Lure + Till

Excellent place in Palo Alto for after-​work drinks and a small bite. They have some nice outdoor seating, their drinks are wonderfully crafted, and their bartenders are quite friendly.

I tried L&T almost exactly a year ago and had an average experience — nothing stood out, but I saw potential. Today I decided to give them another shot and had an experience that was below average and forgettable.
L&T has the ambiance going for them… and that’s about all. The food was sloppy, service was sloppier, and drinks were meh.
Hamachi Appetizer — Three awkwardly long pieces of hamachi crudo. Wasn’t quite bite sized, but raw fish is weird to take multiple bites out of. The hamachi was average quality. I liked the kumquat at least.
Roast Chicken Roulade — Our server strongly recommended this dish over the duck breast so I got the chicken. It was so mediocre, I couldn’t imagine how bad the duck breast would have been! Dry chicken with soft, limp skin on the outside. The spinach and asparagus were okay, but way too salty. The potatoes were good, cooked to be on the firmer side.
Crispy Skin Arctic Char — A revisit of the Arctic Char from my first experience. The cook was reasonable — crispy skin and tender flesh. Nothing great though.
Squid Ink Campanelle — Didn’t have this, but my dining partner said the cherry tomatoes were the best part…
Food was 3 stars but taking off another for the dead service. The restaurant was barely a third full but everyone was dragging their feet with taking orders, and the hot food took a while to come out. No smiles from the servers. The lady who served me the chicken shoved it on the table so the upright roulade toppled sideways. She didn’t fix it or apologize. No smile or acknowledgement from the hostess as we were leaving.
Long story short, I’m not sure how L&T is still in business after two years.

Came here for Sunday breakfast. Very un-​inviting and poor service. There was no one at the entrance and after we seated ourselves it took 15 min for a waiter to approach us. We ordered and the food came out very late and not all of the food came. They really need to up their game in service. The food was also underwhelming

Hidden gem inside The Epiphany.
Ordered:
— 6 Oysters $ 18
— Hamachi $ 16
— Bread Service $ 0
— Connie’s Garden $ 12 (Alcoholic bev)
— Duck $ 32
— Scallops $ 34
— Fudgesicle $ 8
Tina’s Triggers and Thoughts
— Total $ 130.50, no tip included
— Décor is nice, but I did notice that the noise level gets pretty high due to the wooden theme
— I had hoped to get complementary bread, but I only knew that it was an option by seeing it at another table and having to ask for it
— Of course with the drought, water per request
— Oysters were pretty average, the kohlrabi mignonette
— Hamachi included kumquats, Fresno chilies, and smoked olive oil. It was not the best cut, it didn’t look appetizing at all and to top that off I found a piece of bone in mine … :(never happened to me before…
— Duck and Scallops kind of had the same garnishes since my friend and I shared it. The carrots and greens
— Scallops were good, but pork belly was amazingly tasty!
— Duck was deliciously seasoned and seared — I would get it again
— I wouldn’t get the fudgesicle to share or even at all actually. It was good, but not great — fairly frozen so hard to share.
— Menu selection was pretty small so I don’t know if I’ll come back, but possibly for happy hour.

Chicken hash very rich and small. Delicious but I felt both hungry and very full after. Has to get fruit too after finishing it

Very noisy cocktail lounge setting — caution for business dinners.
Took my client here for dinner. We opted to sit outside, as the dining room area was very loud and we wanted to have a conversation. Started with foie gras — presentation was beautiful, however the foie gras was hard. I used a knife to cut in half — and it was difficult. Clearly the dish had been kept in a cold fridge and not being at room temperature — took away the flavor. We shared our thoughts regarding the dish with the waiter, however it did not seem to bug him.
Next we shared the kale salad. It was delicious — large portion — well done.
For mains, we ordered the chicken and the steak. Both were prepared nicely and tasted good. Portion sizes were more European than American. The sides were fresh — but lacked robust flavor.
For dessert, we split a fudgesicle dish — it too came from the same freezer which housed the foie gras. It was so hard — it lacked richness and we could not use our spoons to eat the dish.
Overall, the service was attentive (except when hearing our comments about the cold foie gras). Support staff did a great job of keeping our waters filled and bringing clean plates and flatware.
We enjoyed the ambiance outside and would recommend as a great place to have a cocktail. If entertaining a large group — the space was too small to have meaningful conversations.

