Our wedding guests loved this place. We had a rehearsal dinner for 35 people and both the food and service were excellent! People couldn't stop talking about the short rib. A great wine list with a range of selections. M'Hamed and his team were attentive and responsive. Highly recommend for a group event or just dinner. read more

By far ..best food in the area!!! We had crab cakes, paella and steak. The ingredients are fresh, the plates full of flavor and the service is awesome. The manager is excellent. The ambience is sophisticated and the wine options are incredible. read more

Came for an event and the venue was very new, with high ceilings and lots of open space. The service was attentive, but the food was just OK. - Mushroom flatbread: my favorite, though inconsistent on the cheese. Enjoyed how the mushrooms were marinated - Kale salad: decent, but tasted came in shredded form, which I didn't like very much since it took forever to eat. Otherwise, dressed pretty well and came with asian pears. - Swordfish: was a little dry, and had too much lemon zest for me - Chocolate dessert: a bit too sweet for me and too rich Overall, seems like a pretty nice/fancy place for an event - but I would probably go with other items for the food. read more

See all

Cetrella is a hidden gem in slightly sleep downtown Los Altos. Unlike the adjacent Palo Alto (downtown and Cal Ave) , Los Altos is a very quiet town. It looks a bit like a ghost town after 8pm. However, the quality of restaurants is up to par with PA. My date reserved a very nice table next to the floor to ceiling windows in a corner. We shared the artichokes and the kale salad. The salad was very tasty and the waiter did a fabulous job of splitting plates. (Although a 1/3 2/3 split would have been more in line with our weights.) For main courses we had the filet Mignon and whole branzino. The fish was perfect cooked. For dessert we had the vanilla panna cotta. It was lovely! We never felt rushed and the service was impeccable, but not intrusive. It was overall a perfect evening. read more

3.5 stars. We liked the service a lot. Called last minute and was able to get a reservation only 30 mins away. Then we were seated at a corner round sofa, perfect for family! The waitress was very knowledgeable and made very good recommendations, from dishes to wine. We tried foie gras (ok, it's more of a moose, love the sweet paste that goes with it), grilled shrimp (the night's special, perfect crunchy texture of the shrimp and yummy and creamy sauce for the veggie underneath), linguine (disappointing, the pasta felt a bit undercooked, the sauce didn't bring out all the flavor of seafood), a side of brussel sprouts (good balance of vinegar and garlicky) and beef capaccio (ok, but nothing special). Overall we felt the food's ok, nothing to be wowed, but the service made all the difference! read more

See all

We tried their new location at the State street market. The food was really good. The lamb shank was particularly good. The service was good. But the lighting of the place needs to improve it's too bright. I know they are trying to make it modern, but table clothes would go a long way, even paper ones. Some art on the walls would be nice. The servers station in the middle of the room could use some creativity. The menus covered in plastic do not help. It's a nice restaurant and not cheap so I'd expect a bit more of a sophisticated space. read more

My wife and I had our first meal at Cetrella in the new location. Both food and service were stand outs. My wife had 3 appetizer including their kale salad. I had the tomato soup and the salmon as the main course. Every dish was truly great. The soup had the richness and sophistication beyond its $12 price. Salmon served with orzo was extremely tasty, fresh. And, the preparation was a standout. This chef definitely knows what he is doing. My wife was very happy with her choices of French Onion soup, salmon appetizer and the kale salad. Food portions were on the smallish side, which is fine with us but may not be satiating for people with big appetite. No bread was served unless you asked for it, and then 3 quarter-inch thick slices were served, "of course". The ambiance is not formal (no white table cloth) but definitely exudes warmth. When you add things up, the balance is definitely a 4.5 *s, which means the place has some room for improvement, especially given that Los Altos has some great restaurants competing for the patrons with definite sophisticated palate. But my wife and I will definitely return read more

Terrible place! Do not go here. We reserved well over a week in advance for a special celebration and they just canceled because they decided to sell the whole place out for an event. They should not have accepted a party booking if they already had committed to people. read more

I love cetrella. Everyone is friendly and the food, specially the paella is delicious. Drinks not so good, but wine offerings and food are always good. I liked it a lot when there was music at the door.. special ambiance... read more

Very nice dinner. My filet mignon was a little on the small side but very well prepared. Great music.

Great food and service. Tender octopus and.flavorful watermelon salad With the ribeye we had Liquid Sky (cab) which was amazing and reasonably priced. We will be back. read more

Very considerate of special dietary and culinary requests. Professional and attentive service. Pleasant and welcoming atmosphere. Enjoy!

Stopped by for a cocktail... Excellent service, great atmosphere, perfect environment for after work...

