Sheraton Palo Alto Opens ‘Reimagined’ Poolside Grill After Six-Month Renovation Project

The Sheraton Palo Alto has announced the re-opening of its popular Poolside Grill after an extensive six-month renovation.

The 76-seat restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, opened its doors Nov. 27. The renovation, or “reimagining,” followed the renovation of the hotel’s lobby, bar and public spaces, which was also designed by Oakland-based design firm Arcsine.

“It feels really good to open,” said Suzanne Murdoch, vice president of Sales & Marketing for Pacific Hotel Management, the hotel’s parent company. “There are a lot of restaurants in Palo Alto to choose from, but it’s very unique because of the ambiance of being next to the pool. And, it’s always had a reputation of consistently offering fantastic food. It’s a local’s favorite too.”

Murdoch said the menu has basically remained the same, albeit with the introduction of a breakfast buffet and a few new touches here and there by Executive Chef Mark Ayers, who joined the culinary team in May. She added that Ayers will be making changes to the menu next year.

Ayers is not only Executive Chef of the Sheraton, but its nearby sister properties in the Pacific Hotel Management group, the Westin Palo Alto and The Clement Palo Alto.

“We didn’t want to change too many things just now and stay with the current lunch and dinner menu for now,” said Murdoch. “Mark added his own spin to breakfast, adding a few new items and embellishing our popular breakfast buffet.”

She said the restaurant’s signature items, such as the popular Minestrone Soup, the Wild Argentine Shrimp Tacos, the Scallop and Prawn Linguine and the Grilled Angus Flat Iron Steak Sandwich, will remain on the menu.

The design of the restaurant takes its cues from the style of the lobby renovations, with clean modern design also by Arcsine. The designers embraced the original modernist architecture while adding modest contemporary touches, including refined furniture and elegantly simple light fixtures. The palette of clear walnut and textural cream with brushed brass accents unites the restaurant aesthetically with the hotel’s renovated public space.

Inside the restaurant, natural light floods into the vaulted skylight and highlights the restored wood plank ceiling, diffusing light throughout the space.

The furniture layout is arranged to maximize views to the pool and patterned wood screens surround banquettes near the entry to create a strong sense of arrival. Considering the local tech nexus, connectivity is key; an elevated communal table offers power at the table apron, while minimalist outlets are installed at Pullman-style booths.

By relocating the buffet opposite the pool, the space better transitions from day to night: custom-patterned accordion doors stack discreetly away to feature the breakfast spread and expand during lunch and dinner service to create a feature wall.

“It really has a resort-style atmosphere, it feels like your dining at a resort,” said Murdoch. “It’s a great restaurant that opens up to the pool and you can either eat on the pool deck or inside. When the weather is nice and the doors are open, it’s a very popular place to eat.”

The Breakfast Buffet is available from 6-10 a.m. daily; a la carte breakfast is offered from 6-11 a.m.; lunch is served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; and dinner from 5-10:30 p.m.

Murdoch added that the hotel also offers complimentary on-site parking for those dining at the Poolside Grill.