Ask for Sanjeev...he's a terrific waiter! The food is delicious and the service is stellar! Our go to for lunch a minimum of two weeks a month. read more

Wow. A truly amazing experience here at NM cafe. We finished shopping at Stanford and we're on the way to our normal stop at Bazielle Cafe at Nordstrom. Instead, we opted to try NM Cafe, located on the third floor of Neiman Marcus. About 2 minutes after we were graciously seated by a smiling host, we were served a cup of house made chicken broth and a "pop over," a light, flaky croissant-like bread, accompanied by strawberry butter. That broth tho! The server offered a second helping of the broth and brought us refills in a small kettle! We ordered two entrees. The first was a special: lobster club sandwich. This was an elevated Lobster Roll with a generous portion on lobster. Simply impressive! It was served with fries. The second entree was the Chicken Salad with Mandarin Soufflé. This sounded exotic and we weren't disappointed! A generous serving of delicious chicken salad, accompanied by Mandarin gelatin "soufflé" with blueberry sweet bread and sliced green apple. This combo went well together. We were stuffed, but our wonderful server, Robert, came back to our table with the chef! Chef Angel Perez thanked us for coming and we complimented him on the meal. They gave us complimentary house-made glazed almond Bundt cake with a side of house made almond flavored whipped cream. We with our boxed leftovers, Robert tossed in 2 fresh servings of the flaky pop overs and provided us a tips on how to reheat them. Wow wow wow! NM Cafe is a TRUE GEM. A hidden secret and MUST STOP for anyone looking for a wonderful and tasty well thought-out meal! For a minute, we felt as if we were someplace else and not in a shopping venue. This is a Beverly Hills-like experience! Thank you to the front of house to the kitchen! Bravo!! read more

NM Cafe - Lobster Club - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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Dear Manager, I'm writing to express my gratitude for a wonderful and eventful lunch my friends and I had at the Neiman Marcus Cafe. We sat at the bar and Atul couldn't have been more attentive, efficient and kind in providing a satisfying dining experience for us. You are extremely fortunate to have someone with such high caliber represent your brand. It was the first time that one member of my party had gone to NM Cafe. He left with the impression that the atmosphere is like the popular TV series Cheers. This is all thanks to Atul!!! . He is an esteemed caretaker of his patrons and goes out of his way to ensure that everybody has enough to eat and drink. We will be sitting at the bar from now on when we return for another visit. Thank you again Atul for making our dining experience so memorable. Kind Regards, Katie read more

Yum! I had the chicken salad and it was delicious. Popovers were hot and fresh. Service was excellent. This was my first time at this location (I usually go to the SF location) and it did not disappoint. I will be back! read more

NM Cafe - Chicken salad - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Came for lunch on a weekday with no reservations. Got toooooo tired from shopping and needed a real Sit down meal. Luckily the hostess was nice and gave us a cute table for two and a place overall was not crowded even during and or after our lunch meal. The server was extremely friendly and honest. We had an appetizer and each ordered an entrée. We were too full to order dessert but this was exactly the sustenance we needed in order to keep on shopping. This café is similar to the other ones that Neiman Marcus has across the country and it is great to see the custom menu for the local area. I would definitely come back here again if I am in the area. read more

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Great food. Great service. Great place to stop in the middle of a day of shopping. We sat at the bar and I must say Atul was the best. He's great at making recommendations and even better at making the drinks. The drinks were flavorful and strong. Food was perfect; you get so much, guaranteed leftovers. If you are hungry whilst enjoying your day of shopping you will not be disappointed stopping by here. read more

This was my first time at the Palo Alto location. I've been to the downtown SF NM Cafe prior. Or server was nice although for a NM restaurant didn't go above and beyond. The lady front desk was HORRIBLE. The popover and cappuccino I had was a 4/5. The burger was meh. For a high-end retail cafe, they can be better. Do better, Neiman. read more

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Better. I've had lunch at the newly remodeled cafe twice in the last year with friends and the food and service is much better. Quick, attentive service... higher quality ingredients... attention to detail (like freshly cooked, hot shrimp on the salad) and the popovers are fresh. Crispy outside, light and airy inside. Definitely appreciate the improvements! read more

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I initially came for Breakfast With Santa. It was a first class event, both for the kids and adults. That experience prompted me to return for an adult lunch - 3 times in the past month! Each time I ordered the same thing - warm grain bowl with salmon. lots of delicious vegetables, including crispy balsamic-glazed brussels and delicata squash, quinoa, avocado, kale and a perfectly-seared thick piece of moist salmon. How can healthy be so delicious! I have also sampled the crispy chicken paillard with lemon caper sauce and the flourless chocolate cake. Both were very, very good. Will rotate into those options next time, which will be soon. Thank you Neiman Marcus! read more

