String lights still hang over California Avenue on Sunday mornings, but the storefronts underneath have been changing fast. If you have lived here through the closures of Pastis, the original Old Pro, and Antonio's Nut House, the 2026 opening list will read less like novelty and more like restoration. Different operators, familiar dayparts.
The through-line worth knowing: this year's arrivals are not filling random vacancies. They are refilling specific slots in the weekly routine that had thinned out since 2022. Below is what has opened, what is coming, and where each one actually fits.
The Morning Slot Finally Has Depth Again
Town & Country Village picked up Hatched in January at 855 El Camino Real, Suite 161, a fast-casual breakfast and brunch concept from the brothers behind Roost & Roast. It is the rare Palo Alto opening designed around the pre-lunch rush rather than dinner service.
Coming to 728 Emerson Street is Mints & Honey, the brunch cafe that sisters Dot and Canna Teng founded in San Carlos in 2017 and expanded to Burlingame in 2022. No firm date yet. If you have been ordering their prosciutto and ricotta waffle in San Carlos, the drive is about to get shorter.
University Avenue Gets Two Familiar Names Back
Two of the year's University Avenue openings work as replacements for closures that left specific holes.
La Corneta Taqueria has been folding burritos in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood since 1995, and in 2026 the Mexican institution landed in downtown Palo Alto in the former SliderBar location on University Avenue — its fifth location, with existing Peninsula eateries in San Carlos and Burlingame. Co-owner David Perez-Campos targeted an opening around Cinco de Mayo, and the address is 324 University Ave. Late kitchen hours on most weekdays and Saturdays make it a real option when an early dinner runs long.
A block over on Ramona, The Pro is the revival of the Old Pro. Revitalized by Zola and BarZola owner Guillaume Bienaimé, the new sports bar will not have Bucky the mechanical bull, but it will have more of a focus on the food. Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is one of its investors. The Pro is at 541 Ramona St. Read it as a sports bar that treats the food menu as the point rather than the afterthought.
A Wine Dinner Address Returns, Not to Cal Ave
The most emotionally loaded opening of the year sits on Page Mill, not on Cal Ave where its predecessor lived.
Fans of French bistro Pastis, a staple of Palo Alto's Cal Ave for more than a decade before it closed in 2022, can once again enjoy its signature escargot, mussels and pâté at The Rendezvous, a new bistro and wine bar on Page Mill Road. The address is 195 Page Mill Road. It is the latest project from restaurateur and Menlo Park resident Giuseppe Carrubba, who owns Kirk's Steakburgers, Caffe Riace and Osteria Toscana, alongside chef Maxime Roucoule, whose previous experience includes Joanie's Cafe, Pastis and La Boheme. Friends for thirty years, the pair combined flavors from Carrubba's Italian upbringing and Roucoule's French roots with a mutual love for wine.
"Half of the menu is what I used to do at my old restaurant. Usually a wine bar is boring because there's no food. So we're having a lot of food, plus every day we have like five, six, seven specials, so the people don't get bored," Roucoule told Palo Alto Online.
The new Palo Alto wine bar carries about 300 wine labels, with about 40% French, 30% Californian and 30% Italian. The deli case is currently set up for charcuterie boards, with plans to run it as a made-to-order sandwich counter later.
California Avenue Turns Into a Pastry Block
Cal Ave already has Zombie Runner coffee, Backyard Brew's line at Cambridge, and the Sunday farmers market. Two 2026 additions push it further into pastry territory.
Arsicault Bakery is expanding to 388 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, bringing the San Francisco croissant name to a block that has been searching for a serious morning bakery.
California Avenue may soon be a destination for pastry lovers. Croissanté, a French bakery with outposts in Santa Clara and Los Gatos, is coming to the former space of beloved dive bar Antonio's Nut House. Owner Sean Kang said there was "a huge delay," and he's expecting to open the bakery in late 2026. The address is 321 California Ave.
If you spent late nights at Antonio's in the 2010s, the swap is a little jarring. If you have been raising kids here and were hoping for a walkable Saturday-morning croissant option, it is exactly what the block needed.
