Two blocks of Lytton Avenue now hold a yoshoku bistro run by a Cupertino couple who opened their first restaurant in San Jose in 2016, and a matcha cafe from the team behind a Los Altos omakase counter. A taqueria founded in San Francisco in 1995 sits on University Avenue. A few doors away is a Nepalese dumpling house whose first location opened in San Jose in 2017. Nearly every new downtown restaurant this year arrived with a menu that had already been tested in another city.
In April, The Almanac's Peninsula Foodist listed eight eateries headed downtown, following closures that included Son & Garden and Sushirrito. Six months on, five of those eight are serving. Two more names that were not on the list also came up over the summer. Read together, the ten show downtown renewing itself through expansion: operators with a proven formula moving into rooms that another restaurant had already built out.
Ten names, ten predecessors
Here is where each one stands heading into November.
| Restaurant | Address | Previous tenant | Where the operator comes from | Status, late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bistro Demiya | 407 Lytton Ave. | Poke One | Demiya, San Jose, 2016; sixth restaurant | Open |
| La Corneta Taqueria | 324 University Ave. | SliderBar | San Francisco, 1995; fifth location | Open |
| Marufuku Ramen | 374 University Ave. | Starbucks | Existing ramen brand opening a new location | Open since July |
| Zingster's | 220B University Ave. | Cafe 220 | Fremont, 2025 | Open |
| Rikyu | 121 Lytton Ave. | TOMO Tea House | Team behind Hiroshi, Los Altos | Posting daily hours |
| Urban Momo | 448 University Ave. | Sushirrito | San Jose, 2017; fourth location | Listing its Palo Alto address and menu |
| Peng's Kitchen | 535 Bryant St. | Son & Garden | More than 60 locations in China and Hong Kong | Pickup and hours marked "Coming Soon" |
| Taste of Anatolia | 263 University Ave. | Round Table Pizza | Not announced | Website says "Opening Soon" |
| Mints & Honey | 728 Emerson St. | Not reported | San Carlos, 2017; Burlingame, 2022 | Not yet listed as a location |
| Maison Saigon | Emerson, between Hamilton and Forest | Boxing gym | Not announced | Announced, no date |
Eight of the ten have a known history somewhere else. The other two, Taste of Anatolia and Maison Saigon, have not said where they come from. Nine of the ten are taking over a space with a named previous tenant.
The five from April's list, plus Marufuku
Bistro Demiya is the dressed-up version of Demiya, the Japanese curry chain owned by Demi Ebara and Arthur de la Cueva. The Almanac reported that about 70% of the menu would be new, built around yoshoku, the Japanese take on Western dishes. Examples include omurice, curry doria and a tegone-style hamburger steak set meal. Plates come tapas style, with breakfast on weekends and Japanese sake and beer. The room seats about 25, with another 10 in the backyard. It was open by mid-August, according to the Downtown Palo Alto Restaurants blog.
La Corneta Taqueria brought the same burritos, tacos and plates it serves in San Francisco, Burlingame and San Carlos. The same August blog post found the menu more varied and the prices lower than the writer expected, with burritos as the staple.
Marufuku Ramen was not on April's list. It took the former Starbucks space on the south side of University Avenue and held its grand opening on July 25. Co-founder Eiichi Mochizuki told The Mercury News that the team looked forward to sharing its ramen at the new location. Several of its broths are not pork-based, which the downtown blog singled out.
Zingster's started in Fremont in 2025. It serves halal Nashville hot chicken and smashburgers out of the former Cafe 220. Its April grand opening gave free burgers to the first 100 customers.
Rikyu is the matcha cafe from the Hiroshi team. Its drinks use housemade syrups, and the menu includes Japanese sandos made with katsu-style chicken, A5 wagyu and shrimp katsu, along with chirashi and matcha desserts. "I'm a big cafe enthusiast," owner Daiji Uehara told Palo Alto Online. Rikyu's own site now posts hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Urban Momo told The Almanac that its Palo Alto menu would lean more Nepalese than its other locations. Dishes include kwati, a soup of nine sprouted beans and lentils, and mustang aloo, a spicy potato dish with Sichuan pepper. Momo come in vegan, vegetarian, chicken and lamb versions. The Palo Alto location's site lists the University Avenue address, phone and menu.