Service here is not the same as other NM cafe or Rotunda in SF. They had a sign touting best restaurant in 2024 but I have no idea how. I walked up to the host stand and asked for a table. They said they didn't have any, so I asked about seating at the bar. The young woman took me over to a bar seat that had food scraps, crumbs and dirty dishes all over and no one came to clean it for more than 10 minutes. I ended up leaving because it appeared they weren't going to clean it and no one was coming over to check in. read more

Service was excellent. Food was good. Would recommend this restaurant if you never tried it yet. read more

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My hubby and I had a great lunch here yesterday,Eric waited on us at bar and was the best..He was so professional and nice.

Such bad experiences with Neiman Cafe in this location. Rude team, and they did purpose made my food bad. read more

NM Cafe - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

NM cafe has updated the menu with specials. I tried the Ahi Tuna salad and it is the best I ever had. Outside of the tuna was crunchy and seared and yet inside was rare. The other dish we tried was half lobster bisque and half chicken salad sandwich. It was also excellent. Bisque is smooth and not salty. The chef actually came from SF Rotunda and I can see the improvement of the food quality. I also heard that afternoon tea is avail for pre order only. read more

This place doesn't disappoint me one bit. I actually had my Birthday lunch here today. I was treated like royalty. When we arrived people were getting our table ready. I really wanted my Stanford Club sandwich. I haven't had that for almost 20 years. Why you asked. I used to work for Neiman Marcus and I ordered that a lot. Before I had my sandwich. I ordered the lobster bisque. It was perfect didn't need any other seasoning such as salt and pepper. The perfect amount of soup before my sandwich. My sandwich came with a lot of fries perfectly cooked. Crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside. I had the perfect simple drink of ice tea. Super floral notes in the ice tea. The employees were super helpful and friendly. I had the most wonderful experience here. It was truly blissful. read more

Neiman Marcus Christmas with Santa Breakfast, if I could give it 10 STARS I would. My daughter initially made reservations for San Francisco by mistake, she called and they were so kind to change them to Palo Alto location. The Service and Breakfast were absolutely Wonderful. Theo and Aubrey and the entire staff treated us like we were royalty. The Ambiance was Spectacular. They not only had Santa but had his elf doing face painting, and a entire table for with stickers and crayons to write a letter to Santa. We will be back next year! read more

A great place for quick lunch and their popovers and chicken consume is the best part... not going to lie! I can just get full off of eating those. The place is located on the third floor of Neiman Marcus and the wait it typically not too bad, usually seated within a few minutes. They have great selection of healthy dishes, gluten free, etc. I tend to get their salads which are pretty filling. I go between their grilled shrimp & quinoa or sea scallops read more

NM Cafe - Sea scallop Salad - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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The girl host working friday december 22nd is a clown...Came to eat hear on December 22nd .. walked in at 3pm to. Got told it's a 10 minute wait.. after 20 minutes we walked up to her and she forgot us.. then told us sorry the kitchen is closed... to the host working your a clown learn how to do your job read more

Late post...but our experience at Nieman Marcus Cafe was awesome. The food was good and our server, Rocky, was one of the best servers we ever had. Rocky was very attentive and very nice. He would check on us every now and then in a timely manner. His unique way of assuring to us that we are good with everything during our lunch was by him saying "cheers." Cheers Rocky!!! read more

It is always a delight to have lunch here. The room is comfortable and atmosphere very pleasant. If you've never had their popovers with strawberry butter, then you are missing the treat they always start you with. Their salads are always delicious and my very favorite is the Lobster Club Sandwich. It is the nicest place to have lunch at Stanford Shopping Center. read more

Absolutely delicious food, chefs kiss ! The customer service is great. They always go above and beyond to make it the best experience. read more

NM Cafe - Roasted Salmon - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

I am THRILLED that my favorite café fad finally re-opened! I love to bring my daughter here, and, just like me, she is SUPER glad to be back! We both enjoyed the Café's special September month "Blood Orange Sour" / bourbon cocktail along with their excellent care/service. I always enjoy having their always delicious Mandarin Orange Soufflé and my daughter delights in the Chicken Paillard. The best part of our meal, however, is/was the chicken broth soup and the Café's legendary, special popovers (with strawberry butter)! Everything is always made to perfection! They even go so far as to give us repeats of both! We finish(ed) our dining experience with the NM Chocolate Chip Cookies. It was all fabulous and I cannot wait to take my daughter again soon! read more

