MacArthur Park Palo Alto

The host at the restaurant was unwelcoming. We had reserved an outdoor table, but they called 4 hours before our reservation to inform us that they had a private party booking outside and forced us to sit inside. Since it was such short notice, we had no choice but to comply. When I mentioned that it would have been nice to have been informed earlier, Ellen pointed out that our reservation was made only 9 days ago. The service was incredibly slow and the wait for food was very long. They definitely need more staff - there was only 1 server and 4 bussers, which led to a poor customer experience. Several small issues added up to a mediocre experience, such as plates arriving with missing sides and desserts being forgotten until we asked about them.

The food portions were generous, and the prices were fair for the quality and quantity. However, the service was subpar. Our server seemed more interested in chatting with coworkers, neglecting to attend to our drinks. One drink request was blatantly ignored. They could improve by checking on our table more frequently. During our 5:30 to 9:00 visit, the server only came to our table four times after serving our food. The final visit was to give us the check, and the one before that was to clear the table and provide the dessert menu.

The service at this restaurant is very attentive and the space is beautiful and spacious. The food is also delicious. We visited on a Saturday evening and it wasn't too busy. My family has been coming to this restaurant for decades and we will definitely return.

Lovely classic space with wonderful, attentive service. A bit quiet which they said is common at this time of year.

Ellen is a wonderful server. We really enjoyed her knowledgeable conversations. We look forward to seeing her again.