A Taste of Life Catering

Laurie, Menchu, and their amazing team catered, organized, and essentially ran our wedding yesterday. The food was incredible; the service ran in expert seamless fashion. The seafood Paella was a tremendous hit. I can’t say enough about them. If you have any catering/​event needs, look no further! Thank you!!!

I received a message from the owner about my dining experience and he apologized for the circumstance. I appreciate the effort– it’s nice to see that the owner is considerate of all customer input. I’m looking forward to coming back now.

Great place for Tapas and Paella. Owners are friendly and take pride in there food.

FYI, I just called ATOL and they will be closed for lunch only during the month of August. They will be open, however, for dinner.

Had dinner with friends here over the weekend. Spanish tapas and a flamenco troupe made for a great evening! The owners of the restaurant are very friendly and provided a tasty meal with fantastic service.
Our group of 6 sampled most of the menu and it was good. Highlights for me were the paella and the mac-​n-​cheese.

We were at this place for the first time last Friday and it was refreshing to find great food in this tiny place.
We ordered some tapas (tortilla de patata and sobrasada canapes) and a vegetarian paella. All of them were great, the paella was outstanding, loaded with fresh veggies and the arborio rice was cooked to perfection.
Drinks were great also, we got a spanish beer and sangria. The sangria was the best I’ve had in a long time and the bear I heard tasted great, with the characteristic bitterness beer should have.
We will definetly come back to atol, this time to try their paninis that look really yummi.
Great place to order catering for a party. They even loan the paella serving platter.

We have been a few times and sampled most of the menu. At lunchtime, the paninis are good but not great. At dinner the place comes alive with the feeling of a Spanish tapas restaurant on the beach of Marbella – great, personal service and solid, sometimes spectacular dishes. Reasonably prices Spanish wines. The Trio Chorizo is always good as well as the Shrimp Pimenton. Order the daily specials – they are usually great. Go for the «we are really glad to serve you» atmosphere that is missing from 90% of today’s restaurants.

We went to Atol for the first time this evening, they had a flamenco dancer, singer and a guitarist. The cover charge was $ 18.00 per person –a litle steep for a 20 seat restaurn bbut ok.
The tapas wer ery good but the portions for small platse were extrarordinally small. We ordered several plates — one was a shrinp dish for 12.50 was for 6 «small» shrinp. They were supposed to be wrapped in serrano ham but that was missing.
Olivee and chorizo were $ 3.50 for 7 small olives and about 5 very tiny slies of chorizo c ut in half…
We had to order 2 small plates of calamari to = what one portion is at any other restaurant we have been at in the Bay area for tapas @ $ 9.50 per plate.
The waiter said the portions were small but this was ridiculous.
The only thing that was reasonalbly priced was the corkage charge at 10.00.
We’d like to go back but they definitely have to increase the portions to = what other tapas restarnats serve. — it was disappointing to have to go home and grab something else to eat.

i had a panini craving and i had heard about this place and their great panini selection for so long it was about time i gave it a try. the interior décor isn’t anything fancy but when you see the menu you can see where all the time and money went. the extensive selection of panini will have you deciding over the menu longer than you want to but choose wisely because they are that good.
i have had two so far and they are two of the best i have ever had. i highly recommend you try the sierra and the saltimbocca. the sierra is full of fresh and tender chicken breast, bacon, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and a fantastic ranch dressing. the saltimbocca has the same great chicken breast with prosciutto, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese in a marsala sauce. both were cooked perfectly but i could have them pressed a little longer for a crispier crust and extra gooey cheese but that is for my own taste.
the most impressive thing was the great customer service and the care and pride in making the panini. the owner was on board making mine and watching her make each one is if it was an art. they definitely love what they are doing and it shows in everything they do and really want each and every customer to come back again and again. i have and i will continue to until i try every panini on the menu and then get in there for dinner for that awesome dinner menu.

This place was okay. As you can tell from my other reviews of tapas places I am very particular. The service was outstanding here and the people that run the business are very friendly and quick to want to make your dining experience fun. There was a lot of talk around the Paella and of course when I went I ordered it, it was a little too fishy for my taste. Their meatballs (albondigas) were enjoyable and their Ahi Tuna salad is a must. Not sure if I would go here again, but it is at least worth a one time try to see what you think.

