Mimi's Cafe

I've come to Mimi's before but was compelled by my experience to write a review. I had my daughters 1st birthday here over the weekend. It was a Saturday at 12pm and we were hesitant because we knew it would be busy but wanted to roll the dice and make it happen. We called two weeks and reserved the back patio room, it was perfect for our size party of 20.

Our server was Kristen and she was amazing, she handled our orders with prompt speed and great customer service. From the moment our party started walking through the door till the last person left everyone was super friendly and polite.

The food was 4 stars
The service was 5 stars
Ambiance was great and everyone had a good time 5 stars

Definitely recommend this place based off our experience, thanks Kristen!

What a cute little place to enjoy Sunday breakfast or brunch! I loved the atmosphere and the decor inside. Also, there were so many people there which means that it is good! This was my first time at this location and I enjoyed my time. I am giving them a 4 instead of a 5 because I do feel like we had a significant wait a few times (waiting to order food, waiting for food, waiting for check). Also, at most restaurants you will find that the waitress is almost overbearing when it comes to keeping your water glass full, but mine never got refilled. I know this is a small detail but it was something that I noticed. Aside from the wait, I would definitely recommend checking Mimi's out!
Will I be back? I think so :)

How disappointing. Mimi's cafe is not exactly gourmet...but it's not exactly a Denny's. It's always filled with old people and the service is always good. The manager is also really nice.

But I came in to pick up some muffins and a cinnamon roll. I was really looking forward to a cinnamon roll but when I got home to cut into it, I realized I bought a sweet crouton. Man, I was having a bad day and was really forward to a soft cinnamon roll but came home to garbage

First timer to this Mimi's. I walked in to wait while the manager joked around with a server who was counting her cash. The manager seemed shocked when he turned around to find a server getting the menus for us to be seated.

Immediately went to the restrooms to find an outdated restroom which was fully stocked with paper towels and toilet paper, but definitely needs a good scrub and then an update.

The ceilings of the restaurant need a good dusting as well as the lamp fixtures which are missing lights and lopsided.

The server arrived and didn't introduce herself but should have because it may have distracted my eyes from her black shirt that had food all over it. We later found out her name is Sheri.

I do want to say that the busser who was bussing this section was on top of keeping the place clean and the silverware.

Drinks arrived, then food. My sis and mom ordered the Quiche Lorraine with side salad which was good, although the quiche was missing the green onion the menu says is present. I ordered a grilled cheese with French onion soup which was delicious. The fries were stale.

The table next to us asked the server to take their partially eaten dinner and place it under the warmer. Instead of the server explaining that this is a health code violation, she took their food and placed it under the warming lamp to keep it warm while the lady was on the phone. This is absolutely disgusting!!!

Needless to say, I will not be returning to this Mimi's.

Been here scores of times, mostly at the Thousand Oaks restaurant but also at the Newport Beach location, and all their breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu items are great: great creative unique recipes, presentation, taste, and very chef-like quality. All are not your usual 'diner' fare, but very well prepared, from their awesome muffins, omelets, stuffed French toast, specialty sandwiches (they all feel specialty even if just a blue cheese burger!), pastas, or salmon or shrimp or steak dinners. I have too many favorites here to list, but I've mentioned some just now.

Drink specials are outstanding, like their special or classic mimosas and bloody mary's, and their wine list is good although a short one.

Every muffin is seriously awesome, and I sometimes take home a half dozen when leaving! The take out soups are also very good, and like the muffins are quick to order and take out.

Mimi's Cafe for me has many nostalgic memories of when my mom and I would go when I was kid. We frequented their Downey, CA location many times as that was my hometown before moving to Thousand Oaks. There used to be this fried artichoke appetizer in which the artichokes were submerged in a garlic butter sauce that were to die for. Unfortunately, it's been off the menu for several years and they've never brought it back.

One thing I enjoy about Mimi's is their setup. Seems like no matter what Mimi's you go to, they all have a very similar layout. The food over the years has been pretty consistent, specifically when ordering their classic entrees. Unfortunately, Mimi's seems to keep reinventing their menu and constantly trying to appease to the masses.

