I went to Cafe Del Sol for lunch with a few friends and colleagues of mine. What a nice little surprise! The restaurant has a wonderful, cozy ambiance and excellent service. The food was much, much better than I expected. It was well worth the $12 I spent. I will definitely go back there next time I am in Menlo Park. read more

It's clean, but... 1) I came in to order to go, and asked if there's rice in the salad - I was told that there is rice in it. There wasn't. 2) I asked if I could get sour cream instead of guacamole - I was told yes. I didn't. 3) I ordered a drink - I never got my drink, but was charged for it. I wish I had checked the bag before leaving. 4) I asked if I could get tomatoes instead of all the sauces they put in the salad - I was told yes. There weren't any tomatoes. The hell? read more

Cafe Del Sol - Menu 2/22/14 - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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This place used to be really good, but I came here yesterday and to start, the host was unfriendly. The prices have gone up and our server apologized for the food taking long. And ten minutes later she apologized again. It must have been 30 min or more before it came. My partners burrito was literally carne Asada and onions wrapper in a tortilla, served with beans and rice. No guacamole, no cheese, no toppings or fillings a burrito should have to call it a burrito. Nothing was discounted or comp'ed on our very overpriced meal. (Fish tacos for 25?!) I'm writing this review on the toilet as whatever I ate has made me sick. I'm sad this place has gone into the dumps. read more

Cafe Del Sol will not give you an autentico cantina experience, but you will get friendly service and tasty food. The appetizer plate (with the flauta, chip, and other little goodies) is both tasty and attractive. Food wise, I recommend the chili verde and the fajitas. For the area, the prices are pretty reasonable, and the servings are substantial (but not overwhelmingly so). Service is friendly, but not extra fast. Setting is quiet, making it a good place to catch up with a friend or have a subdued meal. Worth checking out if you're in Menlo Park and craving a good Mexican meal. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Pre-meal chips and taquito w/a touch of salsas. Pretty, right? - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

This is the first time in a long time that I have left a restaurant and been genuinely pissed off at having wasted my money and the opportunity at a nice meal out. My food was abysmal. It was something like $15 for veggie fajitas. They were served on a fajita grill but why bother? They weren't seared. They were clearly microwaved steamed veggies from a frozen mixed veggie bag. They were soggy and had water dripping off of them. How hard is it to cut up veggies and sear them in some oil with a few spices?!? The refried beans aren't vegetarian so I had the black beans which had zero flavor. It tasted like they opened a can of beans. The rice isn't vegetarian so I couldn't have it. The person who said this is good for vegans is sorely mistaken. My only options as a vegetarian were these wretched fajitas or nachos. My husband had fish tacos. He said the tacos themselves were ok but nothing had any real seasoning. He said they certainly weren't worth the $17ish they cost. We were offered drinks but no drink menu. I guess we just had to take a wild guess at our options. No chips and salsa were served at the beginning of the meal. They also wanted to charge me for a side of tortillas. My fajitas came with just 3 small tortillas and one was broken. I have no idea why this place has good reviews but they have a lot to learn about making a decent reasonably priced meal. read more

Just had another great dinner , great value at here. They are back open for limited capacity indoors. Also a few outside tables. Love their Fajitas, and their great fresh snapper dish ! Service is always friendly , welcoming, and reliably good. Take out weekly is a staple for our family ! read more

This place is AWESOME!!! It is one of my two favorite lunch spot. GREAT sit down lunch for under $10 after tax and 20% tip! EXCELLENT!!! read more

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First time here, on a Saturday about 12:30. Service by Sonia G was great. We had our sodas and water refilled well before we needed it. We were looking for a different Latin restaurant and we found one. We enjoyed: * Guacamole with glasses of the house Cabernet * Chicken with rice soup * Chicken quesadilla * Chicken street tacos * Chili verde * Coffee We also had the halibut, but the filet was too thin, and it had been overcooked. We like halibut, but much thicker, which was our hope, as it was priced at $21.50. Enjoy! read more

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A nice quiet spot in Menlo Park, with some good food and a tasty selection of savory dishes well within the fish, seafood, and shrimp themed entrees. Check it out when you are passing through El Camino Real. It's a Real treat. read more