Great place to sit outside with the lights :)
Menu is limited, i’ve only tried a few items but all very flavorful and light. Today I had the trout and it was over cooked. I have never had it over cooked when i eat there but it was take out. Perhaps I should not have microwaved it — but wouldn’t have had to if it was not cold:(
Overall, love the hotel, love the food — all about the food and ambience!

We really enjoyed our dinner last night. We got oysters and hamachi with kumquat for apps, Arctic char and ricotta/​rabe fagotelli for mains. Two cocktails as well: the brass tack and starry night. Out of everything, I enjoyed the simple but lovely hamachi the most. The flavors and amounts used were just perfect, although perhaps the fish was a little bit thick. Other than that minor issue, it was lovely.
I have high expectations, but admit I am surprised how some rated the food. It wasn’t a five star experience but definitely deserves more than two or three.
The food was plated thoughtfully. The cocktails were great. The service was friendly and attentive and everything appeared clean. With the weather being perfect for outdoor seating, we had a lovely dinner out.

We ended up at the bar here after a disappointing incident in Redwood City and the results were plausible — the California champagne had at least a little bit of character to it, and the rum punch had been rendered interesting by a dash of sherry (I don’t know why more cocktail joints don’t make use of sherry). If I were comparing it to the cocktail scene in San Francisco I’d still be sorely disappointed, but by peninsula standards, it’s ok. (They have a couple of barrel-​aged cocktails too, but were out when we were here.)

Overall, not so great. What a shame too since the space is trendy and cute and has potential to be great. We went here on Saturday for a friend’s birthday and the restaurant was completely empty. The service was just off, when my friend ordered the chicken sandwich our waitress asked her how she would like her chicken cooked?! «Umm, not pink and raw please? I’d like avoid having salmonella poisoning tonight, thanks»
It also took about 20+ minutes to finally get our drinks and when we asked what the delay was they said the bar was «backed up» yet there were 0 people other than us in the restaurant? Food was OK, nothing to rave about. Not sure if I would go back.

Looks pretty, tastes okay.
When it comes to ambiance and décor, this place has it down: a wall of decorative fire, dim lights, trendy decorations, etc. It certainly all looked very hip and promising, but alas, the food was only just okay.
We all had squid ink campanelle: the sauce was… okay (not bad at all, but not as good as one would expect for $ 24 squid ink campanelle), pasta was fine, lobster was juicy (though not very generously portioned), overall serving size was satisfactory. Dessert in the form of chocolate cake was very satisfying: once again, nothing mind blowing, but at least it was a decent portion.
It was a lovely night since I was with lovely company, and at least I didn’t walk out hungry, but ambiance aside, it’s a little hard for me to justify coming back and shelling out that amount of cash for just A-​OK food.

I would have told you flat out that I did not like kale, before the appetizers tonight. :) their kale salad was exceptional: mild, tender, tasty. Probably poached lightly to tenderize it, and then dressed with something light and delicious. Nom nom nom…
We also tried the hamachi and the poached beets. Tasty, though the hamachi suffered by comparison with the other two.
Delicious cocktails. He had the Sharp Dressed Man, I had the Cool Cucumber, and I would again. Followed up with the Rosy Cheeks for me and the Brass Tacks for him.
Mains were duck with turnips for him and seared scallops with surprise seared pork belly: gorgeous.
And room for dessert: I finished my Rosy Cheeks and we shared the carrot cake, which was presented in an intriguing and novel style, with crème fraîche and walnut brittle.
Delicious. Definitely planning on returning. And we are hella food snobs. :)

We came here for lunch. It was a small occasion celebration so I made a reservation worrying that this place may be crowded on a Saturday afternoon. But it was the complete opposite — the place was actually empty. When we were seated, there was no one else in the inside dining room.
The room was not very well lit, and for us being the only party in the restaurant, I found the service to be very slow. It took a while for the waiter to come take our order, and after we received food, they did not really check in (at this point about two other tables had joined inside). This was a little off putting especially because it seemed to be a slow day.
I ordered a duck dish, which was quite delicious. We also ordered the steak frites — we asked for medium rare, and we got meat that was well done. No pink center in sight. We did not want to send the dish back so we just ate it — still not bad, but obviously chewy and not as moist given the condition of the meat. It was just disappointing that they could not get this right. It would seem as though the chef should have caught this before it came to our table.
It is too bad because we had read great reviews about this place and were looking forward to trying it. We discussed maybe coming back and trying for dinner some time, but this lunch meal was definitely disappointing.
Positive is that you can pay ahead using OpenTable, which makes checking out easy.

