Aldo Los Altos

Went here to celebrate 3 bdays in the family. Haven’t been to Los Altos in awhile. Wouldn’t mind going back to walk around or try some other restaurants in the area.
I got the pappardelle, I am on a pappardelle trip right now. Every since I got it at a restaurant in Little Italy last spring, I have been ordering it every time I see it. Unfortunately, this was the worst one I have had. It wasn’t horrendous, just not memorable. The sauce needs to be kicked up 2 notches. My wife’s dish was probably the best of the dishes. She got a penne dish.
I think everyone said it wasn’t bad, just don’t need to go back nor make the trek to go here again.
The people were really nice, but the service wasn’t so hot. Had to keep reminding our server to bring things. For example, when taking our order, they didn’t ask if we wanted any salads or soups so everyone forgot and had to have the server come back. Then, for some reason, they brought dishes for the appetizer for the adults only and none for the kids. My wife asked once, and I asked twice for the dishes. My dad also had to ask for his coke twice. Towards the end it got better as we started to see more servers.

We chose this place because it’s not that far away from Mountain View and the off-​work time traffic is bad for Bay Area. So we just wanted to try a good restaurant in Los Altos. Actually, the taste… well…too disappointed. Service is good.
The free bread taste even much worse than my homemade failed ones… The Gmocchi was over-​cooked. For the pear, Gorgonzola&prosciutto dish, well the cheese taste too strong that it covered the taste from pear and prosciutto. And the wine? Better to randomly purchase an affordable one from Costco.

I ordered the lamb and my boyfriend had the salmon.
The lamb was falling off the bone, soft, and the sauce was not too whelming and complement the lamb perfectly.
The salmon was cooked perfectly as well as the vegetables that were a part of the dish.
The service staff was responsive and patient.
Not to mention, very good prices for a Los Altos restaurant!

One of our favorite places. Always good and dependable.
We eat here about every 6 weeks.
Wife gets the fresh fish, I usually get a pasta.

Our go-​to place for a nice lunch or dinner. Great food and service. Friendly, but at times pretty noisy. Great for guests when you don’t want a stuffy place but want an excellent meal. Several new restaurants have opened in Los Altos lately. We’ve tried them — ho hum… we always come back to Aldos!

Been here several times. The food is always delicious and we have always received excellent service.

Good food right in the heart of los altos. Had a steak which was fantastic and salads were equally as good! Great staff!

Aldo is a fabulous choice for dining in Los Altos.
First of all, its located in charming downtown. Disclaimer: I grew up here and have fond memories of riding my bike to Dairy Belle, the Melody Inn and, when older, Mac’s Tea Room. Oh, how I miss Mac’s Tea Room…
Secondly, the atmosphere is a perfect combination of intimate, classy and casual.
But most importantly, the food is superb. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the succulent lamb shanks were served in delicious sauce. The risotto special earned praise from my Italian mother, no small feat. And for you paleo people; they graciously substituted mushrooms for potatoes as a side dish.
The only drawback is that it can get a bit loud. Other than that, I will be back.

Small portion size but great customer service. Also, small dessert portion size. I ordered a spaghetti mussels pasta $ 17.99 and wanted shrimp– got charged an additional $ 7.99.
I get a much tastier seafood pasta at the fish market. The mussels were not fresh.

The food at Aldo Los Altos is excellent. There are several good salads, soups and appetizers for starters. Our group enjoyed salmon, pork medallions, chicken and two types of lasagna. All were excellently prepared. The vegetable and potato accompaniments also were very good.
There is a good wine list plus we got generous pours in beautiful large glasses.
The restaurant is small and very loud. At 6pm the sound of pots and pans banging echoed off the walls. At 7pm, the many conversations in the crowded space along with very loud children made the noise barely tolerable even with ear plugs. The high ceilings and hard surfaces with nothing to absorb sound make this inevitable — and unnecessary. The second floor also is hot even with the high ceiling.
Service is slow and not customer focused. Although we arrived at 6pm, we had to rush out without dessert to make our 8pm showtime at a local theatre. The restaurant is right on the main street in Los Altos so it would be convenient for a leisurely walk after dinner.

Lunch Friday
All items superb
Pasta, salads
Extra special bread surprises
Good service

Sorry but Aldo Los Altos loses a star. We went in for dinner. Service was still good but the food wasn’t up to par. The zucchini and cauliflower appetizer had several burnt pieces in it. One diner ordered the pork «medallions», not pink. We were expecting slices of meat from the tenderloin. While waiting for our food a busser replaced the table knife with a steak knife for the diner who ordered the pork. This is not a good sign. When the meal came it was two boneless pork chops. They were difficult to cut even with the steak knife. They were also difficult to chew. Two other diners ordered osso buco and lamb shank. They were both braised in the same liquid/​veg mixture such that there wasn’t much difference in taste between the two. I know these dishes can be similar but we didn’t expect them to be identical.

