Cedro closes, Cafe Borrone to expand Other Topics, posted by Editor, The Almanac Online, on Jan 4, 2013 at 10:35 am
Cedro Ristorante Italiano in downtown Menlo Park closed over the holidays, and its next-door neighbor, Cafe Borrone, is poised to expand into the sizable space within months.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Thursday, January 3, 2013, 4:47 PM
Posted by Hmmm, a resident of another community, on Jan 4, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Joe - was Cedro any good? I've never been to any of the restaurants located next to Borrone.
I avoid Borrone much of the time, due to the lines & the environment one gets relative to the cost, I go elsewhere. There's also the noise from live music, which makes it impossible to relax. It's been most convenient to grab a cuppa w/friends who like it.
It was recently reviewed on Check Please! Bay Area, which I hope is good for their business. the criticisms of it were similar to mine. An expansion would greatly help, I think.
Posted by Joe, a resident of the Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park neighborhood, on Jan 4, 2013 at 2:41 pm
My reason for disappointment about this is about Cafe Borrone expanding, not Cedro going. I don't know about their food.
To make a real go of it, Kepler's needs a coffee bar. The semi-circular coffee bar and the great energy that surrounded it at Printer's Inc. on California Avenue had everything to do with why that was such a great, great bookstore.
When they moved the coffee bar next door, the bookstore lost more than it gained. The handwriting was on the wall.
Kepler's would like to have a coffee bar, but Cafe Borrone has a clause in its contract that forbids it.
Posted by Hmmm, a resident of another community, on Jan 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Oh, good points. I still miss Printer's Ink as it originally was in Palo Alto. The one time in recent memory we were at the cafe, it was so forgettable that we haven't been back. Funny, a big draw for me to go to Cafe Borrone is because I'm headed to Kepler's. But we're also fans of Cafe Zoe, where the chaos is at a minimum.
Posted by Riff Wilkins, a resident of the Atherton: West Atherton neighborhood, on Jan 4, 2013 at 3:47 pm
Cedro was actually quite good and the owner very friendly. But the location was not ideal. Too bad, because Cedro was a reasonable alternative to Carpaccio, the go-to establishment for Italian food in the area.
Posted by Menlo Voter, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 4, 2013 at 8:05 pm
I went to Cedro not too long after it replaced the previous restaurant. The previous restaurant was great, but the economy tanking killed it. That, and the chef moved to another restaurant. I found the food at Cedro's to be so-so. Tried it a couple of times. Didn't improve so didn't go back. My guess as to why they didn't make it. The previous restaurant was great and we went there once a week.
Posted by Ranch Gal, a resident of the Atherton: West Atherton neighborhood, on Jan 5, 2013 at 10:01 am
Cedro's was a gem in Menlo Park. I am so Sad that it closed. We often dined there as it was very quiet, peaceful, and the mother daughter owners were amazing. The mother cooked her heart out in the kitchen offering homemade pasta dishes not to be believed. The full bar offered great cocktails at the bar. I found my very favorite cocktail at that bar. The daughter was very charming and a wonderful hostess and I'm sure with a better location say on Santa Cruz Ave., it would've been a huge success giving that all their pasta was homemade right there. They even prepared gluten free pasta dishes with 24 hour notice and gluten-free desserts which are highly popular nowadays. I will miss them a lot. I hope they find the heart and the funds to find another spot locally!
Posted by Hmmm, a resident of another community, on Jan 5, 2013 at 7:04 pm
I wish it had occurred to use to visit Cedro to see if we liked it. It's really nice reading these opinions! Any ideas about Menlo Grill? Is it good w/the new chef?
Posted by ho hum, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Cedro's was quiet with a nice decor but other attributes were lacking. The food was similar to other local Italian restaurants but with higher prices and smaller portions.
Will be interesting to see what Borrone's does with the space.
View in an RSS Reader
E-mail this topic.
Print this topic.