Fancy schmancy Palo Alto. Very loungy like.
I was firstly bummed because they were out of the top two cocktails that I requested. I’m not entirely sure how you can be out of cocktails at 6pm on a Wednesday but okie dokie.
The charcuterie was superb — highly suggest that for an app. It didn’t have cheese but it had a great variety of yummy meats!
The seafood medley app was pretty good too. A tad fishy tasting, which may sounds like a duh statement but it left a fishy impression on me.
I got the famous squid ink pasta for my main dish. It had a good flavor and the lobster was great but the noodles were too al dente for me. It’s a cool looking dish and I’ve never had such curly/​coiled noodles.
I probably wouldn’t bother going back for dinner due to the price and not being overly impressed but it’s a cute place and probably good for drinks (if they have the cocktails available :))

Drink: 2
Food: n/​a
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 3
I give this place props for the décor. Nice job. This entire building is close to brand new. Lure + Till is inside the Epiphany Hotel, right downtown Palo Alto.
I don’t know what style to call it exactly, it’s reminiscent of a circus with 1920’s vintage décor yet modern-​made with blue jean clad waitstaff. I suppose that would fit into the hipster category?!
Whatever it is, it looks cool, has a nice patio and overall most of the waitstaff was nice although some of them appeared to be suffering from RBF

I am operating sans the booze these days, so I ordered a drink half sparkling water, half pineapple juice. FYI– they do not carry pineapple juice. Apparently it’s not «in» at their place right now. So I opted for half grapefruit juice instead. I wish it was fresher. For being so hipster, you think they woulda squeezed it right there on the spot and added a fancy garnish. Not the case.
Maybe I’ll be back…
just for the ambience…
maybe not?
Enjoy! ;)

I’m not sure why it’s 3.5 stars at all. Not bashing anyone but there is NO WAY this place deserves that kind of rating. This place is outstanding with amazing service, quality food (it’s expensive, but you actually can taste your food) and impeccable atmosphere.
I came with a coworker for dinner on a Thursday night (packed to the max) and while my heart sank a bit when they said there was only bar seating, RIGHT BEFORE I left the hostess yelled «WAITTTTTTTTTTTT» and all the sudden, we find ourselves with the best seat of the house, outside with an amazing view of Palo Alto (although it’s just a street, but hey, let me build up this review!) and a pretty sunset to match the restaurant environment.
A few quick drinks and we find ourselves with a menu in hand. Food came, and of course the phones came out. Beautiful presentations and delicious, all of them.
Charcuterie Board: great starter item with friends and family. Definitely a must get. The bread so rustic I could dip this into my glass of wine and it would still not be soggy! Must be the same bread that the Lord’s Supper uses.
Grilled Seafood a La Plancha: Definitely another amazing starter item if your group loves seafood. The cuttlefish had the right texture (and the flavor, wow) along with the prawns and clams. My friend kept eating the butter beans to my amusement…
Seared Artic Char: WOOT WOOT finally great fish with an amazing burst of flavor and crispy texture. Food addicts and workout fanatics can definitely appreciate this one. It definitely fits your macros bro.
Chicken Roulade: This dish was amazing. I simply love the moist chicken and the accompanied potatoes and veggies that came with it. Simple and rustic yet so elegantly twisted with ingredients you never thought to cook with this dish.
Ultimately, you come here knowing you’re going to pay a bit more $$$, but then again the quality of food you get here is, well a bit worth it. I know I will be coming back here again. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place for love cou – I mean romantics and friends or impressions meals. Amazing decoration and the layout is definitely date night material. Yes, service can be a hit or miss, which really can change the ratings here, but if they can improve on consistent service, they are a definite 5 star in my book!

