Wildflower Cafe — Restaurant in Mentone

Sometimes I feel restaurants get really overhyped...but this is not one of those times. Wildflower Cafe really does deserve all the press it gets.

We visited over my spring break. My family and I have been desperate to try this place; we tried once before around Thanksgiving but they were simply too busy. Get a reservation if you ever plan on coming at a time where they MIGHT be seeing a lot of people. However, on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, we had no problems getting in. The gentleman who showed us to our table was very friendly and polite and told us about some of the quirky art in the front room.

The Wildflower Cafe is a quirky place, overall: a kind of dilapidated exterior, lots of wacky sculptures and paintings and pictures...it suits this artsy little mountain town.

Our waitress was friendly. She seemed to be working alone, which made her a little bit slower than would be absolutely ideal, but we weren't in a rush, so no worries. We started with the home cooked kettle chips and ranch. $7 bucks seemed a bit high, but after we saw the portion size and ate a couple of the delightfully crunchy, salty chips, we were won over. Really good! I had a sweet tea to drink. Good tea, though if I'm being extra nit picky I'd say there was way too much ice in the glass. Again, not a huge deal.

I had the grilled cheese with bacon. It was amaaaaazing! Really solid, not funky/artificial cheddar cheese, crusty bread absolutely saturated with butter or mayonnaise (not sure how they prefer to make grilled cheese but either way it made the bread super smooth and rich tasting), and the bacon was the perfect amount of crispness, nice and smoky. More kettle chips, too, to sop up every remaining drop of ranch.

My parents shared the brunch sampler, which comes with a piece of quiche, tomato pie, fresh fruit, and a strawberry crepe. The fruit was surprisingly good for the time of year (early March). Although they liked both the quiche and the tomato pie, they surprised themselves in preferring the quiche. Although Wildflower Cafe is famous for tomato pie, it couldn't compare to the gooey, rich goodness of the ham and cheese quiche. The crepe was also delightful - hot, super thin, and with definitely homemade strawberry spread and cream cheese on the inside.

We finished it off with a slice of derby pie for dessert. It was served almost a little too hot, as the syrup oozed all over the plate, but it still had a lovely balance of chocolate and pecan flavor, the whipped cream was fresh and light, and the crust was super buttery.

A note about the price - it is a little expensive, but I didn't see any nearby grocery store, so I imagine getting ingredients that are obviously so high quality and fresh up here is no cheap feat. Also, it's obvious great care and thought is put into every single dish. In my book, it's well worth it! I can't...

Let me say first, that my review is not a reflection of the town. My husband and I love this town, we have been here many times on day trips as well as a couple overnight stays. We have always wanted to try Wildflower Cafe, however, they are always busy on the nights that they serve dinner. Tonight we were able to finally get a table! On our part they do state that reservations are preferred but walk ins are acceptable the wait may be a little longer. No problem! Our wait was around 30 mins, not a deal breaker...so we finally sat down and ordered an appetizer (we were very hungry). We chose the yeast rolls with Garlic Parmesean dipping sauce, ordered our drinks, and found that as long as you bring your own wine they would bring you beautiful stemware to drink out of. (That's right BRING your own wine) Not knowing this going in we opted for a couple of soft drinks which came out in almost a carnival like plastic cup and CANNED soft drinks. Thinking to myself a bit odd, but we persevere because I'm starving, nothing else is open here, and I don't feel like driving down the mountain. So, our appetizer arrives and for some reason I was thinking that at $9 for an app we would be getting a homemade roll with dipping sauce. Not even close! Dipping sauce was nothing to mention (mostly because it didn't taste of garlic, parmesean, or have a buttery taste.) So, we decided to order our entree. While mentioning this I will remind you that there is limited options to choose from so make sure you pull up the menu before arrival. I chose a filet with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes also with a side salad. My husband chose a chopped steak (similar to a hamburger steak) with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes and a side salad as well. My husband loved the way his "steak" was cooked and enjoyed his plate. I however, couldn't understand why my filet was cut directly through the middle? I basically had a butterfly filet. Which was not what the menu stated. Meat was cooked perfectly but lacked any real flavor. Oh I forgot to mention the side salad we ordered didn't come out until after we had started our meal. Vegetables were overcooked and very lifeless, mashed potatoes were actually good and for my filet I feel like $40 is a little pricey to butterfly a meat and still have no taste. I will say that our server was amazing and she was always around if/when we...

My husband and I ate there yesterday and I have to say I am extremely disappointed with the quality of the food other than the tomato pie, which was good. I ordered the small size as I haven't had it before (first time here) and my husband was unsure about it but we both wish we had ordered the large to share, maybe a salad and then dessert.

We both ordered the Salmon Wellington and it was totally not as I anticipated and I was very disappointed with it. I am a foodie and know what good food is and this was not. My husband is not as particular and it was only ok to him. The salmon was undercooked, the "puff" pastry was doughy and tasted like it was deep fried not baked in the oven. It was supposed to have a dill sauce but I tasted no dill and the salmon was not seasoned at all. The accompaniments were lacking in flavor - the garlic smashed potatoes didn't have much of a garlic taste and the sauteed vegetables were under seasoned and mediocre. The proverbial straw that broke the camels back was that our entire meal from appetizer, to salad to entree was served on paper plates and our drinks in plastic cups! The food was mediocre at best, overpriced ($32 for each entree) and they serve it on paper plates like some food truck or fast food joint. If I pay that kind of money I expect the food to be served on real plates and my drink to be in a real glass and for the food to taste good.

Also, the place seems run down and could use a facelift. It's unfortunate for visitors to the area that there are very few other dining options available. I feel like the owner and management are taking advantage of this fact and also of the notoriety of the place (which I don't get judging by the food and presentation of it) and have let their standards slide over the years. I have to believe at one time they were higher otherwise the accolades don't match up to the reality of the place.

By the way, I NEVER take the time to write reviews (which I should and maybe I'll start) but I felt compelled to write one for this place to expose it for what it really is. A big overpriced...