Monday, July 8, 2013

Restaurant Review: Mimi's Cafe Gainesville

I've been to Mimi's Cafe in Gainesville twice, with two VERY different experiences. The first time I went to Mimi's was for a lunch meeting with a good friend. I arrived a little early and waited in the lobby/entry for a few minutes. I saw several people come in to pickup their to-go orders. There is a special alcove for to-go ordering and pickup, which was a nice touch. There is a small bar area which looked inviting, but I did not go through it carefully. I saw two dining rooms. One looked like a diner and the other looked like an inviting cabin. When my lunch date arrived, she was greeted very sweetly, the staff knew her by name, and she asked to sit on the cabin-side because its quieter.  Here are my thoughts on lunch.

Service - Fantastic. Not hovering, nor did I feel like I would have to waive anyone down. 

Staff - Very sweet and warm. While I waited in the front for my friend, I wasn't pestered or asked over and over if I was waiting for something. On that same note, I also did not feel ignored. 

Decor - The lobby and the cabin-like dining rooms are beautiful. Very warm and inviting. The dining room has a huge ceiling with wooden beams, private booths, and a very pleasant decor overall.

Restroom - Didn't visit the restroom on this visit.

Food Quality - Very fresh. We both ordered salads, and everything was beautiful.

Food Prep - Excellent. I asked for no croutons on my chicken Caesar, and there wasn't as much as a crumb on my plate. I felt very safe. The lettuce was dried properly, so it didn't water down the dressing.

Food Taste - Wonderful! Fresh, light, creamy, rich, and crisp. 

Overall, I was very impressed with Mimi's Cafe, and couldn't wait to go back. I sang its praise to my husband so often, that we decided to go for dinner a few nights ago.  And it was like stepping into an alternate universe in some aspects. Things could not have been more different with the food and decor.

Service - Again, this was first rate. Our server asked our names, then spoke to us, using our names as if he had known us for ever. He had great things to say about what we ordered. My husband mentioned his Celiac Disease, and asked for a dish to be prepared without the breading, which the kitchen did graciously. He had chicken cordon blueI, with steamed broccoli. I ordered a steak, scalloped potatoes, and a grilled shrimp skewer with a glass of Chardonnay. 

Staff - The staff was very nice, but in the background I could see them goofing off in a separate section of the dining room separated by a curtain. 

Decor - This time, we sat in the "other" dining room. And I now know why my friend requested the cabin-like dining room on my first visit. Ugh! The dining room to the right is like a bad diner or cafeteria. God-awful pleather booths, partial dividers between booths made of glass with strange brass accents, at least one was broken, and the glass dividers did nothing for sound control. I was very aware of the conversation of the ladies 3 booths down on the opposite side of us.

Restroom - Beautiful! One stall was out of order, but the overall cleanliness was excellent, and the brass sink was beautiful. I'm always happy to see a clean restroom in a restaurant!

Food Quality - Horrible. Simply horrible. I'm not convinced there was a fresh ingredient on either of our plates. My husbands broccoli had old, dried, brown stems and some florets were brown and soggy as well. His chicken was dry, and he wasn't impressed. My steak was ok. I asked for a sauce on the side that had have been jarred and microwaved, and was NOT gluten free, we discovered later that night. My grilled shrimp skewer was frozen shrimp that had been thawed and then warmed on the flat-top. My scalloped potatoes were from a box, they were pasty, gross, overly salty, mushy, and overall yucky. I feel they weren't GF either. (We were not told there was a GF menu until after we had ordered. Our fault for not asking.)

Food Prep - I'm fairly certain everything was microwaved and came either frozen or prepackaged. My steak was cooked wonderfully, but the sauce was salty, jarred, and barely warm. In fact, all of the food on my plate was moderately cold when it came to the table.

Food Taste - My steak was nicely seasoned. My potatoes were salty, from a package, and had been microwaved. The sauce was salty and tasted like the can it came from. My Chardonnay wasn't. I'm not sure what that substance was, but it was as far from a Chardonnay as I think I've had. It was sour and bitter.

Overall, this second experience was horrible. Our server was wonderful, but the food and decor were just awful, and you go out to eat for food and ambiance. Otherwise, you eat your own food at home.  I was embarrassed because I had been telling my husband how spectacular it had been the other time. This supper was the ending to our anniversary day spent kid-free, and we were both very disappointed. Due to our gluten reactions, we both felt pretty yucky after, and since one of my reactions is irritability and grumpiness, I huffed on up to bed and went to sleep instead of watching a movie as we had planned.

Based on this, we won't be going back to Mimi's Cafe in Gainesville. But, if I ever find myself there, ill be sure to order a salad only.