Tootsie's at the Cantor Arts Center — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Tootsies at the Museum is the definition of a hidden gem. Tucked inside the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford, it’s the last place you’d expect to find a charming, sun-drenched café that feels like a slice of Italy—but here it is, doing the most.

The vibe is European and effortlessly chic. Think white tile, natural light, and a pastry case that makes you stop in your tracks. Their biscotti are crisp and fragrant, the kind you want to dip in a proper cappuccino and stretch out your morning with. The pastry selection? Next-level. Flaky, buttery, thoughtfully curated.

And then there’s the surprise—an actually excellent beer selection and some swoon-worthy desserts. Every item feels chosen with care, nothing phoned in. For a museum café, this place wildly overdelivers. It’s the kind of spot that makes you want to linger after a stroll through the galleries.

Tootsies is officially my new favorite excuse to come back to Stanford - aside from the amazing new...

Service was good, but the burger is quite possibly the worst I've ever had. I genuinely prefer a mcdouble. The patty was awful. It was a little undercooked, and it had no crust at all - the texture was just horrific. It was more like a meatloaf than a burger patty.

The thing smelled rank - I'm guessing it might have been the tallegio cheese. Perhaps that's just me not liking tallegio and it's my fault, but regardless it's how they choose to serve it. The bun was also mediocre. The best part were the onions, but they hadn't caramelized long enough - they were soft, but not even a little bit brown as caramelized onions ought to be. Caramelizing onions takes 45-60 minutes - this felt like a 15-minute job.

One other issue - their tableside menus display different (lower) prices than the wall menu and the prices they actually charge. I don't appreciate the...

09.17.25 2pm Had just an Americano and a canned flavored Pellegrino. The gentleman who helped me made the espresso an Americano for daddy so it wouldn't be too strong. He was so lovely, thank you to him!

The cafe is bright, clean, well maintained, has lots of indoor and outdoor seating with patio umbrella shades, uses real silverware and offers raw cane sugar for your coffee and has plenty of outlets for your devices on the counter seating area though you must bring your own USB/USC converters.

Daddy said coffee was very good. Cafe kept seeing an influx of customers. The salads and soup looked delicious so will try them next time we're visiting the...