Ventured to the top of the strip to check out ATOL based on other Unilocal reviews. Went for a late lunch on a Saturday, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Menchu (the chef) and Laurie were attentive without being overbearing, and the place was comfortable, though the atmosphere/​décor could be upgraded a bit — feels more like an upscale café/​deli than a «real» sit-​down restaurant.
We ordered a Ham & Swiss panini and the prosciutto/​olive spread/​roasted red bell pepper panini with a side of papas bravas. Everything was DELICIOUS!, especially the potatoes which were perfectly cooked (a little al dente/​crisp on the outside, cooked well through the inside) in a wonderfully smoky pimenton with sprinkling of baby cherry tomatoes. Panini had a nice amount of stuffing-​to-​well-​grilled-​bread ratio, and melty without being mushy inside.
Looking forward to trying more of the tapas next time we go… Definitely recommend for a tasty and fairly reasonably-​priced lunch experience.

Mrs Coot and I decided to break out of the nest for the evening and try ATOL. We saw a wonderful review in the Diablo Magazine, so we decided to try it ourselves and were not disappointed.
The restaurant is small and not intimate. The bright lights were over the top. ATOL has the opportunity to be a quaint intimate spot with a little work.
Menchu, the Chef and Owner and Laurie were very attentive and informative and excited about their food. Its good to see.
Their wine list is small but has an impressive variety of Spanish wines. Knowing little about Spanish wines, Laurie made an excellent recommendation. In fact, we had two bottles.
ATOL is a Tapas restaurant so we were able to select several different dishes and share. We started with a chorizo dish, 3 differently prepared types of chorizo, which we used as an «appetizer». We shared a very tender «Danville Delight», NY Steak with asparagus, an out of this world Mac and Cheese (goat cheese, prosciutto, and cheddar) and two fantastic shrimp dishes. Shrimp Pimenton and Serrano Ham Wrapped Shrimp. Both of these were fantastic and I highly recommend them.
Menchu’s mother was visiting from Spain and is famous for her rice pudding. No doubt some of the best I’ve had in a long time.
We were very impressed with ATOL and its definitely now on our regular restaurant list

From the minute you walk inside ATOL, it is like a breathe of fresh air. Small touches are noticeable from the nice paint on the inside and outside walls, to the flags hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant is clean and neat and the service is excellent.
The owners of the restaurant, Lori and Menchu, are friendly, knowledgeable and very much want your experience to be a great one. The food is obviously very fresh as it is prepared as you order. Their lunch menu offers a wife variety of delicious sandwiches and in the evening, their Tapas menu is sure to keep you interested.
The paella is to die for and the flavor of the meats off of the tapas menu is amazing. Apparently, the head chef, Menchu, is Spanish trained so the restaurant oozes of Spanish flair.
I am very happy I found this restaurant and I hope you decide to give it a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

What a charming European influenced spot for paninis, sandwiches, salads, soup and tapas. I was greeted warmly by a very friendly Spanish woman who went out of her way to make me feel welcome. Flags hang from the ceiling and there are copies of Food & Wine for your perusal.
Tapas are available Wednesday to Saturday from 5 — 9 PM. The sandwiches average about $ 7.95 and they have a build your own option. Choose from homemade meatballs, Italian sausage, prosciutto, tuna melts, etc. Spreads include basil aioli and garlic aioli. They also sell chips, candy and bottled drinks.
I had the Chicken Pesto Panini ($ 8.25). Sandwiches come with your choice of fruit salad, potato salad or macaroni salad. The Panini was very toasty and hot in the center, with oozing Havarti cheese. The bread was a thin sliced white bread which was quite crunchy but wouldn’t be my preferred type of Panini bread. The Panini didn’t have much chicken but the flavors were good (red peppers, basil pesto, Havarti, chicken). It’s a little pricey though (if they changed the bread or lowered the price, I could see giving them four stars). The fruit salad was simple and fresh with pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe and fresh mint.

