The Moosse Cafe

Review based on one meal only while vacationing in Mendocino.
The space is cozy but dark. We didn’t have reservations but they had room to seat us. (This was on a Monday night.)
Service was friendly and efficient.
Prices are reasonable (compared to others in Mendocino).
Food is good.
Ceasar salad was quite good. Beet salad was excellent — lots of good flavors going on in it.
Flat iron steak was good, if a bit tough.
Portabella mushroom with white beans, greens, and feta was very good.
Berry crisp for dessert was tasty, but could have been a bit sweeter (for my taste).
We liked it.

Cute place, food wasn’t nearly as high quality as the price suggests it would’ve been. A cup of soup, lackluster salad and sandwich with water to drink ran us $ 40.
Too expensive for the quality. Not recommended.

The hostess and staff are über gracious and very customer focused. They gave us a wonderful table for three with a garden and ocean view. It was a fabulous dinner comprised of Cioppino, polenta, halibut special and mushroom entrée. Each paired with wine and milk (for Amelia) recommended by our server.
We didn’t have room for dessert… but heard that the pudding is out of this world!
We’ll definitely dine here again when we are back in lovely Mendocino.

No reservation, but scored a table by the window. Butternut squash and parsnip soup with a balsamic reduction. So creamy!

We had tried to stay here once before but unfortunately it didn’t work out and we had to stay at the hotel mendocino, which was ok, but not for me. During that stay we got a chance to eat at the Moosse Café, the restaurant in the Blue Heron Inn, and we loved the place. It’s definitely not the type of place I would have expected to find there in Mendocino. It’s a quaint restaurant, with hardwood floors and large windows that overlook their garden, with partial views of the cove near the Inn. The food is fantastic and service is top notch (good portions too). We ordered the Salman and although I never order this because it just seems like something I eat around so often for lunch, I ordered the chicken breast… DELICIOUS!
There’s several options for food within a few short block’s radius from The Blue Heron Inn, but we enjoyed the Moosse Café so much that we bypassed the other restaurants in town and ate there both nights we were there. As they say, «if it ain’t broke…». We tried some other places for lunch instead. Try it and I’m sure you’ll be back.

Another culinary delight in the mysteriously foggy hamlet of Mendocino proper. I am somewhat skeptical about eating at French restaurants, I’ll have you know. I did not find The Moosse Café, it’s staff nor its cuisine to be anything like past experiences. Their menu was fresh, inventive and used all locally sustainable ingredients. When we arrived we were graciously given the best seat in the house by the hostess in front of the window overlooking the garden. The space was minimal chic French provincial meets buddhist Californian. Delightful, flowing, no nonsensical and uncluttered.
I have to say that I absolutely love this staff. Being the perfect man that I am, I upset my glass of water while tearing a piece of bread. When this happened, it went ass over tea kettle crashing into the glass window making quite a sound. Thankfully nothing was broken and nothing of any importance whatsoever was saturated. The server immediately came over with a towel and explained that it wasn’t my fault that the water spilled. That there is a resident ghost that haunts the restaurant and she does things like that all the time. So she says, we will blame the bitch for it. I am writing this woman into my WILL right now. Love it!
I started out with the soup of the evening which was a spicy broccoli and tomato bisque, which was spicy, velvety and delicious. Just what I needed to begin a dinner punctuating this cold damp day. Because the seafood is so fresh here, I had to have award winning cioppino. If done right as it was it this case, cioppino can be amazing. Just the right velvety balance of seafood, tomato and saffron. It was such a size that I could not even finish the entire dish. In part because we snacked all day long. Believe me, if I had the extra room I would have been on all fours licking the bowl and purring it was that good. I am also grateful that the ghost didn’t reappear and upset my cioppino. Then I would have to open some supernatural whoop ass. Of course it would be a little difficult while vacationing because I forgot to pack my voodoo alter.
Fresh is the word for The Moosse Café. Fresh space, fresh food ideas, fresh ingredients and fresh staff. This establishment is definitely on the repeat visit list.

Another great dining experience while in the warm embrace of Mendocino. This time we were treated to a very comfortable French Provencal atmosphere without any pretense. Our hostess was extremely cheerful and very welcoming as we arrived slightly early for our reservation of 5:30pm.
We were promptly seated next to one of many windows and frankly I believe we got the best seat in the house as it overlooked a gorgeous and lush garden. This garden was full of flowers I couldn’t identify but I am sure my good friend Toni M could being the horticulture goddess that she is!
Our cute little corner was first adorned by delicious bread and butter and then our drinks which were simply filtered water. One thing I noticed on the menu is that this restaurant cares about the local drought advisory for the area and mentions on their menu that water will only be served by request. After requesting, our glasses remained filled countless times which was nice and I appreciate their effort.
We were both very quick to decide on what we wanted. I chose the caesar salad and peppered pork tenderloin for my main while hubby settled for a spicy broccoli and tomato bisque and cioppino. I didn’t take long for our appetizers to arrive and we both enjoyed them tremendously while sending over a few bites to each other instead of just expressing their tastiness. I was completely wowed by my caesar salad as I hadn’t had it presented in such a way (see photo). Hubby was in complete awe of his bisque so much so that he graciously sipped it one spoonful at a time.
Not long after our appetizers were finished, the mains came out. They were so beautiful that I almost didn’t want to eat it but thanks to photographic technology, I was able to capture the moment (hope I don’t sound like a Kodak commercial!). My dish was absolutely delicious and I don’t think I’d ever had pork tenderloin that well tender! Accompanied with roasted shallot whipped potatoes, wilted chard with shitake mushrooms and an apricot-​pineapple chutney I think this dish was an utter home run!
Like any good establishment the wait staff shared our compliments with the chef and rightfully so. He or she should be extremely proud of the delicious and gorgeous dishes they put out for us tonight. We will definitely be back!

Stopped in for lunch in this extremely cute and cozy eatery.
I got the Wild Cod Sandwich ($ 14, Panko-​crusted cod, roasted tomato, red leaf, toasted Costeaux bun, small Caesar salad
). The Caesar was nicely dressed. The cod wasn’t well seasoned so definitely needed the remoulade on top. In addition, the fish was unevenly cooked; you can see the breading in the upper left in the picture is still white, not browned.
The g/​f couldn’t resist the Reatha’s Mac and Cheese ($ 11, Sharp white aged-​cheddar, mozzarella, gruyère, crispy breadcrumbs, touch of smoked paprika
) The description sounded thick and cheesy, but what came out had a thin Béchamel type sauce which had pooled under all the pasta and didn’t seem to have the complexity of the listed cheeses. OK as a pasta dish, but not a good mac and cheese.
Service was very friendly, but the food didn’t quite deliver.

Dinner at Moosse Café was off the heezy. This place came well recommended by our Bed & Breakfast host, and it was literally across the street (I’m talking 4 steps away), so we decided to make reservations for dinner that same night. They accommodated our party of 6 easily with their private room in the back. We were seated right by the deck and had the beautiful garden view. The doors to the outdoor seating area were left wide open because the weather was perfect.
We were a little wary of trying this place because we glanced at the menu before making reservations. Prices were high! However, with not many choices in the Mendocino area for a nice birthday dinner, we decided to give it a try. After the food made its first appearance, BOY were we happy to have picked this place!
The first dish that arrived at our table was the pork chop with sauteed chard and butternut squash gratin. That piece of pork was SO ENORMOUSLY LARGE I could have sworn the pig walked itself onto our table. Our eyes literally bulged as the waitress sat Babe down. It wasn’t just the size of the dish that was outstanding though, the taste of