Cafe Borrone
                   Menlo Park
News & Reviews
The Cafe Borrone Experience
Kelley's latest book builds on The Art of Innovation, which celebrated the work culture that distinguishes his world-famous high-profile, award-winning Palo Alto based industrial design firm, IDEO. This book focuses on the type of worker and team-building necessary to create organizational success, and in it Kelley praises  companies such as Kraft, Samsung, Procter & Gamble, and Cafe Borrone for the ways in which they have engineered such success. Kelley calls Cafe Borrone's staff "experience engineers" and boasts that they have created a uniquely attractive and special cafe dining experience that is not easily replicated.

Customer Reviews

"This place has got to be the hippest cafe on the penninsula. It's got great atmosphere, is pretty big and usually pretty full but I can always find a table, there's lots of outdoor seating, it's next to a bookstore, and there's plenty of parking downstairs. Cafe Borrone is a great place to write. Great place for a date. Did I mention how great it is? I was so impressed when I went there for the first time about 3 years ago. Suddenly, living so far away from SF didn't seem so bad after all."
Laura T.

"Borrone makes the best mocha in the bay area. Their chocolate sauce in made in house, the whip cream comes from a pastry bag and the froth is full of micro bubble goodness.   Their soups and salads are always fresh and delicious. I am especially fond of the quiche - a smooth, rich custard of flavor.   If you come on a busy weekend morning, grab a table and then order from one of the waiters. Most people don't realize that you can do this or don't want to pay for a tip. However, it seems well worth not having to stand in the long lines."
Matt M.

"Ambrosia?  No, the Frosted White Chocolate Hazelnut coffee frappe at Cafe Borrone.  It's made with Ghirardelli chocolate--trust me, you'll never get a Starbucks or Coffee Bean frappucino again.  Their signature Frosted Mocha and Mexican hot chocolate are also big hits, and there's actually fresh nutmeg at the counter that you can grind onto your coffee.

A favorite Stanford brunch spot--I always run into friends (or professors) here, and a TA was the one who tipped me off to Borrone.  It's classy enough to bring your folks on Parents' Weekend or a date for late-night dessert.  Their fruit tarts, cakes, and giant biscotti are a big hit.  On any given afternoon, you can find undergrads writing papers with their iPods next to Palo Alto ladies picking at salads and wine.

If the daily specials include any paninis with homemade focaccia, get it.  Especially if it's roast beef with horseradish dijon mustard.  Or turkey with melted gouda and roasted red pepper mayonnaise.  If you're really hungry, their lasagna is great and made from scratch.  Their portions are filling without giving you that gorged, just-stuffed-myself-at-Hobees feeling.  Hungry yet?"
Christine S.

"Multitudes of panini sandwhiches, salads, and oversized cookies.  Wine is served as well as espresso drinks.  Inside seating is spacious as well as outside patio seating where sprawling tables under the sun or shade is conducive to reading, people watching, studying or convening with friends for a chat or work discussions.

Spent a sunny Saturday afternoon with Silicon Valley colleagues over a cup of very rich Cafe Moccha spiked with an extra shot of espresso and a very large chocolate chip cookie.  The crowd is varied ... Menlo Park/Atherton ladies and girlies, single older men reading, families enjoying their sweets and lots of geeks, lots of geeks."
Aspasia S.