On this page
Awards are a useful shortcut when you only have one big dinner to plan. Palo Alto has one Michelin star, five more restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide and a ring of starred and listed rooms in the towns around it. Beyond Michelin, local restaurants hang certificates for wine lists, pizza technique and readers' polls. This page sorts out which honors are current, which are old and what each one tells you about the meal.
The Michelin details here come from the 2026 California guide and from local reporting on the changes that followed. The guide was announced at a ceremony on June 24, 2026. Each restaurant was confirmed as operating in October 2026 through its own website or booking page. For booking tactics and dress, see our fine dining guide.
How the MICHELIN Guide works
Michelin sends anonymous inspectors who pay for their meals. The guide then sorts restaurants into a few tiers:
| Award | What it means | In Palo Alto (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Three stars | Exceptional cooking, worth a special journey | None |
| Two stars | Excellent cooking, worth a detour | None |
| One star | High-quality cooking | Protégé |
| Bib Gourmand | Good food at a moderate price | None inside the city |
| Recommended | Listed without a star or Bib | Ettan, Evvia, Zola, Ethel's Fancy, Vina Enoteca |
Michelin also gives each listing a price symbol from one to four. The five recommended Palo Alto restaurants carry three symbols, so expect a full dinner with drinks to cost well above a casual night out. Michelin can add or drop restaurants during the year, so check the guide's own site before you book around an award.
Protégé: Palo Alto's one star
Protégé at 250 California Avenue is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Palo Alto. Chef Anthony Secviar and Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly founded it after years at The French Laundry in Yountville. Kelly became the 191st person in the world to earn the Master Sommelier diploma in 2012, which explains the depth of the wine list.
The restaurant runs two rooms with two menus. The Lounge serves an à la carte menu around a 10-seat bar. The Dining Room serves a seven-course tasting menu with a nightly beverage pairing. Protégé is open Tuesday through Saturday and books only through Tock, with tables released at midnight 30 days ahead. It has no phone line and the largest party in either room is four. Our California Avenue guide covers the street around it.
The five recommended restaurants
Ettan, 518 Bryant Street
Ettan calls its cooking Cal-Indian: Indian flavors and spices applied to California produce. Executive chef Srijith Gopinathan leads the kitchen. Besides its Michelin listing, the restaurant points to a San Francisco Chronicle list of the Bay Area's top 25 restaurants. It serves weekday lunch, weekend brunch and dinner nightly.
Evvia Estiatorio, 420 Emerson Street
Evvia cooks Greek food over a wood-fired grill and is the sister of Kokkari Estiatorio in San Francisco. Our Greek food guide has more on the menu.
Zola, 585 Bryant Street
Zola has served market-driven French food since 2014. Its home page also links to a San Francisco Chronicle feature on the Bay Area's top French restaurants. BarZola next door opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Ethel's Fancy, 550 Waverley Street
Chef-owner Scott Nishiyama built the menu around the dinner parties his mother hosted in Hawaii. Expect shared Californian plates with Japanese ingredients. Its OpenTable page lists dinner Tuesday through Saturday and says part of the room is held for walk-ins.
Vina Enoteca, 700 Welch Road
Vina Enoteca serves house-made pasta and pizza in the Stanford Barn, built from 1886 to 1888 as a winery. It serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday and books through Tock.
Starred and listed restaurants nearby
Michelin groups Palo Alto with its neighbors and some of the region's best-known rooms are a short drive away.
- Selby's, Atherton. One star. It sits at 3001 El Camino Real and its website says it is open for dinner nightly, with walk-ins welcome alongside reservations.
- The Village Pub, Woodside. One star. The restaurant opened in 2001 and says it has held a Michelin star every year since 2009. Combine it with a visit to Filoli.
- Eylan, Menlo Park. A Bib Gourmand for Indian cooking, kept in 2026 according to the Mountain View Voice.
- Madera, Menlo Park. Listed in the guide and found inside the hotel on our Rosewood Sand Hill page. It serves breakfast and dinner.
