The Depot Cafe and Bookstore — Restaurant in Mill Valley

I'll update as of Jan 2018. No mystery as to why this place does a fraction of the business of the other 2 coffee shops here. (1) it is filthy. All 9 of the empty tables are dirty. The ones that are cleared have food on them. No one seems to be cleaning up. Service is abysmal. I asked a person working the bookstore counter what the wifi password was. She was more occupied eating her bagel. She wouldn't respond verbally but instead just pointed to the other edge of the counter making me walk over to read the easy password, "bookstore". The person working the 1 register for beverages and food was occupied buying a tshirt from someone who had walked up. Food looks blah and of course prices are at high end. $10 for an egg sandwich - no sides. Idiotic way of serving coffee. You order and they put your coffee down through an opening onto a counter that is out of your site when ordering. They put mine down in the midst of a bunch of old ladies who were reaching over it to grab condiments. I couldn't get to it for a few minutes.

prior review: 5 star location with outdoor seating on the main mv plaza. 1 star ordering with a ridiculous system that takes forever. 3 star food. Slightly overpriced - but so are most things in mv. 1 star bathroom that often has a long line. Especially a problem when your main...

Awesome spot right in the heart of downtown mill valley. The place combines a cafe / restaurant and a cute little book store with a highly curated selection of books.

My last time here I only got coffee beverages. All of the coffee drinks were good. No complaints. But it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing wrong with that. The food has been reliable, but nothing to travel from out of town for.

Where the place really excels is the service and atmosphere. Staff are all very friendly and helpful. The place is situated right in the heart of downtown mill valley. It’s just a great spot to be. It feels like you’re literally in a valley full of trees. Air also always smells nice and fresh. Additionally, the place has great out door seating and it often has live music (see video clips).

Another benefit is that it’s open latter than a lot of places in Mill Valley. For instance, today it was the only place open after 6pm in the area serving coffee.

This is a spot I frequent - and will...

Wow! Went way down hill! Had lunch today and the food and service were truly terrible. The service staff really messed up our order. But it was the manager, Victor, who made it so much worse. Didn’t care that there was a mistake, didn’t apologize until I really expressed how frustrating the experience was. Didn’t take care to right the error. Something happened to this restaurant and I hope it gets back on track. We asked for ketchup and were given a disgusting empty bottle. Asked for a second bottle - same, another empty disgusting bottle. Ordered the Hippie salad with chicken - greens were not fresh and chicken was chewy. The whole place has gone down hill. Sad cause I loved the location, quintessential MV. I hope the owners read this and fix it so we can enjoy it again...