Town

I agree with you in terms of giving Town some credit, but frankly, the service has gone downhill at Town and Piacere ever since the remodels were completed on each. My vote would go to Spasso’s. Superior service and the food is absolutely outstanding. Unlike Town, I hope they continue to keep their menu fresh. Time will tell.

I, too, would give a small edge to Spasso’s in terms of the food and service. However, if you are looking for the true San Carlos “vibe”…Town has Piacere and Spasso’s beat hands down. Whether Town can make it last….will need to be seen. As the other poster mentioned..a change or two in the menu would go a long way.
Town is also a good place to people watch. Some of the flirting between the 50 year old, hat wearing, divorced men and the twenty something gold-diggers is always quite entertaining to watch…..

San Carlos is close to a major breakthrough with their restaurants. The key is turning the old Cala Market into and indoor/outdoor brewery.
I agree with a previous poster…Town is appropriately named because it is the place to see and be seen in San Carlos. However, Spassos and Piacere provide better service and food.

Town is a blast. I think the bar scene may be the downfall of several marriages. I was in there with a friend of mine having a drink when this group of women came in for a drink…clearly a “wives night out”. An hour and half later they were all cootered up hanging to this group of four knuckle heads, laughing the night away. We didn’t stick around to see how it ended up, but I am sure it was interesting.

I don’t really think there’s any doubt that Town is the best of San Carlos. Piacere slipped noticably after their remodel and never gained their momentum back again. All summer it was a tad embarrasing to see nobody eating outside there while Town was packed as early as 5:30PM. Spasso is really good, good service and it’s priced right too but the food’s not anywhere near the level as Town. I actually like Azure over on El Camino better alot too. Food’s great there!

After reading these posts on Town, I simply had to write one. First, I agree with most of the other posters, Town does have the best food in San Carlos. Additionally, the place is unmatched in terms of atmosphere. Also, how they get away with hiring all of those good-looking hostesses is totally beyond me, but god bless them.

These posts are hilarious. My fiance and I recently made the big move from SF to the burbs. We love San Carlos. Town is our favorite restaurant mostly because of the people. It reminds us of some of the restaurants in the city. We usually go for dinner early on Friday, around 6:00. By the time we are having our after dinner drinks, the place is slammed. Watching some of the “cougars” circling the bar is worth the price of admission. I guess if I was middle-aged, divorced and in need of some “action” I would be patrolling the bar at Town as well. Long story short: go for the people watching, its more than enough entertainment for any evening. Oh, and the food is very good as well : )

We went to Town for the first time on Thursday night. The service and the food was outstanding! We will back. The wine selection was equally as good.
We have also been to Spassos twice, once for dinner and once for lunch. The food is unbelievably good. A slight edge to Spassos for the food. A slight edge to Town for the atmosphere. We are both in our early 40s and the Town scene is perfect for us.

On behalf of myself and many others who have to come down from the city to work in the San Carlos/Redwood Shores area, I would like to thank Town for providing a great spot outside of the city to have a few drinks after work. Also, on behalf of my good friend, Devon, please give a shout out to the blond haired hostess ; ) who works on Friday evenings.

THIS is too funny. I have to admit I have only been to Town one time, but during that ONE time my friend and I were hit on non-stop for an hour and a half. We had everything from twenty one year olds to sixty year olds trying to buy us drinks, dinner, oh and my favorite, a shopping spree??? I will leave that one alone : )

Yeah, Town is funny pickup place in a different sense. One time, me and my buddies (male) were consistently interrupted by this group of married 40 year old moms out on the “town”. I was told by the bartender, that the Town bar scene attracted this kind of gender. Finally we got so fed up with this unwanted attention, that we went over to Sneakers.

I love Town! I agree that the bar action seems almost surreal at times, almost like it’s part of another establishment.
I was impressed with Town from the get-go… when the manager treated my boyfriend and I to drinks and apps because our table wasn’t ready at the tme of our resevation. They bent over backwards to make us feel at home, and we noticed. We g there often, and the only “complaint” I have is that sometimes they play techno-trance music and it’s totally nauseating! Such a bad choice.
I’ve never tried Spasso’s but after reading these posts, I defintely will.

Rumi Restaurant
1179 Laurel St
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 593-8500
http://www.rumisancarlos.com
Absolute Restaurant
1201 Laurel St
San Carlos, CA 94070
Have you guys tried out these new restaurants on the more southen side of Laurel street? Rumi is beautiful inside and serves up a Mediterranean and Asian Fusion cuisine. The food there is excellent. Make sure you order the bread basket and dipping sauces for the appetizer.
Absolute is an Italian and Californian fusion restaurant that replaced Royale Cafe. The steamed mussels are pretty good for an appetizer. Both are great additions to the south side of Laurel..
Also, it looks another restaurant is opening called Refuge (http://www.refugesc.com). It’s going to be a Pastrami, Wine Pub, Charcuterie. Sounds interesting!

Good points. My wife and I went to Rumi on a Thursday evening about a month ago. It was packed. The food was outstanding. It was so nice to see a place so lively on that side of Laurel. I would highly recommend it.
We have not tried Absolute, but this is the second time that I have heard great things about it. We will put it on the list!

We had the unfortunate experience of going to La Tosca last night for Valentine’s Day dinner. We have spent much of our time at Spassos and Town, and decided to give La Tosca a try. We had a reservation, knowing that it would most likely be sold out. Of course our table was not ready. The place was completely packed. They had shoved additional tables into the place. It was so crowded that you could not even move in between the tables. We were finally seated at the back of the restaurant with one of our chairs almost in the kitchen. It was hard to concentrate on dinner because other people who kept piling in to the restaurant were crammed against our table. On top of this, they jacked the prices for the 14th. Our server did the best that he could, but the food was very disappointing as well. Note to the management: the purpose of people having dinner on Valentines Day is to be able to have a simple dinner, not to be packed in like sardines, while those waiting to eat are practically sitting on your lap. Is it a wonder Town and Spassos shine so brightly over the others on Laurel?

I just moved here from Miami. Town is a total cougar hang out. The food is not good. Marginal at best and the cougars a scary. Spasso is much better. Is this a real estate website or food review ?