Four of us came here for dinner on Saturday night. We opted for outside seating by the bar… which could have been our big mistake:
The place was lively around 7:30pm on Saturday night. The restaurant is inside the Epiphany hotel and the décor is modern and sleek.
We had the seared octopus, oysters and the kale salad to start.
For our main we tried the squid ink campanelle, the duck, the chicken roulade and the salmon.
All of our dishes were very delicious and presentations were beautiful.
So why the mediocre 3 stars? The service was so lacking that it made the entire experience disappointing.
From the moment we sat down, it took at least 10 minutes before our server introduced himself.
Service throughout our meal was so spotty. We were served the wrong dish as our appetizer… We got our meals but had to wait to get utensils. I asked for the wine list and waited almost 20 minutes for it.
At the end of our meal, we asked to split the check with two cards. The server came back with all charges on one card, and returned only one card.
We had to then wait for him to find my credit card.
It is such a shame because the restaurant itself has such potential. The great space, atmosphere and vibe, along with solid food.
Service really need to be improved.

After months of my boyfriend asking to come here we finally went for dinner and sat in the lounge which was pretty busy for a Tuesday night.
We sat at a tiny little bar table which was fine b/​c there was just the 2 of us. We ordered the beef cheeks, the beet salad and the pâté.
The beets were ok… I eat so many beet salads that I feel rather judgy about these. It wasn’t memorable but it was plated nicely.
The beef cheeks were absolutely the best part. The meat was so tender that I could only take small bites as it would fall off of my fork. The grilled avocado underneath was something which I’ve never had before and it was a nice touch.
The pâté wasn’t great in my opinion. It was plated beautifully but I didn’t like the brioche (tasted like poorly toasted wonder bread to me)
My cappuccino was just sloppily made but it served its purpose.
I think that my biggest issue was with the staff. From the hostesses to the servers no one had a good attitude. In all honesty the nicest person that I spoke with was the busser who came to take our plates away! The servers were not attentive and rarely checked in. I know that for palo alto $ 76 isn’t a big bill but I was rather turned off from this experience and probably won’t be back.

Hands down, one of the best Squid Ink Pasta I’ve ever tried! Lure + Till is in downtown Palo Alto and has an outside seating area too. The service isn’t bad but could be better. All the dishes I tried were on point.
As for appetizers, I ordered the oysters, seared octopus, and braised pork cheek. The main entrée, of course, THE SQUID INK CAMPANELLE with dried cherry tomatos, lobsters, arugula, calabrian chilis, and botarga. Yumm!

I’ve come to Lure + Till numerous times now since they have opened. The ambiance is alluring with its sexy mix of modern and antique-​inspired furniture and décor. I love the lounge area with its mix of low chairs & tables inside and high top tables and stools outside.
Here is an outline of the food and cocktails I have enjoyed the most thus far (menu changes frequently, so these goodies may not be up for grabs when you visit):
Hamachi (grapefruit, chili, smoked olive oil) — This is a light summer appetizer, perfect to enjoy with a glass of bubbles or white wine.
Charcuterie Board (pickled cauliflower, mustard) — My absolute favorite, go-​to item here if I’m just looking for something to share over a cocktail or two. Lots of meat, crusty bread, and the pickled cauliflower is amazing.
Tagliarini (farm egg, turnip, hen jus) — The pasta is toothsome as it should be and sits atop pureed turnip. The dish is crowned by a slow cooked egg that you swirl throughout the pasta strands to get some of the rich yolk with each bite. Perfection!
Kale Salad (currants, marcona almonds, ricotta salata, banyuls vinaigrette) — Great chocie when you’re craving a light, healthy bite. The almonds and currants add nice texture.
Herb Roasted Beets (smoked yogurt, quinoa) — I am a beet addict and the yogurt combo in this dish is simply amazing. Already recreated it at home.
Cava Punch (Aperol, Yellow Charreuse, lemon) — A refreshing drink and the addition of grated nutmeg on top of the lemon slice is a lovely detail.
Porch Swing (Evan Williams whiskey, strawberry black pepper shrub, lemon) — This libation got me totally obsessed with whiskey cocktails — no joke. And I kept looking for a porch swing to sit on and dangle my feet while downing this drink in a very unladylike manner.
The Constituent (James E. Pepper rye, Luxardo maraschino, Cocchi sweet vermouth, orange bitters) — Another solid concoction that packs a punch and is a great rendition of a classic cocktail.
Table service in the lounge can be a bit slow, but the bartenders are fast, fun and friendly and may just give you a free sample of a concoction they are working on. Prices are on the higher side, to be expected from a Palo Alto restaurant.