Terrible fajitas, camaron and flan. They gave us this, soggy and mushed looking flan. Our car is parked literally in front of the parking lot across the street. The taste is terrible as it looked. Pretty polite server tho, that's why I gave two stars. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Ordered to go flan to eat in the car. As soon as I sat at the passenger seat, hoping this flan would give me justice to what we paid for. - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

It was 8 p.m. on a Sunday and we wanted dinner. Being in eerily-quiet-at-night Menlo Park, this was a near impossible task, but Cafe Del Sol was here to save the day. This visit was just last month in August, but apparently they're not open on Sundays anymore? I push on with my review. Seeing as it was so late on a Sunday, the restaurant was empty besides one other party. Our server was really friendly and enthusiastic, to the point where he was a little overbearing. My friend and I had ordered glasses of wine to loosen up (but also because why not?), and he had a habit of interrupting us when we were in the middle of heated conversation to ask if we were doing okay or if the food was good. The food was, in fact, good. Everything tasted really fresh and I liked the flavors. I really liked the mango salsa. However, it wasn't anything particularly special. It's definitely slightly pricier for Mexican food, and I'm not sure that it was worth it. Overall, I was pleased, but not impressed by any means. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

Highly recommend to other vegans! Yummmmmmm! Great service, nice atmosphere, delicious food, easy parking, amazing homemade chips. Try it out! read more

Consistently friendly service and staff. Absolutely love their ceviche. I get it every time. Best Mexican entrees of the local restaurants. Made a point to start ordering from them again during lockdown. read more

Small place but Wonderful food, great service. I ll make the drive from Daly City to Menlo Park for dinner with family it is totally worth it. We had arranchera, camarones al mojo, chicken fajitas and an apple pie for dessert. Can't get over the taste so clean and fresh. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Arranchera - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Hello! Where have you been all my life and when will you move North closer to my home? This is the best Nuveau Mexican restaurant I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The service and atmosphere are both fine, but the food is out of this world good. This is not like any of the silly chains, or like any of the typical "Tex Mex" type mom&pops. I love some of those places, but the food is often too greasy and heavy, and lacks fresh ingredients that aren't overcooked. The food at Cafe Del Sol is FULL of flavor, fresh, and creative without being weird. I had the Poblano Relleno which has an amazing crust, is stuffed with delicious shrimp with sides and garnish that perfectly compliment the flavors. I cleaned my plate but didn't feel like I'd need a shower after doing so. My new favorite restaurant south of SFO, and maybe my new favorite on the whole peninsula. read more

Cafe Del Sol - No boring chips and salsa here! - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Came here for a late dinner with my husband- just one of those nights where we didn't feel like cooking. Definitely glad we tried it. We had the Del Sol Tostada salad (the one with chicken and mango salsa) because of all the positive yelp reviews. It is a good salad- not great, but I'd definitely get it again. We also got the Spare Ribs, which were a bit disappointing. Next time I'll try more of the seafood options. Nice place with friendly staff and reasonable prices- we will be back to try out more of the menu. read more

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Be prepared to wait and wait. The food is fresh and a nice modern twist on Mexican. The service is slow and inconsistent. We we sat at a table with no place setting, the staff then set all the tables around us but not ours. We finally asked for setting and menus. Once those arrived, so did the manager. We thought things might be looking up, but no.... It took us two hours at finish our meal and having to ask at every step for service. read more

AHHH!! Don't try to eat dinner at 4pm on a weekday!!! Open Monday - Saturday: Lunch: 11:00-2:30 Dinner: 5:00-9:30 CLOSED SUNDAY!! Pork Chops were friggin' AWFUL! Tough and impossible to cut..so dry and BURNT. Shrimp (diablas?) were 7 pieces of shrimp..and a lot of rice to make sure you're full cuz the Shrimp sure isn't going to dent any sort of hunger. Expect to pay $12-15 per entree. Definitely not my favorite restaurant..and definitely will not be back. read more

