Quail Café

Alicia DiGiammarino

Love that you can casually dine among greenery inside or out! The sandwich I ended up with (turkey, cranberry sauce, sage aioli on a brioche bun) was absolutely excellent but they do have a bit of an issue with the food listed on the menu not matching that days actual dishes. I had to return an egg dish when it came with three vegetables I can’t eat.

Michelle Wang

Their desserts are good. I recommend their upside-down pineapple cake! However I don't recommend their tea time for 2. A bit cheap on the tea side. It just uses NUMI tea. Their selection for the accompanying food for the tea was just OK.

David Baird

If you love lettuce, then you'll love these salads. The names are suggestive, it's basically a lettuce bowl. The soup is good.

Just your average coffee shop in a tourist attraction. The food and the drinks are not good, but not too bad either. Prices are of course expensive.

This cafe is inside the FiLoLi historic place. Has indoor and outdoor seating with self service. Pastries and sandwiches are fresh and delicious. Secret menu item is "Tea for Two", a high tea service with variety of small bites and sweets for $65.50 There is chance to just get into the cafe without entrance fee as there is no physical barrier to prevent and it's just at the parking lot corner. It's a cute cafe nothing fancy but pricy. It's accessible, good for kids and groups. Parking is included in entrance fee ($36 for adults) to the historic place.

Updated review: My late lunch at Quail Cafe was meh. I ordered the half sandwich/half soup combo. For the sandwich, I got the turkey baguette that had a lot of ingredients. But they were able to compact them in the baguette where they didn’t fall out. And there was a lot of turkey, too. Yet, I was hoping to get more flavor from the sweet potato and I wish there was more Dijon mustard. The soup was okay. I’ve had pea and mint pasta before, which was amazing. I was hoping to get the same flavor profile with the soup. But it was watery and the mint was nonexistent. I only ate half of it. I also wanted something sweet, so I got the red velvet marquise. There was so little cake that it just felt I was eating cream cheese. It became too much that I didn’t finish it. As far as ambiance, it can get pretty chaotic. The display case is at the entrance, and you can hold up the line if you’re deciding what to get. The display case also includes the desserts, which is not described on the menu, so that’s added on what you’re considering. And there’s another display case of pastries as you get closer to the cashier. Once you place an order, the hunt for a table begins. Unless you got someone to snag a table while you’re in line. Since it’s the only restaurant there, the wait time can be very long. People started to complain about the wait and there was an announcement made. But I was already sitting outside so I didn’t really hear it. Just exercise a lot of patience if you decide to get food here, even just coffee. I will say it’s nice to sit outside to the right of the restaurant if you’re facing the cashier. Most of the tables are inside and on the patio to the left. So it wa less chaotic where we were at. But tbh, try to eat beforehand when visiting the estate. But otherwise, the food is okay if you’re really hungry. —————————————— My friend and I got influenced lol. She saw a reel about their high tea so we decided to go on a whim. What’s great about Quail Cafe is that you don’t need to buy a ticket to Filoli Gardens access it. High tea is first come, first serve and it starts at 1pm. We got there early so we ordered a few things before ordering high tea. I hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I got the ham and cheese croissant. It was not worth $10.50. There was nothing special about it, not even the cheese on top. It wasn’t as warm as I wanted it to be - it was still cold at the bottom. I don’t recommend it. The high tea itself was pretty good! It’s $65 for two people, which is one of the more reasonable prices in the Bay Area and the amount of food reflected that price because there were only two tiers. But I’ve had high tea at other places at higher prices where I felt there should’ve been more. You get a choice of tea, which is Numi and you get one bag. There were 4 types of sandwiches and there’s 3 of each. There were two scones, clotted cream, jam, two macarons, and four petite fours. It was a good balance between savory and sweet. The sandwiches were cucumber, chicken salad, egg salad with bacon, and a strawberry basil. For the most part they were yummy. I wish there was more egg salad than bacon bits. But I thought the strawberry basil was unique. And the desserts weren’t too sweet. I wish the cakes were more moist and relied on the frosting too much. The scones were delicious! They were buttery and flaky. I just wish they were warmer. We sat outside and it was a lovely atmosphere. It wasn’t too loud, even with children. The weather was perfect and we took our time enjoying our meal. Just note that you have to pick up your tea at the counter, which is a bit heavy. And the ground isn’t even outside so you have to be careful when taking it to your table. I’d like to come back in the future to try other menu options and to explore the property.

