We love ricks, they have the nicest staff and it's almost a Saturday tradition to go here for brunch

Great place. People are nice, portions are big, and the food is delish. Their huevos racheros is awesome, topped with two eggs sunny side up and all sorts of goodies underneath. The waffles are good, too, and as is the free coffee if we wait for a table. This place reminds my bf of Stacks. Always ready for a stuffing when I come--not a place for the weak! read more

See all

I just had a very yummy going away breakfast here at 7:30am! A little bit too early for me, but I was really happy with their attentive service leaving pitchers of water and a pot of coffee at our table to share. I got the chicken apple sausage omelet with gouda cheese and it was really yummy. The sausage was more just like breakfast sausage, which I wasn't expecting for some reason, and it was verrrry cheesy. I kind of wanted to try one of the skillets, but I was satisfied with what I got. It came with potatoes (with onions) which I thought were one of the best and most unique types of breakfast potatoes I'd ever had. They were sort of shredded up with the onions and crispy, not chunky like a chopped up baked potato (yick). It also came with a bagel which the waitress assured me was good, but I had it substituted for a miniscule amount of fruit because that was too many carbs for me to handle. I would go here again for perhaps a little more reasonably timed breakfast. I feel better knowing there's a good breakfast spot nearby after the Coffee Shop (i think) got replaced a few years back. read more

See all

This restaurant is one of my favorite breakfast places to go to. Downtown Los Altos is a very peaceful village like area and always has plenty of parking. Ricks usually has a wait but it's never too long. I went between 11:30 and 12:30 and was able to get seated right away. The servers are always friendly and the food always taste great. Probably my favorite part of their menu is the pancakes. They are a bit pricey but they use wheat germ which makes the pancakes feel healthier haha. The crepe, omelettes, and scrambles all use similar ingredients but they all taste very good. The portions are just right and if you do order the pancakes, be prepared to take some home! read more

Rick's Cafe - Vegetable crepe with a bagel swapped to fruit. Banana wheat germ full stack. - American Near Me - Los Altos, California

Worst breakfast place i have ever been to. The hash Browns are stale, cold, and soggy (even after ordering them extra crispy). Everything was lukewarm to cold temperature. One mouthful of my eggs tasted rancid. Please stay away from here. read more

Consistently great food and service. We often come here for brunch, they have a pretty large menu. Enjoyed the omlettes and crepes also the hash browns and toasted bagel that comes with them. read more

If this is close to my home I want to come every day. I like the atmosphere is also casual. And actually, many cafe foods are salty. But Lick's cafe is different. And the staff was very friendly. I felt good. Oh and I always ate Mimosa. read more

See all

Today we went to Los Alto and decided to stop at Rick's Cafe for brunch. I asked for a table and confirmed that dogs were allowed and the hostess said ' absolutely'. My dog was sitting calmly under the table and Tony gave him a piece of Bacon. Suddenly a lady sitting across from is starts making faces and says take your dog as I am eating my breakfast and I could be allergic to dogs and gave us a lecture on why we gave him food. We apologized to her thinking maybe she really is allergic and we actually rushed thrown our meal. As we were leaving, she made a rude comment at me. I turned around and said, ' really' and she says to me take your dog and you are a Dog!. Tony asked her to watch her mouth and she repeated and called me a Dog and said 'just because you have money does not mean you have Class, and you are Dogs. Tony lost it and said, "Fuck off you Bitch"... for Tony to say that meant he was really mad. The man would never be disrespectful to a woman! The people around also started yelling at the woman and we left. Good people exist and I have faith in that. I should have called the cops or made a video but I just did not want to put my 14 year old through the trauma... Racism and discrimination at its worse!!! I was discriminated for years at a previous job and I put up with it as no action was ever taken, but I was wrong and should have raised my voice. NO MORE.. I will not let my children be discriminated . I am so upset and my level of anxiety is at its peak. I am hurting like someone stabbed me a million times. Can a person of color not have class! Can an immigrant not have class! does discriminating against people of color make you classy? We need to speak up and fight it.. hoping that Biden/ Harris team will not let us down! Sadly this restaurant removed my posts from their page and did not even acknowledge the situation. I was not even mad at them but their ignorance proves this places is racists! read more

