Causwells regulars are already familiar with the restaurant’s San Francisco offerings, as the original opened in 2014 and received a food and drink menu refresh in 2022. But now, co-owners Adam Rosenblum and Elmer Mejicanos took this new opportunity to not only expand south, but to get creative with offerings in the bigger space.
Rosenblum knew not to mess with the ultra-popular burger and kept it on the menu, but he’s branched out in other ways with items like fried chicken with coleslaw and prime rib. Baked oysters also join the menu, touting an herb-laden butter with Romano cheese, and he also serves octopus served with garbanzo beans, pomelo, and mache in a black vinaigrette, per a press release. Brunch will also be a part of the offerings, including a breakfast jambalaya and andouille sausage eggs Benedict befitting Rosenblum’s time cooking in New Orleans restaurants.
Mejicanos also stepped up the cocktails at the new Causwells outpost. The most noticeable change — the addition of a martini cart, serving drinks tableside. Diners can order the filthy martini, the Causwells martini, and a five-spice Sazerac from the cart. Each has its own spin courtesy of Mejicanos: the vodka in the filthy martini is washed with olive oil and includes olive brine made from smoked olives; the Causwells martini, meanwhile, adds white peach and eucalyptus to the gin base; the five-spice Sazerac pairs rye aged in a beeswax-lined barrel, served with an absinthe bubble on top.
Beyond the martini cart, the cocktail offerings include 18 of Mejicanos’s drinks, with favorites such as the Causwells espresso martini and deconstructed Pimm’s cup turning up on the menu. But he also added warm-weather-friendly cocktails befitting Menlo Park, such as the Piña Colada Royale, which mixes agricole rum with pineapple turmeric and salted almond, all topped off with shaved coconut ice.
The decor echoes the Art Deco elements of the San Francisco original, such as the peacock wallpaper taking over the bar area. The restaurant welcomes in the outdoors via an operable glass garage door, and, if you live in the Springline building, food and drinks can be ordered and brought up to the pool area. Tres chic.
Causwells (550 Oak Grove, Menlo Park) debuts on Thursday, April 2, and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.