Bistro Maxine — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Been here many times before covid. Went today and found that i could not look at a menu, order or pay without scanning my phone on bar code. Though i understand this is convenient, my phone is old. The place was 100% empty. The waiter walked past me sitting for 10 minutes before telling me he could not take my order as it had to be done online. The cook was in the kitchen not busy and looking out the window. I asked if i could just tell him what j wanted, both said no. Crazy! I won't be returning. I went next door to Coupa Cafe and although they offer this same convenient feature for ordering & paying, they also took orders and payment at the counter. BTW..Coupa was busy & full of customers while Maxine sat entirely empty. Guess they are financially doing well enough to not care about...

The food is mediocre. But the service is soooooo bad that I actually felt uncomfortable. The waiter looked incredibly put out when we asked for basic things like; cleaning the table or water refills. Finally, I was told that they had “run out” of iced tea when I asked for a refill. I would never, ever return here even though the atmosphere sitting outside was quite nice. The service is just so incredibly horrible that I don’t understand how they are still in business. They have you add a tip when placing your order (of course, otherwise tips would all be reflective of service), which is another clue. Skip this place and give a different restaurant...

People love this place, and it's okay, I suppose. Two friends and I went toward the end of breakfast (breakfast ends at 11am, by the way), and by the time the servers took the order it was after 11am. They wouldn't let me order baguette with jam. That is a staple food. Period. Then, I ordered almond croissant. "We're out." What the what? How?

When we did get our food, the coffee and espresso drinks were fine. The crepes were well made but slightly off. Too sweet for the savor crepe to be savory. Too much uncooked brandy for the dessert crepe to taste sweet.

This is the third time I've been here, and this is the first time it's...