Mimi’s Cafe

Came here with bogo coupon. Ordered pineapple upside down muffin which waiter promptly told us was unavailable. Then why was it prominently displayed on two signs when you walked in? Fair food, expensive prices. There are much better choices nearby.

This place is divine. The manager who always recognises us and Anne are always polite and respectful. In fact, the entire new staff the manager has hired are really great people. The service is quick and polite, the food is good and served in a timely manner and the location is close to my house. Do yourself a favour, order the French onion soup if you need something light or the Quiche if you want something more filling. Tip: they are open until 10pm and host a painting night and other events throughout the month. Ask the management if you are interested.

Do not go here unless you like to be in a loud restaurant with slow service and horrid manager. There is a Mimi’s in Orange County that is better than this one. Read the reviews.

Had dinner with my dad. He had the salmon over mash potatoes while I had salmon over spinach. My salmon was a little over-​done but not bad. The service was excellent. We must have seen our waitress about 7 or 8 times. She was very attentive. Prices were OK. Plenty of parking on a Wednesday Night.

Hector is the worst manager I have ever encountered. He was horrible. Every issue that I have with this location is due to his complete lack of management capabilities.
He personally took my reservation for 15 (including 6 kids… I made sure he knew we had kids with us) over the phone. I explained it was my 8 year old daughter’s birthday dinner and that we were taking advantage of their current birthday promotion to celebrate. He was great on the phone and ensured me all would be well.
Our reservation was at 5:30. I was running late, but the rest of the family made it there on time & were already seated with cocktails. I join them and time keeps passing… I see a server from another table and ask him to send ours my way so we can get the kids handled, and you know… I was parched. A few minutes go by and I ask my mother in law who our server was… To my surprise she said no one had been to our table since the host seated them. I was shocked! She had gone to the bar to order a drink. I look at the time to see that is now 6:00! I go up to speak to a manager because 30 minutes with NO service is bonkers!
I was relieved when I saw the name tag on Hector’s shirt because surely he would have a good reason or fix the problem right away. I calmly reminded him of our pleasant conversation when I made the reservation. He looked frazzled immediately. That’s never a good sign, right? He then tells me that my server has just clocked in and will be at our table momentarily… I say what do you mean our server just clocked in Hector? I made this reservation with you at 5:30 so why on earth would there not be a server staffed for our table at 5:30? He was annoyed by my question and apologized and went to the next complaint. (there were 3 of us up there to talk to him from different corners of the joint…
When I returned to the table the server was awesome! She said she totally understood my frustration and would make sure I received excellent service… My sister’s steak was CHARRED and Hector blamed our server saying she brought out the wrong plate… I doubt it was her fault though. Other than that the meal went smoothly… And then our server asked me if we would like dessert. I responded to just bring out the birthday cake and we’ll be all set… The server’s eyes got wide, she looked panicked and went to the back. She brings out one slice of cake for my daughter and looks at me with an apologetic face. I knew right then that the cake that was supposed to come with our reservation was not going to happen… Six kids… No birthday cake… What the heck?!
Hector comes right over to me and says loudly «I’m going to come talk to you since you already chewed me out about the slow surface» Mind you I did not chew him out (yet)… He tells me that the cake was not coming because I did not request it. I looked at him in the face and said «Hector I spoke to you on the phone! I told you we were taking advantage of this come celebrate your birthday with us promotion that you guys have going on which includes a cake! You said it was going to be great, this has NOT been great. Our server is great, you are awful! I cannot believe you have the nerve to pretend that this is my fault! The reason I am yelling at you is not that I’m a horrible dragon lady who loves to yell at people, it’s that you took my reservation, and then did literally nothing with the information I gave you. It’s like you hung up the phone and walked off your shift, instead of putting it in the computer. You are a terrible manager» he said «I will try to accommodate you by giving you a discount, everyone is yelling at me tonight» he took 20% off the bill, and that’s the last I saw of him.
I’ve never yelled at an employee like that. It didn’t feel good. I looked like a crazy person, I’m sure. But his total lack of everything pushed me over the edge. He is the worst.
The 2^nd star is because the server was great and for the most part the food was good.

