A polished, creative Palo Alto destination with excellent standout dishes and service, but small portions, adventurous pairings, occasional inconsistency, and a genuinely high bill require careful ordering.
Ethel's Fancy delivers strong food quality and attentive service, but inconsistent execution across dishes and visits prevents a higher grade. Uneven plate-to-plate performance, small portions relative to price, and a pleasant but modest setting keep it from approaching grade A territory, though the seasonal creativity and polished service maintain solid appeal for special occasions.
Ethel's Fancy is a small, polished downtown Palo Alto restaurant that feels tailor-made for birthdays, anniversaries, and business dinners. The room is attractive and cozy, the open kitchen adds theater, and the bar or counter can be a smart fallback when reservations disappear. As one diner’s experience put it, the best visits feel like a series of beautifully plated surprises, though the dining room can get warm or carry lingering food aromas, and some guests have felt hurried. The food is ambitious contemporary New American cooking with strong Japanese and Hawaiian influence: crudo, miso, yuzu kosho, curry, yakitori-style accents, premium seafood, and carefully sourced meats. Milk bread, sesame pancakes, pork, octopus, trout, and crudo repeatedly earn praise, but the menu is intentionally exploratory and not every pairing lands. Portions are tasting-sized, so the experience rewards curiosity and variety more than bargain-minded fullness; expect roughly $85-115 per person before tax, tip, and drinks for a substantial meal. Families can make it work, especially adventurous older children, and one large birthday party with three children reported that everyone enjoyed the meal. The current menu does offer familiar anchors such as bread, steamed rice, pork, beef, and soft serve, but there is no obvious conventional kids' menu, and picky eaters may end up with rice or a few simple bites. ALERT: Creative/fusion menu - not traditional comfort food.
Area vibe: Upscale suburban downtown with tech-oriented professionals and boutique retail.
Safety: Generally safe with good evening foot traffic and well-lit streets near University Avenue.
What's nearby: Near Caltrain station, Stanford University, University Avenue shops, boutique hotels and other restaurants.