The calendar slipped for nearly everyone
La Corneta's co-owner, David Perez-Campos, had targeted Cinco de Mayo. By mid-August, the downtown blog wrote that it had opened "after quite some delay." In February, Rikyu was aiming for a mid-February soft opening. By April, the target had moved to mid-May, pending final inspection. Its posted hours have also changed from the 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule reported early in the year. Both operators had other locations to draw on, and both still opened months after their first targets, which is useful context for the four storefronts below that have signs up instead of menus.
Four windows still papered
Peng's Kitchen is moving into 535 Bryant, the former Son & Garden. Its website features house-braised marinated goose and regional Chinese dishes, but still marks online pickup and hours as "Coming Soon." The brand has more than 60 locations in China and Hong Kong, according to The Almanac.
Taste of Anatolia is taking the former Round Table Pizza at 263 University. The Almanac reported plans for Turkish coffee and tea, breakfast, boxed Turkish delights and baklava. The cafe's site still says "Opening Soon" and is recruiting staff.
Mints & Honey is the brunch cafe sisters Dot and Canna Teng started in San Carlos in 2017. It has an address at 728 Emerson Street. According to the downtown blog, it will sit next to Palo Alto Speedometer, the gauge-restoration shop the blog credits with a worldwide clientele. The Mints & Honey website still lists only San Carlos and Burlingame. The Almanac described the menu as waffles with housemade rose jam or with prosciutto, ricotta and fig, a mango-and-Tajin toast, and lattes in flavors from lavender to matcha mango.
Maison Saigon is a modern Vietnamese restaurant going into the former boxing gym on Emerson between Hamilton and Forest. The August blog post described it as geared toward a cocktail crowd, with an interior expected to be striking. No opening date has been announced.
Outside downtown, the established names are refreshing
The same pattern shows up beyond University Avenue, mostly as reinvestment in existing rooms. At 417 California Avenue, Sekoya brought in head chef Ray Saad, renovated its dining room and added a $59 three-course Amber Hour menu. Owner Steve Ugur told Palo Alto Online that he wanted it to become more of a neighborhood spot. At Town & Country Village, Horsefeather is introducing a menu designed by Casey Thompson that includes Southern-fried wings and miso-yaki skirt steak. Thompson told the same outlet that she wanted to keep familiar foods but make them playful.
Yutori, at 3375 El Camino Real, is the clearest newcomer outside downtown this fall. It soft-opened its dinner restaurant and bar in late September. Co-owner Jerome Ito told Palo Alto Online that strong demand for the cafe and market pushed dinner ahead of brunch, which is now expected in the spring. In September, the full grand opening was planned for late October or early November.
One Lytton-to-University loop before December 4
If you want to see the new downtown in one outing, these stops follow the addresses in the table:
- Start at Rikyu, 121 Lytton, for matcha and a sando during its daytime hours.
- Walk up Lytton to Bistro Demiya at number 407 for omurice or curry doria.
- Cut over to University and pass Urban Momo at 448, Marufuku at 374 and La Corneta at 324.
- Finish at 263 University and 220B University to see whether the Taste of Anatolia sign is still up a short walk from Zingster's.
The City of Palo Alto's holiday tree lighting at Lytton Plaza is Friday, December 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It is free, and performers include School of Rock, the Boost Class Merry Holiday Dancers and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. That evening is the next good time to check which of the four "coming soon" windows on these blocks have opened.
If you would like to talk through what this year's openings on University Avenue and Lytton suggest about the blocks around your home, Roh Habibi and The Habibi Group are glad to start that conversation. Book a confidential real estate consultation.