A small cafe with a decent amount of outdoor seating. They have a selection of simple salads, sandwiches, soups, and baked goods. I had the Asian Chicken Salad which was good though very simple. I was impressed that they had rugelach among their baked goods

The Quail Cafe, like the rest of FiLoLi, is incredibly beautiful. The ambiance creates a garden-like atmosphere, and the patio is adorned with numerous greenery, including many bonsai plants. The menu offers a great selection that changes daily, with multiple options available for vegans and vegetarians. Since they were out of Fritata, we opted for the Vegan Muffuletta from the House Sandwiches, as well as the Udon Noodle Salad and Pea & Mint Soup. Unfortunately, the Muffuletta and Udon Noodle Salad were served ice cold, they had just been taken out of the fridge and placed on the tray. This affected the taste, and it would have been much better if they were served hot or at least at room temperature. The Pea & Mint Soup consisted of peas and mint ground together with some salt and pepper. The only positive aspect was that it was served hot. We had high expectations due to the higher prices and the overall setup, but we were deeply disappointed. We only consumed the food because there were no other options available.

Judy Margaret Chen

Just your average coffee shop in a tourist attraction. The food and the drinks are not good, but not too bad either. Prices are of course expensive.

Max Kay

This cafe is inside the FiLoLi historic place. Has indoor and outdoor seating with self service. Pastries and sandwiches are fresh and delicious. Secret menu item is "Tea for Two", a high tea service with variety of small bites and sweets for $65.50 There is chance to just get into the cafe without entrance fee as there is no physical barrier to prevent and it's just at the parking lot corner. It's a cute cafe nothing fancy but pricy. It's accessible, good for kids and groups. Parking is included in entrance fee ($36 for adults) to the historic place.

Victoria P.

Updated review: My late lunch at Quail Cafe was meh. I ordered the half sandwich/half soup combo. For the sandwich, I got the turkey baguette that had a lot of ingredients. But they were able to compact them in the baguette where they didn’t fall out. And there was a lot of turkey, too. Yet, I was hoping to get more flavor from the sweet potato and I wish there was more Dijon mustard. The soup was okay. I’ve had pea and mint pasta before, which was amazing. I was hoping to get the same flavor profile with the soup. But it was watery and the mint was nonexistent. I only ate half of it. I also wanted something sweet, so I got the red velvet marquise. There was so little cake that it just felt I was eating cream cheese. It became too much that I didn’t finish it. As far as ambiance, it can get pretty chaotic. The display case is at the entrance, and you can hold up the line if you’re deciding what to get. The display case also includes the desserts, which is not described on the menu, so that’s added on what you’re considering. And there’s another display case of pastries as you get closer to the cashier. Once you place an order, the hunt for a table begins. Unless you got someone to snag a table while you’re in line. Since it’s the only restaurant there, the wait time can be very long. People started to complain about the wait and there was an announcement made. But I was already sitting outside so I didn’t really hear it. Just exercise a lot of patience if you decide to get food here, even just coffee. I will say it’s nice to sit outside to the right of the restaurant if you’re facing the cashier. Most of the tables are inside and on the patio to the left. So it wa less chaotic where we were at. But tbh, try to eat beforehand when visiting the estate. But otherwise, the food is okay if you’re really hungry. —————————————— My friend and I got influenced lol. She saw a reel about their high tea so we decided to go on a whim. What’s great about Quail Cafe is that you don’t need to buy a ticket to Filoli Gardens access it. High tea is first come, first serve and it starts at 1pm. We got there early so we ordered a few things before ordering high tea. I hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I got the ham and cheese croissant. It was not worth $10.50. There was nothing special about it, not even the cheese on top. It wasn’t as warm as I wanted it to be - it was still cold at the bottom. I don’t recommend it. The high tea itself was pretty good! It’s $65 for two people, which is one of the more reasonable prices in the Bay Area and the amount of food reflected that price because there were only two tiers. But I’ve had high tea at other places at higher prices where I felt there should’ve been more. You get a choice of tea, which is Numi and you get one bag. There were 4 types of sandwiches and there’s 3 of each. There were two scones, clotted cream, jam, two macarons, and four petite fours. It was a good balance between savory and sweet. The sandwiches were cucumber, chicken salad, egg salad with bacon, and a strawberry basil. For the most part they were yummy. I wish there was more egg salad than bacon bits. But I thought the strawberry basil was unique. And the desserts weren’t too sweet. I wish the cakes were more moist and relied on the frosting too much. The scones were delicious! They were buttery and flaky. I just wish they were warmer. We sat outside and it was a lovely atmosphere. It wasn’t too loud, even with children. The weather was perfect and we took our time enjoying our meal. Just note that you have to pick up your tea at the counter, which is a bit heavy. And the ground isn’t even outside so you have to be careful when taking it to your table. I’d like to come back in the future to try other menu options and to explore the property.

