Neto Caffe and Bakery
Categories: Coffee & Tea, Greek and Mediterranean [Edit]
135 Castro StMountain View, CA 94041 (650) 625-9888
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 7:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat 7:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Sun 7:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: Free
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
198 reviews
Palo Alto, CA
"In exactly a month, I'll be in Hawaii. So until then, I am going to be working on my beach bod and refrain from having anything from here.…" read more »
118 Reviews for Neto Caffe and Bakery
Stopped here for a piece of the Kazandibi dessert, which, come to think of it, resembles the bed of a deflowered virgin.
(2 stacked rectangular slices of egg-milk based custard, with some raspberry or strawberry jam drizzled over it. and then there's some powdered sugar which looks like the you-know-what.
anyhow, it was tasty. I like the place, it's clean and neat and has a nice patio, faces the train station. service was polite.
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Wanted my spam musubi for a light snack, but the Hawaiian place on Castro closed! Saw this place across the street and headed in for a snackie-snack. The place is a cute cafe, saw several people studying and they had their labtops out. There are lots of tables and chairs inside, as well as outside seating which makes it great for sunny days, like today.
I asked the guy behind the counter what he recommended and ended up ordering their Belgian chocolate mousse and the bf got a pita bread with zaatar. The mousse was smooth, creamy and not too sweet. I was surprised to find a little piece of cake at the bottom since most mousse's don't incorporate a cake layer. The pita bread with zaatar wasn't good. I honestly don't know why the bf ordered it (probably because he thought it'd taste like pesto pizza). It was dry and bland, but the guy did offer to heat it in their brick oven, so at least it was warm.
They have 4 chairs at a counter, facing Castro Street and it was halfway full of dishes and cups. To sit at the counter, I had to push all the dishes to the left (if there was a place to bus them, I would have, but I didn't see anywhere to take the dirty dishes to). It seemed to be a slow afternoon so I don't know why they weren't picking up the dishes, but other than that area, all other tables were clean.
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Dear God in Heaven the service here is slow. It's like they have all taken sleeping pills. Watching them bag up my order was like watching paint dry. The food is decent but you can get much better. I will say the chocolate babka made me feel like the world was a better place but don't judge me too harshly- I'm pregnant. My to go order took 25 minutes. That's nuts. If the service were better they'd get 3 stars.
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...I try not to go in there...
Positive:
1. Desserts and Baked Goods. That's it. Well it WAS...until i saw a fly hanging out inside the thing they keep the chocolate mousses in.
Negative:
1. The bathrooms...every sunday they have the farmers market across the street...and EVERYONE from there visits Neto for their bathroom. There's always a line to the bathrooms...and the paying customers have to wait in line. great...sigh*
2. Entree...good but I don't like little fly friends going kamikaze on my meal. That's pretty much why I stopped eating there.
3. Overpriced. I wouldn't have minded paying so much...if they actually cleaned the place..
There's a Mediterranean restaurant down the street on Castro Ave. if you want good food. Don't waste your money here. And If you want coffee...just go to Red Rock.
They do serve up a delicious fruit tart, but for $6.25, I would rather get my fruit tart elsewhere. I do like the decor though; it'd be a great place to hang for a couple of hours with my laptop and/or a good book to read. It's also a great place to meet up with some friends if they don't mind paying a bit more for coffee and/or dessert. There are plenty of small tables that are usually occupied by students looking industrious (yeah right) with their laptops, and you'll see some people just relaxing for the evening with some friends. You won't find loud, obnoxious groups here, but it's also not so silent that you'd feel awkward about having a conversation with friends there.
The menu also consists of actual, light, meal-type items which sounded pretty enticing (e.g. sandwiches). I guess I'll have to give those a try at some point.
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You know the selection is rather plane, but the place is open until 12 ... so I can't knock it. Everything here closes at 10 so it's a larger place than Gelayo Gusto to chill with friends. Prices are decent too. I mean around 2 bucks a coffee, thats not too bad. And the service is pretty nice too.
A word to the wise; don't bring gelato from the gelato place here. They told us we had to eat it outside. But it was fair.
They have some snacks too which looked kinda yummy. I think I will try them sometime.
