The vibe is more of a traditional Italian cafe (ie. no oat milk) rather than hip trendy SF coffee house. It’s a nice change and we thoroughly enjoyed our Cappuccino and Cappuccino Viennese (topped with whipped cream). Tasty!

Adore this place! Has quite a unique identity and aesthetic, as well as a good variety of coffee drinks and even some Ive not seen in any other coffee shops. Plus, great desserts and seating!

Awesome dessert place. Very sticky cioccolata. Dont need to feel guilty. Its just once in a long long while.

The coffee in this place is so good, it’s very creamy, rich and has great taste. Also the mini tiramisu is so good it’s the perfect combination of sweet, creamy and coffee. I’ve tried a couple of deserts the creamy chocolate mouse cake and it’s good. What I’ve tried so far it’s been really good.

Good coffee and nice outdoor seating with a piano out there too. Amazing Caprese Chocolate Cake. Must try that there.

Most authentic espresso outside of Italy! Their treats are also amazing! Staff is always super friendly and helpful. This place is my favorite Cafe hands down!

Omg this place. It is heaven in a cup. After a terrible Italian dinner, we were looking for a great dessert place and we were so impressed. The mochas are drinking chocolate with coffee and it is heaven in a glass. Thick and delicious. The desserts are also fantastic. I’m going to be dreaming about this place!

High end coffees & teas. Too bad COVID means you gotta be outside. The interior always struck me as quite pretty. But with outdoor dining, they likely doubled their capacity bc inside is quite cramped.

This was the 2nd time we visited this place and they didnt disappoint us! The tiramisu was JUST PERFECT :)

Wonderful 👏 😋☕😍👍

Charming Cafe with excellent food and drinks. The outdoor seating was packed on a Friday night. They had a live piano player. Hot chocolate was literally melted chocolate...where was the milk? A little too rich for me. Needed water to wash it down. Other than that, the egg salad sandwich was eggcellent, pun intended, and the vanilla cream croissant was exquisite. Thanks for an amazing culinary experience!

Nice place great cafe and various drinks just a great place to hangout and chill!

Great place I love the drinks and the service. WOW just wow!

The hot chocolate was amazing - rich and thick, not too sweet! Cream brulé had a nice crunchy surface and smooth texture. Masks were required and worn by all staff and waiting customers. There was also a live piano performance in the afternoon!

Smooth coffee flavors; medium roast (no dark roast).Tasty confectionary. Cool and enjoyable outdoor seating.A bit pricey.Good service.

The whip hot chocolate was very good, the coffe was decent. What I didnt like is when asked what the difference between two espresso drinks were, the young man at the register was not helpful and didnt seem knowledgeable about each drink offered even though the menu wasnt very extensive. It seems he definitely needs more training in customer service and more training on how the drinks are prepared. It felt he tried to rush us to order, even taking a persons order behind us instead of finishing our order.

Very nice cafe in Palo Alto. Lots of people just getting their food and chilling there. Felt very relaxing.

So this is the cafe for late nights LOL! Its rear for a cafe to be open till midnight but Venetia is. And we are fortunate to have it open when we need to get a coffee or tea or anything there when its late.I love the Jasmin tea and all the tea’s they have.The pastries are really good too and you can choose between a variety of them. The place is cozy and yellow colors make me feel good. The staff are friendly and quite helpful.

I love their croissants.This place is well known for their coffee but they have an excellent choice of great tea.

Great coffee and amaizing tiramisu, arrived late so didn’t have many desserts left

Fantastic coffee and desserts! Nice place to chill out. Outdoor seating is nice.

This the best cafe in the whole Bay Area, it has a class, quality, and consistency, and it attracts good crowd. They make moat of the things in-house, and take pride in everything they do. I visit here often, and I feel I am in a very civilized place.

This is a really pretty cafe which has a great ambiance. Theyve outdoor seating as well. The experience here is pleasant as the staff is really friendly and nice! I tried the marocchino and chocolate mousse and it was superb. The bakery looked pretty good as well here

Awesome local cafe. Love to see these types of places in downtown. If you havent been yet or want to try something new, get the hot chocolate; absolutely delicious.

