I am not kind of person who prepares lunch to work. This place forces me to pack my lunch. I only go here when I am about to pass out from extreme hunger. I only buy things that don't go through their kitchen (candy bars, yogurt). At first, I didn't know any better so I ordered chicken teriyaki over rice. I was hungry then but it wasn't edible. It was gross. I had to throw it away. Another time, I wanted to play safe so I ordered quesadilla with only cheese. How can you possibly mess up quesadilla with cheese alone? Really? I am speechless.
Greg G.
It is what it is. The only reason I come here is because I forgot my lunch at work and it is walkable. Has great chicken/salmon burritos. They are money!
Marjorie Powell
Service is painfully slow.
Jay B.
Alway cafe has resurrected in it's new location: 1070 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94304-1336 I work on Deer Creek and I usually take a short walk over to Alway to see what they have for lunch. They usually have a different lunch special every day. It is usually hit or miss on the specials, but more on the side of hit. There have only been a couple times, that I remember, that I was unhappy with the lunch special. The chicken and pork adobo is amazing, as well as the salmon over brown rice. Friendly staff and service with reasonable prices. Lunch special is about $8 and comes with rice (white or brown), salad or veggies, and pasta. You really can't beat that. They recently added bbq items to their menu on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have yet to try their burger but will do soon.
Q L.
This is a spotlessly clean, efficiently managed, wonderful little cafe at Stanford! I was disappointed by the negative reviews and thus was goaded to write this, my first review ever after years of lurking on Yelp. The owner, George, is a super friendly, patient, calm guy who has run the place for the past several years. All the staff are friendly and pleasant. In my book, this counts for a lot, especially since all the eateries near the hospital have pretty standard fare (even Nexus, with its oft-touted variety*). The food is tasty and dependable, if somewhat lacking in flair. For lunch, the teriyaki bowls are very good, and the paninis are ok (though some of the hot ones are rather greasy). The pasta/salad combos are good too, and they let you mix and match sides, which is nice. Their breakfast burritos (which sometimes run out before 9 AM, so get there early!) are cheap and really yummy. And the coffee is solid, though I admit I run over to the Peets in the Clark Center more often. Finally, there is a good variety of snacks - pastries, Clif/Luna Bars, high quality chips, candy bars, can sodas, juices, etc. According to George, Alway Cafe is leaving Alway and will be reincarnated at the Arastradero complex in a few months. This saddens me greatly. I am sure the many physicians/researchers/students who frequent the place share my sorrow. Thank you so much for your wonderful presence at Alway, George, and best of luck at your new location! (*To the other reviewers singing the praises of Nexus: when I got an Asian rice bowl from there a few weeks ago, I discovered several bugs on the vegetables. In dealing with my complaint, the manager was very defensive and altogether unpleasant.)
Angeline P.
When I first started working at Stanford, I wanted to try all of the nearby campus eateries. It takes a lot of effort to get off campus when you're near the hospital, and well, Stanford has a lot of eateries in a small distance. Right around the time I started, they started doing pizzas to order. I was floored! My own personal pizza, made to order? I could see them making it behind the counter? Sign me up! The first pizza I ordered was a delicious, delicious Margherita. The crust was just right, and all of the ingredients were delicious. It's a very simple pizza, everything was just right. Sure, I waited about 15 minutes for it, but in my opinion, it was worth the wait. The second time, I wanted to try something different, but all the had was the Margherita left (this was at around 1pm or so). So I had it again, but this time, the crust was boring and the cheese was not great. It was completely underwhelming. I chalked it up to someone different making it this time. The third time, it was a rainy day, and I wanted to make sure I didn't go out into the rain, and be made to wait for a mediocre pizza. So i called in advance and asked if they could make it ready for pick up. They said yes, and that I could pick it up in 15 minutes. I arrived when the rain had let up just a little, starving, only to be told that my pizza would take another 5 minutes. And then it was another 10 minutes. It was clear that they completely disregarded my calling in advance and just didn't make it, even though they told me they would. So I waited for this damn pizza, and told myself it had better be good. When it finally came, 25 minutes after I showed up, I was really upset because it had started to rain again. So I fumbled with umbrella, and put the pizza on top of the vending machine while I tried to get it open so I could walk back to my desk and eat my pizza. I don't think it was the best idea, but clearly I was too hungry to think clearly. My pizza fell on the floor, cheese side down. The pizza I waited 40 minutes for. I was really upset at this point, and didn't want to order another pizza to be told to wait again. So I walked out, dumped my pizza in the trash, and told myself that it wasn't that delicious anyway. My pizza falling on the floor is not a fault of theirs. But their sheer lack of regard was so appalling that I attribute this bad experience to them. I have not had a pizza there since. And their teriyaki bowls are disgusting. You'd be better off going to Nexus for that anyway.
Michelle C.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. Is there a 0 star rating?
Nikki W.
I LOVE this place! The owners are super nice and the salmon teriyaki is tasty!!! The only downside is that they tend to run out of salmon by 12:30 pm, so I am often disapointed. However, they will save some for you if you ask. They also make decent coffee/hot cocoa.
Cecilia M.
Can't beat it for convenience--it's the absolutely closest place to buy food from where I work. The staff is friendly, but the food is unexciting. Best feature: fried bacon in the morning, or possibly the nice courtyard with tables just outside. Most disappointing: some sandwiches from the sandwich bar are pre-made and get soggy.