The place is good location at downtown and easy to spot. The food and service is awesome, as our server is attentive of our need. The food we order is great and meet the expectation as the menu described. Seafood paella is a bit smaller than what was imagine. The mussel is sofand not chewy. read more

See all

Came here for dinner with friends and was blown away by the incredible service, the cleanliness of the restaurant and most importantly the quality of the food. Did a sampling of appetizers including beets, kale salad, tuna carpaccio. Entrees included branzino, salmon, lumache con funghi, the mushroom risotto, and lamb meatballs. Dessert included panna cotta, bombolini, and chocolate cake. All the food was expertly prepared and you could absolutely tell the ingredients were fresh. I like that you can see the kitchen! All staff were masked and there was both indoor and outdoor seating. We will be back to Cetrella - our new favorite spot! read more

The food is always incredible, warm service, and such a lovely setting. We are very picky and definitely foodies (other favorites are The Village Pub, Evvia, Chez Panisse). Cetrella never disappoints. read more

The food was disappointing, and the prices high. My $16 Beet & Burrata salad was good, but everything else was not. I had the paella, which had an overly pungent seafood smell as soon as it was placed under my nose - you know the smell, like it was just not right; it was missing the socarrat (the crispy rice bottom), even though it was served in a pan of some sort, and it was mushy. I know, paella can be hard. But don't serve it as a special if you get it so wrong. My husband had their risotto, which was way too mushy...it was almost like the paella rice. We've had good risotto and this was not it. They had live jazz on a Saturday night way in the back with curtains surrounding the group, so we could hear the music but not see the players. It was odd. Probably won't go back. read more

Cetrella was a solid four-star experience for my family the other night. The service was 5 stars; friendly and food came out fast. Portion sizes were good on most things (save the beet appetizer which was on the small size for the price). The flourless chocolate cake, while being tasty, was very crumbly, and didn't come with candied figs as the menu advertised. Another slight miss was that the pesto pasta was not very flavorful. We did enjoy the short ribs, agnolotti, and panna cotta. Final tip: the patio is dog-friendly but it's not listed on Yelp. read more

Fabulous food and service. Have been going for years. Highly recommend. Friendly staff.

I cannot understand why this is so highly rated. The food was ok or a big miss and the service was deplorable. The waiter was pushy (would recommend something unprompted, if we showed interest in something else, he would act offended and reiterate his recommendation - he was shocked we weren't blindly taking his reco). He did not answer questions about dishes properly and I'm 100% certain he brought out the wrong cocktail and the wrong dish, but had 0% interest in hearing it and maintained we had misunderstood what we were ordering. The reason for the 2 stars: they were gracious to let us know when last call was and a couple of cocktails we ordered were tasty and fresh. The ambience is pleasant as well. read more

My wife and I eat at Cetrella at least four times a month. The owner is always very welcoming. They sometimes have live music on Saturday evenings which we have done twice with friends and really enjoyed. We tend to eat the same thing as they are always excellent and we are creatures of habit. They are the following: 1) Salmon off the "simply grilled" menu 2) New York Steak off the "simply grilled" menu 3) At lunch the Cheeseburger and fries. 4) The Kale and Peach salad. 5) For appetizers we like the Frito Misto. They have a nice bar and good wine, and a stable staff that are very skilled and experienced. We have brought friends and family back many times and they always enjoy the food and the quiet atmosphere (except it's not as quiet when the live music is there, but that's in a separate area of the restaurant. We highly recommend trying it. read more

Having another wonderful dinner here in the South Bay at Lis Altos with friends. I truly love the Bay Area ambiance! I'm having the Nevada ribeye (on the left) organic steak and my friend is having the organic New York Strip. We had a side of Fingering dumpling organic Potatoes and the organic Green String beans. for dessert, I am having the incredible tasting Vanilla Ana cotta and my friends is having the Creme Brûlée! OMG, I am IN heaven!! Totally an incredible experience and the food is beyond words!. read more

See all

Ambiance and service are excellent. Food is good. My wife and I ate there a few weeks ago and enjoyed the whole experience.

Great food, nice plating, and top notch service.. what do you want more from a restaurant?

Great service, food and ambience. Enjoyed it very much. Definitely be back. Grilled octopus and the mussels were very yummy read more

Cetrella - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Los Altos, California

See all

Executive Assistant here. This place was great to work with. I had a party of 10 Executives that wanted to go to dinner in Los Altos. This one came up on my search, and they all loved it. Very accommodating and wonderful communication. My Executives all raved about the level of service they received and the food was fantastic. Our CEO said he would be taking his family over the weekend. read more

We came here, as a family, after the holiday parade. The decor was nice, but the food was just ok. My husband and I split the mussels and mushroom risotto. The mussels we're fine, nothing extraordinary. The risotto said it had truffle oil, but I couldn't taste any of it. It usually has a pretty strong smell and taste too. The kids had pizza and pasta. The place looked great and trendy. I think I was expecting the food to taste as refined as the restaurant looked. read more