I ordered vegetarian crepes by phone, so I could pickup on my break time. woman on the phone said it's will take 10 minutes, but I took my time and came in after 15 minutes. I was surprised for the price it was 14,??$ Then I asked to double check if price is right, so receptionist checked and found out it was wrong order. Then she left with the wrong order, and came after 3 or 4 minutes, not sure. Vegetarian was cost for couple $$ less, it's actually not a big deal. The food was satisfied, well filled, but veggies was completely raw. I just expected it's gonna be softer, especially mushrooms. I don't know if it's suppose to be raw or I would think they cooked it in a rush probably to save my time, appreciate it, or maybe because of wrong order. Oh well everyone does mistakes. I would suggest to delete old menu's photos, they have old prices. read more

Great service, OK food. Very friendly atmosphere. Had the strawberry waffle, which was a good waffle, but berries tasted like they'd been in the fridge for a while. Syrup was also not too flavorful. Waitresses were very friendly and attentive. read more

Rick's Cafe - Waffle with Strawberries and Whipped Cream - American Near Me - Los Altos, California

I am disappointed at this place , I went there with my Gf and we were waiting for more than 30 min inside waiting for the waitresses , no body showed up , so we decided to leave the place with other customers that were in the same situation, I will not come back here .. read more

This was a breakfast place that we really enjoyed but today, we were quickly seated and after more than 10 minutes, we left because we were completely ignored. No coffee, no water, no service at all. A large group came and sat down near us after we had been waiting and a waitress immediately went over and took their orders. We waited another minute or two and then got up and left. Really left a bad impression today. I'm giving it one star but it really doesn't even deserve that. read more

Great brunch spot with a creative menu and lots of great choices that would make you want to come back time and time again. Nice spot in Los Altos in a quiet South Bay neighborhood. read more

Los Altos Hills Main Street is unique, quaint, and beautiful but expensive. Ricks Cafe fits right in. We ate there early on a weekday and there were few patrons and service was fast and friendly. The pancakes were pancakes and the omelet was an omelette nothing special . We were happy they opened early. read more

Had the pancakes and carnitas. Surpisingly works! It was delicious. Pancakes were very fluffy, best I've had in a diner for a long time. Staff was friendly and fast, there wasn't a wait list during lunch time on a Saturday, spacious and clean. read more

I rated them high stars, but not today. Every 30min push us out, and asked for water many times and never got served.

Florentine was good but it was very garlicky and low on salt and spices. Vegetarian crepe and blueberry waffles were good. Latte was bad. read more

Used to be great place. Not been here for month, but now everything changed. Yes, it was redecorated, but, the quality of service and food went down the drain all of sudden:( The waiter did not even offered a menu, forget about smile and polities. Looks the recipe for pancake changed or the way it is prepared. Egg Benedict looks like made of 2 days old ingredients. Feels like ownership or management changed, or started saving on personnel wages and quality of food ingredients. read more

this place is perfect to come for a brunch with friends; it's not too expensive but still has good satisfying food. the french toast here is quite good, and also very affordable! the only reason i took away a star is because the workers can sometimes be a bit rude, but the service is pretty quick read more

Rick's Cafe - kids french toast - American Near Me - Los Altos, California

Need better Managers. Slow service. I think the server was overloaded and yet there were several employees that were chatting by the server stations. Our simple breakfast meals had not come out even though other tables that came in after us had there food for several minutes. I had to get up and ask the hostess to track down our server and ask about our meals. It took another few minutes, now 25 mins after we ordered, until my omelette arrived luke warm on a plate that was warm from sitting under the heat lamps. The only thing hot was the toasted bagel on top. Food would have been better 10 mins sooner when it was first plated and if the waitress had asked me what type of toast I wanted. Typically I don't order bagels but was happy to have food as we had an appointment to get to. Ate quickly and paid at the register. Never saw the server again and don't know if I'll go back. read more