Just had tapas for dinner at ATOL — very pleased with our experience. Quite authentic, albeit lacking a bit of the weird factor found in a Madrid tapas cave. Everything was very well prepared and the staff was friendly. The Papas Bravas was delicious! The ambiance was more sandwich shop open for dinner than trendy restaurant, but still nice enough. Hope more people discover the place. Prices were reasonable for dinner in Danville — four tapas plates, bread, dessert and sodas for my wife and I cost $ 37. I’ll be back for more tapas and a lunch panini.

Amazing taste that is actually healthy for you. First, let me say it is great to finally have a restaurant with Spanish influences in the area. The first night I was there I tried the Spanish Paella. The dish had a great mix of spices that made the dish very flavorful. For desert I had the crem brulee and it was GREAT! I had such a good evening I went back the next day for lunch and had a signature panini. The ham & swiss panini was toasted perfectly and not loaded with oils or aioli. Each panini is accompanied with a side and I chose the fruit cup. This fruit cup was AMAZING! The fruit cup is seasonal fruit with a little mint mixed in which enhanced the all the flavors and provided a refreshing taste. On my third visit I brought my Mom and she loved it. This time I tried the Saltimbocca; chicken breast, prosciutto, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese with a marsala sauce, and it even better than the ham & swiss.
Atol is a perfect neighborhood gem and perfect for lunch or dinner.

Where can you go to get a panini made with love? Well the answer is ATOL’s. I went here today for the first time and watched as the owner carefully placed the finest ingredients on my perfectly made sandwich. Seasoned chicken breast, manchego cheese and yummy bell peppers on a roll grilled to perfection… ask me if I could be happier.
I also got a greek salad which was lovely, but I don’t think anything exceptional, especially for the price. It really paled in comparison to the panini. And I also had a little cup of fruit that accompanied the sandwich. This was actually a touch more interesting than the greek salad as it was sprinkled with an odd but really yummy spice.
So at any rate, next time, I’ll be «all about the panini.» Hope you will be too, so the recession doesn’t kill this place and I’m left w/​boring old substandard-​subs!

Recently a panini fan, I’ve been wanting to check this place out. It was around 2:30 on a thursday so it was pretty quiet. I decided on the turkey panini which comes with: turkey (duh), artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red onion, havarti cheese and garlic aioli on sour dough sliced bread. Sounded great… And when I got home it was tasty but, it just seemed a bit lacking. I really wanted to love this sandwich.
First of all the sliced sour dough looked more and tasted like white bread, and the garlic aioli very light. I would have liked more spread, maybe a pesto mayo or some light olive oil on the outside. I don’t know if it was my imagination but the sandwich seemed a bit dry or maybe the bread a bit stale.
That being said it still was a decent sandwich and since I only tried one, I’d definitely go back and give the place another try again. I really like the panini idea and the menu had many interesting sounding sandwich choices. The price also included a side salad of pasta or fruit or potato salad.
I really want to like this place and I want to support local business, the owner was working and was very friendly. So «yes» I’ll go back and try something different. It was late in the day and just maybe that was the end of the loaf? Each sandwich comes on different breads so I might be pleasantly surprised with a different choice.
Also they do catering for a party or event, with a mediterranean flare, the owner is of Spanish decent.

This place is pretty good! I went today, and they have a good amount of choices and the food is prepared quite quickly!
Being a «starving student», it was hard to get something for $ 8, but they did have a special that ended up at $ 6, which 2 different choices (changed each day) and a soda. Still a lot of dough, but I guess it’s better.
I had the Chicken Sierra, and it was great! Everything about it! My friend had the veggie one, and the bread on it seemed normal sliced white bread. Hm…
Only problem is that it’s kinda expensive.
Try it!

This place just opened up yesterday. I was at The Light Source two doors down and was looking for a quick bite. Edwin at The Light Source mentioned that he had his first panini there when they opened. On his advice, I tried the Saltimbocca panini. It was excellent! It had rich flavor and just the right amount of food at a very good price. I was with my aunt and she had the Pata negra panini: prosciutto, manchego cheese, roasted red peppers, and olive tapenade. I had a bite of hers and that too was delicious. Check them out before they become so busy that you can’t even get a table!
I think they also do catering, and it looks like they might be tied to a location in Concord.