I asked for restaurant recommendations on the Ananda Google Group. These are the responses, happy to add your favorites. — Rambhakta.
| Name | Location | Website | Comments | Reviewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Website | Comments | Reviewers |
| Ada's Cafe | At Palo Alto Mitchell Park Library | Website Map | Run by people with disabilities. Great for a snack, sandwich, or dessert and conversation (the house-made frozen yogurt is yummy). | Rambhakta |
| Curry Up Now | 321 Hamilton, Downtown Palo Alto | Website Map | Started as Food Truck serving Indian Street Food and expanded into low-key eateries. I like the varieties of the menu w/o being too overwhelming w/ choices: enough to satisfy special diets from GF to Vegan to Vegetarian and yet can accommodate meat-eaters if you are having meal w/ others on varying diets. All cooked fresh and quality for price. Nice hot Chai made on the premises and family-friendly. | Joycee |
| Esther's German Bakery | 987 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos, next to Armadillo Willy's and Chef Chu's | Website Map | Decent omelets and good fried potatoes for lunch, and of course excellent German baked goodies. | Rambhakta |
| Frankie, Johnnie, and Luigi’s | 939 W El Camino, Mt. View | Website Map | Have a GF pizza and a nice spinach in olve oil and garlic salad, a few other good sides in addition to pasta dishes. Old-fashioned American-Italian food. | Lahari |
| Garden Fresh Chinese Vegan Restaurant | 460 Ramona Street, Palo Alto | Website Map (Palo Alto) | Recommendation is for the Palo Alto restaurant only - the MV one is not that nice. That said, Garden Fresh is a small family business with an ethical commitment to a vegan diet. They have a huge menu with many tasty dishes, including scallion pancakes & basil tempura. I've taken a number of meat-eaters there, all of whom were surprised by how much they liked the food. When in doubt of what to order, ask the server. She's never steered me wrong. | Vickie Martin |
| Green Elephant | Piazza’s shopping center, Palo Alto | Website Map | Burmese & Chinese, lots of vegetarian, GF, vegan options. Good service, reasonably quiet even during lunch, good food. | Rambhakta |
| Joanie's Cafe | 405 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto (across from Country Sun and on the corner toward the east) | Website | Breakfast all day, sandwiches, salads, entrees. Best time is early to mid-morning, or after 1; at lunch it can be noisy. | Rambhakta & Ishani |
| Lyfe Kitchen | Hamilton & Alma, Palo Alto | Website Map | Has GF and Vegan menus along with standard menu. | Marcel Hernandez Meena Goe |
| Maggioni’s Little Italy | Santana Row, San Jose | Website Map | Great deals and a GF option or two. | Lahari |
| Mediterranean Wraps | 425 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto (across from Country Sun) | Website Map | Many Ananda people know about this one (who introduced this place to me). Very fresh and tasty food w/ lots of variety (again - I like that it accommodates a wide range of diets), and I always remember Amara's comment that the people working there seem genuinely "Happy" and that quality infuse into the food it serves. Love their little patio out back too. Casual and family-friendly. | Joycee |
| Palo Alto Pizza | Park Blvd. off California | Website Map | Great gluten-free crust and they are good people. | Gary McSweeney |
| Pluto's | Downtown Palo Alto, 482 University, corner of Cowper | Website Map | Inexpensive, good portions, great salads and sides. Not the most veggie-friendly but very good stuff that is vegetarian. | Adam T |
| Rice Thai | 3924 El Camino, Palo Alto, just north of El Camino Way, next to Happy Donuts | Website Map | Lahari | |
| Sprout Cafe | 168 University, Downtown Palo Alto | Website Map | Pricier but great salads...and many built-your-own versions as well. Portions are not "big" so for some hearty eaters, that might be an issue. | Joycee |
| Treehouse | Stanford campus, facing rear courtyard of Tresidder Union | Website Map | Long menu of simple but tasty foods at very reasonable prices. I love a Caesar salad with rice and beans. Eat outdoors under the trees in front or back of Tresidder. | Rambhakta |
| Veggie Garden | Across El Camino and a few doors down from Los Altos Whole Foods | Website Map | Wonderful people, great service, affordable lunch prices. Tell them you’re GF and they’ll take care of you. | Karen G |
| Veggie Grill | San Antonio Shopping Center, Mt. View | Website Map | All vegan, some excellent items – I love their mountainous salads (All Hail Kale), GF items marked on menu. | Rambhakta |
| Vegetarian House | 520 E. Santa Clara St, San Jose, between 11th & 12th | Website Map | All GMO-free, plenty of GF items. Abundant, delicious vegetarian food at reasonable prices. Run by disciples of a Chinese spiritual teacher. Ananda singers often have lunch here after singing at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose (Roy Eugene Davis’s church). | Rambhakta |