Cafe Del Sole is one of my favorite lunch spots in downtown Menlo Park. They have a good variety of Mexican dishes, and the service is friendly. Take-out or eat-in, Cafe Del Sol is, from my experience, the best Mexican food you are going to get around Menlo Park. Try the mango salsa. While it is not inexpensive, I've had it a few times and it is worth the price. The place is not huge. Probably has about 12 tables, which are almost always full by 12:30, so arrive a little early if you can. There's nothing notable about the service, which, on Yelp, is generally a good thing. The food arrives in a reasonable amount of time, your needs are taken care of in a reasonable manner, and the servers do their job. The place is broken up into three different small rooms, so unless you end up next to a large group, the noise-level is well contained. Definitely a place to try if you find yourself in Menlo Park and have a hankering for some Mexican food. read more

Great Authentic Mexican Cuisine! Conveniently located off of Santa Cruz Avenue with plenty of free parking. Ordered the Steak Burrito and it was amazing! Friendly staff, great location and great food! A must try!! read more

Cafe Del Sol - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Ordered veggie fajitas for delivery. The veggies were a sad, soggy pile of frozen veggies they got out of a bag and put in the microwave. They did not include tortillas. Refried beans were really salty. Absolutely disgusting. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Veggie "fajitas" were from a frozen veggies bag, microwaved. No tortillas included. Salty refried beans. - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

This is my new go to spot when im in the area. The chicken enchiladas is crazy good. Probably the best i have had to date. Its not crazy heavy and the flavor is very balanced. I definitely need to try other things on their menu read more

Great salsa Kids menu And fantastic Mexican food What else can you ask for :-) read more

Cafe Del Sol - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

We decided to come to Cafe Del Sol for my husband's birthday. We tried and tried to make a reservation but the phone machine was full and we couldn't even leave a message. I tried calling earlier in the afternoon and was able to make a reservation for 5:30pm that evening. Not many eat so early so there was no problem. We got there easily, they are across from the old Sue Hong takeout and are very near plenty of parking. In front of us as we entered was the restroom door! What a beginning. There are basically three rooms. To the left is a room with four tables, to the right is a room with six tables, and go further a room with seven tables. The waiter offered us a table at the bigger room and I chose the one near the window. It was between two occupied tables so we had to do some chair adjusting so we wouldn't bump into each other. All tables had white tablecloths with white paper on top, and white cloth napkins. Finally settled at the window table and the waiter asked about drinks. Hubby got the sangria which was very light and pleasant with a tasteful touch of fruit and wine. I asked about a margarita and was informed they don't have a liquor license, only for wine and beer. I got water which was fine. No greasy chips and dip here! We were promptly served one plate with homemade tortilla chips, homemade salsa and some rolled tortilla food (unknown what it was but tasted good with the salsa) The salsa had large pieces of tomato and tasted good, not spicy nor bland. We started with the cerviche appetizer. What we got was a beautiful plate with a round of pink/red cerviche under a guac topping with home made large chips formed to make a star-like pattern with a round stripe of Sriracha sauce mid way through it. Looked fabulous and tasted great. The mild guac countered the spicy cerviche taste and it all worked together on the chips. Good appetizer. My husband ordered the Chili Colorado Plate (beef simmered in a tomato chili de arbol with rice and beans) It was devoured quickly. He is a very fast eater, but I got to taste the sauce which had a distinct chili taste. Very good. I didn't hear any complaints from him. I got the Poblano Relleno (roasted poblano pepper stuffed with grilled seafood, served with Tequila cream sauce, cilantro rice and Mango and tomato salsa) The giant poblano had a nice crust to it, not oily at all. Filling was some kind of seafood and shrimp, was good. The cilantro rice was not your regular rice with cilantro leaves on top, it was a green rice which I'm guessing incorporated the cilantro since it was a uniform green throughout. What I really loved were the tomato and mango salsas. Delicious. I love cilantro, so it probably could have used a bit more, but I loved it anyway. Great matched with the poblano. No dessert for us, we were stuffed. BEWARE that they are closed on Sundays as well as between 3p-4:30p, their phone line for reservations may be busy or full if you call during a meal time so call earlier in the day. Over all it was a small clean restaurant located near central Menlo with prompt service and a beautiful presentation of tastey food. Don't forget to take some candy from the dish on your way out. If dinner is an example of what they serve, I plan to return and try lunch. Definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

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I came here by accident. There is a restaurant on the other side of Paly called "Palo Alto Del Sol" and the google maps brought me here on my first stop of many through my wild goose chase. Service seemed good. It was consistently at capacity. I'll probably make a stop here at some point. read more