This place is just so great... from the great corner location, to their baked items (hmmm, the desserts & sweets... didn't try them yet though), & their quick service, plus great customer service!
I got invited by a dear friend for some light dinner, so I had their Tilapia Panini Sandwich, which I believed was their Special for the Day... well, it was good but not that great. Nothing special about the sandwich.
I will definitely be back to try out their other menu selections, which looks very good (specially the desserts & sweets). So as of now, I'm rating them 3.5 stars... update to follow :)
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I passed by this place and it looked nice and inviting. I decided to try there Shrimp Salad they have as the Special of the Day. It sound really good but I was greatly disappointed. It took awhile to get my order and when I did the shrimp was overcooked and the salad overall was not fabulous. Nothing special to rave about. Most of people sit in the patio to eat, have there dogs, and just people watch. I do not think I would go back again.
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it's been a long time coming, this review.
I've been conflicted about Neto. I've been here often enough to comment on the quality, but somehow, every time I sat down to write about it, I would be at a loss. so here's my final attempt.
honestly? it's not that big of a deal. I like it, but only for a couple of reasons. the chocolate croissant is really really good. the coffee isn't bad. the mediterranean plate thing is ok. the sandwiches are food. that's pretty much it. it was nice for me because it was a decent place to sit at your computer or meet a friend or something. but nothing special.
parking is convenient, place is convenient. and I always feel like I've paid too much for what I got. hmmm...
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I go here all the time. This is a good place to meet friends for lunch or coffee or to just go by yourself on the weekend and read a magazine. They have free internet access for customers, an outdoor patio, and it's open late. The staff is always polite, and the food is served promptly. They have a decent selection of mediterranean-style dishes, as well as a variety of pastries and baked goods. The food quality is about average. This isn't a place to take a date or have a birthday party or anything. But it's perfect to grab a late-night bite, or to take your laptop and have some coffee while you write that report that's due on monday.
I've been here several times. The food has always been pretty good. I think the prices are a bit high, but I always split my plate with a friend so it turns out okay. The chicken pizza is the best, but it's not round. It's rather oblong shaped to fit on the oval plates that they use. But a word of advice to those of you who don't know what "Turkish Coffee" is: it's the leftover grounds from the coffee maker and they are dumped in a cup of hot water. You have to wait for them to sink before you drink from the cup and even then it's like sifting dirt through your teeth to try to get a sip of coffee. Don't fall for it and think you're ordering an exotic sexy coffee drink. It's a cup-o-dirt and it made me gag. I'll still go back for the Chicken Pizza and for the awesome people watching from the seats in the front window.
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Neto has to be one of the best cafe's on castro street. The hours are great being a nocturnal guy studying for class. I can always come in 12-1 in the morning and grab a delicious chai frap and order some scrumptious chocolate bacca (spelling). Overall the food here is delicious, a broad array of Mediterranean dishes with pastas and med. style pizzas that anyone can enjoy. my personal favorite is the chicken pesto pasta, but the lasagna here is even better. the chicken kebob is heavenly, the chicken is moist and tender and the fruit is ripe to the stick. The wireless connection is great it's faster than what I have at home. I've tried other restaurants on the street but they're a bit pricey, Neto gives a full blown platter for reasonable if not bargain price. Plus the patio is gorgeous and very well situated. I give Neto 5 stars, good job impressing me!
I'm sitting in Neto caffe on a Tuesday morning working and eating breakfast. I had the Neto omelet, which was delicious and too salty. I enjoyed the salad that came with it. I will return!
Hungry and not finding anything else in the area open before 11 a.m. we landed at Neto. We ordered a combination plate, Mediterranean salad and a Neto salad. The combination plate includes hummus, eggplant salad, tabouleh, dolmas, a yogurt concoction, and two different types of warm flatbread. My Med salad came to the table undressed (quite shocking for Mountain View!) and it took a pretty long time to get that dressing. In the meantime the combination plate was tasty and the ice tea was really good. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the warm breeze.
They should lower their prices and beef up their service. If they did that I would want to go back for lunch. But for now I plan on just ordering an ice tea and taking up space on their patio.
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Decent food, expensive beer. I had a turkish pizza - pretty good, a little salty. Came with a small salad (weirdly served on top of the pizza). My husband had an italian panini (came w/ fries). He said it was ok but really salty. The place is really nice and comfortable. The bakery looks amazing but we haven't tried it. Service is very nice.