Used to come all the time with my mom. Tonight, it took 10 minutes before a server showed up. Another 25 minutes for the chicken Caesar salads. I was disappointed with the amount of chicken on the salad. Server had to be asked 3 times before I got my muffin. Goodbye Mimi’s.

Food was very good service was very good very nice atmosphere we ordered an appetizer and an entrée to share and they split the entrée for us on two different plates which is above and beyond and very appreciated everything was very good very fresh!

We want to thank Eric for making our visit to Mimi’s so memorable. We had Eric as our server and he was so knowledgeable of the items of the day and an excellent server. Very personable, always making sure our coffee was filled and if everything was all right. Food was excellent too. Thank you Eric.

Mimi’s, what’s going on?
I stopped in with my mom and her new guide dog (her seventh) and the manager held us up for a good 10 minutes minimum while he asked for certification.
Here’s the thing, asking for certification is actually illegal according to the ADA.
Also, illegitimate service dogs can stupidly, and easily create all sorts of documents.
Guide Dogs for the Blind provides all graduates with identification cards, and cards that state the CA Penal code section 365.5 (which should be known by business owners).
However… Hector the manager did not know, and asked to photocopy my mom’s copy (she allowed it).
After photocopying the cards, he then wanted to seat us in the back of the restaurant «in case any of the patrons had any issues with the dog.»
That’s not how it works with a guide dog. They’re trained to ‘kennel’ under any booth or chair, and get out of the way.
I made sure we were seated in a proper, two person booth, not a ridiculously large booth for a family.
The food quality is better here since our last visit, but hey.
Management is different.

My friends and I had the best waiter today! His name was Jermaine, young clean cut young man, who was very patient with our large group of women and the nicest guy ever! Great employee, he made our lunch enjoyable for sure!

Save your money. Don’t come here. Food is bland, service is terrible. The manager came over (she’s has blond hair) to fix the bill after I was being charged for veggies that I never received. She was super nice and told us the food was free. Still I will never come here again. I will never do business either. Server was distracted, she forgot our napkins, drinks, sides etc. Worst part is a I felt she treated unfairly versus Caucasians. I hate saying this but it’s true. Save your money. Go elsewhere. I felt horrible telling the manager this, I hate getting servers in trouble but after seeing how she treated others versus us really made me think. Here is an honest review.

Surprised by the negative reviews. I usually go only because I get gift cards because it’s not super cheap, but I like the French/​New Orleanish décor, and our service was great and iced tea refills plentiful (sitting at the bar usually ensures more attentiveness). Like Cheesecake Factory, the variety of bread to start is great, with sticky zucchini muffin-​like bread and a heartier baguette, which is a huge plus. The menu isn’t huge, but there were a few things I wanted to try. I got the turkey dinner, which was great, despite likely containing my daily allotment of sodium.

Over the past ten years, the food quality and service have dramatically declined. The food now taste bland, and the menu selection is less adventurous than in the past. We had a terrible waiter once who forgot our orders twice and had to asked us repeatedly. Ultimately, he got our orders wrong (despite the repetition).
We no longer go there.

Absolutely incompetent management. Went here a while back with a friend. Had a $ 50 gift certificate that I had received some years previous.
When I presented it to the waitress a manager returned telling me the gift certificate was too old. I replied to her that gift certificates don’t expire in California. She then retorted that she wasn’t even sure if the gift certificate was genuine. There was a serial # on it so I suggested she check on it and get back to me. She leaves. Comes back. Says «the best I can do is halvesies» — which was quite mindblowing. Since I had no interest in causing a scene or arguing with someone who had no desire to keep my business, I laughed and agreed to pay half and let her know I’d never be back. What a hole.

came here during the rain
it was cold outside
felt like having comfort food
what I love about this location is it looks unique and rustic
tried the chicken pot pie that night.
it was perfect!

