Downtown Burlingame's Town Square sits on one acre that used to be a parking lot, running from Park Road on the west to Lorton Avenue on the east. A water feature stands in the middle, clad in angled panels of cast dichroic glass. Depending on the sun and where you stand, it reads icy white, aqua, gold or royal blue. After dark, theater-grade projectors wash the main walk with a light artwork that recalls Burlingame Creek, which now runs in a culvert underground.
The square opened on April 2 with Champagne, face painting and a silent disco. Mayor Michael Brownrigg told the crowd, as the San Mateo Daily Journal reported, that a town square had been in his campaign document since 2009. "Sixteen years later, I finally delivered."
For its first six months, though, the square was mostly a well-designed plaza with tables. Then in October, a new restaurant opened on each of the two streets that frame it. The plan always depended on that. The square was drawn in two halves, and each half was meant to take its character from the buildings around it.
The Square Was Drawn With Two Different Jobs
According to SWA Group, the landscape architects, the square has two zones. The Park Road half holds flexible space and a small performance area meant for markets and festivals. The Lorton Avenue half holds communal tables and outdoor games. A grid of deciduous trees covers both, and large custom wood-slat benches line the sunny northwest edge. The curbs on both streets are marked for drop-off.
Through a partnership between the city and the developer of 220 Park, the square extends past the city's parcel into that development. The developer's side adds paving, seating terraces, and an elevated dining area and restaurant. SWA adds that "over time, other surrounding buildings are anticipated to open up to the Square."
The 220 Park development combines a six-story office building with ground-floor retail and the adaptive reuse of a 1941 Art Deco post office. SWA's plan put a restaurant in that development, beside the Park Road half of the square. As of October 1, it is open.
Park Road Got the Grand Room
The Old Post Office opened Thursday, October 1, at 220 Park Road. It comes from Bacchus Management Group, the team behind San Francisco's Spruce and the Michelin-starred Selby's and The Village Pub. The Redwood City Pulse describes a 90-seat dining room laid out as one long hallway. It has 25-foot ceilings and keeps the building's original terrazzo floors, marble walls, crown molding, brass teller windows and post boxes.
From a construction standpoint, that list is the hard part of an adaptive reuse. Keeping original terrazzo, marble and brass in place through a full commercial kitchen buildout takes patience and money. Bacchus founding partner Tim Stannard told Eater SF that when he and designer Stephen Brady walked the space, "My jaw just dropped."
Stannard was also open about what he wants the room to become. He told the Redwood City Pulse:
"My hope is The Old Post Office becomes for Burlingame and Hillsborough what The Village Pub is for Woodside, or Selby's is for Atherton."
A neighborhood restaurant has to work on an ordinary weeknight, so the price tiers matter. Here is how they break down, per Eater SF:
- Dinner: a $120 prix-fixe menu in the dining room, served 5 to 10 p.m. daily.
- Lunch: a prix-fixe menu that started Monday, October 12, served 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
- Brunch: $70, started Saturday, October 17, served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekends. It includes a buckwheat crepe filled with lemon ricotta and topped with honey-poached cranberries.
- The Postmaster's Bar: an a la carte menu in what used to be the postmaster's office. It includes a six-ounce burger with smoked cheddar, caramelized onions and a confit-yolk egg, plus lobster rolls, steak frites and classic cocktails.
The bar is the easiest way in for anyone who wants to see the room without booking a prix-fixe evening. The tableside duck is the opposite case. It is limited to six orders a night and has to be ordered with your reservation. The Redwood City Pulse lists it as a $40-per-person supplement that serves two.
Lorton Avenue Got the Weeknight Bowl
Ten days later, the other street got its anchor. Marufuku Ramen opened Sunday, October 11, at 225 Lorton Ave., the Burlingame-Hillsborough Times reported. The restaurant serves Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen with thin noodles, plus chicken paitan, small rice bowls and Japanese appetizers. Marufuku started in San Francisco's Japantown in 2017. The Burlingame Chamber of Commerce welcomed the restaurant as a member on October 10, the day before it opened.
According to Marufuku's Burlingame page, the regular hours that began October 12 are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. straight through on Saturday and Sunday.
The Lorton half of the square has the communal tables and the games. Its new neighbor is the kind of place where a family can eat dinner before the kids want to be out on those tables. On weekends, the kitchen runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with no midday break.
The Two Halves, Side by Side
| Park Road half | Lorton Avenue half | |
|---|---|---|
| Built into the square | Flexible event space, small performance area | Communal tables, outdoor games |
| October anchor | The Old Post Office, 220 Park Road | Marufuku Ramen, 225 Lorton Ave. |
| Opened | Thursday, October 1 | Sunday, October 11 |
| Weekend daytime | Brunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Weeknight dinner | 5 to 10 p.m., $120 prix fixe or a la carte at the bar | 5 to 9 p.m. |
If you're heading to Burlingame Avenue itself, Amado at 1100 Burlingame Ave. is also open. Its own site lists hours from 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with dinner until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
October 25 Is the First Big Day With Both Sides Open
Downtown Burlingame's Fall Fest runs Sunday, October 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Downtown Burlingame BID lists a petting zoo and kids' activities, a train, arts and crafts, specialty foods, music, and a Halloween costume contest for kids and families. It's the first major downtown festival since both new restaurants opened, and their weekend hours line up with the festival day.
- Late morning: The Old Post Office brunch begins at 11:30 a.m. on Park Road and runs until 2:30 p.m.
- Midday: Fall Fest is in full swing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including the costume contest.
- Any time until 9 p.m.: Marufuku serves without a midday break on weekends, so the Lorton side still has a table open after the festival winds down.
Anyone planning a costume-contest morning around brunch should book ahead. Brunch has only been running since October 17, and dining-room seats are limited to 90.
The Park Road Side Is Still Being Built
October finishes the first phase, not the whole Park Road side. Eater SF reports that Bacchus moves into Phase II this winter. That phase adds an outdoor patio and a 60-seat glass house, set to open in April. SWA's plan for the square also calls for seating terraces and an elevated dining area on the 220 Park side, so the edge facing the plaza is still filling in.
Before that, the holidays arrive. Winterfest in Burlingame is Friday, December 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Downtown Burlingame and the City of Burlingame Parks and Recreation will hold the traditional tree lighting, followed by hot chocolate and a short train ride around Burlingame Avenue. Parks and Recreation has named its holiday page "Light Up the Square & Winterfest," so the program now carries the square's name. At 7:30 p.m. on a Friday, Marufuku will be serving on Lorton and dinner service will be underway in the old post office.
Turning a 1941 post office into a restaurant without losing its terrazzo and brass takes the kind of work Perry Kayasone has done on job sites for years. If you own a home within walking distance of Park Road or Lorton and want a straight read on what the square's buildout means for your property or your renovation plans, Call Perry.