- Yeobo, Darling, Menlo Park. A contemporary Korean restaurant added as recommended in March 2026, according to the same report.
Lists also shrink. In June 2026 the Mountain View Voice reported that Michelin had dropped several Peninsula restaurants, including Camper in Menlo Park. A missing listing does not mean a restaurant closed, only that it is no longer in the guide.
Wine awards
Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards are the other honor diners see most often. The Village Pub says its list of more than 3,500 labels has earned the magazine's Grand Award, its top tier, every year since 2016. In Palo Alto, wine depth tends to show up in people rather than plaques. Protégé's co-founder is a Master Sommelier. Cafe Pro Bono near California Avenue says owner Akif Aydin picks every bottle on a list of more than 300. If wine is the point of your evening, ask about the list and the corkage policy when you book.
Pizza, press and local awards
Some of the most useful honors in town are narrow ones. They tell you a kitchen is very good at one specific thing.
| Restaurant | Honor, as the restaurant states it |
|---|---|
| Terún, 448 S. California Ave. | Certified Verace Pizza Napoletana restaurant, following traditional Neapolitan standards |
| State of Mind Slice House, 3850 El Camino Real | World's Best Non-traditional Pizza, 2017 International Pizza Expo, plus later contest wins |
| Pizzeria Delfina, 651 Emerson St. | Owned by the team behind Delfina in San Francisco, a James Beard Award winner |
| Thaiphoon, 543 Emerson St. | Voted Best Thai Restaurant in 2024 by the Palo Alto Weekly |
| Cafe Pro Bono, 2437 Birch St. | Palo Alto Weekly Best Italian Restaurant, 2021 to 2023 |
| Tamarine, 546 University Ave. | Once named by Forbes among the world's top power dining spots |
The Terún certification is the most specific: it covers dough, flour, oven and method. Local polls such as the Palo Alto Weekly's Best Of measure local affection more than technique, but they are a fair guide to where neighbors actually eat.
How to read awards before you book
- Check the year. Restaurants keep old plaques on the wall for a long time. A 2026 Michelin listing means more than a decade-old review.
- Match the award to the meal. A star suits a long tasting menu. A Bib Gourmand or a pizza certification suits a relaxed weeknight.
- Expect to book early. Starred restaurants fill fast, especially on Stanford event weekends. Protégé releases tables 30 days ahead at midnight.
- Try the bar. Protégé's Lounge, BarZola and the bar at Ethel's Fancy are easier ways into guide-listed kitchens.
- Plan the night around it. If dinner is the reason for the trip, compare hotels near Stanford early, since big dinners and big campus weekends often fall on the same dates.
Good to know
- Protégé books only through Tock and has no phone line.
- Vina Enoteca and Ethel's Fancy are closed Sunday and Monday.
- No Palo Alto restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 guide.
- Neat casual dress works at every restaurant on this page.
- Michelin updates its list during the year. Check its site before a special trip.
Frequently asked questions
How many Michelin-starred restaurants are in Palo Alto?
One. Protégé at 250 California Avenue holds one star in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide. Ettan, Evvia, Zola, Ethel's Fancy and Vina Enoteca are listed in the guide without a star.
Are there any Bib Gourmand restaurants in Palo Alto?
Not inside city limits in the 2026 guide. The nearest is Eylan in Menlo Park, an Indian restaurant that kept its Bib Gourmand in 2026, according to local reporting.
Which Michelin-starred restaurants are near Palo Alto?
Selby's in Atherton and The Village Pub in Woodside each hold one star and both are roughly a 15 to 20 minute drive from downtown. The Village Pub says it has held a star every year since 2009.
What is the difference between a Michelin star and being listed?
A star marks cooking the inspectors rate as exceptional. A Bib Gourmand marks good food at a moderate price. A plain listing, now called recommended, means the inspectors chose to include the restaurant without either award.
When does the California MICHELIN Guide come out?
The 2026 California guide was announced at a ceremony on June 24, 2026. Michelin also adds new recommended restaurants during the year, so the list can change between ceremonies.