I'm going to say I love this place. Absolutely solid in every aspect. At first, I didn't know what to expect, but with the 4 stars on Yelp, couldn't really go wrong, right? The all meat omelette was delicious, fluffy, and had great texture. The hashbrowns were unique in cut, full of flavor, but a bit cold and I would have liked them to be done crispier/longer cooked. They serve bagels with everything. Ex: eggs, potatoes, and a bagel. Bagel? Yes Bagel. Grilled/toasted/buttered delicious chewy warm mouth watering. You can ask for whipped cream cheese if you like which spreads so nicely on this robust creature of carb. Banana-pecan waffle- WOW. Light, fluffy, refreshing with cold whipping cream and bananas. Perfect consistency. Well mastered. Pancake. Plain pancake. Whipped butter. Warm syrup. Best I've ever eaten. Best. I could eat a whole stack. Not dry. Perfect. Best. You just must go eat this pancake. Out of everything, the bagel and pancake blew my mind away. I wish the hashbrowns had, because they are truly unique. The pancake is going on the http://battledish.com list. I will be back to try the benedictions. read more

This place is on our regular weekend brunch rotation. I round up to 4 stars because Rick's is super kid-friendly, has nice and efficient wait staff, and the portions are huge. Foodwise, it's only okay but sometimes we just want to eat at a place where we can get in and out fast and feed the rugrats without any hassles. The kids normally order off the kids' menu: baby burger, macaroni and cheese, or grilled cheese sandwich chased down by a smoothie that the staff happily splits into two sippy cups. My husband orders the green eggs and ham omelet and I get a grilled chicken sandwich (minor gripe - the toasted bread on the sandwiches is normally pretty soggy when I get it). The waffles with strawberries and whipped cream are very tasty. There is rarely a long wait here - even though it can be really bustling during weekend brunch. To ease the pain of waiting 5-10 minutes for a table, they offer free organic coffee outside the entrance. I've seen a bunch of cheapskates drive up to Rick's and jump out with empty thermoses and then hop back in their cars after filling them up. Shameless. read more

Girl: So what's your favorite part about Los Altos? Archie: You mean besides the fact that the most dangerous person in town is that 89 year old guy that speeds on his lark scooter? Girl: Of course. Archie: The hash browns at Rick's. Buttery. read more

I've noticed some serious flaws at this place over my past couple of visits, but today was definitely the final straw. As I was finishing up my salad, I noticed a glaring health concern (I'll leave out the details). We alerted our server who was very apologetic about it. He alerted the management, but they simply issued a small gift card instead of comping our entire meal. Why on earth would I want to return to spend more of my money after my terrible experience? I'm sorry Rick's but I'll have to find a new breakfast and lunch place. What a shame! read more

