Tootsie's At The Stanford Barn — Restaurant in Palo Alto

I was obsessed with this place last year. The pastries and savory foods were heavenly, and the service was so warm and wonderful. It's taken a drastic turn in the last few months ... every single time I've been, they're opening late or closing early (pet peeve--adhere to the times on your website, or change them!), they've "run out" of most of their dishes, or it is just plain disappointing.

This had happened several times, but things came to a head today... they charged me for something they'd run out of (which they didn't realize for like half an hour), but instead of refunding, they gave me a sugary drink I didn't want. When my main dish finally came, it was a laughingly small amount of food for the price (last year, the servings were much more plentiful) and wasn't at the level of quality I've long associated with Tootsies. It was also missing the fancy breakfast potatoes that were promised, plus they'd a) forgotten the side I ordered and b) run out of clean silverware, so I had to wait for that. It was a true comedy of errors. This isnt just a bad day -- it's definitely a pattern over a period of months, and a sharp contrast with how they used to operate and their previous quality of food and service. With great sadness, I have to conclude that this place is no longer worth the price or the trek I have to take to get here....

Despite this being a brunch/breakfast place, this is also a fantastic place for lunch :D

I went here with a friend on a friday afternoon for lunch and it was busy! There was a line and the tables were full but the line moved fast and there wasn't too much of a struggle to find tables. The restaurant itself is really small with only a couple of seating options inside but plenty more outside. You order inside and they give you a number and bring out your order to you. I love that they have barrels as tables..it's a nice decoration choice :)

I ordered their perfetto panini and it was delicious! Their bread is crisp which gives the entire sandwich a nice crunch when you bite into it. The italian sausage had a great blend of spices that went really well with the red bell pepper spread. The broccoli rabe also gave the panini another cruch. I also got their homemade chips as my side and they were AMAZING. Great seasoning and the chips were fresh! My friend got the pollone sandwich with their homemade fries and he really enjoyed it.

Definitely a great spot for lunch if you're...

Tootie's is a nice laid back brunch place. The menu seems inspired by a mathon of Giada De Laurentiis hosted "Everyday Italian" episodes, e.g., more than one Nutella ladened dish. Brunch places typically fall into one of two categories: dinners that use margine and other low quality ingredients and try to wow with 'value' and high-end brunch places that use real ingredients and try to wow with special sauces and unique flavors. Tootie's uses real ingredients, but serves fairly basic brunch food. Nothing we had tasted bad, but everything was significantly less flavorful that practically every high-end brunch place I've been. The best part about Tootie's is the atmosphere. It's a fairly quiet spot right by the mall on Stanford's beautiful campus.

I recommend coming here, especially if you want something quiet and you don't mind if the food...