Café Bistro

I always get their salmon risotto. This dish is so yummy it’s worth all the calories! This place can get busy during lunch time and the wait can last up to 15 – 20 minutes. This place is also kid friendly and you often times see mommies with their tots. Ambiance is nice, they have both booths and tables. This is so continent after you go shopping and needed to grab something before heading home. Don’t forget to get their chocolate mint sticks before heading out! They sell it by the box! Yummy!

Great food and service close to work. I had to get used to the new look and menu when they changed from a café, but now I much prefer the changes since some of my favorite salads are still on the menu. There’s a good selection of pizzas, salads, entrees, sandwiches (bacon/​avocado/​chicken & who doesn’t want a good burger and fries!), pastas and soups. (French onion!) I hope one day they put the tomato bisque back on the menu as a daily option. Prices are higher than when they were a café, but ok for Palo Alto and matches better quality while getting served. Don’t forget to reserve on Open Table!

Very delicious food ! Came for lunch and got this chicken w/​angel hair pasta dish. Had an amazing taste with attention to detail. You can tell everything is fresh and homemade. Was packed, but they sat me and my mom right away. Our server was very attentive to us as well. Food was portioned perfectly ! Will be back

First and last time. Waited 30 minutes to be seated and then seated at table near sliding glass doors. About 10 people decided to squeeze behind me and my daughter to leave and come back even though it was not exit. One women’s son and daughter repeated shoved my chair and handbag to get out. Not coming here again, patrons are rude and service is slow. Too rattled to enjoy lunch.

This review is for the food– the service was so-​so, not bad, not great, but whatever the food is worth it!
I got the vine street cocktail-​so delicious and refreshing.
For dinner I ordered the prime rib French dip. Being a slim woman, half the sandwich was good enough for me, there was a lot of meat. I forced myself to eat a little more of the other half but my fiancé got the rest because I couldn’t finish it. I loved it though, so flavorful and I loved the thinly cut slices of meat. The fries and tapenade aioli sauce was AMAZING. That sauce was heaven. I cleaned the little bowl.
I will def go back!

My mom and I have been to several Nordstrom cafes and this one was very good. This one has waiter service where as most of the others you order at the counter first. We got seated right away. I will say the place was freezing. Definitely should not have had the air conditioner on during Thanksgiving weekend!
I had the Chinese chicken salad. It had great flavor. Good dressing. Lots of crunchy bits. It was a good sized portion for lunch. My mom had the pepperoni & mushroom pizza sans mushrooms. She loved the pizza. The best she has had in a long time she said. The crust was really flavorful. My aunt had the onion soup. She said it was very good but thought it was not thick enough.
We also had dessert. The waiter did have to go question the chef whether the mango sorbet had dairy in. He should know that. It was dairy free and very tasty. Mom had the coffee gelato. She really like it. My aunt enjoyed her crème Brule too.
So overall this was a good meal. If I am at this Nordstrom again, I definitely will consider the café.

If I weren’t shopping and didn’t have a Nordstrom gift card, I wouldn’t have come here, to start. After I got everything I needed, I was quite hungry, and I ventured inside.
The menu didn’t really appeal to me, so I ordered just one dish to tide me over, the crab mac ‘n cheese, where I substituted the salad for fries, a common accommodation. I was charged for the substitution without being told I would be. Not cool. The dish didn’t go over well. It just wasn’t the indulgent mac ‘n cheese I like. A big part of the issue is the noodle type. Too hard.
A wait in the middle of a weekday at this joint? Must be the location.

Would be nice if service and food were better. Service was inattentive and gave me the check before asking if I wanted anything else — I did. Ahi Tuna salad with tax is $ 20! and the tuna is terrible. I had to spit out several pieces due to hard gristly fat that couldn’t be chewed. Very disappointing especially for the price. The crab bisque was good — the cheesy bread with it tasted like goldfish crackers — not good. They were sold out of their advertised desert at only 12:45pm.

