La Bodeguita del Medio

A staple in the PA food scene. Portions are big and food is generally good to great, but I was expecting a little bit more given how hyped this place was. Good service, dark moody vibes, and old school interior. Seems to cater to the American palette that is less adventurous and wants familiar things like surf n turf, fried options, and bbq.

Mojitos - 6/5 - wowza, they're known for these (and they come in their own special glass with writing on it, which is cheesy and very anti-insta). I enjoyed it so much I had a second one. Just perfect, a must get.
Croquetas -2/5 good, but one note. Tasted like italian marinara sauce on the side. wouldn't reordre
Shrimp toast appetizer - 5/5 wowza, really good flavor and shrimp was cooked really well 5/5
Palmitas salad - 5/5 nicely balanced! great option to get in your veggies
Paella - 4.5/5 Great paella, loved the clams inside, it added the perfect flavor to the paella
Surf n Turf - 3/5 was fine, not really into the sweet potato and coconut shrimp paring. I've had far better coconut shrimp before, was expecting more.

I don't know that I'd come here again. I should have known when the reviews were raving about "the food" without really talking about dishes in particular.

On a whim, my SIL decided to have her bday dinner in the sunnier & warmer part of the Peninsula vs. San Francisco. We browsed around Stanford Shopping Center then hit our reservation at 6pm. We called that day and found out that it only had a spot for outdoor seating at 6pm, otherwise 5:00 or 7:30pm inside. The weather was nice so we didn't mind sitting outside. When we parked and saw that California Ave. was blocked off for just foot traffic, we saw booths and bands playing! We found out it was one of the 3rd Thursday on California Ave. events! We were lucky to have chosen this area and ended up having a live band playing music across the street. It was an 80s almost all Women's "punk-infused" 90's Rock band--The Hyperdrive Kittens. It may have been a little loud and at times hard to hear our waiter, Hernan but we all went with the festive atmosphere and laughed it off! To start, we had some Cuban Beer, Sangria, Cuban Sidecar and a Basil-Ginger Mocktail. We also ordered appetizers: Fried Yuca, Croquetas and Shrimp Ceviche. I also ordered the Crab Cakes and our waiter asked if we wanted 4 instead of 3 since we were a party of 4, but I told him 3 was fine. We were brought bread and an orange colored dipping oil. Loved the Croquetas as they were soft and savory on the inside. Fried Yuca seemed like a healthy alternative to French Fries and were definitely not greasy! The Shrimp Ceviche was in a small glass container and didn't really stand out to me. It's Cuban inspired food so it's def not a Peruvian tangy flavor.

For entrees, I ordered the Tierra y Mar as the photos and reviews were mostly good. It had asparagus, sofrito mashed potatoes which were buttery and flavorful but not greasy, 3 crispy Coconut Shrimp and the skirt steak topped with an Avocado-Cilantro Pesto. The end pieces were tender but as I got to the middle, the meat was sinewy and not very tender. It probably needed to be marinated a bit longer. I had to spit out 4-5 pieces of tough pieces of meat because it was not tender. Unfortunate since the plate looked enticing, but the meat didn't deliver. Other dishes ordered were the Cubano Sandwich which had lots of meat and very good bread; the Pollo a la Plancha was the special and my SIL thought it was a good portion with tender pieces of thigh meat. The Ropa Vieja tasted like braised Pork that's in Mexican burritos but it was actually braised & shredded skirt steak with chilies & tomatoes. It came with soft plantains and yellow rice. We never got our Crab Cakes so I told Hernan to forget bringing it. He apologized. For a celebration dessert, my SIL was brought a Key Lime Tart that we split in 4 after she blew out her candle. All in all, it was a good meal except for the tough meat & no crab cakes which I really wanted to try.

To note, there's a 5% Dine-In surcharge tacked on to your pre-taxed bill. Disclaimer says: "La Bodeguita Del Medio applies a surcharge of 5% on all items. This is to offset rising operational costs and is not a service gratuity."