Friendly service. I was ask by three different people when I was there to pick up my order if I have been helped or needed anything. Also, when I called in my order, the guy on the phone was helpful with deciding between beef or chicken. Thanks. Plus this place is super close to my work. Worth leaving the office for. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Del Sol Tostada Salad with beef. - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Terrible experience. Didn't ask for guacamole with our chips and salsa and was charged $9 for it. Food was ok at best and service was awful as the waitress was downright dishonest. For two people, our bill came out to be $70!!! What da... read more

Cafe Del Sol - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

My order was placed at 7:37pm. I drive several miles and get there at 7:55pm. Can you guess what happened? They never imputed the order and had to input it on the spot and force me to wait an additional 15 minutes. That defeats the whole purpose of calling ahead. read more

What a joke. I ordered a quesadilla and it was literally the size of a regular taco tortilla. So small, and overpriced. Quesadilla was tasty, but you don't get your money's worth at all. You expect to pay more in Menlo Park, but that was BS. read more

My family and I eat here often. We try to go during off peak times as their service can be a bit slow during the peak hours. The food is very good especially their fajitas and the poblano relleno. They offer cilantro rice which is very tasty. For appetizer, the Camarones Del Sol (shrimp sautéed w/tequila and mango sauce quesadilla) is delicious. Now, for the reason why only 3-stars! $9.95 for GUACAMOLE (on the dinner menu)! Are you serious! It was barely one small/medium size avocado with too much onions! I could not believe it when it came. I thought it was a mistake. Ignore what their online menu says. We ate there last night and it's $9.95! I mean talk about price-gouging!!!!! Everyone loves guacamole, specially me, but at this price I will not be coming back here again no matter how good the other food is. read more

I adore this place. You cannot go wrong if you order the shrimp tostada salad, it's divine. So, so, so good! There are certain things that you have food fantasies about ... and for me the shrimp tostada salad is one of them. The servers are always friendly and wonderful. At lunch, they get busy, and you can wait sometimes ... but really truly that lovely salad makes it well worth it. The enchiladas, burritos and fish tacos are always delish too, but the shrimp tostada salad ... read more

I would give this place five stars, if only for the green salsa. However, the food wasn't as yummy. As with most nice Mexican places, Cafe Del Sol serves up a side of tortilla chips and salsa for their patrons to munch on as they decide on what to order. I believe that these tortilla chips were homemade seeing as how they were extra long and pointy! Their shape suggests they were hand cut and fried. They achieved a nice balance with just enough salt and no stale taste! The chips come with two types of salsa: (1) fresca - just the regular cilantro+tomato+onion (2) green cilantro goodness - My friends and I debated the ingredients of this salsa. We have it down to: cilantro, chillies, lots of garlic, lime? and definitely a little bit of oil. THIS STUFF IS ADDICTIVE LIKE CRACK. We had to ask for another serving of chips just to make sure we ate all of the green salsa! I ordered a quesadilla which was only okay. I should have taken my friend's lead and gotten the special grilled shrimp quesadilla. Everyone else seemed quite satisfied with their tamales and their enchiladas. Ambiance is great. The place is very clean and well lit. The service was wonderful as well. They let us sit one by one at the table and wait for all of the members of our party to trickle in. Water glasses were promptly refilled and our second basket of chips delivered in a timely fashion as well. The only quibble I had with our dining experience was that the dining area where we were seated became quite loud during the lunch hour as all the tables filled up. It made it difficult to have a conversation with people sitting only 3 feet across the table. I have been told that the dinner hour is much quieter, and thus the time to go. Highly recommended! Go for the green salsa! read more

This was such a delightful surprise. I was trying to drive to Redwood City for lunch but had to pull over when the rain impared driving (apparently my windshied wipers suck but when I lived in San Diego rain was such a small problem that I never bothered replacing them). So my husband and I pulled over to Menlo Park and went into the restaurant closest to our car. Wow am I glad we did! I think there was one other couple in the whole restaurant but it was raining... I ordered the shrimp quesadilla app for dinner. It had mango on it! Sooooo good! I WILL be going back for this. Adam got some vegetarian plate and said that it had real Mexican flavor. Service was attentive and the little tostada free app was cute (though covered in cilantro so I could barely eat it). I hope to go back soon. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Shrimp quesadilla appetizer with avocado and mango! I will come back again for this. It was really good!! - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

adding my review would merely repeat what has been posted in the past. The quality of the food of this restaurant depends on when you dine there and the same applies to the service. On weekdays, one waitress typically serves a small "crowd" and my guess is that the regular cook is working somewhere else, as the food seems like re-heated (some of it "microwaved") leftovers from the weekend, and frankly, doesn't justify the high prices. read more