Sadly, Nordstrom has closed their Café and opened a Bistro on the 3^rd floor instead. Boo! Hiss! Gone are the tasty $ 10 – 12 salads that were great lunch options in the area, replaced by a revamped menu at significantly higher prices (the salmon nicoise will now set you back $ 20!!!). Terribly disappointing. The jury is still out on whether the Bistro will be worth the money, but I won’t be spending that much on lunch on a regular basis to find out. My four stars are for the now-​defunct Café.
Update: I finally visited the Bistro last month (September 2015), and I thoroughly enjoyed it — the menu is completely different from the Café I remembered, but they now have French onion soup, and the bread slice was still crispy in the broth, I love when that happens! Will definitely be back to try other offerings — turns out, dining is still just fine at Nordstrom. :)

Came here for lunch with coworkers. Super cute little café that is perfect for lunchtime in the Stanford Shopping Center. It is pretty busy during lunch hours but I easily received a table for my coworkers and I. Hostess was super friendly and seated us right away. The ambiance is very comforting, good lighting, beautiful wooden floor and furniture. I ordered a shrimp salad that was delicious and decent sized for about $ 13.95. The dressing was delicious and so was the shrimp however my salad only came with about 5 of them. We also got bread and butter before salads came which was also delicious. Took a while to get to us but it was pretty busy. Waitress was very nice and was eager to assist us if needed. Would definitely come back if I was shopping here but I might for or something more filling next time like a burger :)

Great place to stop in for lunch or an afternoon bite to eat while shopping at the Stanford Nordstrom. It’s elegant and classy, but casual enough to go in without feeling dressed down. Service is fairly fast and friendly, during the busy times, food may take a bit longer so expect to wait 15 – 20 mins for mains.
The food has never disappointed – it’s always prepared well with high-​quality ingredients, and they customize on the spot (swap fries for veggies or a side salad, add things to sandwiches, etc). Portions are very generous, great for large appetites or mid/​post-​shopping hunger. They have casual dishes like Chinese chicken and caesar salad, club sandwiches, and a variety of soups (creamy tomato and crab bisque), but can also whip up some pretty fab main dishes like salmon and risotto, flat iron steak, and I hear the brick oven pizzas are amazing.
Price points are fair for the quality and quantity of food as well.
Cool little nook in a department store, definitely worth swinging by during a shopping spree.

My mom and I finished a long afternoon of shopping and we were getting pretty hungry so we decided to give this place a try.
This place is located on the 3^rd floor. It’s a little dim inside but it sets the mood with all the interior inside and the focus looks set on the kitchen.
My mom and I were immediately seated. We ordered the mushroom ravioli (amazing) and bruschetta appetizer (consisted of ricotta, tomato, pesto (I believe) and a drizzle of balsamic). Although the food came out pretty slow, it was actually pretty good. Even my mom loved it! And she’s usually picky when it comes to pastas but the mushroom ravioli was in this amazing cream sauce with additional mushroom, cheese and sundried tomatoes.
I’ll probably give the other Nordstrom café branches a try as well after trying this location!

Nordstrom pricing on the food. Paying high prices for average tasting food. I had the crab bisque for a quick lunch and it tasted great, but not $ 6 (+ tip) for a cup great… If you want just a quick lunch, not the best place to eat.

Surprising eatery in Nordstroms of all places! Service was right up there in a casual sort of way.
The food was spot on in terms of portion, taste, and the satisfaction quotient. The prices were reasonable and fair. My only concern would be the cost of a New York steak ($ 28.95). We did not order it as it seemed out of place in terms of cost, compared to the other entrees.

The eating area is clean, close to bathrooms at Nordstrom at the Stanford Shopping center on the third floor. Seems like the type of environment to conduct a small lunch business meeting, or if you want to take someone special for delicious mall food.
We had hummus and pita bread as an appetizer. The bread was nicely toasted, yet still soft, and the hummus dip was balanced in flavor with garbanzo beans and feta cheese, adding to it’s Mediterranean style.
I had the margarita pizza, which is about 30 cm in diameter and was served at a slightly hot temperature. Decently priced at around $ 11. The cheese was a nice and slightly rubbery consistency, which seemed to be a blend of different and tasty cheese flavors that combined well with the topped sliced tomatoes. The crust was also surprisingly flavorful, as if infused with parmesan and was appropriately crunchy, without being too burnt.
The chocolate gelato was sweet and had a rich, creamy consistency, would definitely go back for more.
Limitations included a small menu, with some rather pricey items on the list, and the infrequent visits from our waiter to refill drinks. A bit expensive, but understandable as it is at the top of a Nordstrom’s. The fact that it is within a Nordstrom’s makes it difficult to just go for the restaraunt itself, the layout of the place forces you through the store at least twice (coming in and going out), which marketers would be pleased at, but annoying for hungry customers such as myself.