On one hand it's good to bring new items to the menu, this promotes more variety. On the other hand, people expect that dish they loved on their previous visit to be available for order on their current or next visit, and changing the menu too often may cause an upset for their customers.

There's no doubt about it that Mimi's serves an awesome breakfast. Combined with their fresh coffee and delicious assortment of muffins, this is definitely a great place to enjoy your first meal of the day.

If you are ever not in the mood to cook at home, but don't want to be sitting at a restaurant either, Mimi's has to-go orders that are super simple for pick up if you call ahead.

Sunday-Thursday they are open from 7am-10pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 7am-11pm. This is good for Thousand Oaks as many food establishments in the area close at 9pm.

Recommendations for breakfast:
Corn Beef Hash is Amazing.

Recommendations for Dinner:
Soup & Salad combo (for a light option). Either the French Onion, Corn Chowder or Tomato Basil with a house salad, I love their 1000 Island dressing.

Or

The Beef Pot Roast is one of their classics or their Mushroom & Brie Burger with fries.

All in all, Mimi's is a good restaurant that serves comfort style French-inspired dishes and I still to this day enjoy coming here and treating my mom to a nice meal.

Denny's food at twice the price and half the service.

TL;DR: Mimi's is buying their 5 star reviews. Photo as proof. Believe nothing from those reviews.

Service: Wait staff, was unbelievably bad. My drink order was taken by the host. My food order, after 5 minutes of waiting, was taken by the host. It was 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. Her area was about 60% capacity, 5 tables. She NEVER introduced herself as the waitress, and only brought my food and my check. Redeeming quality was the busser was so good I honestly thought he was my waiter. He brought coffee, asked if I needed anything, and even had some friendly conversation. Needless to say, my tip went directly to him. Manager was receptive to my direct complaints but she's clearly heard it before. (Side note: Nothing was offered to make amends, but I didn't expect it nor would I have accepted.)

Food: Mediocre at best. Sausage link was mushy. Eggs were average. The "malt" waffles were clearly Bisquick. ZERO malt flavor or anything different from traditional waffles. Eggy to a fault. "Fresh" berries were clearly previously frozen.

Owners: Cardinal sin. Buying reviews with muffins. Terrible ingredients. Weird French decor in a brick cabin? Clearly never been to France. Confusing at best, insulting at worst.

Avoid at all costs.

Attended a book club meeting this past Monday evening. We were in the large room off to the left side, which used to be cute. Now it's just utilitarian. Not much discernible decor in evidence. The whole restaurant seems to be in need of an update.

Food and service-wise, it was a mixed bag. We had one server for a party of about 15 of us. He was was very pleasant, but didn't seem to know much about pacing a meal. It took a while to get the orders to the table.

It was really, really slow to close out the meal, get the checks, bring to-go boxes, etc. Excruciatingly slow!

I ordered the French dip sandwich, on a whim. I only have beef once every 4 to 6 weeks, so thought this would be a treat. Not so much. It was overcooked, so didn't taste fresh and meaty. I had sauteed mushrooms and cheese added, which helped. The bread wasn't toasted, so it didn't hold up to the au jus dip; just got soggy and messy. Wasn't a true French roll. that was also disappointing.

Not the best Mimi's outing. I've got to report that a recent visit to the Chatsworth location was much better in every way - from ambience to food. T.O. needs to step it up!

Tried Mimi's Cafe for the first time. They have done a nice job creating a commercial French vibe. It's a chain restaurant but the dining room we sat in had a nice, cozy atmosphere. The background music was my favorite. It was all instrumental. It was at a good volume and the selections were fit the ambiance. The food was good. Not outstanding. The eggs Benedict was not bad. The breakfast potatoes had a good taste to them. They weren't greasy. We shared a stuffed French toast topped fresh strawberries. The blueberries were frozen. Not fresh, but they tasted okay. The filling was a cream cheese with orange zest. It sounds better than it was. Fair, but not blow-your-socks-off level. Our server was kind and attentive. It was a worthy visit. May stop in again to try out their dinner menu. Oh. Almost forgot. The hot chocolate was delicious!

So sad this restaurant is closed my mom loved coming here for breakfast when she was alive. Another death of a restaurant due to the lefty policies.