Shoreline Lake American Bistro — Restaurant in Mountain View

This is a lakefront restaurant and the atmosphere is awesome. No question. Didn't have anything significant to complain about the food either.

The deal breaker though, that will keep me from going there for lunch again, is the service. It is downright deplorable.

ACTIONABLY, please don't tip when you pay at the register. Breeze past the 18/20/22% options and say zero. If you like the service, go back and put some money in the tip jar. Trust me, that will bring some justice back to the universe. Remember, to begin with, this restaurant is walk-up to order, walk up to get-your-own water/napkins/silver, and in many cases, put away your own plates and silver. The only full-service aspect is that they bring your food to you. But if you knew what the service was like, and still tipped 20%, I have a bridge to sell you.

Here are some details. My family (4 of us) went for a Sunday morning bike ride. Our plan was to have lunch here, hang out for a bit, and then head back home by 2pm. We got done with the ride, and showed up at the restaurant by 11:55am. Grabbed one of the last tables, and got in the long-ish line.

12:07pm: Made it to the front of the line. Ordered a sparkling wine, hot chocolate, salmon salad, red bean burger, avocado toast and kids grilled cheese sandwich. Wanted to sub chips with fries on grilled cheese OR sub salad with fries on the red bean burger, but was informed that either would entail an "up-charge" of $3. It's just a bit on the expensive side to begin with ($6.75 hot chocolate for example) but figured it's big on revenue maximization as well.

12:11pm: Time noted on receipt. Got sparkling wine and hot chocolate at the counter almost immediately.

12:31pm: Grilled cheese sandwich shows up at minute 20.

12:34pm: 23 minutes. Since rest of food was a no show, my wife walks up and is informed that salmon salad is the hold-up

12:43pm: I walk up and let them know that we're past 30 minutes now. They had the bean burger at the counter, but apparently were still trying to figure out the salmon salad. At this point we had given up on eating our food together, so I took the bean burger (with the up-charged $3 of fries that were fast getting soggy). Overheard as I was walking away "does anyone know how to make a salmon salad?". Lol.

12:46pm: 35 minutes. Salmon salad shows up. No sign of avocado toast yet.

12:50pm: Avocado toast shows up.

1:00pm: We finish our meal and leave. Salmon salad wasn't bad (looks like they found the expert after all), avocado toast mushrooms were a little unseasoned but overall ok, red bean burger and grilled cheese sandwich were good too.

The thing that gets me is that this place has been steadily jacking up prices. That alone is fine -- there's inflation, and for a premium location like this, you can't expect it to be cheaper.

But they've done little else to make the place better for patrons. They still have only one register with 3 people milling around it, their wait staff (who waste most of their time finding the right numbers on tables) probably vastly outnumbers their kitchen staff, and the kitchen staff is simply not enough to service all the tables they've laid out, even as I am sure , they have zero take out traffic. Instead of fixing these problems, that almost certainly would increase their volume and revenue, they've misplaced their focus on up-charging $3 to sub a side salad with a...

Perfect for what it is. The service here is amazing: thoughtful, kind, and attentive. The variety of food is impressive for a small park bistro, and the quality truly stands out. You can tell the staff cares about both the food and the experience.

The parking here is free and plentiful, which makes visiting easy. A good rule of thumb is that if there is parking available, there will be space for you at the bistro. If the lot is full, the place is packed and it is worth coming back at another time.

My children loved their bagels, and I loved my tuna. We all had a wonderful time sitting by the lake. I have dietary restrictions, and the staff took them seriously without ever making me feel like a burden. My children can be picky eaters, but every request was met with care and attention, as though it was a pleasure to accommodate us.

They wanted us to feel welcome, comfortable, and happy. And we did. In fact, it was some of the best service we had on our entire trip, which made this tiny spot by the lake so memorable.

Most of the time when you eat at a park, you do not expect this level of service or this caliber of food. When I first saw the prices online, I rolled my eyes, but after experiencing it firsthand, I can say they are completely warranted.

An excellent spot. I cannot wait...

☕ Coffee & Pastries: I only had tea during my visit, but they do have a selection of pastries available.

🏞️ Spacious Seating: The coffee shop offers quite a bit of seating, both indoors and outdoors, which is nice for spreading out and relaxing.

🌊 Lakeside Location: Its location right by Shoreline Lake is a definite plus. It offers a pleasant view and is conveniently next door to the lake rental facilities.

💰 Value: I found the prices to be slightly on the higher side. While this is somewhat understandable given the prime lakeside location, it feels a bit overpriced for what you get.

🚨 Service & Awareness: This was a notable point of concern. While waiting, the door swung open and hit us, and there was no immediate reaction or apology from any staff member. This lack of awareness and regard for customers was quite disappointing.

🤔 Overall: American Bistro has a great location and ample seating, making it a good spot if you're looking for a convenient place near Shoreline Lake. However, the slightly high prices and the concerning lack of staff awareness during the door incident made the experience just...