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I get hungry. Like, HARDCORE hungry. So much so that it takes over my entire body and I'm absolutely horrible to be around. That said, we knew that Castro St would have something to keep me from committing any serious bodily harm (most likely to others).
We drove all the way down from El Camino and as soon as I saw "caffe" I was good to go... I really couldn't have cared less at that point. HOWEVER I was really pleasantly surprised by Neto! What struck me first was the extensive menu: sandwiches/pitas, pizzas, meat dishes, little nibbles... it really had a lot of everything. I love middle-eastern/Greek-ish flavors so all of my favs were there.
I settled on the falafel pita, and I couldn't have been happier. Under $6, and a great portion! Falafel was great, and the veggies and tzatziki were all super fresh and super yummy. We also had the goat-cheese salad, and while the cheese itself was nothing to write home about, it was a great salad.
I was also happy to see a wine and beer selection, though I didn't take advantage of it.
In conclusion: good food, good price, service was good, and it was moderately HEALTHY-- I always have a hard time finding a quick, light, healthy lunch. I will be going back to Neto, hopefully soon. :)
LOVE: plenty of outlets for us nerdy laptop types, yummy cookies, the patio (big and lovely!), the inside is very nice (for a coffee shop/cafe), open late (!)
LIKE: the food is very good, caffeinated beverages are above average
DISLIKES: expensive (chai lattes are something like $3.50 and pretty small. the neto tea is good, but is nothing but mint leaves in hot water, and that is $2.50.) staff is not very friendly. i always get cold there. (random last bit, but important nonetheless!)
The "kobe" beef burger i had tasted worst than supermarket frozen patty. Hardly believalbe it was Kobe beef. Other meals were plain and not memorable
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A review of the "Cafe" experience only (as opposed to the "dining" experience).
This place is really just a [Mediterranean] cafe - but they do offer plates of savory food in addition to hot drinks and pastries.
Overall it was a nice place to sit and chat with a friend. But I was pretty shocked when I ordered a small chai latte and a chocolate babka and my total was $9-something. Turns out the babka was like $5! WTF? For a dry, chocolate, muffin-sized pastry? That was DEF not worth $5. My chai latte was fine though and it felt cozy and welcoming even at 9pm on a weeknight. People were hanging out in there with laptops and I couldn't help but notice a lot of electrical outlets around the tables.
I'd go back - and NOT order pastries...
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My good friends and I decided to try this place out for dessert and i have to say they were awesome. We got a rasberry mousse dessert, which was awesome. The other one resembled flan, which was decent but I would much rather prefer the mousse.
The atmosphere is nice and open late. We will definitely come back for some late night dessert and coffee!
Three stars for the outdoor tables under the trees that make me feel as if I'm sitting on some Italian piazza (or Greek, whatever!).
However...Neto's is generally pretty overpriced, they have a very small menu selection, and their plain croissants are TINY and not plain at all--more like sugar-coated.
Nevertheless, you can get some yummy, overpriced, Mediterranean-style breakfast or lunch here (just take what they have, you will neither find a large selection, nor any traditional or perhaps expected breakfast dishes, so go with tha yummy flow!). Also good for a late-night snack (open till midnight/1am). Pastries are only so-so. So have one if you're there, but I wouldn't go there especially for the pastries.
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There are always a ton of people in here so we went to study on a Monday night and have some coffee and dessert. The coffee was okay (had a regular coffee and a latte), but the desserts were pretty horrendous. We had a lemon tart ($6) and a Roulade ($6). The atmosphere is nice, but the prices are too high. There are simply too many places in the vicinity to consider coming back.
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I like this place mostly because it has a few window seats. In terms of food, I've tried their breakfasts and their coffee selection. The food is okay, but I don't generally like their coffees or teas. However, it is open late, and the place is usually not too crowded or busy.
Don't go here for the food. Go here for the desserts! It is a BAKERY after all. The mousse desserts (of which they have a variety) are to die for. They look too pretty to eat, but are divinely scrumptious. This bakery has the others down the street beat hands down in the variety of desserts and how freakin' good they are.