Literally shook (as the kids say) that this restaurant doesn't have better ratings. Call us basic (as the kids say) because we usually go to Los Altos Grill when in Los Altos because damn do they make a consistent dinner! But I digress - we decided to try a new place in Los Altos for a date night. We were more than pleasantly surprised. Everything was delish. Surprisingly delish! I find that more and more I'm finding the overall Yelp rating at a restaurant totally inaccurate. So this is my attempt to be one person to make a difference! read more

I don't get the yelp ratings; have always enjoyed eating here. I usually sit in the bar and grab a salad and a light entree. Fresh ingredients, attentive service, an outstanding wine list and good cocktails. Prices are similar to other restaurants in the area. read more

This steak was amazing! The texture, the taste, and especially the shape :). It hit the spot and was pure ecstasy. We will definitely come again! read more

Cetrella - A very satisfying piece of meat. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Los Altos, California

The new Los Altos location is fabulous! I'm a little sad now because Mhamed, my restaurant boyfriend, is rarely at our local (HMB) one so I don't get to see him as often anymore! ;D The food continues to be excellent. Brunch is the best here!! Make a reservation so you're sure to get a table, as its popular. Everything is repaired so fresh and tasty, and with impeccable service every time. The décor is rustic yet classy, spacious and airy, but also a bit on the romantical side. Cocktails and wine list will give you a lot to choose from, but be sure to ask for a recommendation of you're not sure. read more

This is a lovely and refined restaurant. The only thing I have heard from my friends, "It's so expensive." Well, yes, it is very very expensive. I had a nice lunch with my friend today. We each had a salad and cup of coffee. They didn't put any bread on the table. Nor do they have salt and pepper. I asked for lemon for the fish on my salad. It was okay but really could have used some sauce. My friend had a tomato cut in wedges and ball of cheese. He enjoyed it but it was awfully small. The service was impeccable and its is a beautiful space. Maybe they should offer a special lunch for shoppers in town. Perhaps some small plates. This isn't going to a be a frequent meeting place for lunch because it is astonishingly expensive. Two salads, two cups of delicious coffee...$65.00. It's too much. That said, we could sit and visit and no one rushed us out. I like that and I loved the servers. Also, the coffee was strong and excellent. This is a beautiful corner and it's fun to watch people walk by. There are just so many places to get a salad in town. read more

Nice looking place. Food has lost a bit of its shine. Plates were good but not outstanding. Nothing disappointing, but nothing blowing your mind either. read more

One of the best Italian restaurants in the Bay Area. Great food, service and ambiance. Have been at Cetrella many times and loved all the different dishes we tried. The rissoti is delicious and the pastas are yummy with local and season ingrediets. The desserts are to die for!! read more

I recently visited Cetrella a couple weeks ago and there were definitely some high and low notes of the meal. First off, we ordered a cheese plate, however the only reason I knew there was a cheese plate option was because of the online menu, otherwise the server did not have any information. The server did grab another waitress to provide us with some information about the cheeses we could taste, and they were definitely delicious, I definitely appreciated her recommendations. The drinks were also pretty tasty, 4 of us in our party had some drinks, a gimlet which was done well, lemon drops that were good and an old fashioned. My boyfriend did note that the old fashioned was definitely small, a little to small for the price. The meal took quite some time to come, and it was okay since we got another appetizer, however if we had not we definitely would have been starving! When the main entrees came out the men in our party who got the lamb were a bit saddened by how small, yet again, the portions were, they were done rather quickly. I on the other hand loved my scallops with wagyu and the filets came out great. Lastly, I think the waiters and staff are just new, so they kind of hover a bit waiting for you to finish, eager to take your plate away. All in all t was a good meal, I may visit again but possibly at another time. I'd recommend getting an appetizer or salad to pair with your meal because of small portions. If you are looking for a bigger meal, head over to Los Altos grill. read more

See all

I went to Cetrella for brunch on a Saturday morning around 11:30 am. The food was good, the service was satisfactory, and the ambiance elegant - but there was no "wow factor." I enjoyed my summer vegetable omelette and coffee - it was good, but not amazing. The place was big and largely empty, which made us feel like we had picked the "wrong" spot for brunch. I appreciated the fact that Cetrella took reservations on Open Table. Overall - no complaints, but I wasn't blown away either! read more

