perhaps it's continually packed because the walls of this Palo Alto restaurant and lounge are adorned with a rotating array of fascinating works by hip Vietnamese artists turning Tamarine into a cutting edge gallery. Whatever the reason, you have to check out Tamarine, you and your date will thank us.

Zibibbo
430 Kipling St., Palo Alto, California; Tel. 650.328.6722
With two bars and some truly inspired, distinguished Mediterranean style cuisine Zibibbo restaurant in Palo Alto has made a name for itself as a chic eatery and bar that has a palpable lively energy about it. The main bar is a dark wood and dramatically lighted showpiece while the outdoor bar is like hanging out on your friend's back porch, but with much better food, drinks and company. Also, happy hour at Zibibbo consists not of your typical bar and restaurant fare and specials, but with appetizer selections specially prepared by the chef and expertly paired with selections from their staggering wine menu.

—Palo Alto Bars and Clubs reviews by Ryan Osterbeck

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