Mustard Seed Cafe

Stopped here for lunch based off of the location and Unilocal star rating. We were pleasantly surprised to see that this place is so much more than just a café. Super friendly staff/​volunteers! And the food (pulled pork sandwhich and tortilla soup) was also delicious! Great place to stop for a bite to eat and you can also give back to the community while your at it. :)

Amazing place with very big hearted people. We loved volunteering here and look forward to coming again. I love what they are doing for the community.

What a great concept. Everybody eats. No one is sent away hungry. Menu prices are just a suggestion. You pay what you want or can. Can’t pay? OK do a little working for your food. Can’t work? You still eat. Are you blessed? Then pay forward for someone else. This Is a non profit, volunteer staffed café that serves excellent food. My chicken tortilla soup was the best I’ve ever had. Loaded baked potato was good too and dessert is an «everything» cookie. They have a nice fresh salad bar and infused waters. Vegans will be very happy here. So will carnivores. Menu changes weekly so come often to try everything.

I swear I’ve posted this review before… But I guess not. This place is a local nonprofit, raising money for the starving in Mexico and the community. They have a wonderful payment method: pay what you can. If you can pay full price or more, do so, if you can pay less, that’s okay. If you can’t pay, volunteer for an hour, and they’ll give you a meal.
The menu changes each week, but they always have vegetarian options. When they began, the menu was a bit more eclectic. The chef who use to be at Café Central decided to make it more accessible. There has never been anything I haven’t liked. Must tries: burgers, pizza and hummus.
Also, if you get a chance take a peek at the garden. Tis amazing, tis.

The concept is refreshing. Menu changes every week. You pay what you can and/​or you can volunteer. Definitely different. Not your average restaurant.

This place was outstanding! The food was super healthy but did not taste like it. Blew my mind although I was skeptical at first.

When I walked into the café, my spirits were immediately lifted. Everyone who works here is so friendly, welcoming, and inspiring. The food was fresh and healthy, and we got to meet the chef. Amazing community effort and we all left so happy we visited.

This place is an amazing concept. The food was really fresh and delicious. The volunteers were very, very friendly and extremely helpful. They were all just such good souls. You are greeted when you walk in and you order what they have for that week. If you can’t afford a meal, you can volunteer for one. If you don’t have enough money for your meal, it’s ok. You pay what you can, and if you want to pay more than the suggested price, this «tip» is really a donation. They also sell fresh herbs from their garden as well as shirts. It feeds everyone rich or poor, provides opportunity, and makes for an amazing lunch. I HIGHLY recommend this place. I will definitely be going back.

Great atmosphere! People are kind and they talk to you by name. The food was really good, too! You can tell that the way that they run the place really works well!

How could you not give this place 5 stars?! It’s a wonderful place and as you walk in, you can feel the positive energy all around you. I came with my group of English students and we were immediately greeted by a very nice lady who is from Columbia and who volunteers there. She explained the philosophy of the mustard seed café to us and showed us even the garden.
The garden is very nice. Various volunteers were introduced to us and explained what they plant where, and we even saw the first butterfly. The greens that are planted in the garden will later on be on you plate and everything is organic. They don’t use pesticides but combine plants together so the combination (eg garlic withy lettuce) keeps away the bugs.
Back inside we looked at the menu and my students chose all kinda of dishes. I just had the banana cookie and homemade pink lemonade and it was very yummi. My students’ food was fresh, healthy and tasty and almost every dish (except the BBQ or cookie) is vegan.
I really like how open the mustard seed café is, and how colorful! There are children’s paintings on the walls and it’s a combination of seating areas with different chairs and tables. I assume everything came from donations, and this is also their concept of how you pay.
Their philosophy is: «Everyone eats.» And so if someone doesn’t have enough money, they can work before the café opens at 11am, so let’s say they help out in the garden for 1−2h and then they can enjoy their meal «with dignity», as the nice Colombian lady explained to us. They suggest the prices to you but if you don’t have enough on you, you can choose to pay less — or if you want to support them pay a little more.
I really liked the mustard seed café and it’s a great place also for children. You saw all kinda of people coming in — business men as well as elderly and young people/​students. A great place that promotes the humanitarian & organic lifestyle

A charming place to eat with a slogan: Everyone Eats. This place has much going for it in addition to the food, which includes choices classified as Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Vegan. There’s something for everyone! Housed in a large community room (there is a stage at one end) of a Christian Church and filled with mismatched tables and chairs, this airy, carpeted dining room accommodates two-​tops to large groups. Helpful, friendly volunteers will explain to first-​timers like us: pay what you can, pay the recommended price, pay it forward for someone else, or come in early and volunteer for an hour, then eat free.
The menu changes from week to week, and features some vegetables from their onsite garden plot. A recent visit yielded mushroom tacos (with a salsa bar) and greens picked that day. There are always vegan choices (happy me!), in addition to fare for the more omnivorous. Today they offered shredded brisket tacos and turkey albondigas soup. Prices range from $ 4.75 for a large salad to $ 3.25 on down per course. Two of us dined for $ 11.10, but we skipped all the extra calories of brown rice horchata, fruit cup, and split a small salad. Pretty good deal!