Ever since Rick's Cafe opened at downtown Los Altos in May 2008, I stopped going to The Original Pancake House. It's that good! Today, Christmas Day 2009, my wife wanted to have a nice breakfast before our 50+ family members arrived at our house for dinner and chaos. Practically all of the locally owned restaurants were closed and streets were empty. Fortunately for us, Rick's Cafe was open with hours from 7:30am to 2:00pm. Perfect. We went inside and were immediately seated close to the doorway, and the place was fully packed at 10:45am and we didn't feel like waiting until something else opened up in the back. Their convenient Christmas day hours were from 7:30am to 2pm. A review for Rick's Cafe is long overdue and we've always sat in the front patio, so sitting inside was something new to me. Less than 3 minutes passed, and a waitress came out to get our drinks started. We ordered 2 Large Orange Juices and Hot Water for my mother. The Hot Water came with a small insulated carafe good enough for three refills. The waitress, Nora, left only for two minutes while we were deciding what to get and then she came back. She did the same two more times until we gave up and just ordered simple things. I felt rushed with our waitress acting too pushy to take our orders. This is what we ordered: *Basic Pork Breakfast: 3 Pork sausages, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and a lightly burnt sliced bagel. Sausages weren't too salty which was tasty. Hash browns were a large portion along with the scrambled eggs. $8.74 *Basic Hot Links Breakfast: Diced Spicy Hot Links, Eggs Sunnyside Up, Hash browns, and white toasted bread. $8.74 *Crepe Lupine: Regular Crepe stuffed with sausages, ham, bacon, olives, avocado, mushroom and cheddar cheese. My mother asked to hold the sour cream and onions. The crepe was decent and nothing out of the ordinary. It was complimented by a side of hash browns and toast. $10.14 The total bill with drinks and food came to $36.71 before tip. Before our breakfasts came out, I was able to glance at the interior decor and furniture to make some quick judgements. At the entrance next to the front cashier, there was a red commercial coffee roaster with several bags of coffee beans. Apparently, they sell their own roasted coffee beans by weight advertised by a leaflet on their tables. The restaurant's main color was turquoise with their walls and booths matching each other. To make the place more festive, there was a fresh decorated pine tree in the front lobby. Overall, the food was savory and hearty. It was good enough to make me want to take a nap afterwards. Besides the pushy waitress to take our orders, the food came out hot and fast. The taste was plain, but to me that's good, so you can use condiments to vary their taste catered to your own likings. There were lots of condiments like salt, pepper, sugar, brown sugar, Heinz ketchup, hot sauce, and two types of jams. The prices are very affordable for downtown Los Altos. I'll definitely be back to try more things on their menu. read more

Rick's Cafe - Basic Pork Sausage Breakfast. 12.25.09 - American Near Me - Los Altos, California

I was absolutely horrified by my experience on Saturday morning. I came into Rick's with my family, as we have many times before- a group of 6 of us. We were promptly seated. We all ordered, no problem. I have a severe life threatening food allergy to all nuts including coconut, which is in a few of their pancakes and waffles. In the past, they have always wiped down wherever they cook my food. However, this time, the waitress returned to my table to inform me that "the kitchen didn't have time to make my food." I was shocked- it would take a maximum of five minutes to clean off the corner of a griddle or a waffle iron- they could have even just used a standard frying pan! Straight up discrimination. I'm glad they told me they couldn't clean it. Ownership changed lately, and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with it. But, I absolutely refuse to return to a restaurant that "doesn't have time" to take basic steps to prevent a life threatening allergic reaction. I "don't have time" to deal with that kind of attitude. Instead, I went down the street to Spot, and got a delicious sub sandwich within 5 minutes that was made completely allergy friendly. read more

I had chicken and waffle and full slap in the face bacon oooweee!! Thank you will come back for more !!

My husband and I ate brunch here today with some friends, and I was pleased that there was barely a wait at 12 pm. It was fun people-watching on the sidewalk while drinking free coffee from a little table outside. I enjoyed the atmosphere -- bright and cozy, and we could hear each other talk. And the coffee was delicious -- I drank so much that my hands are still shaking 5 hours later! I would give the food maybe 3.5 stars? I ordered the scramble -- minus the onions and most of the cheese and with an eggbeater substitution. My husband and friends said they all enjoyed their food......and the bite of my husband's banana macademia pancakes was amazing! The only major problem? The service. We had problems with our server, who did the following: - took a long time to bring the requested milk instead of cream for our coffee - forgot to put in our order - brought my husband an incorrect order and swore he ordered it - forgot another person's dish Hmmm. My husband got his food about 10-15 minutes after everyone else. It was also challenging to get refills of water and Diet Pepsi for my friend. We would have liked to receive a more enthusiastic apology from our server, but it never came. Due to the service problem, we ended up asking to speak to the manager. He came to the table immediately and explained that it is actually that server's last day due to most of the problems we reported. That explains it. He ended up comping our meal and gave us a sincere apology for the service. So, I'd return again if my friends want another pancake fix, but I'm not sure I'd go out of the way, as my egg dish wasn't all that memorable. I am willing to guess that future service will be better. read more