Not bad, quite chill
I am not kind of person who prepares lunch to work. This place forces me to pack my lunch. I only go here when I am about to pass out from extreme hunger. I only buy things that don't go through their kitchen (candy bars, yogurt). At first, I didn't know any better so I ordered chicken teriyaki over rice. I was hungry then but it wasn't edible. It was gross. I had to throw it away. Another time, I wanted to play safe so I ordered quesadilla with only cheese. How can you possibly mess up quesadilla with cheese alone? Really? I am speechless.
It is what it is. The only reason I come here is because I forgot my lunch at work and it is walkable. Has great chicken/salmon burritos. They are money!
Service is painfully slow.
Alway cafe has resurrected in it's new location: 1070 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94304-1336 I work on Deer Creek and I usually take a short walk over to Alway to see what they have for lunch. They usually have a different lunch special every day. It is usually hit or miss on the specials, but more on the side of hit. There have only been a couple times, that I remember, that I was unhappy with the lunch special. The chicken and pork adobo is amazing, as well as the salmon over brown rice. Friendly staff and service with reasonable prices. Lunch special is about $8 and comes with rice (white or brown), salad or veggies, and pasta. You really can't beat that. They recently added bbq items to their menu on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have yet to try their burger but will do soon.
This is a spotlessly clean, efficiently managed, wonderful little cafe at Stanford! I was disappointed by the negative reviews and thus was goaded to write this, my first review ever after years of lurking on Yelp. The owner, George, is a super friendly, patient, calm guy who has run the place for the past several years. All the staff are friendly and pleasant. In my book, this counts for a lot, especially since all the eateries near the hospital have pretty standard fare (even Nexus, with its oft-touted variety*). The food is tasty and dependable, if somewhat lacking in flair. For lunch, the teriyaki bowls are very good, and the paninis are ok (though some of the hot ones are rather greasy). The pasta/salad combos are good too, and they let you mix and match sides, which is nice. Their breakfast burritos (which sometimes run out before 9 AM, so get there early!) are cheap and really yummy. And the coffee is solid, though I admit I run over to the Peets in the Clark Center more often. Finally, there is a good variety of snacks - pastries, Clif/Luna Bars, high quality chips, candy bars, can sodas, juices, etc. According to George, Alway Cafe is leaving Alway and will be reincarnated at the Arastradero complex in a few months. This saddens me greatly. I am sure the many physicians/researchers/students who frequent the place share my sorrow. Thank you so much for your wonderful presence at Alway, George, and best of luck at your new location! (*To the other reviewers singing the praises of Nexus: when I got an Asian rice bowl from there a few weeks ago, I discovered several bugs on the vegetables. In dealing with my complaint, the manager was very defensive and altogether unpleasant.)
When I first started working at Stanford, I wanted to try all of the nearby campus eateries. It takes a lot of effort to get off campus when you're near the hospital, and well, Stanford has a lot of eateries in a small distance. Right around the time I started, they started doing pizzas to order. I was floored! My own personal pizza, made to order? I could see them making it behind the counter? Sign me up! The first pizza I ordered was a delicious, delicious Margherita. The crust was just right, and all of the ingredients were delicious. It's a very simple pizza, everything was just right. Sure, I waited about 15 minutes for it, but in my opinion, it was worth the wait. The second time, I wanted to try something different, but all the had was the Margherita left (this was at around 1pm or so). So I had it again, but this time, the crust was boring and the cheese was not great. It was completely underwhelming. I chalked it up to someone different making it this time. The third time, it was a rainy day, and I wanted to make sure I didn't go out into the rain, and be made to wait for a mediocre pizza. So i called in advance and asked if they could make it ready for pick up. They said yes, and that I could pick it up in 15 minutes. I arrived when the rain had let up just a little, starving, only to be told that my pizza would take another 5 minutes. And then it was another 10 minutes. It was clear that they completely disregarded my calling in advance and just didn't make it, even though they told me they would. So I waited for this damn pizza, and told myself it had better be good. When it finally came, 25 minutes after I showed up, I was really upset because it had started to rain again. So I fumbled with umbrella, and put the pizza on top of the vending machine while I tried to get it open so I could walk back to my desk and eat my pizza. I don't think it was the best idea, but clearly I was too hungry to think clearly. My pizza fell on the floor, cheese side down. The pizza I waited 40 minutes for. I was really upset at this point, and didn't want to order another pizza to be told to wait again. So I walked out, dumped my pizza in the trash, and told myself that it wasn't that delicious anyway. My pizza falling on the floor is not a fault of theirs. But their sheer lack of regard was so appalling that I attribute this bad experience to them. I have not had a pizza there since. And their teriyaki bowls are disgusting. You'd be better off going to Nexus for that anyway.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. Is there a 0 star rating?
I LOVE this place! The owners are super nice and the salmon teriyaki is tasty!!! The only downside is that they tend to run out of salmon by 12:30 pm, so I am often disapointed. However, they will save some for you if you ask. They also make decent coffee/hot cocoa.
Can't beat it for convenience--it's the absolutely closest place to buy food from where I work. The staff is friendly, but the food is unexciting. Best feature: fried bacon in the morning, or possibly the nice courtyard with tables just outside. Most disappointing: some sandwiches from the sandwich bar are pre-made and get soggy.
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