Mimi's Cafe — Restaurant in Greensboro

This place really is horrible. I wanted to love this restaurant because of how many amazing reviews they have, but the experience was VERY disappointing from start to finish.

I visited on a Saturday around noon. I had called before going and asked about how long the wait was- I was told approximately 10 minutes. I was 3 minutes away. When I arrived, I asked for a table for just one person. The hostess at the front was very rude and quickly stated, “we have open seating at the bar”. I personally don’t enjoy sitting at bars at restaurants, especially when dining by myself. I said that I preferred to sit at a table, and outside if possible. Again, the hostess got defensive and said, “we don’t have any outside seating available right now”. She didn’t even offer to add me to a waitlist, so I asked how long the wait was. She aggressively shrugged her shoulders and said, “25 minutes”. I told her that was totally fine, and though I understand wait times can rapidly change, I was confused that I had just been told 10 minutes but was then being told by her that it was a 25-minute wait. I provided my phone number and decided to shop around Friendly Center. Not even 8 minutes later, I got a text saying my table was ready. Though I understand I’m not priority as a single diner, I’m not exactly sure why she was so visibly bothered that I wanted to sit at a table outside and made it seem like the wait would be so long. I guess she genuinely just did not want to seat me at a table and was hoping I’d either sit at the bar, or leave.

Once I was seated, my waitress was very kind and obviously working hard. It seemed like they were understaffed (just like most places are these days), and she was doing a wonderful job taking care of many tables at once independently. She was literally the only redeeming quality of this restaurant. I wish I could remember her name! I ordered the ham and Swiss crepes with mornay sauce. When the crepes finally came out, I was yet again extremely disappointed. Someone literally took two crepes, tossed diced ham in them, rolled them up, and slapped a piece of melted Swiss on them. Trying to eat the crepes, the cubed ham just spilled out. No mornay sauce. Luckily my lovely waitress brought me some sauce, and to be honest, I’m not even sure what that sauce was. It was a chunky, overly garlicky sauce, and not anything like what mornay sauce should actually be. Not to mention this place isn’t exactly inexpensive.

You can tell this is really just a poorly run establishment. From the extremely rude hostess having an obvious fit over me wanting to sit at a table, to the awful dish I was served, I could tell they don’t care much about quality or service, especially on a busy day. I have never had an issue like this at a restaurant before, and I’ve eaten at plenty of lower-quality/simple restaurants that would never treat their customers so poorly AND serve such awful food. Sometimes the simpler places are the better places, and you’d expect better service and food at higher quality restaurants, but I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to visit this place that claims to be such a...

We ordered the Eggs Benedict Florentine and Cinnamon Roll with coffee and a Diet Coke. Paid about $27 and added a 25% tip. This place gave great vibes.

Andre wasn’t our server, but I observed him as we were sitting there and he was excellent! He was working his area and present in his section. We kept hoping he’d pass by so my daughter could compliment him, but he was so focused on his section that we couldn’t catch him. I thought it was a genius technique and he was truly a professional! He was turning tables left and right. I am sure Andre makes bank. He is the real deal!

Our server wasn’t nearly as present as he was and we had to ask the food runner for a plate, ketchup, and a cup of coffee, which she never brought or communicated to our server, Ayanna—at least not to our knowledge. She was a sweet girl, she just should have told Ayanna. We asked the neighboring table if we could use their ketchup, they kindly obliged as they were leaving. When Ayanna returned and we told her we’d asked the girl for coffee, she politely informed us that it wasn’t the food runner’s job, it was her job. (Okay?) I understand the order of things but we were just trying to enjoy our meal. She should probably spend less time in the server stand and more time on the floor like Andre. No offense, just a teachable moment. She wasn’t bad- she just wasn’t great. But she was still good. She still returned in a timely manner and we were served just fine by her. Nothing special.

Later in the meal I observed another gentleman dressed like a manager bussing tables around us and assisting the “busboy”. I wish I could remember his name. I spoke with him briefly and complimented him. He said he’d be transferring to Nashville soon. I was highly impressed with this man as well. Even though he looked and dressed like the manager, he was out on the floor doing what needed to be done to assist his teammate. I wished him the best of luck, and as he walked away with a smile on his face, I heard Ayanna asking him if ‘there was a problem’. There wasn’t. She wasn’t rude about it, moreso concerned. I wish she hadn’t assumed I was being a Karen, but I get it there are lots of jerks out here. We were not talking about her, just spreading some well-deserved love to another employee observed being amazing!

None of what I mentioned was a huge deal. We had a really nice brunch here and as we left, I noticed so many great options for mimosa flights and Irish Crème coffee that I can’t wait to try next time.

The food was okay. The brioche cinnamon roll was a bit dry tasting. Not fluffy. The whole experience was worth it. The clientele was very pleasant to sit amongst. Like I said, great vibes all around. I was overall very impressed. Even the less-than-great things were not that bad and not...

I stopped into Mimi’s Café in Greensboro a little early—around 9:50 AM—totally realizing that the lunch menu doesn’t start until 11 but figuring I’d swing for the fences and ask if they did all day Turkey dinners. I’d been driving all night, and I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast food. All I really wanted was something comforting: their Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner. It was a long shot, but I figured I’d ask.

My server, Justin, was training a new waitress at the time, and even though it was well over an hour before lunch officially started, he didn’t brush me off or make me feel weird for asking. Instead, he was enthusiastic and just so kind as he said he’d see what he could do—and somehow, he made it happen! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I know their menu has so many decadent and healthy and creative breakfast appropriate options, but I was seeking my version of comfort food after a trip gone wrong (trailer tires blew in a holler in Tennessee and I spent hours shoveling gravel into ruts on a steep driveway to get our horse trailer out of there). Justin doesn’t know it, but he turned a weekend that wasn’t going my way into the best “breakfast” I’ve had (since the last time I ate at Mimi’s lol).

It might sound silly, but that small act of kindness and “can do” effort turned my whole weekend around. Justin didn’t have to go out of his way like that—I would’ve totally understood if the answer was no. But when someone tries, and they succeed, it changes everything. It transforms a guest from a casual customer into a loyal fan. That’s exactly what happened here.

It’s people like Justin who turn restaurants into the kind of place you tell everyone about and bring your whole crew to. He turned me from a “hit them up if I’m in town” fan to a “make a special trip” fan. His kindness, attentiveness, and willingness to go above and beyond meant more than I can say.

Thank you, Justin—and thank you, Mimi’s. I’ll be back soon with my weird breakfast preferences and...