Mimi’s Cafe

Decent Servuce and food for the price for Irvine. It doesn’t feel like Irvine. And they even pipe in French music in the bathrooms. So at least they try. So it’s all good.
The eggs Benedict is decnt. Nite that they use a thick slice of ham. Also the bloody Mary was decent, not peppery.
Would I go back? Maybe, weird location though
Would I order the eggs Benedict? Maybe

Excellent meal — the Eggs Benedict are always delicious! Excellent service — ask to sit with Jakhori — he will take great care of you! Mimi’s never disappoints!

Went here for breakfast on my girlfriend’s last day of her visit from Japan. Her avocado omelette was good. Potatoes were good. Coffee was good. So what’s the problem then you ask… :) I ordered a pancake plate.
Problems: Order was missed in kitchen, when I finally got them (finally cause I kept hearing the waitress keep asking for them about 7 – 10 times) they were not cooked! I can perhaps understand burnt pancakes, but uncooked? I’d hate to try any of their poultry considering pancakes are pretty easy to make.
Worst part was, waitress still asked if they should remove the charge from our bill? Really? Talk about not caring about your consumers. Then they had the audacity to ask us to visit… that said, I’ll visit again once I get over this nightmare (usually takes about 6 months).

I’ve been coming to this Mimi’s for 30 years. It has been in the central part of Irvine for a long time. I have fond memories of it when I was a child. It was always the go-​to brunch place after church. It has withstood the changes of time and has stayed strong as everything changed around it. It is in a great location and serves good food.
I will always love the buttermilk spice muffins the most. I will always eat here for the feeling of nostalgia and for the good food. I’m happy it’s still in the area.

My family and I booked a room for a funeral lunch. Right away I noticed the servers were not that friendly or really even smiles. When you and they are walking in a path way they make a face or almost a scowl and rudely brush by (this happened more than twice). While we were doing remembrance speeches the servers came in loudly and would almost toss the plates in the table with no care or finesse. Sadly this was my first experience at Mimi’s :(

Mimi’s is more than a restaurant; it is an experience. It’s like the Disney of restaurants: Choose your theme! Do you want to dine outside with the flowers and butterflies? Or would you like the upscale dining room? Perhaps the casual French Bistro-​designed area. Most of the Mimi’s locations offer several «themed» rooms, although that’s not how they refer to them. But I always choose the one which suits my mood, or occasion. And Mimi’s is the perfect restaurant for any occasion, in my opinion, from casual to well, semi-​formal at least. I would kill to have a Mimi’s in my town.
Okay, so I’ve talked a lot about the ambiance. Because it’s GREAT!
But you probably want to know about the food. It is good to adequate, depending on what you get. But usually worth the price you pay, because, for this ambiance, the prices are excellent.
I recommend their breakfast. But be prepared, occasionally to wait in a short line on weekend mornings.

I’ve been to this location 5 times. My favorite dish is meat loaf, mashed potatoes. It’s the only meal I could eat since I just got my braces. I am open to trying more dishes in the future.

Our family loves Mimi’s, however at this location service is terrible ! We got seated with in 5min, didn’t look that busy, but after 20min waiting for our server just to get only the drinks, we left. Kids were hungry and I was was done waiting! Manager had no clue about his staff, very sad!!! Not going back

Great family-​friendly restaurant with lots of variety so there’s something for everyone. Food is consistently fresh and appealing. Service is usually good. Baked items are delicious!

It seems that this is a long overdue review because I’ve been here the other week.
This place is totally amazing, what you see is what you get. Mimi’s Café is not just popular because of their food and their place, but also because they have heart warming service. They will serve you with a big smile and will totally get friendly with you.
I get this amazing feeling when I am here at Mimi’s.
Kinda excited to be in here next week :)

We had the «roasted half chicken and frites,» and the «roasted chicken crepes.» The food was delicious. Unfortunately, we found a small piece of plastic film in the crepes, but our server, Katherin, and the manager, both handled it very well. They were apologetic, and offered to replace the dish, even after comping it – to which we declined the replacement, because it wasn’t really that big of a deal. We were also compensated with a crème brûlée cheesecake dessert, which was amazing. Stuff happens in a busy kitchen, mistakes will be made, but the service is on point.

