What you see is what you get at this upscale Mountain View cafe and bakery
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 12/12/2006
Rating: 8
My photo gallery
Neto Caffe and Bakery is located in the heart of the restaurant district in Mountain View. Directly across the Cal Trains station, I can only imagine it as a hotspot during the morning commute. They have gourmet coffees, freshly baked pastries and breads, salads, free wireless, and much more food. I didn't have a computer handy on me and wonder if it's offered by our friends at Google.
Chocolate Babka $3.95 (image 10,11,12) - I didn't know that the heck it was but the guy behind the counter said you won't find this in many bakeries and people from San Francisco stop by to eat these things. Was this guy pulling my leg? He placed the goodie into the oven and warmed it up. I took it back to the table where Terry was eating his fancy smancy Chocolate Mousse. The Babka looks like a giant cookie but has the texture of a dense cake if that makes any sense. There was a swirl of dark chocolate with mild sweetness (maybe oranges??). The pastry was appetizing and filling. I ate half and saved part of it for my coworker.
Chocolate Rugalach $2.95 (image 9) - a straight-like chocolate croissant. I've never had a rugalach this big before as I'm used to seem them as bite size cookies. I waited to get back to work to try it. I anticipated a flaky layered croissant but received a tightly rolled chocolate roll. Like the Babka, wasn't too sweet but fresh. Repeat order.
I thought both items were very good and wanted to get a 2nd opinion. I asked my coworker Doug since he was familiar with the pastries. To quote him, he said it reminds him of childhood, legit stuff his family would have during parties and holidays, the real deal.
Neto Caffe and Bakery is an upscale bakery serving high quality items. Prices are higher than other bakeries in the area but at least you know you're paying for food that contains no additives or preservatives. It's an easy return visit for me.
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 165
Reviewed: 12/16/2006
Rating: 8
My photo gallery
Neto Caffe and Bakery was the perfect compliment to a Mexican dinner. Tonight was a cold, 45 degree, and drizzling night and my friend and I wanted to finish off our dinner with some chocolate sweets. I had saw Neto Caffe being built for the last few months and read it on here, so we stopped by to grab some sweets. Since she treated me to dinner, I promised to pick up the check for dessert.
Neto serves sweets, drinks, and food. They lay out their various foods on the counter for presentation although this cold night several people were drinking lattes and hot chocolates. My friend and I pick out our dessert. She picks the chocolate tart (5.50) and I get the Belgian chocolate mousse (6.25), and pick the chocolate croissant (2.75). Total order comes to $15.70 after tax. Our mousse and tart packed in plastic takeout boxes while the croissant placed in a paper bag.
Belgian chocolate mousse: Rich silky chocolate wrapped in dark chocolate shell and covered in white chocolate shavings. The mousse contains a bottom layer of chocolate cake. The chocolate mousse is a pricey treat for the chocolate lover. (8.5)
Chocolate Tart: A meal in itself, this rich sweet dark chocolate lies on top of a cookie like piecrust. The chocolate is not mousse but rather hardened but still soft on the inside around the piecrust area. (8)
Chocolate croissant: Excellent sweet buttered croissant with a thin layer of chocolate within. The chocolate does not over power the croissant, as the croissant is enjoyable on its own. Enjoyable as it is not flakey or soft but more like pastry consistency. (8)
Pluses: Excellent selections of dessert, free WiFi, great drinks, Café seating with plenty of seating on the outside.
Minuses: Pricey and the labeling around the baked goods area need work and price listing.
Good morning. New dog on the block kicking it off with Netto Caffe and Bakery in Mountain View. A handsome little joint at the end of Castro Street by the CalTrain Tracks. The place is well lit with wood trim decor and more than ample patio seating. Very consistent with the makeover of Castro Street. When the weather gets warmer, grab a copy of 'Sunnyvale' and have one of their pastries and a coffee in the patio. You can read what Castro must have looked like back in the day as the former hotel accross the street (above the current Ohana Restaurant) is mentioned in the book. Castro was really seedy back then.
That was then, and this is now, and I got a few minutes before the 8:23am takes me to my cube on the peninsula. A quick scan of the menu and I think 'dang,that's much expensive'. Breakfast/lunch items going for 8.00 - 9.00. It better be good. Next time though as that train is a coming. I grab a flat bread looking thing with sesame seeds and green stuff spicey herb stuff on it, a rugalach, and a small coffee and bounce out the door.
On the platform, I noticed the grease spots on the flatbread bag. This better be good. The flatbread was cold and not sure if the weather had anything to do with it. Not bad, but not good either. It was tolerable and tasted unlike anything that I would anticipate it to be. On the fence on that one. At the cube, I bite into the rugalach and plan to eat the rest later. The problem is that after the first bite, there was not later. I couldn't put it down. It wasn't light as I expected it to be, but turned out to be pretty dense with a light chocolate flavor with a hint of cinnamon and sugar. Though cold, it's an easy repeat order.
Handsome, a bit pricey, and a few just-getting-started in the biz jitters, but alright. Well, just okay really. I'll swing by again to get a rugalach fix and to try out the other stuff.
“Grabbed lunch elsewhere and headed to Neto for a quick dessert. I had the chocolate mousse, which was ok. However, for $6.75, I certainly expected more since that chocolate mousse cost me more than my lunch did.”
