Mints & Honey — Restaurant in San Carlos

This party event place is a disaster! The inquiry went very well. and I thought everything will go smooth. But on the day of the event:

▪︎ I had to ask for the rest of the quiche order. 8 pieces were only served, we had 8 orders. ▪︎ The tea containers were stucked up and everyone was wondering what happened. The tea was transferred to pitchers. ▪︎ As an alternative the water station was not even served, I had to ask for it and wait for them to fill it. ▪︎ The guests asked for the serving utensils and paper plates. ▪︎ When I asked for to-go boxes they said we couldn't have it because we had outside food. When I informed the party helper that the coordinator mentioned we can request for it with a fee, only then they gave us the boxes. ▪︎ They told us we can have our cake and deserts on the counter next to the sink!? And so we did. But it looked very unpleasant and crowded with the drinks. One of our guests asked me if we can request for it to be transferred to the counter across the sink area and they agreed. Wouldn't it have been better if at first they gave us that counter!

The only thing that was good was that the helpers where friendly and they let us borrow an extra small table for our food.

All these were communicated beforehand with the program coordinator but it seems it was not communicated to the party helpers. It was terrible....and they charge service fee?

Another comment is that they not include babies in the head count! I thought to myslef I don't have to ask this silly questions because it's a no-brainer! But but good thing I asked! I understand there are codes and other regulations that establishments adheres to, but babies stay on the parent's lap throughout the party and they don't consume table food and beverage. This party place is the only place (ever!) that I know of counting babies! I've asked other party place and they don't count babies in the head count.

Also, please don't advertise on your website that you have "plenty of counter space" for food when guests can only bring 5 platters of outside food. That doesn't satisfy the plenty of counter space. I've also asked another party place and they have 10 feet table for food. It's bot like we're having a grand buffet! And the refill fee doesn't make any sense. The refill platter takes the space of the empty platter and we do that ourselves.

Party rental time is 2.5 hours. The set up time is included in the party time. So pretty much you only have less than 2 hours left to enjoy your event if your set up time is 30 minutes and clean up is maybe 15 mins.

Another terrible thing is this party place doesn't accommodate your cake in their fridge, no exceptions! I'm aware food places have their stocks and all that, but when you offer your place for a party event like birthdays, they could at least reserve a small space for the cake. It's not like we have a big wedding cake. The cake was another highlight of the party and you don't want it melting or sagging (espcially if it's a fondant cake). We were willing to pay for extra space in their fridge, but no exceptions!

I understand the management has already its policies in place but with all due respect, review your policies and maybe reconsider some. It was a good learning experience for me, and if I hadn't put in a deposit I've probably taken it to better party place with a play area (Lemon Tree in Santa Clara). I had everything planned smoothly but I'll do much better, but I'll do better next time.

In conclusion, I would not recommend this place for events. Probably tea time is ideal for this place but not for...

We decided to check out this spot on a Monday afternoon when more traditional breakfast places were already closing. It more than fit the bill! First off, the food was excellent. A good variety of menu options with all quality fresh ingredients. I often hesitate when it comes to breakfast toasts because I've gotten too many flavorless generic offerings. Not so here! I had the tomato+mozzarella toast. It comes on lovely thick batard bread (don't know what that means but it's tasty) with tomato, mozzarella balls, avocado and basil. For extra flavor they added salt and pepper and vinaigrette. My wife had the avocado and egg toast with the same kind of bread, soft-boiled eggs, chili, and paprika. She said it was very tasty. We also split an order of mini beignets with chocolate sauce. They were soft and doughy and they were not drenched in confectioners sugar, which was a point in their favor. The chocolate sauce was a nice addition, although the beignets were good all by themselves.

Next, the place offers counter service, and they deliver to the table. The attendant was friendly and offered an alternative when they didn't have decaf drip coffee. The wait was just a few minutes. My Americano was fine. Good coffee flavor and not too week. My wife enjoyed her decaf latte also.

We sat on the back patio to soak up the sunshine. It was a nice setting and dog friendly. There was also ample seating inside at the front counter area, in the middle and also one table inside before opening into the patio. A very nice...

Really disappointing experience today - went on a Friday morning with a friend - they got my order wrong - ordered the seasonal Earl Grey lavender tea, they gave me the seasonal Matcha lavender instead. The drink itself was enjoyable, but wasn't what I ordered. My date got a Matcha latte, which came out way too cold, and tasted super bitter - we're talking like kale smoothie bitter. She asked them to reheat it, and they said ok, took it back, then forgot about it until she reminded them 10 minutes later, at which point they reheated it. We then tried to throw some sugar in there, but there was no saving that thing, it was just disgusting. (FYI, I just came back from a trip to Japan and had plenty of delicious matcha lattes, which can be absolutely delicious). So we then ordered a more basic Earl Grey milk tea as a follow up to try and save things, that was ok, but it also came out way too cold. I think maybe they were busy and just couldn't serve fast enough? Not sure, but temperature matters, and it was bad. Preheat the cups? Have people pick up their own drinks? Got to do something there. The waffles we got were tasty, but also came out cold... And in case all that is not enough, the bathroom was also really dark - they need a brighter light in there... Needless to say, I won't be going back. Can't...