This was a huge surprise. I had not been to Mimi’s café for 2 decades. The breakfast and service were outstanding. Our server, Sharla, was one of the best waitresses of all time. I had the grande breakfast with lemon poppyseed pancakes, topped with strawberry rhubarb butter, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs. All the food was perfect. We will come back frequently.

We had never been here before and my husband decided to bring me here for breakfast on my birthday. We walked in and I was on my cell phone having a conversation with my Dad, the older lady in the front looked at us from head to toe before she even said anything! I looked at my husband and just shook my head as we walked behind her as she sat us down. We both ordered the Bacon and Avocado Omelette. It came with potatoes and toast and we also had the worlds strongest cup of coffee! The food was very good and our waitress was very attentive not just to us but every single one of her tables. I would have given this place 5 stars if it wasn’t for that old lady up in the front!

Ughh. Why was all the food so poorly seasoned?!
Really mediocre food. I had the tomato basil soup which was on the salty side and the chicken cheddar mac. The macaroni was soo bland, I had to add a good amount of salt just to make it edible. I also had a bite of my friend’s chicken from the grilled chicken and frites and that was terribly under seasoned as well. Super bland, no flavor at all.
Only positive was the service, they were really good considering that we had a pretty large party.

Mimi’s Café was my favorite restaurant as a child, because I loved the worms in mud dessert that they used to serve. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten here last, and a lot has changed. I guess I always knew that their menu was based on French Quarter/​New Orleans cuisine, but I really don’t see that reflected in the menu. It honestly is simply American chain restaurant food, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I ordered the Grilled Salmon & Frites. No complaints at all, the fries were crispy and delicious, grilled salmon was well-​cooked if not a little bland. Service was good and I’d come back here for a family-​friendly restaurant that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

I’ve always loved their quality breakfast. My go to dish use to be corned beef hash but today in solidarity with France I’m getting the quiche florentine. Served in a shape of a pot pie the crust and filling is so good. Now I have a new favorite.

We have been coming here for years — mostly for breakfast or lunch, and recently for dinner. This restaurant is usually awesome, however, this time it was not the best experience we’ve had here. Let’s just say that we were a little disappointed.
It started out well — we were greeted by two gentlemen holding the doors opened, then quickly seated and our orders were taken. The waiter was very friendly. Our beverages came out quickly followed shortly by the freshly baked bread. So far, so good!
Hubby ordered fish and a side salad and I ordered a turkey club. He asked for the salad to come out prior to the meal. It took a while for the waiter to bring the beverages. We finished the bread and waited a little for our order to come out. It finally did come out, but they forgot hubby’s salad! When hubby made mention of the salad, the waiter said «they’re working on it and that the kitchen was backed up». Good grief! How hard is it to throw lettuce on a plate? He cancelled the salad. I could tell he was a little miffed /​disappointed…
The fish came out hot (unlike the previous experience at the Mimi’s in San Diego — you can take a look at my review for that), BUT it was drowning in sauce. I think they were trying to teach the cooked fish to swim! Either put the sauce on the side or go easy with it. If he wanted that much sauce, he would have ordered the sauce with a side of fish…
As we were eating, we were noticing what was going on around us. At one point, there were a total of five servers standing around just B.S.-ing in the lobby by the front entrance (and for quite some time!). Two of the ones were the gentlemen that held the door opened for us as we entered. It’s no wonder why the kitchen was «backed up». There’s no one in it! I hope they are happy to pay employees to stand around and do nothing. Heck, I would LOVE to be paid to do nothing!!!
The lady at the table next to us ordered a muffin before her meal. Her entrée was brought out, and finished halfway before she had to remind the waiter about the muffin. When he brought it out, he said, «here’s dessert». She was not amused and packed it to go.
The table behind us ordered hot tea. They brought out the bread, the hot water and a tea bag, but they never brought out a cup for the tea! Hello!!! After several minutes, the man had to flag down a different waiter to ask him for a cup. The water was probably not so hot by then.
So a few minutes go by, and I hear that same man flag down another waiter and said «we’ve been sitting here for 20 minutes and our waiter has not taken our order yet». They finally sent over the waiter to take the order. How ironic the word «wait-​er»… A little while goes by, and they bring out a big bowl of soup for him. A few minutes later, he is flagging down another waiter to ask for another bowl so he could share his soup. The soup was probably cold by then!
To have the same waiter offering sub par service at three tables while it is not busy, is not a good thing. Perhaps a bit more training and sense of urgency would help. Take a lesson from the two bartenders at the Skagway Brewing Company who can run circles around him (you can see my review for that restaurant as well). They were going in 10 different directions simultaneously servicing multiple parties with their food while also making drinks, and it was all on point. They did not skip a beat!
This experience left us shaking our heads. The service we’ve had during breakfast and lunch was always on point. Everything was always perfect and timely. We never had to ask for refills, they just brought it before we ran out. We had to ask for refills this time…
Their dinner staff leaves a lot to desire. It’s no wonder why they have to entice folks in with a coupon. They need to re-​examine their staffing and redistribute the help so that the kitchen isn’t «backed up» while others were just standing around doing nothing. If I were the owner /​manager, I wouldn’t be too happy seeing that.
Sadly this is not the level of service that we are used to at Mimi’s. At the time, it wasn’t even busy! It was Friday night about 6:00!!!

