Tootsie's at the Cantor Arts Center

Honestly, this place deserves more than 4.1 stars compared to the other options on campus. Great espresso, delicious tiramisù, and some authentic Italian dishes. The atmosphere is very nice, with a beautiful garden that’s perfect for hanging out. Highly recommended for a quick coffee or lunch!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

09.17.25 2pm Coffee and service were perfect. Thank you!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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 Cantor Art Museum.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best cafe not only in Stanford but the larger Palo Alto area - lovely light healthy food, excellent espresso drinks, and uniquely beautiful shaded grassy setting next to Cantor Arts Center and Stanford’s arts and art history building, which itself includes a publicly accessible rooftop terrace with sweeping views of campus and the adjacent hills and mountains. Ignore the low-starred reviews from tourists looking for McDonald’s and come enjoy this hidden gem!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Generally, art museum food is good but overpriced. The Cantor's is merely overpriced. The mushy, salty lasagna was just like my last slice of frozen lasagna. The peas in the panzanells salad were way undercooked, and the croutons may have been made on Wonder bread. Only the tuna panini was good.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

My first impression was of a performance stage perched high above us, with lunch service and a gentle soundtrack accompanying our meal. The outdoor area delighted with its murmur of conversations as we dined after an intense writing workshop on a Saturday afternoon.
I would have loved to see a live jazz band with a vocalist singing about peace, love, and understanding on the very day I visited—when we had attacked Iran and hardly took notice of the weight of that moment.

The food is always good here, well-prepared, tasty, and nutritious. The coffee is excellent and the service is friendly. I especially love that we can eat on the patio, away from the music, so we can hear each other, and overlooking lawn, trees, and Rodin.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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 voyager cafe.

Great sandwiches and pasta

Served me Food even before kitchen opened

Nice museum restaurant with some good pasta and other food options. Would recommend to eat here when exploring the museum or the campus

Good food, too loud inside.

Well worth a visit during the summer months, when you can eat outside. But don't visit in winter - the inside atmosphere is ruined by the incredibly loud open-to-the-air refrigerator that runs nonstop.

Easily the best restaurant on the Stanford campus - without comparison. The food is super fresh, delicious, healthy, creative, service is excellent, and there's beautiful outdoor seating next to the Rodin garden. I've been coming nearly every day since I discovered it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great fresh choices. Super friendly service. Beautiful plates & utensils!! No fast food feel here…and next to Rodin Garden!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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 bait and switch.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 4