The coffee is terrible- barely any coffee in it. We ordered iced drink and taste like water- almond sponge cake was dried. would not visit next time.one plus is good location

Love it !definitely felt in Italy ...

Good food at a reasonable price point and friendly staff. The truffle was amazing. Creme brûlée was just about average.

You can have very lovely Italian coffee! taste is amazing, they also have a train station location, but close so early. I love this place for weekend mornings coffee! much better than BB

Tiny, but terrific place for conversations over the best chocolate concoctions around.

Cappuccino was great

I tried many coffee shops but this coffee shop makes different coffee than others. The beans they use for coffee is high quality and taste fresh so it creates a soft taste. I love their wine, pastries and tea as well. If you are not coffee person they have so many options for you!

The best hot chocolate ever I’ve drank. If you have other better options please tell me.

Flavorful and delicious, some of the best espresso I’ve ever tasted.

Cafe Venetia is a Palo Alto favorite for espresso based drinks and Italian desserts. We like the decor and the eclectic feeling inside the cafe. The staff knows how to make good coffee and they serve them in the right cups and coffee ware. Look out for some unique South American chocolates hard to find else where. I usually like to buy a small one with my coffee. We also like the long photographs and art inside the cafe.

Good coffee and good snacks in downtown Palo Alto.

This neat and cozy cafe in downtown Palo Alto is best known for its hot chocolates and ambience. Make sure you try chocospice with your choice of spice to experience indulging a rich cup of high quality hot chocolate in a nice cup seasoned with warm aroma of cardamom or ginger. During busy times seating might be competitive.

We have been looking for a place like this for a while, a place where you can just sit down and enjoy a good cup of coffee, an elegant espresso or a refreshing drink without having to eat a full meal. Ce ty European chic place with good coffee and yummy and interesting flavored gelato

What hot chocolate should taste likeIve been on the search for good hot chocolate and this place beats any place Ive ever been to. There are very few options that basically are about the consistency of the hot chocolate. From more of what people are used to all the way to a basic pudding. Regardless of what yiu get youll love how thick and consistent it is and how warm it is. Sipping the chocolate is a delight and I highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone who like hot chocolate. I literally come down from SF to have it.

Neat place. Willed out into the road nicely ... With a grand piano. Chocolate truffles are terrific.

Great coffee, sit out area and the live piano on weekends and sometimes weekday evenings

Great service! Amazing coffee and some mean little desserts there!

Not study friendly, did not allow us to finish our cakes and coffee.

Great coffee place with European atmosphere and fantastic deserts.

My favorite coffee place in the valley. They only have one size carpachio - the right size. And the desserts are fantastic.

Con: this business does not accept US dollarsPro: good cafe au lait and baguette sandwichesThis is the only pretentious dump that wont take cash along University Avenue that I patronize.

Iced latte was not great.. also not much options for vegan milk or snacks. So meh!The location and ambience was good so 3 stars..

Atmosphere was great, set at bar for while server was nice.

A classy European experience!

Love this place! And yes, the hype about the hot chocolate is accurate. Dont hesitate to try it

A classy and authentic coffee shop. They also serve wine and some very nice chocolate. Gals working here were very nice and welcoming.

Great Coffee and Brunch menu. Food is always quick and super tasty.

My fav coffee shop in Palo Alto! Kinda pricey and they dont have WiFi on weekends ... Other than that the place, vibes, coffee and pasteries are the best in town! Place is super clean and has a sick Italian feel to it. Great place to go if you want to do some casual work or have conversations with people :)Best thing to order (or my favs lol) almond croissant and cappuccino. Made best and taste delicious here.One thing to remember, if you do plan on getting a table to yourself on the second floor... REMEMBER to reserve ahead of time. I’ve had the issue of not being able to find seats sometimes when I stop by after 6PM.

