Vivian's Millennium Cafe — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Located in Studio City and serving patrons since 1964, Vivian’s is a classic diner option in the valley. It’s very small on the inside with only a few large tables. They also have more seating in the back, but we were able to find a seat for two in the front for a 10:30 Sunday brunch. They don’t have a dedicated parking lot so it will be metered street parking, which is not that hard to find in the valley. Our server was polite and all of our items came out quickly. I am giving 4/5 stars because the food quality isn’t as good as some other places close by like More Than Waffles, Bob’s, or Paty’s and the inside could use a cleaning. The floor was very dirty under our table and the table next to us even complained about it.

I started off with a Coffee, which is my go to order at any diner. For my meal I chose the Eggs Benedict with a Biscuit on the side. The Eggs Benedict had a nice flavor but the eggs were undercooked and runny. They did not have the true poached consistency with the yolk covering the dish, it was too watery and splashed out as soon as I cut into it. Also the biscuit was as flat as an English muffin and really lacked the biscuit or buttermilk flavor. We also ordered the 2x2x2 and the pancakes were actually very good, but it’s also very hard to mess up pancakes. It was not a bad meal by any means, but certainly not as good of one as others I have had close by on the same street.

Overall I would say it could be an option if you’re already in the valley and the more popular spots have too long...

Late breakfast with daughter. Ordered a cup of coffee, mug is gross on the outside so I ask nice busser for a fresh cup he tells me it’s not dirty it’s a sticker shows me a beautiful clean mug with a sticker on it. Okay, I’m not crazy the mug is gross. I then ask our server for a new mug and she seemed a bit offended.We both order Eggs Benedict with runny yolks, one with sauce on the side. Plates come out and we cut into the poached eggs and they’re are the consistency of a hard boiled egg. I request to send them back and the waitress tells me multiple times that’s how the eggs in Eggs Benedict are supposed to be cooked. Okay then 🙂. I ask them to cook over easy. Plates come out and daughter’s (who specified sauce on the side) is covered in sauce. Waitress tells my daughter the cook said daughter put the sauce on the last plate so he went ahead and covered the eggs, she didn’t put any sauce on the previous eggs so after the second mistake daughter sends back and %wants nothing else. I try mine and disappointingly the sauce has no color or flavor (no lemon!), eggs are over medium at best. I ate the ham.

Our server said our breakfast is on her and I was very happy she did that. I hope she didn’t have to pay out of pocket, she should not have as the actual food preparation obviously was not her fault , that is on the kitchen.

There are any favorable reviews here, maybe we hit the bad day trifecta I doubt we will...

My review is partially targeted toward food quality but MOSTLY targeted toward the business practice.

Before you eat here know that there are hidden fees that are disingenuous to customers. There is some signage posted in the restaurant that is VERY easy to miss. Check the photo I included for example as it was the only signage I could see from my table. Nothing on the menu OR the receipt.

What they charge? A 3% fee for anyone that uses a credit card. The reason it’s disingenuous? The fee is not reflected in your initial receipt. So if you have a $50 bill that’s what your receipt will show and only AFTER you’ve paid with a card will the 3% be reflected in the price. The fee is not a big deal but the restaurant trying to hide the fee is not cool with me.

Aside from their shady business practices, the food was incredibly below average. I only tried the breakfast and cannot speak for the other items on the menu. The bacon and eggs tasted low quality and you only get 1 biscuit if you order biscuits and gravy (which sorts $16). Overall very low marks in overall value. Even if you can ignore their fees I’d steer clear of their breakfast.

Wait staff was the only highlight. Our server was attentive, friendly, and kept our waters filled. My only negatives were food quality, value, and...