Ethel's Fancy
Restaurant · Palo Alto ·
Modern California cuisine with Asian influences, seasonal ingredients
Modern California cuisine with Asian influences, seasonal ingredients
"Honoring the shared name of his mother and grandmother, Chef/owner Scott Nishiyama has taken off his fine-dining toque to don more casual garb at this Palo Alto charmer, and thankfully he hasn't missed a stitch. Appropriately, the space has a rustic-meets-elegant vibe, mirrored in eclectic, down-to-earth Californian cuisine that showcases peak-season ingredients prepared with care and refinement. A small menu, geared towards sharing, exemplifies this creative ethos with dishes like a beautifully fried "katsu-style" cutlet of swordfish matched with spiced kumquats and tangy Dijonnaise. Intriguing desserts like a hojicha tapioca pudding topped with a rice cracker bark are hard to resist, and the friendly, professional service sweetens the pot even further." - Michelin Inspector
"Chef Scott Nishiyama left the fine-dining world to start this restaurant and called it “a very personal restaurant” at its opening. Imagined as an homage to his mother and maternal grandmother, the menu skews toward shareable plates that change with the season; the guide called the menu “eclectic, down-to-earth Californian cuisine.”" - Dianne de Guzman
"Honoring the shared name of his mother and grandmother, Chef/owner Scott Nishiyama has taken off his fine-dining toque to don more casual garb at this Palo Alto charmer, and thankfully he hasn't missed a stitch. Appropriately, the space has a rustic-meets-elegant vibe, mirrored in eclectic, down-to-earth Californian cuisine that showcases peak-season ingredients prepared with care and refinement. A small menu, geared towards sharing, exemplifies this creative ethos with dishes like a beautifully fried "katsu-style" cutlet of swordfish matched with spiced kumquats and tangy Dijonnaise. Intriguing desserts like a hojicha tapioca pudding topped with a rice cracker bark are hard to resist, and the friendly, professional service sweetens the pot even further." - The MICHELIN Guide
"The “two to three small plates” mania was bound to trickle down to Palo Alto at some point—and luckily, Ethel’s Fancy is nailing it. That’s thanks to an airy space decked out with a full bar and the menu, which has a good amount of Japanese influence but mostly just looks like a local farmers market exploded on the page. It’s packed with hits like the miso caramel pork belly and the katsu-style swordfish, which gets a kick from a swath of hot mustard. Sitting at the terrazzo bar with a date and one of their “fancy cocktails” is the Friday night move." - julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez, gabi moskowitz
"In October 2022 chef Scott Nishiyama opened a fine dining passion project to explore his Japanese American roots. Ethel’s Fancy delivers on that and so much more, serving dishes including toasted coconut fritters with wagyu beef and pickled green peppercorn vinaigrette in a restaurant named after both his mother and maternal grandmother." - Becky Duffett