Monica's Livermore — Restaurant in Livermore

To start, this review is the accumulation of 3+ experiences, but I will attempt to only be speaking about my latest trip. A lovely morning deserves a lovely breakfast, so I wandered to downtown Livermore to find a patio suitable to eat, read, and drink coffee. Monica's patio is extended into a parking lot with covering and adequate seating to allow for dinning in these COVID times. As a lone person I was able to walk right in and get a seat quickly. Once sat, a menu and ice water did arrive right away. Within minutes I was able to order, Nonni's Polenta and Eggs (sp?) with a cappuccino. Before I could open a book, the cappuccino was on the table. Points for speed. Unfortunately here is where the trouble started. My first sip revealed that the beverage was barely above room temperature. I felt the bottom of the mug, maybe the foam was cold and I did not get much of the hot espresso below? Nope, darn right chili bottom of the mug. I had my heart set on a hot drink to sip while I read in the cool morning air. I decided to let the server know. At least I would have told her. My food was dropped of by a gentlemen carrying two meals, mine and someone else's. Did not feel appropriate to postpone someone else's meal for my tepid caffeine. Before me sat a Nonni's Polenta and Eggs. A hidden rectangle of cookie sheet polenta beneath two eggs smothered in tomato sauce, crumbled sausage, seared spinach, two rectangle slices of provolone, and topped with needles of parmesan. Cheese was melty, food was hot. The sausage was dry, and the tomato sauce was doing the heavy lifting for flavors. I like a little heat so I would add to my wish list "some sort of hot sauce". Now all I needed was some service. After a couple minutes waiting I decided that eating a hot meal with no hot sauce was better than a cold one with hot sauce. Besides, surely the sauce would arrive before I consumed much of the meal. For much the same reason I drank some of the room temperature cappuccino. If I had to guess, I would assume it is the mug size that was the issue. The beverage was a latte, heavy on the milk. Even if the mug held two shots of espresso, the amount of milk placed into the vessel watered it down. If said milk was not sufficiently steamed.... boom. Cold milk with coffee flavor. I flagged down a roaming server with a steaming pot of coffee and had them refill my milk glass. At least it was warm now. My server did not return till my meal was done. Do not get me wrong, I do not blame her. As said before, this is one of many similar experiences. What I do blame. After I arrived the establishment did get busy. My server was the only one I saw attending tables on the patio. There were others to deliver drinks, and bus tables. She was the only one attending to orders. I was a lone gentlemen sitting at a table, and likely placed as low priority because of it. tldr; Food quality does not match the price asked for it. Establishment prioritizes speed over experience. The food tends to have a strong assembly line feel to it. Components piled together to form the meal. The staff is short on servers and heavy on...

Let's get this straight. The food and the preparation, and the choices on the menu are excellent. Some of the best dishes in Livermore for the price. Speaking of prices, they're reasonable. The restaurant itself is nice to sit in not, and not super loud. Tables are good-sized and you can sit outside or at the bar. They have thoughtful touches like USB charging ports under the bar that they keep cables on so you can charge your phone. They have excellent local wines and good coffee.

The only gripe I have at all is the service. The waitresses seemed possibly inexperienced or just super busy. We ordered a Chicken Santa Fe sandwich and asked for the peppers on the side. The sandwich came with no peppers at all. It's not a Santa Fe without the peppers.

It took more than a few minutes to get anyone's attention. Our server was also working at the bar. We tapped a different server that did come by and she helped us out after delivering her food. When my coffee ran out it again took a few minutes to get a server's attention as they were bustling back and forth. However when the waitress did ask me if I needed more coffee she was friendly and it was good coffee. Everyone Is friendly, it's just that they might be overworked or inexperienced. They were all very young. The guy sitting next to me was trying to get some Ketchup. He ended up going and getting it himself. I heard him grumble as he walked by.

On two previous visits we sat at the bar and had no issues at all. And the food was equally excellent. The last time we sat at a table inside as we did this time, and had similarly slow service where I wanted to get some cream for the coffee, and the toast wasn't out with the meal. You know how you put your finger up and try to make eye contact?

We shrugged it off then but now we had a similar experience. It may be that sitting inside at the tables, you are kinda in the middle of the highway and they fly by you. I think they need to have it be routine that the hostess or busser or server grabs coffee and water and walks the floor when ever they can.

Take this as constructive criticism only, and if the folks there see this, take note that we think the restaurant is definitely a place we've been to a few times already and we will come again. W really like the food. And this won't stop us and Monica's is definitely a a new favorite in Livermore and a welcome addition to the local...

My visit to Monica's Livermore, located conveniently on the route from San Francisco to Fresno, was a mixed experience characterized by culinary delights and service challenges. Upon calling ahead, we learned that the restaurant didn’t accept phone reservations, which was a minor setback considering we were a group of five adults and two children looking forward to a nice brunch.

Upon arrival, we faced a surprisingly long wait time of 90 minutes. This was somewhat understandable given our group size, but the sight of several empty tables, some of which could easily accommodate larger parties, was puzzling. To pass the time, we decided to try their breakfast shots at the bar, which turned out to be an excellent choice, especially the Jameson with bacon, and my wife enjoyed her hot chocolate after some extra whipped cream was added.

Around 20 minutes later, and despite noticing available seating, we were informed that we still had a substantial wait ahead. The young adults managing the front desk seemed more preoccupied with their phones than with customer service, which was disappointing. During our wait, we indulged in some delicious French toast at the bar and explored a local farmers' market nearby.

When we finally approached the 90-minute mark, we were told to wait an additional 10-15 minutes. This inconsistency in seating, especially as smaller groups were being accommodated, was frustrating. Once seated, there was a further delay before our server took our order.

However, the quality of the food at Monica's Livermore was the redeeming aspect of our visit. The portion sizes were impressively large, with pancakes that were fluffy and fresh, and a breakfast burrito that was tasty, although it required some extra salsa for seasoning.

While the food at Monica's Livermore was a delightful experience, the service, particularly at the front desk, significantly detracted from our overall experience. The long wait times and the apparent disorganization were...