This place came recommended by a colleague and I took my wife to have some good TexMex. Well that did not happen. The staff were nice but the service was veeeeery slow. We waited a good 10-15 to get appetizers of guac and ceviche. Another 10-15 for entrees. Now the food.... Guac and chips. The guac was extremely bland. I may be picky about guacs, but my wife also felt the same. Chipotle guac is much better than this and compared to chains like Uncle Julios or Chuys, this was nothing. Ceviche was just aweful. We didn't even finish it. It was flat out tomato based and no hint of lime juice. I have no idea what it was but it wasn't ceviche like I've had in Mexico or Texas or any other place. Steak fajita entree was also bad. The steak pieces were cut too small and because of this, they easily over cooked it. The week before I had Uncle Julios and even for a chain, their steak was juice and flavorful. Wife's entree was a chicken salad and she said it was nothing special. So all in all, 2 stars for nice staff. read more

The service is ridiculously slow. But don't get me wrong the food is pretty good, but not as good as all the time that's spent waiting for your food or drink. I came around 6pm on a Thursday and the place was nearly empty, 1 server but yet it took 15 minutes for the waitress to address us, additional 15 for drinks and don't think of a refill because your definitely not getting one. I had the chicken salad and my sister had the chicken enchiladas both were good but not delicious. I will not be returning as the service is just was to slow for me. 2 stars for the food and 0 star for the service. read more

Buyer beware. Despite an attractive menu, Cafe Del Sol treated our take-out order as an opportunity to raise prices for our two entrees and guacamole ($3+$2+$2 increases on our receipt) . It seems that each online menu has lower prices for this place (Open Table, Yelp, Grub Hub, and others). The young host let us know "the website is old, and not updated" and the website flashed warnings as a privacy/security risk. The food was okay, but did not live up to expectations for the menu. There were no customers in the restaurant, just one older woman eating shrimp & chimps (apparently, this was the owner). There are better places for the price, unless you enjoy the surprise of marked-ups on your receipt. read more

- the Bay Area is void of any really good Mexican food outside the Mish. - we showed up about 6PM on a Saturday and place was quiet. It got busier as the evening went on. - service seemed off. 1 server for all 3 dining areas. - We later learned they were short staffed. Wished they would have told us earlier. NBD, we aren't the part high maintenance Menlo Park cash cult. - my shrimp Quesadilla was fantastic. - her chilli Colorado was tender and flavorful. - homemade chips were great. Not greasy. - Guac portion was tiny for $8 but made fresh. - we didn't receive a drink or dessert menu. Had to ask for both and they don't exist. - the food is a 5. Unexpected and blown away by the layers and flavor. - the service was a nice try, come back tomorrow. - the decor has no character. Not sure what it was missing. - parking is a mess. - Too many large luxury cars and too many tiny spaces. NBD. - The downtown renovation could not come soon enough. Hope they fix parking BUT this has zero to do with review. All in all we will try it again. Place is upscale casual. Any attire goes here which is nice. The hunt for great Mexican outside the Mish continues. read more

Cafe Del Sol - Shrimp Quesadilla with mango salsa. Fantastic! - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

Really love the seafood-focused Mexican food at this hidden gem. Last week we had seafood enchiladas and shrimp in mango salsa. It was delicious and the service was super friendly. We've been going here for years and it is still fantastic! I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Delicious!!!! Yum yum yum! First time here & visiting from out of town it has been forever since I have had decent mexican food & I really enjoyed this. Restaurant is spotless & server was very polite & nice. This was lunch specials one fish enchilada & chicken enchiladas. Thoroughly enjoyed!!! read more

Cafe Del Sol - Fish enchiladas with black beans. - Mexican Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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