We love coming to this place. It was fantastic food and atmosphere. However, we were today with our baby and the waitress said “strollers don’t fit here”. It’s our first bad experience in the venue.

Authentic Italian coffee, pastries, caffetteria experience.

Coffee and bakery items are authentic Italian!

Very good drinks, nice music, very cozy and great feel!

I have mixed feelings about this place because my first visit wasn’t too great. The woman who took my order wasn’t nice. She rushed me along and didn’t smile at all. I ordered an espresso and the opera cake. My espresso was way too strong and thick. It tasted like mud. The opera cake didn’t taste fresh.My second visit, however, was much better. A different woman took my order and she was much nicer and much more helpful. I ordered an almond milk cappuccino this time, which was outstanding, and I tried the strawberry Panna Cotta and a pistachio cream puff (both were delicious).Update: I’ve had a couple more visits since my first two. This café is always busy, and I think that’s partly because people in this area love to hang out and read or work from their laptops, but I believe it’s also a testament to the fact that they have great coffee and good desserts.

Be ready to drink expensive coffee from disgusting cup. Its literally dirty and old.

Good coffee, great vibe. Awful service. The two baristas are very unfriendly and uninviting.Highlights: the tiramisu cake is phenomenal. So great. Also coffee is goodIf they had friendly baristas that didnt look so grumpy I would give 5 stars. Maybe they just had a bad day, according to past reviews service is a huge hit or miss. If they were consistent with the service they provided this place would be top notch.

UGH. The worst coffee you can ever have. Ordered an almond milk cappuccino but what I got tasted like drip coffee mixed with flavored half and half. Would like my money back please

Coffee was well prepared and I enjoyed the vanilla profiteroles. Well setup with outdoor seating.

Hot chocolate with cinnamon and spice was awesome and rich. Desserts are also wonderful.

Fun place & you can make reservations for upstairs.... First Class place & drinks with sidewalk seating...

I really liked the variety and freshness of herbal teas there!

The barista is a bit flowery and full of himself which can be translated as being rude. We orders only coffee, that was ok, so I cant say anything about the food. The place is fine.

Simply best coffee in town. Try homemade tiramisu too!

BEWARE OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT, VERY BAD SERVICE, RUDE WORKERS AND THEY VIOLATE THE DISABILITY ACT, SO IF YOU HAVE A DISABILITY THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU

Terrible, overpriced coffee. Not much else to say. Tasted like freeze dried coffee. And it wasn’t even hot. Only redeeming quality was it’s charming inside.

Okay coffee. Good Italian desserts.

OMG. Very nice cafe, nice selection of pastries and all..but the covid/mask policy is very strange and you will be asked to leave if you dont wear a face mask if your sip drinking frequency is too slow. The staff saw me spend $40+ dollars and asked me leave because I was not wearing a face mask between my sips.I dont mind the outdoor 20 min face mask policy, but if drinking/eating, you must leave the customers alone. I cannot put a mask back on between every sip. Additionally, you did ask me to leave, yes, that is factual. Lastly, 10 other customers were randomly following that rule and you decided to target me only. Very concerning.

Great service and cute vibe. Would love to revisit once restrictions loosen up even more.

Legit Italian cafe. The only place in Palo Alto with good coffee other than Blue Bottle or Paris Baguette. Pistachio cream croissant was awesome.

Beautiful place. Great drinks. The hot chocolate is sooo good for the winter. Nice for working/chatting. Free WiFi. Only downside is limited amount of outlets.

As much as I loved the hot chocolate, the customer service was beyond worse. The lady was rude and ended up arguing with us, forcing us to stay outside in the cold and make us order looking at the menu posted on the outside. The things we ordered were all dripping through the cup making our hands dirty while we held it. Had a terrible experience. Try to avoid the rude lady.Please note: The issue was not being able to stand outside, it was the rude behavior of the lady forcing to stay away from the door itself.We all agree these are critical times, but this sort of behavior is not at all acceptable.Also, to your point, there were only 2 employees in the cafe. Gonna suggest my friends to avoid the place until a few months at least.