Such a cool concept and an appropriately named business! Kudos, Mustard Seed, for not being afraid to do something relatively unheard of in a city that has a pretty cut-​throat restaurant community (only because EP has so many new restaurants it’s hard to set yourself apart from the pack). Regardless, I’m a huge fan of MSC!
A few weeks ago Jason J put together a UYE at Mustard Seed and of course I immediately jumped on board. Driving up, I found myself in a pretty packed church parking lot which is pretty surprising for the lunch hour during the week… I knew immediately the food was worth the drive.
Locating the entrance to MSC was effortless which is kind of mind-​boggling for me now because I can’t remember if there were even signs or I just made an assumption. Either way, you’ll wind up in the right place with ease. We were greeted by a sweet lady who let us know where the line starts.
The options, oh the options! Mabel S told me about this place a while back and she wasn’t wrong… you do want to order everything because you may never have the chance again since the menu rotates every week. I ended up getting the shrimp salad in a pita pocket, kettle cooked BBQ chips, the vegan chili, a delicious cookie and the Strawberry-​Basil water. I may also have snagged some of the chicken salad off someone’s plate too and surprisingly loved it. I think the mixture of apple-​goodness took chicken salad from a one note dish to something magnificent! Loved, loved, loved the homemade kettle chips! We got a batch that was a little soft, but after a few minutes they hardened right up and were also a great snack when I got home. The vegan chili is definitely a dish that should be there every week! Simply tasty with a warmth that was more than just a temperature. The shrimp salad was quite good, but strangely enough I think I prefer the chicken salad (strange for me since I typically am not a fan of chicken). The Strawberry-​Basil water was stronger on the Basil side, but infused water is my jam so I’ll be trying the week’s infused water every time I’m there.
I think what has me so infatuated with MSC is the fact that this establishment isn’t about the church, it’s about the community. Pay as you can, no one is turned away, everyone eats! MSC is making a difference in the community one plate at a time. And if anything I can say this establishment takes «practice what you preach» to a whole other level.

This place is just fantastic. Great staff (volunteers), pay what you can, clean, open and inviting. From the little girl who held the door open for us to the volunteers greeting us and explaining the process. (We already knew… hey we’re Unilocalers) but I asked questions and pimped out Unilocal several times. I talked to the chef and he said he would need to check out Unilocal because several people said they found thr Mustard Seed through it. MABEL is to blame :)
I went when it was a Mediterranean week, and everything was great except for one item and I knew that it was an acquired taste but went for it anyways.
Great food, people, prices, mission… what more can you ask for?

This place is amazing! For one… the food is spectacular. Secondly, what this place is doing to improve and promote humanity speaks for itself when you go there to meet the people. All I have to say is go and see. I’ll be back every time in visit El Paso

This place is such a surprise. A truly hidden gem where fresh local ingredients shine in creative and delicious food. When hearing about the concept of a Pay as you can café, I envisioned a bleak soup kitchen style line where grumpy servers slopped mystery mash on your tray. Nothing could be further from the truth. This really is a place for EVERYONE to come and enjoy amazing food. The ambiance is warm and friendly, and they even have free wi fi. El Paso is lucky to have it.

Everything about the Mustard Seed Café makes me so happy! This café — open for lunch on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (12/​11/​2013) — is an pay as you can afford establishment. IT’S SO COOL THAT WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN COMMUNITY CAFE HERE IN ELP! The current location is in a church gymnasium which has been impressively furnished and decorated to feel homey, bright, and welcoming. You can read more about their mission, etc. when you visit or on their website.
How this pay as you can afford thing works:
There’s a suggested donation for each menu item and you’re welcome to pay as much as you can afford or leave extra as a donation. You can also volunteer to earn a meal token.
I was lucky to attend their soft opening and sample almost everything from their first menu (there will be a creative new meal each week). The ingredients were fresh and the chef explained that all ingredients are local if possible, There were also vegan-​friendly options. Some dishes I sampled were a homemade mac ‘n cheese, apricot and ricotta pizza (not my taste, but my friend liked this sweet twist on pizza), a fresh salad loaded with veggies (I had figs for the first time, yum!), pumpkin soup, and a spinach dish with bacon (my favorite). I’m sad to say that I missed trying the vegan chili that the «meat-​loving» waitor raved about. Apologizes for not having the artistic ability to beautifully describe these dishes like the chef would be able to do! You’ll have to check this place out for yourself. The chef goes by Chef Roman and he was very welcoming when he stopped by our table.
I highly suggest stopping by for lunch. The Mustard Seed Café is a beautiful gift for El Paso, and a wonderful (& healthy) treat to your taste buds!
BITTERSWEET:
The menu changes every week so if you love what you ordered. you have three days (W-​F) to enjoy.