Get the crab bisque and hold the salsa. Not sure why they decided to add it when it is already perfect. It’s authentic with chunks of crab.
A shout out to Andrew, my server. He is great. I forgot to let him know not to add the salsa to the soup and when I told him, he immediately got me another bowl. I asked him for a few salad recommendations and he was spot on. The Lime Shrimp Salad is great.

The French onion soup is amazing. Out of this world unlike anything I have ever had before.
The crab Mac and cheese was filling and the side salad was a nice touch.
Our server Luigi was the best. So prompt and suggestive.
The sandwiches are great too!

My secret vice when visiting Nordies Palo Alto is not only the shopping but to cool my jets when I am tired and grab a bite to eat here at the Stanford Shopping Center location. I have dined here many a times prior to and after their renovation and enjoy this location which is a notch above the one that I frequent more often in Stonestown as their menu has much more to offer especially their hot entrée selections as well as beer and wine. Items that are consistent winners are their French Onion soup; French Dip; Club Sandwich and their crab and shrimp on a brioche roll.
This place is jumping during the peak meal hours and they have limited counter seating facing the exhibition kitchen. Should you have to wait for a table, one of the nice services that they provide is that they will text you when your table is ready so that you can continue to shop in Nordstroms.

Appetizer:
Calamari with the lemon zest in it’s sauce? It’s a better twist than the usual tartar or marinara sauces. Amazing!
Soup:
French onion soup:
At first I thought there were large slices of onions right under the layer of melted cheese. NOPE! I was wrong, there were two fat slices of bread soaking up that aromatic onion soup. Onion, bread, cheese, soup? The best rainy day food I could think of, right after phở of course ;)
Main dish:
Grilled shrimp & asparagus risotto was prepared nicely. The grilled shrimped wasn’t over cooked, it was still charred and juicy from the grill. The risotto, I admit I feared the Parmesan used in the ingredients listed. I was proven wrong! The risotto weren’t sticky and gooey from the cheese or salty. It was on point! The shrimps were giant sized too!
Refreshment:
Pomegranate citrus cooler, it was as good as it’s name. More so even when icy cold. Only one downside, the cup was lined with sugar, nice concept, but with the condensation and even drinking with a straw, my hands were constantly sticky and needing to be wiped off. Drinks are not refillable :(
Luigi was an awesome waiter! He let me know when he was busy and double checked on me when he felt the time was right. His computer was next to me, so he’d glance on occasion to make sure all was well.
$ 55 dollar dinner, not including tip yet.

I just keep coming back for more!
I used to stop at the café because I would shop in Nordstrom until I was starving, but recently, I found myself coming back to the café just for the food itself. Yes, things are not the cheapest here, but they’re also not much more than what you would pay for at Panera.
Things to try:
Poke appetizer — it comes with the most amazing fukikake chips
Crab bisque — make sure that it comes with crab! I’ve been served the soup once w/​o any crab and had to ask them for another bowl
Chicken Cesar salad — very large portion w/​a piece of fried cheesy bread/​chip (not the most healthy though, but delic)

I come here almost every weekend! Their food is amazing and tasty. I have been to the Nordstrom Café in SF, however I have to say the one in Palo Alto is better in my opinion.
Their salads are so good. You can taste that the ingredients they use are fresh and have their own style. Their fries are not just typical fries but are sprinkled with fresh herbs with a side of aioli dip (if you want the recipe, just ask the waiter ;) yes I have asked haha). Their pizzas are amazing, my favorite is the mushroom pizza, however they do change they menu from time to time. Therefore the mushroom pizza is no longer available, but I have faith that it will appear back in my life :)