Matt B

A small cafe with a decent amount of outdoor seating. They have a selection of simple salads, sandwiches, soups, and baked goods. I had the Asian Chicken Salad which was good though very simple. I was impressed that they had rugelach among their baked goods

Nikhil

The Quail Cafe, like the rest of FiLoLi, is incredibly beautiful. The ambiance creates a garden-like atmosphere, and the patio is adorned with numerous greenery, including many bonsai plants. The menu offers a great selection that changes daily, with multiple options available for vegans and vegetarians. Since they were out of Fritata, we opted for the Vegan Muffuletta from the House Sandwiches, as well as the Udon Noodle Salad and Pea & Mint Soup. Unfortunately, the Muffuletta and Udon Noodle Salad were served ice cold, they had just been taken out of the fridge and placed on the tray. This affected the taste, and it would have been much better if they were served hot or at least at room temperature. The Pea & Mint Soup consisted of peas and mint ground together with some salt and pepper. The only positive aspect was that it was served hot. We had high expectations due to the higher prices and the overall setup, but we were deeply disappointed. We only consumed the food because there were no other options available.

10/25/25 brought my Granddaughter and husband for the tea. For two it was $69. We ordered and told the wait would be 45 min, then after paying it would be 20 min. We ordered 2 different teas and were served a single teabag each and a pot of hot water. I went to pour the water and the teapot handle was sticky as were the spoons and butter spreader. With visible jam on them. I had to go back and wait in line to get clean silverware. She handed the request off to someone else and she returned with spoons but nothing to spread the clotted cream. She also then brought two new pots of hot water. But we had used our single teabag. So had no way to brew the tea in the new pots. My husband had to go back and ask for additional teabags, and sugar (there were only 4 sugar cubes). By then the water was tepid. I don’t understand how the ratio of hot water to teabags was supposed to get us hot tea as 1 teabag only made a single cup. The food was mostly ok, we did enjoy the sweets, but the cucumber sandwiches were soggy, the scones were tiny and a bit hard and the wrap on the salmon was dried up and flaking off. I did like the chicken curry. I was not pleased with the tea over all, it was disjointed, we had to go back 3 times to request clean implements, water, and teabags and sugar, not leaving us much time to just relax and enjoy ourselves. Very disappointed.

Such a beautiful location that saddens me to give a bad review but I ordered an Asian salad with shrimp on it and the shrimp were actually old, with the strangest consistency best described as mushy or mealy and upon close visual inspection showed signs of decomposition. Thankfully the manager gave me Chicken to put on my salad (but did not offer an apology or attempt to comp me the salad which was surprising at such an upscale locale), and i couldn’t get over the fact that they would serve bad shrimp there and now it’s the next day and I am sick after eating only one half of a shrimp.

Pamela Piotrowski

10/25/25 brought my Granddaughter and husband for the tea. For two it was $69. We ordered and told the wait would be 45 min, then after paying it would be 20 min. We ordered 2 different teas and were served a single teabag each and a pot of hot water. I went to pour the water and the teapot handle was sticky as were the spoons and butter spreader. With visible jam on them. I had to go back and wait in line to get clean silverware. She handed the request off to someone else and she returned with spoons but nothing to spread the clotted cream. She also then brought two new pots of hot water. But we had used our single teabag. So had no way to brew the tea in the new pots. My husband had to go back and ask for additional teabags, and sugar (there were only 4 sugar cubes). By then the water was tepid. I don’t understand how the ratio of hot water to teabags was supposed to get us hot tea as 1 teabag only made a single cup. The food was mostly ok, we did enjoy the sweets, but the cucumber sandwiches were soggy, the scones were tiny and a bit hard and the wrap on the salmon was dried up and flaking off. I did like the chicken curry. I was not pleased with the tea over all, it was disjointed, we had to go back 3 times to request clean implements, water, and teabags and sugar, not leaving us much time to just relax and enjoy ourselves. Very disappointed.

The aesthetic of this cafe is top-notch. The location is ideal! However, the service and the quality of the food didn't match the high standards set by this historic place. Unfortunately, my experience at the cafe was impacted by the unfriendly and unhelpful staff. The staff members seemed disinterested and made no effort to engage with customers. When I inquired about a menu item, the staff member responded dismissively. One time I ordered latte and a sandwich. Latte was decent but sandwich was cold. My request for a simple warm up was met with resistance. Another time we ordered “Tea for two” that came with Numi tea bags! For $65 can you at least brew a decent loose leaf tea? I think with some improvements in the kitchen and service, this could be a truly exceptional cafe! It also would be great if they could consider using reusable tableware instead of disposable ones.

