We decided to splurge on our wedding anniversary - and a big splurge it was!
You can select between a "small" and a "big" menu, where the chef constantly sends out small, one-or-two bite size, exquisite creations.
There are no more details - whatever is in the works is what you get. They did ask what food we completely would not eat - it was any lamb meat, goat cheese and cilantro for me. My hubby eats everything.
For almost $400 without wine, for the "big" menu, we had very tasty samples, where I got replacements for any of the forbidden items.
The signature dish, 62 degrees egg, is very surprising - seems like we know everything about soft boiled eggs, but actually we do not. The white is firm but soft and the yolk is perfectly liquid.
The "small salad" (I think that was the name of this dish) was (I know this is not an adjective for food) funny. think baby zucchini and cherry tomato - now get *their* "baby" version, and put 5 or 6 of these on small rectangular tray. spray them once with tarragon mist, and call it a salad. Told you it was "funny".
I loved the curry green beans - perfectly steamed green beans, with freeze dry curry sauce which melted slowly on the beans and in my mouth.
The desert was a bowl of several items, quite surprising in the combination of flavors and textures.
The service was impeccable - attentive but not hovering, friendly and respectful.
I was very impressed with the variety of plates and silverware - each dish was served on a plate that somehow was fitted to the food, and the silverware was different per dish, again in a very coordinated and well thought way.
This was an evening to remember, well worth the cost - however it will be a long while before we can afford to visit again.

We went to Baume on the special occasion of my birthday. We had heard a lot of positive comments about it and their recent second michelin star was a great motivator as well. Overall, our experience was great. There is only a 14-course menu and it is pricey but the food is worth it. The chef plays with innovative ways to present known ingredients and introduce new tastes. Loved the food experience. Each dish was small enough that we never felt full and were able to enjoy the whole menu. The atmosphere was nice and they did a great job with a nice setup in a palo alto location that was not designed for a high end place like this.

On the negative, I would note that the service was simply too fast. The whole menu was served in about 2 hours. For our European standards, that is just too fast and we felt rushed. We had barely finished a dish that it was removed and a new one brought about.

The other key negative for me was the cheese course. The cheese optons were great but we were told we could only pick so many. This is simply not how it is done in 2-star michelin restaurants in Europe. No one will take the whole set but as a rule of politeness, you are not given a limit. It is unfortunate specially when the chef is French so he clearly should know the standards back home.

We didn't expect this extraordinary dinner that we had in this restaurant. We have been travelling all our live and when we booked our reservation we were stunned by the price that they informed us we would have to pay. But after we had our dinner we understood that this was art, finesse, knowledge and dedication for this difficult mission, which was to satisfy difficult customers. The mission was perfectly accomplished and the 14 different courses that we had were of the highest level possible, with pratically enjoyed every minute we spent over there and we will certainly go back as soon as we have the oppportunity to go back to Palo Alto.

I knew it would be expensive and was told it was a fabulous restaurant by a friend. I don't mind spending money on delicious food, but we were served lots of foam and carrot shavings and many kinds of powders. It was mostly tasteless vegetables and very little meat or fish. Out of 12 courses, the only thing I could truly say was delicious was 2 bites of filet mignon. Some things I would consider "good" but most was just bad. Thank goodness they gave us a bread basket, though the bread was not even warm nor particularly good. We paid $700 for the two of us and I AM STILL HUNGRY. I would never recommend this place. It was all show. I don't know how they call themselves a French restaurant. We had to laugh at how bad it was. I was waiting for Candid Camera to show up. If you really enjoy food, you won't like this place.