Palo Alto, California · Est. depuis toujours
Chez
Camille
Steak frites. Coq au vin. A zinc bar worn smooth by a thousand evenings. The French bistro that Palo Alto has gathered around for decades.
Notre Histoire
A Bistro
Built to Last
Long before University Avenue filled with venture-backed concepts and disappearing pop-ups, Chez Camille was already doing what it has always done: setting the table, pouring the wine, and feeding the neighborhood. Founded when Palo Alto was still a town that went to bed early, the restaurant has outlasted fads, recessions, and any number of neighbors convinced they had something new to say about food.
"These are not interpretations — they are the thing itself."
The kitchen has never chased novelty. Thesoupe à l'oignon is still finished under the broiler until the Gruyère blisters and chars at the edges, exactly as it should be. Thesteak frites arrives on an oval plate, the fries piled alongside, the steak rested and properly pink.
The room matters as much as the food. The zinc bar, the black-and-white tile underfoot, the paper placemats that have absorbed a thousand conversations — this is a space designed for the long dinner, the second carafe, the slow unraveling of an evening into something memorable. Chez Camille is where Palo Alto remembers how to sit still.
Les Habitués
What the Regulars Say
The steak frites here ruined every other version I've had in this city. The Café de Paris butter is the detail that changes everything.
Margot V. ·
I've been coming here since before it was fashionable to care about French food in California. The coq au vin has never once been anything less than perfect.
Thomas R. ·
That crème brûlée is the reason I skip dessert everywhere else. We sat at the zinc bar for three hours on a Tuesday and nobody rushed us.
Claire M. ·
Horaires
Mardi – Jeudi 5:30 – 10 pm
Vendredi – Samedi 5:30 – 11 pm
Dimanche 5:00 – 9:30 pm
Fermé le lundi