A note to the owner and manager: Its a bummer we even have to write this. We were so excited to dine here. The restaurant looked lovely and the menu was delightful! So here goes: We were coming in from Carlsbad and we're staying in Los Altos visiting family. I made reservations for a party of four over the phone, talked to a nice gentleman and specifically asked for a booth, only if possible. Fast forward to arrival: We (a group of four), arrived at the restaurant. We are a pretty friendly group and we're very excited to be there. We then greeted an older gentleman outside who is the host. He isn't the most endearing or charming of people, but not everyone is, so no biggie. He asked for our names and then asked if we wanted outside or inside seating. We said inside, although I didn't understand why, being that the called in request for a booth was made already from San Diego, but I just kept quiet and shrugged it off, not that serious. But...this is where it gets a little confusing. He grabs four menus, and then proceeds to seat the four of us. We follow him past open tables to what was the furthest corner table in the back of the restaurant away from everything and everyone. Literally there are curtains blocking windows on one side of the table and to other side of the table is what appeared to be a service dish counter. On the way to this particular table we see plenty of open seating in this area and in the main dining room. It was much better accommodations overall. Everyone at the restaurant had great tables, some had larger groups but the restaurant wasn't even full. We were a little dismayed as to why we were getting this "hidden table" in the back. My husband is a bit puzzled then says to the gentleman, this is a terrible table and asked for a different table. He's a really nice man, and always gives everyone the benefit of the doubt but then saw and felt like we weren't getting the same respect as everyone else. He was right because it was just blatant. I don't like confrontation. I despise it, so once again, I quietly watched the "host" begrudgingly find us another table in the main dining room, and basically seem to be highly annoyed with an attitude. He finds the table quickly, we DID thank him. He puts all the menus on the table in annoyed fashion and doesn't make sure we are seated. He then made a comment to me about not wanting us to get covid, hence why he sat he sat us "out of view". I simply responded with an "I get it and thank you" to keep the peace, but I was internally disappointed. He proceeds back to his "post". I'm sitting there quietly looking around the main dining room to see people were seated in tables right next to each other and all of the booths (I requested) were empty. That's when that feeling of disgust came over me. So I quietly said to my family, "I feel like we should leave". In my heart I knew something wasnt right. So, they agreed and we all decided to quietly leave. Not that we owe any explanation of our finances, but we do well for ourselves and like to treat ourselves so we dine regularly at fine dining restaurants here in Carlsbad. We love to try new places. That's why we chose your restaurant as it was highly recommended by family who frequent there. With that said, Im not an easily offended person nor want to make it a race or class thing, because that's a very harsh thing to accuse anyone of especially these days. Our family group consists of me, a darker skin Latina, my husband and his cousin who are Japanese and my cousin in law's wife is also ethnic looking Brazilian. We have no idea why things happened the way they did. We DO know we were embarrassed and humiliated, so it was the best for us thing to leave. We are very modest and friendly multicultural family. We spend money in plenty of fancy restaurants in which we are treated kindly, respectfully and have always had nothing but awesome experiences, until we got here. It was sad for me. I'm not here to blame anyone but your host for the bad treatment. Nor do we want anything in return. But, I'm ashamed you have someone as your gate keeper being so rude. The family we were visiting not only live in Los Altos but are frequent diners at your establishment, giving it high praises. They were horrified to find this happened. It'd be different if the host was met with a bunch of hooligans, but he wasn't. He was greeted by a friendly bunch of people. So I'm surprised he was so rude to us. I hate complaining. I hate I had to write this. I think you should maybe put someone out there who is accepting, charming and kind. Someone who isn't possibly "screening" people in the worst way. It is such a great area and everyone we came across in Los Altos were nothing short of amazing. You as the restaurant management and owners are probably lovely as well. I can also add you do have a pretty good menu and a lovely dining room. Thank you for reading this and hopefully what was said is taken to heart. read more

I ordered take out during pandemic. Unforeseen circumstances had us picking up the food half an hour later. I Iamented the food would be cold or overcooked by heat lamp and cocktails will dilute w melted ice. But when we got food, it was still warm and delicious. The cocktail still had ice. Ribeye and salmon cooked exactly as we requested (medium rare). Thank you staff for handling our late pickup well. Thank you chef for delicious dinner. The only weird thing is they make you pick up the food in the back through an unmarked door that makes you feel like your dealing with illegal transaction. read more

I came 4? years ago when Cetrella first opened and was not impressed...too much fish on the menu and not executed well. What a difference some time makes!! Elegant, attentive service, every dish delicious, so much fun not to eat on the street...everyone in my party was doubtful about celebrating my 65th birthday here but you totally changed our minds last night. This is my new go-to restaurant in Los Altos!!! read more

I guess I am the nah sayer here, but no way this go more than a 3 from me. I have been the the place in HMB but not for many years as the place seems to be closed half the time. I had a mixed salad to start that had very odd dressing on it, overall I didn't like that very much. Then I remember I always had steak at this place but at a corporate dinner everyone ordered Salmon so I did too. Not my fav place, it was okay but nothing to blog about. The table ordered a pizza which they reported was very good, but i am off carbs this week so I didn't try it. i plan to go back again and try the NY Steak or a Filet and see if my review goes up, I should report that I am fish snob being from HMB and while they warned you this was farmed, it just didn't wow me at all. read more