We come here after lunch on Sundays strictly for this and have been making our way through the dessert menu. I have yet to try something I have not liked.
Hot chocolate. Average. Food. Average. Service. Great. I asked, "what time do you close?" And the Neto guy said, "11, 11:30, depends on the business." There's always people studying or eating there late at night. I think I like it mostly because it is open late, and conveniently located near the Caltrain/light rail station of Mountain View.
Very charming!
I recommend the Neto Pizza!
Perfect amount of cheese and fresh herbs!
My first time here to study and my laptop was not able to contact onto the Neto Wireless! I didn't bother to ask but it has outlets so I like that access. Also, when I walked in, the desserts look so decadent but I am not sure how it tastes. I bought a box of their brownie cookies $3.00 and a chai (typical sweet chai. Yuck).
The mint tea seems to be popular; maybe I'll be back to try the pastries.
This place closes pretty late!
Neto Cafe offers some great Mediterranean dishes, although at a very very steep price! I really like their selection of baked goods and cafe food, although I only go when I feel like indulging and spending a little extra. If you have that kind of extra cash on hand, go for it! If not, save your money for something more reasonably priced.
I only give this place 3 stars because I've just been once and the only thing I got was the Hummus Platter. It was really good but WAY too much food! Which, I guess explains the price. It's enough for 4 people to split as an appetizer. I"m sure that's what it's for anyhow.
I liked it though and will go back to try more of a variety of things on their menu.
Their deserts looked amazing!
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Mixed feelings.
First experience: wandering the streets of Mtn View, hungry, I walk in here around 9:30, maybe 10PM. I get in line and everyone in front of me is ordering hot food, drinks, pastries etc. They have photos of the food on the menu above the counter and this is likely the ONLY place where the pictures of the food really do look good. I finally get to the cashier, to order, ask for a pizza and they tell me they are no longer serving food and I can have a pastry if I want but no hot food. I am FUMING mad. The person in front of me just ordered hot food - I had been waiting in line behind 6 or so parties - and they said nothing. I storm out.
I've been here for tea/coffee. No major issues - but how can you screw it up? The "Neto tea" is more mint leaves than water.
Recently, I go to, strictly to use the Wi-fi (cause Red Rock down the street was jammed) so I figure I should order something since I am 'using' their space. I ask for a Snapple Iced Tea - they want $3 for it, I nearly faint. Is that a joke? They want $1.75 for a can of coke. I don't get it. Does it come with a side of coke too? Why so much money?
I order the 'seasoned' grilled chicken salad w/dressing on the side. They forget to bring the dressing out and the 'seasoning' on the grilled chicken appears to be breading and grease from frying it. Don't say it's grilled and then fry it, it's glistening a neon yellow. In the end, it tasted good (after I sent it back and got the chicken I ordered) and everyone else's food near me looked good as well. The bread they serve it with has potential and could be very good if they didn't use it as a sponge to soak up a vat of olive oil - all you taste is oil.
This place has potential - but it seriously needs help.
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We'd never had falafel pizza before. It was okay - perhaps we chose the wrong thing? They have internet which is nice, but it was so crowded in there with people eating actual meals that we didn't feel comfortable to just hang out and mooch off their wireless.
you can hang out here like a starbucks, except it's not generic like a starbucks. Has a bit of uniqueness which is nice. Lots of people using their laptops.
Who knows what will happen with the change of ownership, but here's my opinion:
- it's fine for a decent cup of coffee and nice outdoor seating. Unlike other outdoors seating on Castro, the patio is actually a patio, not simply an unused street-parking spot.
- chocolate Babka: expensive, but delicious.
- the hummus used to come with a great garlic garnish which was necessary to spice up the otherwise unremarkable hummus. I really liked the garlic. The last time I came, the hummus was grainy and there was no garlic garnish, even though I specifically asked if they still had it.
- as everyone else said, it's overpriced. Order with caution. Some of the refrigerated desserts have that just-out-of-the-refrigerator taste. Yuck! But it's decent for a nice dessert to share if you're willing to take a risk.
