Bistro Elan

San Francisco
French Restaurant
$$$$

This Evergreen Park venue is Palo Alto's go-to for simple, California-meets-France cooking. The menu only has about 10 items, half of which are generally salads, while the other half includes a strong selection of hearty fish and meat entrees. The restaurant is actually referred to both as Birch Street and Bistro Elan: a few years ago, Bistro Elan moved from Cal Ave to a side street called, yes, Birch St, and it's gone by both ever since. The name might be confusing, but the food definitely isn't. The space itself is small and casual, with marble-topped bistro tables, black wooden chairs and a service counter that lets you peer into the kitchen.

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