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This is the worst customer service I have been NM customer for 20 years I called everyday for last 2 weeks to try to make a reservation and no one pick up the phone and even tried to reservation OpenTable but nothing Then we came abs they said they can't only take woolen with reservations even they have so many empty tables I won't ever come back this cafe or shop here anymore read more

I love this place. Whenever I am in the need of a pick-me-up after a hard week at work or an exam, I go to the NM Cafe to briefly enter a world where delicious popovers, whipped strawberry butter, and sumptuous, savory broth are served for free before your meal, the cocktails include dainty spiked tea options, and the surrounding folks can be spotted wearing fine outfits and celebrating good times. I like any of the food options including the classic sandwiches and salmon tacos (as well as the fries), you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. I always attempt to order more of their chicken broth as an appetizer and instead they bring me a pot on the house. The waitstaff are always friendly and quick. Don't forget to end your meal with a cookie! read more

NM Cafe - Popover - New American Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Excellent service and delicious food. I am a MOH for one of my long time friend so I was under pressure to plan an amazing bridal shower. The bride to be requested an afternoon tea for her bridal shower and I found the NM cafe in the Stanford shopping center. I made a call and made reservations. Linda (or Joanna? I'm not the best at names, provided answers to my questions right away. We reserved the date! Jerry Silva reached out two weeks before the actual date to work out a specified menu for our event. They even offer linen if we needed and a dessert table but I ended up bringing my own. We were able to discuss the initial layout of the tables for 22 people and he gave us time to come in and set up before the event. On the day of the event, Jerry and his staff were very proactive in assisting with the setup and offered anything we needed. They even set aside a furniture for the bridal shower gifts! With their service, they definitely helped alleviate some of my stress. Moving on to the food, we were served the brie and pear, lobster club, nm signature chicken salad, egg salad, and tuna sandwiches. We missed the cucumber and mint but would love to try that! These sandwiches were served on a three tier platter which totally fit the theme. I loved all of the sandwiches but out of all of them, the lobster club and the pear and brie were my favorite! The lobster did not have a strong seafood taste as it was muted out with some mayo. The pear and brie was a sweet and salty mixture that was perfection! It almost melts in your mouth. The dessert platter had some cookies, macarons, cheesecake, and other dessert variety. Definitely was delicious and perfect with tea. We ended with the warm popover with the strawberry butter. That was so delicious! I could eat 5 of those myself. Thank you to the chef, staff, and manager! Your service was topnotch. It was a successful bridal shower because of you all. read more

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If you're at Stanford Mall and looking for a cheeseburger look no further than the nm cafe. They currently offer a limited menu but their cheeseburgers and a side of chips are 10.00. Just the week before I got the cheeseburger at another hamburger restaurant within the mall for 14.00. The burgers here were a perfect medium. The brioche bun was good quality and the vegetables were absolutely fresh. Sorry I don't have a picture we were real hungry and it was delicious! Make a stop by the 3rd floor of Neiman Marcus. We grabbed one of their delicious cookies fresh out of the oven so it was definitely worth the ride on the escalators. read more

The Neiman Marcus cafe is the stuff of old urban legend. You've probably heard the story of a woman dining in one of the locations who, enamored with the taste of the cookie she was eating, requested the recipe. The waiter complied, and when he brought the bill she was shocked to find she was charged $250 for the recipe. So to get sweet revenge she wrote a chain letter and people everywhere got the secret recipe for free. This all happened before teh Interwebs, today she would have Tweeted or something. A fact-check on Snopes reveals this is not a true story, but the cookie recipe chain letter really happened, the back story was probably fabricated to make it more desirable. Welcome to 2018, Stanford Shopping Center, Neiman Marcus, 3rd Floor: men's shoes and clothing, the tidiest restrooms in the whole shopping center, and NM Cafe. I have a loyalty account with Neiman Marcus and shop here a good bit, so a couple times a year I get gift cards in the mail good for alterations, other services or meals in the cafe. I've been to this location a few times, and while I probably wouldn't seek it out without the gift cards as incentive it is quite a pleasant place to have a meal. The cafe serves a somewhat elevated lunch menu. They take reservations but I've never seen a wait. In addition to a dining area they have a small bar and serve wine and beer. I have also never seen anybody in the bar. Service is very attentive and prompt, but meals are served at a slow, leisurely pace. First comes the complimentary chicken consomme and popover bread with strawberry butter. They will bring more of both at no charge if you ask. My favorite menu item by far is the lobster club sandwich. This sandwich has lots of tasty claw and body meat, topped with bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato. At $28 it is worth every bite and big enough to share when paired with a salad. They also have a few desserts, but I haven't checked to see if they still make those legendary cookies. I'll be sure to check next time. read more

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Very tasty! Just perfect for lunch or brunch! Lobster soup is the best! Friendly people. Nice vibe.