Delicious, generous portions and friendly service. This is another brunch winner. While most brunch places don't really differ from each other, this gives you exactly what you're looking for: good brunch meals at reasonable prices. The meals look AND taste good. Ordered the lox benedict topped with eggs, hollandaise sauce and a side of fruit. Yummy. read more

Rick's Cafe - Lox Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce - American Near Me - Los Altos, California

Positives: Grapefruit juice is excellent and tasted freshly squeezed. The lumberjack pancakes were also good, although be warned that they are HUGE. I got a short stack of two, and I could only finish one. Negatives: Long wait. No silverware at our table. No syrup provided with the pancakes - had to ask for them. The worst of it all - there were walnut shells in my pancake. =/ Because they're so busy, the servers take forever to check up on you, and it was easier to get up and ask for the missing items than waiting for them to come around. read more

Auntie took us here for brunch after the San Jose RnR. She seemed worried that we couldn't get a seat cuz apparently it's quite popular -- but luckily we scored a group table on a Sunday without much hassle. They brew their own coffee which is complimentary. It had a strong bitter taste to it, but hey.. free can't complain. I had the Grilled Salmon Spinach Crepe ... it had a strange sweetness to it that I didn't like. To this day, I'm still not sure what it was -- maybe it was from the crepe batter .. but whatever it was it made the savory crepe a sweet one. Hubby had a sandwich of some sort that he can't remember... "It was okay, but not spectacular" when I asked him what he had. =P Actually, I tasted said sandwich too and can't remember it. Our family seemed to like their items, though... to each their own! Service was good. Overall, a seemingly glorified Denny's with a splash of semi interesting bfast items. read more

This place was pretty terrible overall. Our waiter forgot about us and didn't take our order until after we had been sitting there waiting for awhile (~15 minutes). They didn't bring cream with the coffee, so we had to wait until then to ask for it My French Toast came out lukewarm and the apple compote and syrup were both room temperature. The potatoes in my wife's skillet weren't even completely cooked. It took another several minutes to get cream cheese for her bagel. The only positive things I can say are that the staff wasn't overtly rude and we didn't get charged for our drinks. There are tons of breakfast places around and I don't think I've been to one worse than this. read more

I was visiting this area and decided to stop by for some lunch. I got the huevos rancheros which was was really delicious! The service was great as well. The place had a distinct coffee aroma throughout. I had the chance to observe the coffee roaster which I thought was unique. The whole restaurant had a very family friendly vibe. Overall, I think this place is great for grabbing breakfast or lunch. Will be looking forward to coming back next time I'm in town :) read more

Extremely good French toast and a good crepe (yes I ordered two breakfast entrees for myself). The coffee comes in a huge carafe. I like this cafe! It also has outdoor patio seating, and no line on a Saturday at noon. Pretty much the opposite of any San Francisco brunch place. read more

All bland food, no passion in the cooking. Sad because I was hopeful as the new restaurant opened and was one of the first to eat here for both breakfast and dinner. Had a vegetarian scramble once, the mushrooms and the tomatoes in the scramble were raw, wtf? Did you just make scrambled eggs and add raw vegetables? That's not a scramble! Had the beef stroganoff once, was the most bland flavorless beef stroganoff I've ever had in my life. When the waitress asked how it was, usually to be "polite" you jus kinda say "fine"..but being a new restaurant I asked if she wanted my honest opinion, and since she did I told her. I liked how she had open ears and did not want to sound rude, but honestly I did not not know how else to say it was completely flavorless. Granted, this may have then been the healthiest beef stroganoff ever since it tasted like there was no cream, salt, seasoning.. but still, even for healthy it was bland. Maybe they just used some McCormicks mix and milk? I went here a few more times until I realized all the food was bland. The *new restaurant* decor kept fooling me, the big bright full menus with tasty looking entrees kept fooling me.. I don't really get it...must of had a large budget to open and build brand new restaurant, why none of the money went into the cooking/menu/chefs/ingredients/food? I also see I am not the only one who thinks this, try looking for the word "bland" in reviews here, damn how many times does it pop up lol I guess it's also because since in Los Altos we don't have many choices (and there are many young 'willing' families) many people will eat here whether the food is really good or not (a la the the 5 star reviews and overall 4 star rating). However real foodies and yelper shall stray away. read more

