Bluestone Lane Los Altos Café — Restaurant in Los Altos

Update: depending on time of day and who is making your coffee your experience will vary. Go early, avoid later hours when they get busy, the wait times will be long as well (but in the peninsula, what isn't?) Food isn't terrible but has always been an area for improvement but after several bad chicken sandwiches, black stems and skins in avocado mash, and greasy oily limp bacon, we got tired of the combination of inconsistent food, long wait times, bitter or cold coffee depending. We have seen tables next to us send back orders of bacon, which we didn't have the energy to do after waiting 40 minutes for food. We mentioned the chicken breasts are poorly cooked so that they curl up into a roll, and slip right out of your bun like a rocket but after more than 5 such sandwiches we will pass. Previous: So glad we gave Bluestone another try! As some other reviews mention, on our first visit several months ago, the whole milk in the flat white was off, resulting in some unpleasant times, and the croissants are so-so. Given that it's walking distance from Draegers, we gave it another try while doing some shopping. It was great! Fresh bread, love the nutty sesame seeds, fresh avocado, real chicken chunks in the club sandwich, even the packaging is outstanding! The thoughtful containers secure their contents, the utensils are sized and shaped for practical use, and they include decent napkins without asking. Chicken and bacon quality could be better (piggy odor, thin, flabby, greasy, sometimes pale and sometimes burnt) but even so, this is some of the best (and consistently good) food we have had in the Peninsula. We eat here regularly, usually to-go. Good to know: Service and coffee is very good. Their cup of 'magic' is magical! If eating-in, do wear warm clothing. Inside seating feels like outside seating, we have to keep our coats on. Regarding price, I think the cost of a flat white and the size is the average for the area, and $15.50 for the avocado toast, while a bit steep is unfortunately the norm in the bay area, and this is some very good quality avocado toast. (Updated review:). Depending on your barista, your coffee experience will vary, (like The IT Crowd's Jen and Roy's experience) but still a solid go-to for us. A favorite of ours, (posted additional pic) the chicken club has changed their bread. From the toothsome sourdough to a soft brioche? Bun. We preferred the sourdough. Bun is very soft and something we associate with burger buns, not Club sandwiches. The bun is a bit too small in size as well, not fitting the chicken as well. Bacon and chicken quality has improved immensely. No warmed over flavor in the chicken, no piggy bacon odor or flabby greasiness, but crisp and well drained. Funky water smell and taste from glasses and bottles still an issue. Still cold inside, wear a coat, bring...

Can’t say this is place is worth it. TLDR: expensive for what it is, long wait times to be seated, inconsistent service, and very, VERY mediocre food.

I don’t know how this place has more than four stars, there are better places in walking distance. I’ve been twice, both times were not good. I’ll detail my experience today. We get there and they say it’s a one hour wait to seat six people, we came in three parties totaling six. After a one hour wait we get in and see that the place is empty. Staff said that several employees were sick, so they decided to only let a few people in at a time to not impact service. I understand the hardship, but what ended up happening makes me not tolerate this decision. First, take out orders were coming out, so they also limited seating to be able to fulfill those. Then, why not seat people inside and make them wait there? Instead we are all standing in the sidewalk.

Then comes the what made me write this review. They make you order using QR codes and a website. So the three parties on our table put their orders in. I get my food first, before my coffee. I’m almost done with my food before my latte arrives, this doesn’t make any sense, lattes take around a minute to make. At this point I’m done eating and the second order just arrived. They eat theirs. Only after they’re done the last order comes in. Completely unacceptable and a terrible experience. You order per table so they know we should be served somewhat around the same time.

I would’ve forgiven most of this if the food was great. But it’s average at best. I ordered a board that comes with half an avocado toast and half of a granola yogurt bowl. The toast is literally half of a slice of pre packaged sliced bread with avocado spread and feta on top. The granola bowl is regular Greek yogurt, granola, some fruit, and a little bit of lemon custard. There is no way in hell that what I had justifies a $30 check.

The food and service combined with how expensive this place is makes me extremely surprised that they have more than four stars. My best guess is that the Instagram forward setting and presentation combined with the crowd mentality of trying to eat at a place that’s hard to get a table makes people think this is a worthwhile experience.

It is not. I rarely write reviews but I felt this was necessary. Again, I sympathize with the problems brought by the pandemic, but that argument went out the door when you said that you are limiting seating to guarantee quality of service. Do...

To the owner of this café: Please read this. Things are going downhill — fast.

I used to love this café. I recommended it to everyone. But over the past few visits, things have become so frustrating that today might be our last.

The Wobbly Table – Everyone Knows, No One Cares

We were seated at a very shaky table in the back of the patio. It wobbled badly every time someone moved. When we asked our server to fix it, we were told:

“That’s just how it is, it can’t be fixed.”

Seriously? Everyone seems to know about this table — but no one cares enough to do anything. We even spilled our coffee because of it. For a café of this size, not having stable tables is ridiculous.

Staff That Doesn’t Care

The staff used to be helpful — now, it feels like a bunch of untrained, uninterested teens are running the place. They’re inattentive, careless, and seem completely disconnected from what good service means. • We tried to order juice – “We don’t serve juice anymore.” → Then update your menu! • We switched to smoothies – after 15 minutes, they told us there’s no orange juice. • We ordered coffee and dessert after the meal. Coffees came, but dessert took 30+ minutes and only came after I went inside to ask. • When the server brought it, it was a tiny brownie in a paper bag — no plate, no ice cream (which the menu clearly says it includes). • The server didn’t even know that brownie is served with ice cream!

My mom was really craving it. In the end, we left and bought her ice cream elsewhere.

Outdated Menu & Chaotic Service

The menu doesn’t reflect reality at all. Every time we ordered something, we were told:

“Oh, we don’t have that anymore.”

If you’ve removed items, remove them from the menu too. Running out of BASIC orange juice in a big café at 2 pm?? That’s just poor planning.

Servers didn’t know what items came with. They were constantly confused. The entire experience felt disorganized and chaotic.

One Last Thing – The Food

The only reason we’ve kept coming back is the food quality, especially the sandwiches — which are genuinely good. But it’s no longer worth it. The service, staff, and setup have fallen apart. It feels like the staff doesn’t want to be there, and it shows.

This place has so much potential but you are losing loyal customers fast. Please, do something before...