Popover with strawberry butter & the chicken consomme are still consistent. The thing I've been dying to try...the Crab Cake Salad...OMG! So delish! A well made big perfectly breaded & moist crab cake topped on a huge salad with fresh lettuce & veggies & a nice light dressing. If only I could eat this salad every day! A lunch at the NM Cafe is a nice splurge every once in awhile; proving mall food can be good! read more

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Just went today, and the food was fresher and more delicious. I do wish there was an option to have tea service with popovers, broth, smaller sandwiches and desserts. Overall, an improvement from the previous visit. read more

My girls and I really enjoy dining at Neiman Marcus Cafe. They serve the best pop overs and the strawberry butter is so delicious. They come out warm and the butter just melts. They will even serve more if asked! They start you off with a chicken consomme, which is a nice touch in the beginning of your meal. I ordered the crab cakes and butternut squash soup. Both were very tasty. It was nice to see that the crab cakes were full of crab meat and not bread crumbs. Very tasty aioli too with a small mixed green salad and light vinaigrette dressing. My girls had the cheesburger and roast beef au jus. Both were very flavorful. Our waiter was wonderful too! He would make sure our water was filled and asked us throughout our meal if we needed anything else. Very attentive. We will definitely dine at NM cafe again...very convenient, very nice, and good food. read more

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Not a Neiman's fan yet, don't have the cash flow to support that habit, but NM cafe is the next best thing. I felt like a queen! It was like a 4-course at a 4 star restaurant at 1/4 of the price. Exclusive of tax, for two people, the bill came out to be $30. The warm kindness of the maitre'd was a nice change from the frigid nature of the rest of the NM staff. We were guided to a table, about to be seated and then he noticed a bug flying around that area, and seated us elsewhere. I thought that was very conscientious of him to do. Customer service is numero uno in my book! We took forever trying to figure out what to order, took us about 10 mins, our server was Molly, who was full of enthusiasm, I love a person that enjoys their job. It's so refreshing! During that time we were brought popovers, I can only describe them as flaky, semi-oily, doughy, pastry-like, and a WONDERFUL chicken consomme. Oh delicious! I absolutely have a soft spot for a great broth or soup. So flavorful and came in a delicate cup and saucer. All on the house! So our food had not come for about 10 mins, and the server who brought our consomme and popover, asked if we would like more off either, and guess what I asked for? Consomme! We decided on the Orange Souffle salad, which was a breath of fresh air on a warm day like today. Fresh fruit, chicken salad, sliced banana bread, and a mandarin orange gelatin mold all were arranged separately on a bed of iceberg. Never had an ensemble of food quite like that, but surprisingly it all worked! The peppercorn dressing was tangy and a perfect contrast the rest of the flavors plated. Never had brie on a sandwich, NM does introduced me to this today and I'm hooked! Brie, bacon, tomato, red onion and chicken breast were sandwiched between a what they called a roll, but I would classify it more like an english muffin or crumpet. Toast gets soggy, a roll is usually a little too doughy, french bread can get chewy, but this roll provided that crunch factor, without giving your jaw a workout. It had all those nooks and crannies for the brie to sink itself into, we were purely delighted and satisfied! Maybe a little too quiet for my taste, I would not bring more than one girlfriend here at a time, because it would get too rowdy. It's a fabulous place to conduct business meetings, bond with your female family members, have lunch by yourself, and catch up with an old friend. NM cafe was honestly a really lovely enjoyable experience, I'm definitely coming back again to sample the rest of their menu and bask in the ambiance! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update 8/27/06: I realized after going to the Rotunda in SF today that the Stanford location has WAY better consomme, it's thicker and not as salty. The turnover has more of a CRUNCH and the strawberry butter is more pink in color and more BERRY flavor. My gal pal and I shared the Crabcake sandwich and their special salmon sandwich. Both delicious. The Rotunda does not have a special menu. The crabcake sandwich came on a sesame roll and was filled with crab and fried lightly, not greasy at all. Came with fries and a variety of fruit pieces. We were stuffed after sharing this sandwich. We boxed the salmon sandwich. The salmon fillet was cooked beautifully at medium rare temperature at my request, came with an avocado roumoulade, and pea sprouts. God, I love sprouts, and whole wheat bread! How healthy is that!?!? They even throw a side of mixed greens. read more

