Where to eat near Edgewood Plaza

Edgewood Plaza sits at Embarcadero Road and St. Francis Drive in the northeast corner of Palo Alto, right by Highway 101. It is a small center with an outsized story. Joseph Eichler, whose modern tract homes shaped much of the city, built it as the only shopping center of his career. Today, after a long redevelopment, its low post-and-beam buildings hold a grocery, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a few service businesses.

For food, that adds up to three solid choices on site and a handful more within a short drive. Every business linked below has a page in our business directory, with hours as each place published them in October 2026. For the center's architecture and its long grocery saga, see our Midtown and Edgewood shopping guide.

The plaza at a glance

The food businesses at Edgewood Plaza carry West Bayshore Road addresses, since the buildings face the frontage road along Highway 101. All share one free surface lot.

Chef Zhao Kitchen

Chef Zhao Kitchen has been the plaza's restaurant since 2016. It serves Shanghainese food. Its best-known dishes are pan-fried pork buns, soup dumplings and braised Dong Po pork. It is the one sit-down meal at Edgewood.

The restaurant serves lunch and dinner with a break from 2:30 to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. Lunch starts at 11 a.m., which suits a midday stop after a morning at the Baylands.

Starbucks: the early start

The Starbucks at 2190 West Bayshore Road opens at 4:30 a.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. on weekends, with indoor and outdoor seating. That is among the earliest coffee in Palo Alto. Its spot near the Embarcadero Road exit makes it handy for commuters heading onto Highway 101 and for birders on their way to the Baylands at first light.

The Market at Edgewood

The Market at Edgewood is a family-owned grocery that opened in late 2017, after the plaza's earlier grocer closed. It has hand-picked produce, a butcher, cheese, a bakery and a deli, plus catering, pickup and delivery. It is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, which makes it the latest food option at the plaza.

For a quick meal, the deli and bakery are the draw. Pick up sandwiches or prepared food and eat outside, or take a picnic to the Baylands, a few minutes east. The market's sister store is Crystal Springs Produce in San Mateo.

An Eichler center with a long saga

Eichler hired the firm of Jones and Emmons for Edgewood Plaza, with A. Quincy Jones leading the design. It opened in the late 1950s with low buildings, big panes of glass and open courts that echoed the homes nearby. Our Eichler homes history explains why so many of those homes are in Palo Alto.

The redevelopment that followed decades later was one of the city's longest land use fights. The Fresh Market opened in June 2013 and closed in March 2015. The space sat empty until The Market at Edgewood opened in December 2017. New homes and a small park went in beside the center. Today the plaza serves the surrounding Duveneck/St. Francis and Crescent Park neighborhoods.

Toward the Baylands

East of the plaza, Embarcadero Road crosses Highway 101 and runs out to the Palo Alto Baylands. The only food out there is Baylands Cafe, the clubhouse cafe at Baylands Golf Links, about 0.65 mile from Edgewood. It serves breakfast, burgers and salads from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, to golfers and visitors alike. Our Baylands food guide covers it and the airport area. Our Baylands Nature Preserve guide covers the trails.

A good combination: coffee at Edgewood Plaza at dawn, a walk on the Baylands levees, then dumplings at Chef Zhao for lunch.

About a mile south: Midtown

Midtown's shops on Middlefield Road are about a mile south. They add more casual choices: Kirk's Steakburgers, a charcoal burger grill that started in Palo Alto in 1948, two taquerias, a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant and Teaspoon, a boba shop in the Midtown Shopping Center. Our Midtown food guide lists them all.

Across Highway 101: East Palo Alto

East Palo Alto is just across the freeway. Two stops there are easy from Edgewood by car. The Four Seasons Silicon Valley at University Circle has Quattro, a California-Italian restaurant for lunch and dinner. On East Bayshore Road, the IKEA restaurant inside IKEA East Palo Alto serves Swedish dishes. Beyond those, the city has taquerias and family kitchens worth the trip. Our East Palo Alto food guide covers them.

Takeout and picnic ideas

Edgewood works best as a pickup stop. The plaza is a few minutes from open space in two directions, so it is easy to grab food and eat somewhere with a view.

1. A Baylands picnic. Build a lunch from the market deli and bakery, then drive about five minutes east to the Baylands. Picnic on a bench near the duck pond or the nature center and watch the birds.
2. Dumplings to go. Chef Zhao takes pickup orders online and also sells frozen goods. Pan-fried pork buns travel better than soup dumplings, which are best eaten straight from the steamer.
3. An early coffee run. Starbucks before sunrise, then a walk on the Baylands levees as the light comes up over the bay.
4. A family dinner at home. The market's butcher and prepared food counter cover a weeknight meal for anyone staying nearby.

Bring a bag for trash on any picnic. The Baylands are a wildlife preserve, so pack out what you bring.

Practical tips

• Parking. The plaza has a free surface lot shared by all its businesses.
• Mondays. Chef Zhao is closed, so the market deli and Starbucks are the only food on site.
• Afternoons. Chef Zhao closes from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The market and Starbucks stay open.
• Freeway access. The Embarcadero Road exit from Highway 101 is right beside the plaza, which makes it an easy stop on a Highway 101 drive.

Staying nearby

The Four Seasons in East Palo Alto is a short drive away across the freeway. If you need a room near Highway 101 and the Baylands, compare hotels near Highway 101 in Palo Alto for your dates.

Frequently asked questions