Dinara Zarman

The aesthetic of this cafe is top-notch. The location is ideal! However, the service and the quality of the food didn't match the high standards set by this historic place. Unfortunately, my experience at the cafe was impacted by the unfriendly and unhelpful staff. The staff members seemed disinterested and made no effort to engage with customers. When I inquired about a menu item, the staff member responded dismissively. One time I ordered latte and a sandwich. Latte was decent but sandwich was cold. My request for a simple warm up was met with resistance. Another time we ordered “Tea for two” that came with Numi tea bags! For $65 can you at least brew a decent loose leaf tea? I think with some improvements in the kitchen and service, this could be a truly exceptional cafe! It also would be great if they could consider using reusable tableware instead of disposable ones.

The food was prepackaged and the service was still slow. The best thing there was the free water. I'm was really disappointed in what they offered. It was also horrible quality! My daughter spit out grapes and said the grapes were bad. Bring your own food and picnic there.

i trekked miles and miles out of my way to come here. i was in half moon bay and was told this was "nearby." after a far drive, i was so excited to finally receive a sweet treat. however, after driving through a car crash and having to speak to a cop, which absolutely rid us with anxiety, we were rewarded with a closed gate where google maps said to turn. mind you, this was at 6 pm when the cafe was not supposed to close until 8:30 pm. we were extremely dissapointed and let me tell you, will never be giving this cafe our business. you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I ordered the lunch special which was a chicken tinga. The display shown was very different from what I was given. The employee told me that it is what it is. It was $15 for a tortilla, some rice, beans and chicken.

Utterly disgusting food. A profound insult to the plants and animals that died to make it. How can such a lovely place stomach having such a horrible cafe?

The service was slow. The food is ALL PRE PACKAGED, NO OPTION TO REMOVE HORSERADISH,for example. You pay $20 for one sandwich that you have to have ingredients like spinich,dill,horseradish or grapes in the lemon dill chicken salad sandwich. NO CHOICE,ALL OR NOTHING. We both were sick from our food before we even left the gardens. He went straight to the toilet from the table. Overpriced, minimal choices of food that is pre-packaged with horrible condiments. There was a finger nails worth of caramelized onion, a pinky finger nails worth. Save your time and money and skip this horrible,pre-packaged,cafeteria style cafe.

This dining place is horrible. For such a historic grand chateau house with historic gilded period era, European fees like, their food is managed by epicurean , same food service contractor at my workplace. Everything is already prepared, eat cold sandwiches as is,they don't even have a panini grill , not even microwave! Ah, to top it off, a slice of dessert is $14, double of Paris baguette. Why don't they kick out epicurean and ask Paris baguette to do the right job

Jessica Lueng

I ordered the lunch special which was a chicken tinga. The display shown was very different from what I was given. The employee told me that it is what it is. It was $15 for a tortilla, some rice, beans and chicken.

Victor C

This dining place is horrible. For such a historic grand chateau house with historic gilded period era, European fees like, their food is managed by epicurean , same food service contractor at my workplace. Everything is already prepared, eat cold sandwiches as is,they don't even have a panini grill , not even microwave! Ah, to top it off, a slice of dessert is $14, double of Paris baguette. Why don't they kick out epicurean and ask Paris baguette to do the right job

Samuel Colvin

Utterly disgusting food. A profound insult to the plants and animals that died to make it. How can such a lovely place stomach having such a horrible cafe?

Michelle Ceylan

The food was prepackaged and the service was still slow. The best thing there was the free water. I'm was really disappointed in what they offered. It was also horrible quality! My daughter spit out grapes and said the grapes were bad. Bring your own food and picnic there.

Paityn S

i trekked miles and miles out of my way to come here. i was in half moon bay and was told this was "nearby." after a far drive, i was so excited to finally receive a sweet treat. however, after driving through a car crash and having to speak to a cop, which absolutely rid us with anxiety, we were rewarded with a closed gate where google maps said to turn. mind you, this was at 6 pm when the cafe was not supposed to close until 8:30 pm. we were extremely dissapointed and let me tell you, will never be giving this cafe our business. you should be ashamed of yourselves.

krikit

The service was slow. The food is ALL PRE PACKAGED, NO OPTION TO REMOVE HORSERADISH,for example. You pay $20 for one sandwich that you have to have ingredients like spinich,dill,horseradish or grapes in the lemon dill chicken salad sandwich. NO CHOICE,ALL OR NOTHING. We both were sick from our food before we even left the gardens. He went straight to the toilet from the table. Overpriced, minimal choices of food that is pre-packaged with horrible condiments. There was a finger nails worth of caramelized onion, a pinky finger nails worth. Save your time and money and skip this horrible,pre-packaged,cafeteria style cafe.