El Camino and Lytton Get Real Japanese Depth
Three openings this year add Japanese range beyond sushi and ramen.
Yutori, at 3375 El Camino Real, comes from the team behind Taro San at Stanford Shopping Center. The 120-seat restaurant will offer brunch and dinner with a bar serving pan-Asian-inspired cocktails, and it will include a cafe with matcha and pastries, a grab-and-go section with sandwiches and poke, and a marketplace with artisanal soy sauce, imported snacks, specialty knives and home goods. It is the closest thing Palo Alto has had to a Japanese food hall.
Bistro Demiya at 407 Lytton Ave is a yoshoku concept, meaning Western dishes reinterpreted through a Japanese lens. Cupertino residents Demi Ebara and husband Arthur de la Cueva are opening their sixth Bay Area restaurant in summer 2026 in downtown Palo Alto — an elevated version of their casual chain Demiya, which specializes in Japanese curry. Located in the former Poke One space, the restaurant seats about 25, with an additional 10 in the backyard. Ebara moved to the U.S. from Japan in 2011, opening the first Demiya in San Jose in 2016. Expect omurice, katsu sandos, curry rice, and teishoku sets.
Rikyu takes the former TOMO Tea House footprint downtown. The team behind Los Altos omakase restaurant Hiroshi is opening a matcha cafe in the former TOMO Tea House footprint, offering matcha and coffee beverages with housemade syrups alongside Japanese sandos including katsu-style chicken and Japanese A5 wagyu beef.
And on Bryant Street, a new Chinese restaurant is coming to the former home of Son & Garden — Peng's Kitchen, which has more than 60 locations in China and Hong Kong. An opening date has not yet been announced. The address is 535 Bryant St.
A Week Planner, Using Only What Is Open or Confirmed
| When | Where to go | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday breakfast | Hatched | 855 El Camino Real, Ste 161 |
| Cal Ave croissant walk | Arsicault Bakery | 388 Cambridge Ave |
| Casual downtown lunch | La Corneta Taqueria | 324 University Ave |
| Afternoon matcha | Rikyu | Downtown (former TOMO) |
| Weeknight comfort dinner | Bistro Demiya | 407 Lytton Ave |
| Slow wine dinner | The Rendezvous | 195 Page Mill Rd |
| Game on the screens | The Pro | 541 Ramona St |
| Weekend Japanese pantry run | Yutori | 3375 El Camino Real |
Print this, screenshot it, whatever works. The point is that the map now covers breakfast through late dinner without leaving city limits.
The Events That Anchor These Blocks
New restaurants matter more when they connect to standing rituals. Three worth building around:
- Palo Alto Festival of the Arts on University Avenue. Hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce with support from the City of Palo Alto, the festival is celebrating its 43rd year on tree-lined University Avenue with 250 fine artists and crafters whose display booths are placed back-to-back along the street. Time a walk to end at La Corneta or Rikyu.
- Thursday Live on Cal Ave, running summer evenings on California Avenue. Pair with the Sunday farmers market and a stop at whichever bakery opens first.
- Stanford home football weekends. The Pro was rebuilt for exactly these Saturdays.
What This Actually Says About Palo Alto Right Now
Read the 2026 list as a group and a pattern shows up. La Corneta replaces SliderBar. The Rendezvous carries forward the Pastis menu. The Pro rebuilds around Old Pro's address and audience. Bistro Demiya takes over a Poke One space. Rikyu inherits TOMO's tearoom. Croissanté steps into Antonio's Nut House.
The dining map is not getting bigger. It is getting refilled by operators who studied what worked in the old versions and adjusted for what did not. For residents, that means the muscle memory you already have for the neighborhood still works. The names on the doors are new. The rhythm of the week is closer to the one you remember.
If you have been thinking about a move within Palo Alto, or you are weighing a first Peninsula purchase and want to understand how a block's operators change the case for living there, The Fallant Group is happy to walk the neighborhood with you. Schedule a Consultation and we will trade market notes over coffee at whichever new spot you have been meaning to try.