I attended a rehearsal dinner at Mimi’s Café this past Friday evening. Our reservations for 19 in the banquet room was for 5:00pm. We arrived around 5:10pm and had to wait about an additional 15 minutes before the room was ready. Our hosts weren’t so happy since there was another party coming in around 7:30pm which meant less time for us in the room.
We were seated in a U-​Shape setting with a set menu of: choice of non-​alcoholic beverage, soup (corn chowder, tomato basil, french onion) or salad (caesar, garden), entrée (turkey dinner, pot roast, meatloaf), and dessert (crème brûlée cheesecake). Complimentary mini baguettes and little carrot cakes are provided before the meal as well.
I opted for a strawberry lemonade, corn chowder, pot roast and the crème brûlée cheesecake. Almost ¹⁄₃ of my pot roast was fatty! The meal itself was definitely filling, especially with the complimentary bread to begin your meal. Left feeling absolutely terrible about my dinner decisions with a wedding the next morning. #NoRegrets
Overall, the food was average. The service was great in the banquet room.

The food is always absolutely delicious when I go to Mimi’s! This was out first experience here in SoCal and again it didn’t disappoint. We had the triple berry mimosas which were delicious and warming to the belly. The steak and frites were amazing! The steak was cooked perfectly for well done and the fries are addicting! A Caesar side salad was an additional nice appetizer pairing for the meal. The free bread that came with it was warm, soft, and delicious when the butter melted in it. We also tried the Chicken Tillamook Cheedar Mac N Cheese with penne pasta, sooo good! The chicken was flavorful and not overlooked and the pasta was al dente! We can’t wait to come back!

Not sure why the blonde hostess was talking badly about her coworker with another host. That’s very unprofessional especially considering the fact that there are people waiting around to be seated. Once we got seated the waitress right off the bat looked annoyed to be taking our order. We already knew what we were going to order when she came to get our drink order and since we were in sort of a rush I told her we wanted to order our food too and she gave me a death stare. Sorry. It was my first time here so I wasn’t aware that the omelette I was ordering came with a muffin choice and so she asked me do you want toast or muffin I replied with «oh it comes with a muffin» very excited and she looked at me as if I was stupid. Whenever she checked up on us it was never genuine she just looked annoyed.
Needless to say the food was delicious which is the only reason I’m giving them 3 stars. Maybe next time customer service will be improved.