One of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had in quite some time.
Service: Untrained and almost clueless.
Food: Ridiculously subpar. The best thing we had were the free dinner rolls. Ordered a steak to be cooked medium, only to get to me bloody rare. Waitress takes it back with no apology. 15 minutes later it comes back medium rare (still bloody). She takes it back again with no acknowledgment of how ridiculous this is. 20 minutes go by and it finally comes back charred and looking like a dry brownie. Killed my appetite. To top it all off I had to actually ask to be comped for this food that a dog would not eat. No free comp offered which should’ve been the case. Just 20% off… Blaming management on all levels.
Overall: Terrible. Deserves 0 stars.

The service at this location is ALWAYS terrible. We keep ordering because the food is pretty good. but only takeout. The service there is lacking as well. They are always understaffed and seem to have one waiter doing everything and several other staff members standing around unwilling to help. I’m currently sitting here waiting for a phone order (which was wrong) and it’s the dinner rush. One waitress is handling half of the restaurant and people are walking up to the bar to try to just get a drink. One of the staff members literally told them he couldn’t help them because they had to ask their waiter. So much for teamwork.
I don’t normally resort to writing bad reviews but this is at least the 5^th bad experience here.
I would’ve written my review on their website so they could use it to improve but there wasn’t a section to do so.
We’ve spoken to managers here in the past and it obviously hasn’t helped them improve.
Heads up if you’re planning on eating here.

I’m going to keep the rating at a 3 despite the fact this is a revised review. The reason I am revising is that I did a to-​go order today and they restaurant seemed entirely understaffed. While I was waiting I saw people waiting for food/​checks and trying to get the attention of waitresses who seemed to be running around like chicken’s with their heads cut off. There was no one to greet when you walked in and I saw numerous parties wait for a few minutes and then start peeking around corners or walking into the dining room to get the attention of a staff member to get seated.
I ordered a chicken caesar salad and two bowls of corn chowder to go. The salad was SO SAD. No dressing and like 3 pieces of chicken. I called the restaurant as soon as we realized what sad shape our salad was in and the manager was great (hence the 3 stars still for service). He immediately apologized and refunded the purchase when I described the salad. The chowder was fine — no complaints.
In the future, maybe they need more servers/​kitchen staff? Seemed like everyone was VERY busy tonight.

My mom loves Mimi’s but I’ve had better American food. Nice ambiance for a sit-​down restaurant. Funny how the layout of most of the Mimi’s is the exact same at different locations. They could use a bit larger outdoor seating at this location.
I had the Egg White Vegetable omelette and it was okay. I had them put the goat cheese on the side since they usually put on too much. The only drawback with that though is that the cheese is not melted in. You can’t win them all.
The portion for the omelette I ordered was pretty miniscule but the price wasn’t too expensive so okay, I filled up on the blueberry muffin that comes with the meal anyway.
We had a coupon for joining their email club for 4 extra muffins or croissants… kinda a waste of money though since most meals come with a muffin.
Not amazing, but a nice brunch spot and on Sundays there is an amazing Farmer’s Market right across the street!

This was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. If I could give less, I would.
We came here for Mother’s Day and requested a table for 6. Our wait time given was 30 – 45 min. 3 hours later we were seated!!! We aren’t even sure why we even stayed after the first hour!
The hostess was pretty rude after the 2^nd time we ask about updates. We even noticed larger tables began to get seated before us! 5x in a row did they call tables for 3. They couldn’t combine 2 tables for our group of 6? We considered breaking up as a group and seeing if we could individually get seated.
We waited for so long, there was a staff rotation and the menus had already changed. When we were actually seated, the host sat us at a booth and literally tossed the menus on the table and walked away. Did we do something to offend the staff at Mimi’s Café? The male host wasn’t even the same person we spoke to when we first entered. He did not say «your waitress will be right with you» «is this ok?» Like what most nice and welcoming hosts do. Literally tossed so that the menus would slide across the table and hit the sugars.
The waitress, albeit not being her fault, was a bit slow. She explained that the kitchen was very behind. It took 20 min after being seated to get our drinks and another 30 after that to get our food. We were to the point that we weren’t even hungry anymore. Just feeling sick. The pot pie I ordered came out 10 min after everyone else’s meal because it was forgotten about by the server. Most of the food was warm, not hot.
From 11am-​315pm. Most of our day plans were ruined due to time constraints. Happy Mother’s Day. Never again.