Based on 89 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.5 stars. Price
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ No takeout ✔️ No delivery
Address:
550 Waverley St, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 561-4860
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Friday | 5–9:30 PM |
| Saturday | 5–9:30 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | 5–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 5–9 PM |
| Thursday | 5–9 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
Photo Gallery
Order and Reservations
Reservations: opentable.com
Reviews
Karen Rosenthal
Lovely and charming special occasion place. As noted by other reviewers, it is spendy, be prepared to spend about $100 per person more or less. The food was delicious, and creative, and not too heavy. The milk bread was wonderful. But my absolute favorite was the strawberry cheesecake at the end wow that was absolutely amazing. Service was very friendly and professional. Also very nice presentation. We all loved our cocktails! Also they are very accommodating of vegetarians, we had a mixed group, some vegetarians and some carnivores. And they were able to alter the dishes accordingly.
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Sheedeh Rahimi
The atmosphere and service was exceptional & my group loved the receipt being presented inside of an interesting old book. Next time I’d love to sit at the bar & see the open kitchen in action. Each dish is small & presented beautifully. I don’t think I would be disappointed with anything on the menu. A group of 5 should expect a bill of at least 500.
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Phyllis Yamasaki
Wonderful dining experience. Bright open dining room bustling with diners. Prompt, gracious servers. Beautifully presented delicious food. We ordered 3 morsels, 3 shareables, 2 desserts. Loved all dishes. Our faves were milk bread with decadent brown butter dipping sauce; curry carrots; Hiramase tartare that they modified to vegetarian for us; bean dish; cheesecake with roasted strawberries; coconut pop tart. We will be back to try more dishes. A lovely experience. A little pricey ($200 for 2) but very filling, special, and delicious
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Srikantah Prasad Kolli
Ethel’s Fancy has been on my radar since they have opened and I was finally able to try them out recently. The family style of sharable dishes along with an open view of the kitchen and prep area really sets the tone of the place. We tried handful of items from both the morsels and sharables sections. Each dish has its own theme and all the ingredients tell a great story around it. The innovation that went into the dishes is commendable and I can’t wait to go back to try the next seasonal offerings. The service staff is very detail oriented and precise.
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John Chan
We enjoyed a nice dinner for two among the craziness of the holidays. We had 2 morsels and 3 shareables and 1 dessert. Highlights were Toasted Coconut Fritter, Crispy Pork Belly. I liked the Sesame Noodles and my wife really liked the Grilled Octopus. The flavors trended on the sweet side but we’re intrigued enough to come back and try out the other shareables next time.
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Marc Allard
4-1/2 stars…If you’re a foodie then you should definitely check out Ethel’s Fancy. We walked in on a Friday night and had no trouble getting a seat at the bar. The menu is definitely original and most of the dishes are excellent. We were “3 for 4” with the Scallion Croquettes, Hiramasa Tartare, and the Koshihikari Rice being our favorites. The bartender highly recommended the Toasted Coconut Fritters but we were disappointed…the coconut completely overpowers the Wagyu beef. For dessert, both the Almond Cookie Soft Serve and Cherry Milk Mochi were original, intriguing, and excellent. Prices are very steep but probably not atypical for this type of restaurant in the Bay Area. Service was fine but I thought our bartender could have been a little more knowledgeable and polished. We’ll come back in the summer and see how things are going.
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Kevin Murakami
Head here if you’re looking for a relaxing but fun night out to try some creatively designed dishes inspired by cuisines around the world. The flavors are amazing, the service is top notch and the wine selection is fantastic. Chat with the sommelier.
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Merry Yen
We visited Ethel’s Fancy on Friday, right at opening time.
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33 Adventures
I would leave 0 star if I can – we have a reservation at 6, and I arrived at 5:56. They have plenty of empty tables inside but they refused to sit me (since I’m the first one arrived for a party of 4) and I’m almost 8 months pregnant (feeling very heavy and needed to sit down), I told them my husband was parking and my friends are almost here, but the women at the front desk were very rude and indifference of my condition. Very bad customer service, portions are very small, limited food options, overall on the salty side and they try to take your plates even before you finish the food, please don’t come to this place 🙁
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Michael Harville
As the name suggests, the food is on the fancy side :), but the atmosphere is still relaxed and somewhat casual. Lots of very creative dishes in terms of flavor combinations and presentation. Portions are small but not ridiculously so. We ordered 3 morsels, 2 shareables, two cocktails, and a dessert, and that was plenty for 2 people. Cocktails were very creative and tasty, worth going there for that alone. Reservations are needed weeks in advance for Friday and Saturday, but you can reserve within a week for other days.
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