Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn

About Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn

Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn is a small Italian cafe in a brick building on Welch Road, just outside Stanford Shopping Center. The cafe describes itself as a rustic spot for Italian pastries, breakfast, panini and espresso. It compares breakfast there to sitting in a cafe in Bologna. It serves weekday breakfast and lunch and offers indoor and outdoor seating.

The Barn location's page on the Tootsies website announces that "Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn is back," so treat it as a recently reopened cafe and confirm hours before a special trip. The same company runs Tootsies at the Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford campus at 328 Lomita Drive and lists a third spot called Tootsie's at Brittan West. The website also notes a partnership with Vina Enoteca, a Palo Alto restaurant listed in the MICHELIN Guide.

What is on the menu

The coffee bar runs on Italian classics. The drink menu lists espresso, espresso macchiato, cappuccino, latte macchiato, drip coffee and a café shakerato, the shaken iced espresso. There is also a moka all'italiana, mocha and hot chocolate, plus a set of bagged teas and loose-leaf iced tea. The pastry case holds plain, chocolate, almond and Nutella croissants, house-made scones and bombolini, which its catering menu describes as Italian doughnuts. Tiramisu and panna cotta cover dessert.

Breakfast is served until 11 a.m. The menu includes:

• Uova alla Romana: a poached egg on toast with marinated celery and olives.
• Frittata del giorno: an Italian omelet of the day with toast and marmalade.
• Breakfast panino: sautéed spinach, crispy pancetta, pecorino and a fried egg on a roll.
• Ricotta pancakes and a cornetto salato, a butter croissant filled with scrambled eggs and ham.

Lunch runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It centers on panini such as porchetta with caramelized onions and arugula, sopressata with truffle cream and fontina, coppa with fennel and provolone, a caprese and a tuna panino with capers and egg. A Tootsies burger with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes and a chicken sandwich on ciabatta round out the sandwiches. Salads include arancini over arugula, a tuna and cannellini bean salad, a chicken Caesar and a roasted beet salad with ricotta and pistachio. There is a soup of the day. Menus change, so check the current version on the cafe's website.

Ordering and catering

Tootsie's takes orders online through its website and sells gift cards online. The catering menu is aimed at office mornings and lunches. Coffee and tea come in containers that serve 8 to 10 guests with cups and condiments. Food options include trays of Italian pastries, the breakfast panino on focaccia, organic yogurt with house-made granola and an organic fruit platter. For lunch, there are boxed lunches with a panino or salad, chips, water and a cookie, or panini platters for the table. A cappuccino cart with a barista can come to your event for a minimum of three hours. Inquiries go through a form on the catering page.

Who it suits

Tootsie's fits a weekday breakfast meeting, a quick coffee and pastry or a sit-down lunch near the shopping center. The menu is short and built around sandwiches and salads, which keeps lunch fairly quick. It is not an option on weekends, when the Barn cafe is closed. On a Saturday or Sunday, the company's Cantor Arts Center cafe lists weekend hours.

Vegetarians have choices such as the caprese panino, the beet salad and several breakfast plates, but several sandwiches feature pork. Check with staff if you have dietary limits, since the website does not list allergen information.

Tips for visiting

The cafe's listed address is 700 Welch Road, Suite 150. Because the Barn cafe closes at 3 p.m., plan lunch on the early side. Call ahead for a large group so the kitchen is ready. Pair a coffee with shopping using our Stanford Shopping Center guide. If you are heading onto campus afterward, the sister cafe sits inside the museum covered in our Cantor Arts Center guide, which lists its own hours. For more coffee stops around town, see our Palo Alto coffee guide.

Location and getting there

Tootsie's at the Stanford Barn is at 700 Welch Road, Suite 150, Palo Alto, CA 94305, in the Stanford Shopping Center area of Palo Alto. Our Stanford Shopping Center guide covers what else is around.

The nearest train stop is the Palo Alto Caltrain station, about 0.6 miles away. That is roughly a 16 minute walk.

Parking: the center's own free surface lots.

Hours

Hours from the business's own website, checked October 29, 2026.

What is nearby

• Vina Enoteca, restaurant, under 0.1 mi
• Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, practice, under 0.1 mi
• The Container Store, store, 0.1 mi
• Nordstrom, shop, 0.1 mi
• Crate & Barrel, store, 0.1 mi
• Arizona Cactus Garden, 0.1 mi
• Stanford Mausoleum, 0.2 mi
• Cantor Arts Center, 0.3 mi

Other cafes and coffee shops nearby: Joe & The Juice Stanford Shopping Center (0.4 mi); Blue Bottle Coffee Stanford Shopping Center (0.5 mi); Coupa Cafe Lytton (0.7 mi); Philz Coffee (0.7 mi). Browse the full cafes and coffee shops list.

Before you go

• Weekday mornings bring a rush of commuters and students, so expect a line between about 8 and 9:30 a.m.
• Some cafes limit laptop use at busy times or have few outlets. Ask before settling in for a long work session.
• Hours often change with the school calendar and holidays. Check the cafe's site or map listing before a special trip.

About this listing

Checked October 29, 2026 against Tootsies official website; Stanford Barn location page; Stanford Barn menus; Catering; Cantor Arts Center location. How our listings work. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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