Yummy, yummy, yummy! I should say at the onset that I am a huge sucker for pastries. So it was not so hard for Neto to win me over with their chocolate-y Babka or perhaps their apple strudel. Nor was it hard for them to get me with a tiny sugary -cardomomy cup of turkish coffee. Basically it is nearly impossible to choose which of their interesting and delicious desserts are the best or worth discussing. When I go here I am put in a very tough spot where I must only choose ONE dessert. I hate it. Luckily I can take a bag of pre-packed goodies to go!
Plus they have big salads so I can feel healthy!
Don't get their drip. It's so-so.
Food wasn't bad at all but I give 2 stars when the service stinks and this place fit that bill
I specifically ordered the salad with dressing on the side and guess what? Yes you guessed it. The dressing is slopped all over the leay greens
I ordered no mayo on my sandwich and yes it's slathered with sauce all over. I wasn't too happy
I understand that mistakes happen but this is what bothers me: When I made this special order, nowhere on the receipt did it say "minus sauce or whatever". I didn't even see the cashier verbalize the special order. I didn't want to sound like I was trying to do their job so I left it was is. I should have said something b/c the order was messed up. The cashier probably forgot to tell the cooks about the order
Ok. Do you really have to charge $6 for a cheese/veggie sandwich? Although this place has great atmosphere, I can not justify coming here to just get something to drink/eat. It says free WiFi on the door, it was non-existent. I really want to like this place... but my wallet can't take it.
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I ate here once a few months ago; and it was ok. A little pricey; but the food was decent. We got falafel wraps and a side of hummus. The falafel was super fresh- the hummus was just so-so.
I probably wouldn't make a point to go back again because the neigborhood's a little out of my way. Even if I did end up in this neck of the woods,Cafe Baklava is right down the street and I like that place a lot more.
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The best I can say about this place is that I'm glad I didn't get food poisoning. It gets two stars for the Wifi and ambiance. I suppose it'd be ok if you only stopped in for some coffee.
Came here for breakfast on Sunday after going to the Mountain View farmer's market. I chose the "mediterranean" breakfast. There was very little that was mediterranean about it.
Two eggs were cooked "omelette style." Bland. No spices, let alone any salt. A few chopped up tomatoes and cucumbers accompanied this creation, along with some stale green olives and old feta cheese cubes. There was an enormous (and I mean enormous) glob of bland labane on the side of the plate, and the bread they served with the breakfast was stale. To add insult to injury, the OJ was watered down. it wasn't exactly cheap, either.
Maybe they had an off day, and maybe their lunches are better. But in any event, I won't be back.
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How did this place go so bad in a year?
I ate here several times last December because they made these great jelly donuts (traditional for Hanukkah). The help was friendly and the place was cool with a flat panel tv showing Charlie Chaplin films while you wait in line. I came back this year for the donut splurge and found no donuts (I was told the cooks went back to Israel) and a surly service staff. When our breakfast finally arrived and we asked for our coffees we were told -- "Oh they've been sitting getting cold for quite a while." The place was almost empty. The only element that remained from last year was the outrageous prices. This place is a clear miss.
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What a joke! I couldn't believe what I saw in here. I menu featuring Israeli/Mediterranean food, pastries and desserts, cookies, tea, a shitload of tables and people.
I know this place is going to overrated if given enough time. I couldn't find ONE seat available here and half of the people in here were in study groups. I absolutely detest cafes that attract students that are better off in the library. I ended up sitting outside in the cold with my dinner, tea, and cake.
Listen up folks, you can find better tasting Mediterranean food elsewhere. The tea here is just tazo which they try to make you feel better about getting in this terrible cafe by giving you a tiny ass cookie the size of a quarter with it. The milk I added to mine tasted kind of stale and in the end didn't care for it. The pastries here you can beat if you just whip out your Betty Crocker cookbook, which I don't own.
I guess Castro can use a place like this cafe and will attract many college students to take advantage of a desk and Wi-Fi connection. But if you're looking for a place to eat a small meal and socialize, find another place and you will be happier.
One more thing, a guy came up to me and said, 'hey, what do you think of that guy over there,' and pointed to a guy who appeared to be studying. I guess this guy got his friend to approach me because he wanted to know if I was single and interested. I don't remember what I said, but I was pretty disgusted. If I recall correctly I said, 'that's a BIG no thanks'. I am NOT coming back. Goodbye, Neto!
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