By far th best coffee in Palo Alto! Try their Machiatone

Whatever they have is awesome. You dont wanna miss their chocolate cookies. Theyre just indiscribabily delicious!!

Sweet / Best service. Terrible offerings. No non-dairy alternative. No coffee machine, etc. You can skip for the most part.

Always good coffee and tea.

You want to love this place but the experience can be so different from one visit to the next depending on the staff at that time.Most concerning is the lack of proper COVID protocols which was very evident this week in the mornings. Tables not cleaned between patrons!

Coffee was good, staff was abominable. They were negligent and uncommunicative to the point of offense. Atmosphere is heavy-handed and monochrome. I see no reason to ever return, you can get good coffee elsewhere.

Tiramisu: soggy texture, liquid gushed out onto plate when attempting to cut through with fork, probably been sitting in fridge for some time. Fruit tarts: bland. Cappuccino: good, so +1 star.

Lovely place... Perfect place to take friends to have awesome hot chocolate and catch up

Best coffee in Palo Alto if you like Italian style coffees

Very good coffee, and a nice cozy environment for you to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee.

They dont take cash, rather than go all Seinfeld on them I used my card. Upstairs seating is by reservation only and costs $2.00, coffee was good but its a little pretentious.

We love this place a lot ! Coffee is so aroma and creamy here, atmosphere is comfy and you don’t want to leave, especially if Venetian Tiramisu on your plate. Thank you guys for good customer service and making this place special for visitors. We stopped here once, but after back agin and again ..Highly recommended this place!!Try Tiramisu-is really delicious ☕️🍰😋

This place feels like a direct transplant from Italy and is our favorite coffee shop in the area. Plus, just as would expect in Italy, it serves great Italian wines, so people hang out here for hours, chatting or just enjoying their leisurely time, watching people passing by and making conversation. The staff pay great attention to detail, wiping off wine bottles before serving the wine, cutting the cakes carefully, making sure that the presentation is flawless. It’s been an island of sanity in the coronavirus isolation, even though we are all wearing masks and sitting away from each other.

Great coffee choices...and this hot chocolate was absolutely delicious!!! With a spice of cinnamon.

Great coffee and pastries. Outside seating

Excellent coffee, European style.

A bit of Italy in the Bay. Relaxed street seating and amazing coffee and authentic sweets. Make sure to try Tiramisu, it is pure perfection :)

One of my favorite cafes in the Bay area

As always they know how to make a cappuccino 😍. I love how they set up the seating outside with a small patio, really gives you that euro feel. In this time I feel like I have been transported to Italy especially once my lips taste that cappuccino.

This is my favorite Palo Alto coffee shop for espresso, cappuccino and the European style cafe experience! They have DELICIOUS cakes and desserts and my favorite drink is the tazza en cioccolata or something like that - basically, melted chocolate with milk or cream and I add a shot of espresso. Mmmmm, all the calories!

Perfect espresso macchiato! Whole experience gives me Italian vibes which I love! Service was friendly and efficient. Bonus for providing water for my dog the second I mentioned I have a dog with me for seating. During COVID time: felt safe and clean. Contactless payment, extra seating on closed street, staff all following protocol (as far as I could tell). Excited to have another Italian escape soon.

Best coffee ☕ I had since I came to the US, tastes just like home...❤...can hardly wait to visit again!

Terrible service. You can get kicked out if:- staying more than 20min- not wearing a mask when not drinking/eating.Understandable if you stay long and are not drinking/eating anything. The issue is that most people dont wear their mask between every sip. If you are drinking from a large bottle, and dont drink fast enough, you will be asked to drink faster or wear a mask between every sip. Insanity.

Had a hot chocolate with spoon for the first time. Good ambience.

Best espresso in the bay area!!!!!! I travel from SF to get a delicious cup of espresso. Its the last hope for coffee culture here. @CVenetia please stop selling stale coffee beans. I bought a pack yesterday and it taste like months old.

Truly Italian