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Why did we dine here? – Bird Dog is a popular new restaurant in downtown Palo Alto. This brings some sophisticated SF style innovative dining to the Peninsula. The interior is impressive, especially for a restaurant down here. Robbie Wilson was the chef of Matsuhisa in Aspen, Colo., and most recently headed up the kitchen at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos (Santa Barbara County)
Insider Tip – On the fence? Especially about the prices. Eat at the bar.
Cuisine – New American – Asian
Location – Downtown Palo Alto
Opened – 2016
Service – Bird Dog had very good service. A knowledgeable waitress who helped us order, kept pacing going and did not leave us asking for more.
Verdict – Bird Dog impressed us innovative cuisine in a sophisticated environment. Palo Alto does not have many restaurants like this. The prices are not cheap, but similar to other places of this caliber. Great place to order a bunch of dishes and dine family style.
Other Palo Alto favorites: Tamarine
Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Maybe.
Bird Dog Signature Dishes – Wood-Grilled Avocado, Crudo, Potatoes.
Bird Dog’s Menu has 3 areas – raw foods, hot foods and vegetables. The menu changes all the time but some favorites remain. Vegetarians have some good choices here.
Bird Dog Food Picks:
Complimentary Roti was freshly made and good. Do not hesitate to ask for more.
Ahi Tuna Crudo ($18) had beautiful plating and 4 large chunks of fresh fish. A good way to start things.
Wood-Grilled Avocado, Ponzu, Fresh Wasabi ($14) is their famous signature dish and is a must get. It is weird that this dish works. The sauce was very strong and could have overwhelmed the fruit.
Potato(Es) English Peas, Spring Onions, Pickled Ramps, Mint ($12) was another great veggie dish. Clearly he knows his vegetables. Crisp pan fried potatoes with almost a cream of corn mixed in.
Sugar Snap Peas ($12) were fresh and crisp. Wow, well done and plentiful.
Fried Chicken Thigh Green Curry, Egg Yolk, Smoked Uni ($18) was good sized and very spicy. Not overly breaded, this is a new school fancy friend chicken. Nice uni dipping sauce.
OK: (Order if you like this dish)
Wagyu Bavette Jet Black Beans, Kiwi, Jalapeño, Cotija ($29) was good but not as good as dishes before it. 4 large chunks with a variety of sauces. Meat was not as tender as could be, nor could we taste the Wagyu essence.
Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None
Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?
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