La Bod is almost a local institution. We showed up on a random weekday and it was a struggle to be seated. Eventually, we were seated on an outside table, basking in the late afternoon rays of sunlight of June in Palo Alto. The mojito was a nice aperitif, and then the paella was flavourful, and full of delicious and fresh seafood. I have no complaints about the food at all.

What wasn't great, however, was the experience at the end: they bring the credit card reader to your table, and when I pointed out to my friend that they'd already added a 5% surcharge, which is akin to a tip, the waiter shot me a dirty glare. I think that pressuring people to add a standard tip multiple when you've already added a surcharge is shady behaviour.

We keep coming back and have enjoyed pretty much all of the dishes! Shout out to Richard for the good service.

Good vibes inside and they have fire pits outside for heating, though it can get pretty cold. I also can't wait for their dine-in surcharge to get banned.

Came here on a Friday dinner for Mother's Day weekend. We called earlier to make a reservation, but they only had outside seats available. We walked in and they had bar tables open, so we sat there instead.

We got the Seafood Paella, Chicken Empanadas, and Fried Calamari.

Seafood Paella 4.5/5: Huge portion, good enough to feed around 3 people. The rice was delicious and flavorful. The mussels and clams all around it were alright, could have used more flavor or sauce for them.

Chicken Empanadas 4/5: Quite large, comes with 3 for each order. The insides are very hot so be careful! It was also slightly spicy. They were pretty good and a generous amount of meat inside. There was also red cabbage below it but didn't really add anything to the dish.

Fried Calamari 4/5: Your typical fried calamari. It wasn't on the menu but we saw people post pictures of it so we asked if they had it, and they could make it for us. The calamari was crispy and their tartar sauce went amazing with it.

Tasted food samples from here at a fair on California Avenue (3rd Thursday). They're very nice and the croquetas are delicious!

This spot is my favorite Cuban restaurant in South Bay! I've been going here for years and have never been disappointed. The ambience transports you when you walk in! It's a great lively restaurant for date nights, anniversaries, or even a post work dinner with coworkers.

Whether you're sitter by the bar or their more intimate dining room, the vibes are immaculate and the servers take good care of you!

We sat by the bar and went an hour after they opened on a Wednesday night- they weren't too busy quite yet, but soon picked up. They brought us house bread and we ordered the croquetas and shrimp ceviche to start. The ceviche is good balance of tanginess and spicy. It's served on bread soaked up with the sauce, but somehow not soggy, which they nail every time! The shrimp was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. The pollo croquetas were a special that night and absolutes melted in your mouth. The aoli was an excellent addition to this dish. All the flavors come through even without the sauce.

For our main course we ordered arroz con pollo served with my favorite, plantains! The chicken was tender and melted in your mouth. It was well seasoned and as always the flavors were dancing on my tongue haha. We got the plantain crusted goat cheese salad with delicious sherry vinaigrette! It was light and fresh and a great way to end our meal.

I absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to explore authentic Cuban food :)

The most fantastic service by Georgie at the bar. Extremely friendly and laid back place with soft lighting and tasty food.

I don't come to Cuban food very frequently but I'd come back.

This was one of the best tapas I've been to. There is literally a lot of items which are delicious and you must try we loved the interiors and the Spanish style ambience it almost took us back to Spain. Dont miss in their popular seafood paella.

We loved the way we were treated there and we'd love to go back with a larger group to try more food.

My partner really wanted to try this place and a few weeks later and I'm still reveling at our meal. The food here is really really good and prepared with beautiful precision. The flavors, the service, it was all excellent!

We started with the pork empanadas and croquettes. The empanadas were very good, the meat was tender, but not outstanding. The croquettes however, were devine! I love croquettes and I order them in different countries and restaurants or wherever they're offered. These had an amazing flavor and the texture was perfection! I'm still thinking about them. Haha

For our entrees we ordered the Tierra y Mar skirt steak and the lamb chops. Both were cooked perfectly with strong, but not overbearing flavors. The sides on each dish complemented the meats well and we left with leftovers.

Dessert was key lime pie! Don't question it. Just order it. If you like key lime this dessert is for YOU!

Pricey date night, but this is expected in this area and I'm already looking forward to going back.