Ada’s Cafe

I am a big fan — the salads are great — really I’ve liked everything on the menu I’ve tried. High quality ingredients served with a smile. My only complaint — hours are choppy as it’s tied to the library — need to post your hours on your web site! I would go here even when the library is closed!

Really nice staff and food was good. I can’t do a full review as I was only there to get a bag of popcorn but overall pretty nice

Ada’s is a non profit café in the Mitchell Park community center.
You order at the counter, and they bring the food to you. There aren’t that many tables inside, but there are a lot outside.
1. Cobb salad: I like that they use butter lettuce. He chicken breast was well seasoned, and it comes with caramelized onions, tomatoes, avocado, bacon, and a hard boiled egg (no blue cheese). I went with their green goddess dressing, and it was pretty good
2. Bonanza sandwich: warm, thinly sliced steak, cheese, chimichurri. This was actually huge and is a really good value
Everyone there was super friendly. They also have lots of baked goods.
They’re a non profit, so you’re supporting a good cause by going.

What an awesome mission Ada’s Café has of employing adults with disabilities. I enjoyed a delicious, creamy chai latte on a comfy couch of this cute little café. I feel lucky to be able to contribute to this great organization!

I had an amazing experience here. It was the end of a workday and I hadn’t eaten anything the whole day. I ordered a roasted vegetable sandwich but apparently there was some misunderstanding in the order. What I got was only a cheese sandwich. The lady replaced it without questions, without any extra charge but with a smile and lots of warmth. The warm pumpkin and beans melted in my mouth and suddenly my busy day had become more than all right. I will come again. Thank you.

Awesome staff :-) very tasty huge sandwiches served at perfect temperature. Tea presentation is amazing! Scones are tasty too…

Ada’s Café catered our church brunch and it was the best brunch ever! Food was delicious — best soup I have had in a long time!

Fantastic service and great food in between studying at the Magnificent Mitchell Park Library. Go for that award winning chili, perfect for those wintery Palo Alto evenings. Also try the myriad of tasty pastries and treats. Soups and salads are a bonus. A must do destination from toddlers to seniors… and beyond!!! Mazel Tov!
Enjoy my friends!!!

This is a quaint and cozy café that serves excellent comfort food. The chili and sandwiches are a perfect pairing. The ingredients are fresh. The scones are so fluffy and buttery. It’s neat how we get to design our own sandwiches. That is a unique feature that we appreciate.

Great food, great service, all around 5 stars. We had Ada’s café cater a small party at our house and they were prompt, the food was beyond amazing (portobello mushrooms, caprese salad, BBQ chicken, gazpacho, bean salad. Delicious!)

An authentic review from a 10 year old boy
The white bean, chicken chili soup is beyond amazing and they let you design your own sandwiches if you ask. Service here is top notch and they have a good mission as well… But come for the food.

*Great* food, great location, uneven service.
First of all, let me say that the food here is fantastic. Highlights include their scones (some of the best I’ve ever had), their Wonderful Wendy sandwich, and their berry crumble. Whoever does their menu is gifted.
The location is also great. Fast free Wi-​Fi via the library next door, and pleasant tables in the shade.
The only problem is the service. Ada’s is a mission-​oriented nonprofit, so you have to keep that in mind. Still, sometimes things don’t entirely make sense. Earlier today, I went in and there were 6 people behind the counter, and 3 of them didn’t seem to know what to do. There was 1 person who was doing most of the work, but even then, he wasn’t able to keep the bases covered. They forgot the sandwich of the woman in front of me, who had waited for awhile with her kids and then took a refund instead. They forgot to heat my berry crumble, which wound up hard and not as tasty. Small things, which is why I still give this place 4 stars, but definitely room for improvement. Suggestion: Keep the ratio of people who know what’s going on to helpers at 1:1, and keep no more than 5 people behind the counter.

The service is extremely friendly and very helpful. I messed up my order and confused them, but they made sure they got me exactly what I wanted. Great place if you are at Mitchell Park and want to grab a sandwich or coffee.

+ Love the location, right next to the library. Good ambiance and a nice place to get a bite to eat and talk.
~ Sandwiches were tasty
+ Support their mission of empowering people with disabilities

We finally had a chance to visit this wonderful café today. What a thrill to see this incredible concept come together in such a perfect way! We were enthusiastically greeted by the staff; we were described the various delicious items, asked to make suggestions for things they could add.
The food was super good, coffee was excellent. The café is welcoming and warm, great music and ambiance, Why would you go anywhere else for lunch or breakfast with a place like this? And next door to the splendid new library! We are so blessed here. What a place to live!

I love this place. The people are friendly, the coffee is great, and they make it they I ask. The food is quite good. They hire disabled people which is so wonderful!
It is quiet, it is comfortable, the wifi works very well, they have free electric car charging, and the library is right there… I encourage people to go!
Please support this non-​profit café, it is well worth a visit. I go 4 days a week.

Cute as a button café by the library.
I had a scone and tea here. The scone was pretty yummy — flaky yet dense and buttery. The tea was a standard mango green tea. Great for a small café by a nice new library. Food items seem limited. My friend ordered salad but had to wait for the delivery from the kitchen and ended up not getting one because they all had some type of cheese. Service is very friendly. Overall, a cute place to grab a light bite before or after being a bookworm for the day.

Friendly staff with organic coffee and home style foods. Nice selection and they are non profit with some ADA workers that help as well. One of new favorite spots nearby.
This is very innovative setup here! I hope this idea catches on in other areas. Nice gem that this husky dog bumped into. Will be bringing the husky pups to check out soon. woof!

Kudos to the City of Palo Alto for choosing Ada’s Café to be the food vendor for the Palo Alto Mitchell Park Library.
Ada’s Café is notable for both their great tasting café food but also for their organizational mission of supporting and employing those with physical and mental disabilities.
I first sampled Ada’s at the Grand Opening of Mitchell Park Library where they were handing out free samples of cookies and their excellent coffee. I was glad to return. The café has a warm and intimate ambiance with several tables inside and a few more outside. Service is super friendly and the menu encompasses drinks (juice, coffee, teas) as well as soups, salads, and sandwiches. My order:
Bowl of Chili — a very generous portion of chili was served with three metal containers of condiments: finely diced onions, grated cheese, and sour cream. Flavor was great and nice chunks of beef were hot and easily melted the cheese and cooked the onions. Great bowl of chili.
Pomegranate Lemonade — tart, refreshing and not overly sweet. Great lemonade.
Steak Sandwich — another generous portion of sliced flank steak on a warm panini bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
Overall, a great addition to the area and a welcome choice for the library. The service and staff make the place but it’s nice to see the food is good too.
Ada’s Café accepts credit cards including American Express.

I like the Mission of the café. To provide adults with disabilities with work opportunities in the food industry. The place is however super small so the weekends are packed. Got some chili, a fritata and a lemonade and sat in the less crowded outside area. You can watch the madness which is the library in tandem with the bustle of the café. Flavors are solid and the portions are filling. If youre gonna hit the area grab a snack while youre here