The best restaurant in downtown Los Altos by far. Excellent food, great service, and nice outdoor patio seating.
This is also one of the few business that’s still standing after all these years. It seems like every year a local business closes, so it’s comforting to know they can still draw a crowd.
My favorite dishes are the Nonna’s Polpetta and the Rigatoni Bolognese (That’s on the menu, not the special). Both have plenty of sauce, great flavor, and a nice al dente to the pasta. I could eat it all day long and be happy. I also really enjoy the portobello mushroom and eggplant caprese as starters.
If you’re in the area, go here, because you’ll always get a satisfying meal.

I thought the arancini would be a lot smaller, but it was two large pieces, stuffed with peas and mozzarella, served with marinara sauce and some chopped lettuce, which all worked well together. I liked this more than the pasta.
I also ordered the penne vodka, and it was pretty good, though not exactly what I was expecting. Instead of a pink, creamy sauce, it is prepared with just a little cream sauce, and topped with chunks of sun dried tomatoes and prosciutto. Which is exactly what it says on the menu, so I guess its my own fault for thinking it would be the same style that I’ve had elsewhere. Then, because I’m extra greedy, I asked for a slice of cheesecake. It, too, was good but not great, and very heavy, especially with the chocolate ganache on top — I guess I prefer the lighter, fluffier cheesecake types. Overall, a decent option for Italian in the area. Service was excellent.

Buon Appetito!
Ordered:
— Caramella $ 16.00
— Nonna’s Polpetta (Spaghetti) $ 14.00
Tina’s Treasures and Tribulations
— Parking limited in the area, but you need to know where to go. Behind the restaurant, rows of parking!
— Total was $ 32.63 without tip
— Great place for kids and adults, I even saw desser ice cream for the children with a cute little holder.
— Accommodating with walk ins (for me anyway)
— Waiter recommend great entrée choices
— Meatball to die for from the Nonna’s dish. Really fresh and meaty, haha!
— Caramella consisted of grilled chicken, mushrooms, mascarpone, and mushroom sauce
— Very flavorful dish that was wrapped in homemade pasta, very filling (to me anyway) with some green spinach on the side to balance the plate
— I thought I was very good and I guess it’s how you perceive the place. Service was average, but refilled my water without needing to ask. Could’ve given us more bread or asked, but we were full anyway!
— Possibly round two in the near future!

I was here recently for a rehearsal dinner. The restaurant has a nice 2^nd story loft/​dining area with two long tables and enough capacity to comfortably fit about 25 people.
I had the Aldo salad:
Arugola, spring mix lettuces, crisp sausage, fresh herbs, shaved fennel, Parmiggiano Reggiano, balsamic vinaigrette
I would have to say this is one of my favorite salads ever! The sausage crumbles and fennel were the highlights of the salad.
For my main entrée I went with the Capellini Granchio:
Angel hair pasta with crab meat, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, diced tomatoes
It was light and fresh. Decent amount of crab meat.
The Tiramisu at the end was just OK. I’ve had better… this wasn’t bad but also wasn’t the greatest. It was lacking flavor.
The service was attentive and great!
Parking can be tight in downtown Los Altos so get there early…

Aldo has and still is one of the best dinner restaurants in Downtown Los Altos.
Many of the dishes on the menu are simple but well-​executed and tasty. Their house pasta with a spicy tomato sauce is divine, and their salmon dishes are flavorful.
I especially enjoy their salads (the Aldo Salad with sausage is surprisingly tasty!).
The ambiance is comfortable and casual. The delicious smell of pasta, herbs, and garlic fill the dinning room.
Service has almost always been friendly and efficient.
One of the best dinning options in downtown! s

2 stars for the false advertising. I was looking for a porchetta sandwich and it turned out to be a pulled pork sandwich with mushrooms! Argh!
Taste wise, it’s a delicious SHREDDED pork and mushroom sandwich!

It is a great place to grab some dinner. Just went to grab dinner last night with my boyfriend. It wasn’t packed and our waiter was extremely polite and took good care of us. We ordered a glass of wine each (sauvignon blanc) and him the chianti. we liked our wine. We got the bruschetta as a starter as well as the rosemary potatoes. The potatoes are delicious. The bread on the bruschetta was a little soggy but the tomatoes were really good.
I got the Aldo Cioppino which was really really good and my boyfriend got the pappardelle, which he enjoyed since he inhaled it. The food seemed fresh and I would definitely come back here to grab some good italian.
Parking is street parking, which is hard to find during rush hours, but if you turn right there are lots of parking spaces on the next block over.

Came in a group of 8 for a team lunch:
— Bread /​breadsticks come with the meal, but didn’t the bread wasn’t very crispy/​chewy/​crunchy/​fresh?
— Toscana con pollo: diced tomatoes, capers, etc — pretty flavorful, served with grilled chicken breast
— Chicken caesar salad: lettuce was decent, chicken was quite dry. Got balsamic dressing instead, but it wasn’t too flavorful
— Dessert: chocolate walnut gelato, tasted like nutella which was good but was surprised since I was told it was going to be walnuts?
— Dessert 2: Tiramisu was decent but nothing particularly special
— Coffee: sort of like diner coffee, but I’m not terribly picky I suppose…
Service was pretty friendly and food came out pretty quickly. For a group of 8, it put us back only $ 170 — not too shabby.