Dining

Santa Cruz Avenue runs through downtown Menlo Park and offers a great choice of restaurants and retailers. Draeger’s Market and Trader Joe’s are your go-to grocery stores selling fresh produce, organic food, and a good selection of beer and wine. Across the street from Fremont Park, Peet’s Coffee is a popular hangout with flavorful espresso blends, signature teas, and delicious baked goods.

Close to the Menlo Park Caltrain station, Café Borrone is a popular outdoor café with a menu of European-style dishes prepared using locally-sourced organic ingredients. Left Bank Brasserie brings French flair to the Bay Area’s dining scene with Parisian cooking and patio dining. Other dining choices include an abundance of authentic Asian and European restaurants, unbeatable pastrami sandwiches at The Refuge, and Michelin-starred fine dining at the Rosewood Hotel’s Madera on Sand Hill Road. Menlo Park Farmers’ Market is held in Downtown Menlo Park each Sunday morning all year-round. Vendors at the market offer a wide range of local foodstuffs, from organic produce and mushrooms to freshly-caught fish.

Things To Do

Fremont Park is a cozy green space in the heart of Downtown Menlo Park. Relax on the grass with a picnic basket or a book or head to Fremont Park on Wednesday evenings during the summer months to enjoy a weekly free concert series. The larger 9-acre Nealon Park and 2.6-acre Willow Oaks Park each offer off-leash dog areas, tennis courts, sports and playfields, and children’s playgrounds. 160-acre Bedwell Bayfront Park on the SF Bay has great waterfront views and trails that connect to a network covering 400 total miles along the Bay’s shoreline.

Menlo Park’s Allied Arts Guild houses unique shops, artists’ studios, and a café within a gorgeous 1920s building surrounded by picturesque gardens. The Allied Arts Guild benefits the young patients of nearby Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Special events are held here throughout the year, including a Christmas Market and Mother’s Day Tea.

Schools

Menlo Park operates its own Menlo Park City Elementary school district, which covers most of the city. Some neighborhoods fall within the boundaries of the Las Lomitas Elementary, Redwood City Elementary, and Ravenswood City Elementary School Districts.