Every so often when we wanted to take a break from dining at Hobbies, we would explore other breakfast options. Our usual default option is Brian's in Los Altos but given the good reviews for Rick's decided to give it a try. We had: (1) Crabmeat egg scramble (2) Eggs benedict with crabmeat on top (3) Waffles Here's my comparison against Rick's -- (1) Food: While Rick's has more premium selection, like crabmeat and shrimps, Brian's had better preparation. The food at Rick's came out a bit cold so I am sure it would be better if it were warmer. (2) Decor: We liked Brian's more because it is more well lit and just a better space. It just seems more 'sunday - happy brunchy place' - Brian's also seemed less crammed. (3) Services: Brian's consistently had good, fast service (guess that explains why the food generally comes out hot vs. just luke warm at Rick's) (4) Prices: Comparable - so not a differentiating point Bottomline: Brian's still my favorite BUT I will give Rick's cafe another try when I am in the mood for some premium seafood egg scramble. read more

After reading such great reviews, and getting personal recommendations for this place, we finally checked it out with a friend last weekend. We came for a later brunch, around 12:30, and although they were still really busy, there was no wait for a table. Our friend had been here before, and didn't even look at the menu, it took us a bit longer. I was excited to see they have dungeness crab in a few dishes. I have a serious thing for crab, so I ended up ordering a benedict, (sauce on the side!) It was basically an English muffin with crab, poached eggs, and spinach. LOVED it! It also came with some rather sad looking potatoes, that turned out to be really tasty, and not greasy like many breakfast potatoes can be. There was a lovely side of fruit that came with it too. My guy and our friend ordered the same dish, nd both received the wrong dish. My guy sent his back, and ended up waiting a really long time for the replacement dish, and then waiting quite awhile for the bagel that came with it. If service had been better, i would probably have given this place 5 stars. I was also totally impressed that they roast their own coffee, and it's FANTASTIC! I had to cut myself off, or i would have been way overcaffeinated! I guess we'll have to go back and give it another try. While Lou's in Los Gatos will always be my favorite breakfast spot, a closer, lighter option is good to have now as well. read more

Not impressed at all. My eggs Benny looked Nothing like all the ones I see in the many photos instead it was small and mediocre and the hash brows were cold. I'm super bummed out as I was really expecting a hearty breakfast for the price. Not sure if i will be be back here could be bad timing may try it again and change my mind and serioulsy I can't believe I'm leaving still hungry... What's up with this Rick? read more

Thought I could grab a quick delicious bite here before a weekday meeting since it has very good reviews. However, I will never come back for any meal. I had the special eggs bennie, fruit and coffee. I was suprised that I received my meal so quickly but soon I realized why. The eggs bennie was woefully underprepared: The english muffin was not warmed or toasted, the spinach and mushrooms were raw, the bacon was overcooked, the hollandaise was separating and the eggs were undercooked. The hashbrowns on the side were flavorless and undercooked as well. I didn't even eat a quarter of it- it was THAT bad! The worst part was the bill. Over $20 for a diner breakfast that was pathetic. If you need a quick breakfast in this area you will find better food at Starbucks. read more

We walked by to see patrons eating appealing brunch dishes. Hmmm, the huge blueberries peeking out of the puffy thick pancakes look delicious. From a distance, the blueberries look like swiss cheese holes. We called someone to check the Yelp rating and found the potatoes were highly rated. So Rick's Cafe it is. Hmmm, the menu listed my weakness, smoked applewood bacon. Pancakes or bacon? Hmmm potatoes and bacon vs pancake, that's two against one so, bacon breakfast it is. I am disappointed to report the potato was not good, the scramble egg was like it should be, and the apple-wood bacon was pan fried just right (not greasy or undercooked). I should have ordered the blueberry pancakes. Oh well, next time. read more