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Like this cafe , as others mentioned, popovers and consume , both such nice starters . Had the crab Louie , very good . My friend had salmon tacos , she said spicy and delicious. Service is always good . Love this Mall , outdoor walking and sooo many stores , shops . NM also fun and stocked w exciting fashion / merchandise. read more

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When I used to work downtown and got sick of the restos there, I'd wander to the mall. Who knew Neiman had a decent resto upstairs? Surrounded by housewives who are blowing their husbands paychecks, it's good people watching and listening. "Oh the economy is so bad that you may have to sell your yacht? Oh no!" French Dip and Burger are pretty solid, though a bit pricey. One has 2.2X the calories of the other but only 50 cents difference. Servers always keep my iced tea filled so they pay attention. Again, a weird place to eat but the food is pretty good. You're paying for the "ambiance" too read more

Food: Go for the bread poppers, strawberry butter, and chicken broth (not pictured)! Those are my absolute favorites and they're all always freshly made. Today, I got the salmon tacos that I thought were okay, but over priced for only two. The salmon was cooked pretty well, and the sauce that is put on is really tasty! For me personally, I think taco truck tacos taste better but overall it was only okay. Make sure to grab extra of the chocolate mint sticks those are great! Ambiance: The atmosphere is calm, peaceful, and everything is very clean and orderly. It's a rather small yet spacious setting. There are both couch and chair seatings. Service: The service is great! They're always readily asking if we need anything, and checking up to see how we're doing. read more

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I took my daughter and my mother out to celebrate my mother's 86th birthday. Our server, Rocky, made us feel like we were royalty! He was so friendly, kind and attentive! He brought us free champagne to celebrate my mom and was quick to refill our water, iced tea and bouillon! We told him we didn't want our popovers before the meal and wrapped up fresh ones for us to take home. The food was delicious. The service was outstanding five star plus! He treated us to an amazing chocolate cake with a candle to celebrate my mom's birthday as well. All in all, it was the best birthday lunch and we left feeling like we have a new friend at Neiman Marcus! My mom actually was exhausted at the end and Rocky ran to get the in store wheelchair so we could give her a ride to our car. We will definitely be back and ask for Rocky! He's the best! read more

We have eaten in the rotunda Neiman Marcus Café in San Francisco numerous times always had the best service great food. However, the Neiman Marcus Café in Palo Alto is entirely different. They do not make you feel welcome and as mentioned several times in other reviews your first point of contact, the hostess is not really very helpful. we came in. She told us there would be a 10 minute wait that was fine no problem. I stepped away. My lunch partner was called. Hostess looked her up and down and then decided she would sit her at a small table next to a large party.We asked if we could sit at an available table for four and were told no. We have other people coming in that are larger parties. Now that would've been OK other than there were several People sitting at tables for four that were only two people. Meanwhile, she put a mother and daughter at a table for four and told another woman she could sit anywhere that she wanted. So we chose to take our money and our appetite elsewhere. To the café please do not seem to snobby or judgmental and discriminate against different people waiting for a table. It does not leave a good impression whether intentional or not. As sidenote, we went to a local restaurant in our area who was just about to close for lunch and reopen at dinner time. However, they graciously allowed us in, served us a leisurely lunch, even though we were the only two people in the restaurant keeping them from being able to close up until the dinner rush. That's customer service restaurants take note. read more

the food at the Palo Alto location is always good but the service is AWFUL. Male service only and as painfully slow as possible. While waiting thirty minutes for food no one filled our drinks but seemed to be hiding until ready. Tiday we tried again and couldnt even order. We left. We will go elsewhere until they get adult supervision. Pathetic! read more

Haven't been back here since before pandemic. And this was a a great place to have a reunion with two dear friends. We had the great luck of having Rocky as our service person. He is outstanding! So not only was our food yummy, having the great service was the cherry on top. I'll definitely will be back. They still have the popovers and chicken broth. Highly recommended and great place to have a meal if you're shopping at Stanford Palo Alto. It's a nice quiet place to get a great meal, wonderful service and converse with friends. read more

We love this place - especially for a special lunch after an appt at Stanford Medical Center. The popovers and strawberry butter are incredible as were the lobster club sandwich and truffle fries!!! Robert our server could not have been more accommodating!! read more