Popular neighborhood cafe packs in weekend crowds for California cuisine served outside.

by Melissa Gage

In Short
During the week, this laid back corner café is frequented by Los Feliz regulars and the occassional Grey's Anatomy cast member, fresh from filming down the street. While there are a handful of tables inside the cozy dining room, the prime seats are on the sidewalk. Mustard Seed started serving dinner in late 2008, but breakfast and lunch remain the cornerstones--expect a wait on weekends. For the morning meal, you'll find healthy options: a lean protein plate, egg white omelet, tofu bruschetta and a veggie egg white pan scramble, along with heartier fare from south of the border like chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and the ubiquitous breakfast burrito. Lunch selections feature a similar mix, with California-style sandwiches, burgers and salads, plus quesadillas and soft tacos (ahi or grilled chicken). The newer, smaller dinner menu includes a few sandwiches and salads from the lunch menu, plus entrees like grilled salmon, chicken marsala and an Angus steak. The café also offers organic coffees, chai and loose leaf teas.

03/02/07

Crowded on weekend mornings ... for a great reason

by snoopygirl

I am lucky enough to work fairly close to the Mustard Seed and I get lunch from there at least once a week, sometimes take out sometimes eating in. I find the service super friendly (a waiter once made me a newspaper sailor hat!) and the food is always exceptional. My favourites are the ahi tacos (best guacamole ever from a non Mexican restaurant) and the turkey patty salad. Yummy! Good cookies, great coffee and always fresh.

The only downside is that it is SO popular I rarely eat there on the weekend due to the long queue. I'd like to be able to share my favourite "healthy diner" with more of my friends.

• Pros: fantastic food, neighbourhood feelign, freindly service, outdoor seating, pet friendly
• Cons: too popular, street parking can be a challenge on weekends

10/06/06

the sweetest staff anywhere

by imamommy

The guys and gals that work here are so nice to me and my little ones. They bring toys and crayons to the table and go out of thier way to accomadate a mommy with two kids and a dog.(they even bring a water dish for my doggy. The food is fantastic as well. I alway have the eggs bruchetta for breakfast and the ahi salad for lunch. This place is overflowing with a neighborhood vibe and the atmosphere is appropriatley relaxed.

• Pros: nice people
• Cons: crowded on weekends

08/15/06

re: WORST WAITRESS in the history of mankind!!!!!!!!!!!

by ritarocks

I have been a regular here for about two years and have been served by this "short haired" waitress to which you are referring. I think you are the one with the issue. I have never once sensed a bias toward any gender, race, age or sexual preference for that matter; being that I am gay and with child, I am sensitive to these issues. Maybe she was busy as it gets pretty chaotic on the weekends. Have you ever worked in the food service industry? It's one thing to be unhappy with the service in which you receive, but it's another to broadcast unwarranted and frankly vendetta-like slander regarding the core of someone's personality. Are you a psycho therapist or something? If so, you are not a very good one. Mustard Seed ROCKS!

07/30/06

Good Luck with the "sophisticated" waiting list

by carynroach

Well, I can't say anything about the food because I never even got to try it. My husband and I went there for the first time today and were never able to get a table. We went inside to find out if we could sit at one of the two empty outside tables but were told to write our name down on the "waiting list" (i.e. piece of paper attached to a clipboard) outside. There was one other party on the list in front of us. More people came and wrote down their names after us and after waiting about 10 minutes, two men walked up to the restaurant, didn't write their names on the waiting list , walked up to the waiter, asked if they could sit at an outside table, and were told "If it's open, you can sit there." Quite the opposite of what we were told. We informed the waiter that we were there first, but he said that they were on the list ahead of us. According to him, we should have been next in line. Not so! Two ladies who came a full 5 minutes after us then asked the waiter if they could sit at the other open table and were told yes. We again pointed out that we were there first and were told again that we were after them on the list. How this is possible that we were behind two parties when there was only one written on the list is beyond me. Needless to say, we left without trying the food and will never go back again. There are plenty of other great cafes in Los Feliz where you don't have to deal with waiters who don't know what's going on.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Service

07/29/06

the regulars club is now in session

by lovelosfeliz

I discovered the "seed" a few months ago and have become something of a regular ever since. The turkey burger is amazing(try it on rosemary bread) and the red cole slaw is tasty. For breakfast I crave the eggs bruchetta(there's also tofu bruchetta)

the staff is always really sweet to me and the artwork on the walls is by some really talented local artist.

overall the vibe is quite charmming. This place is great to hang out and sip your chai latte.

I'll probably be there tomorrow

• Pros: chia latte hammy funny waiters
• Cons: waits on weekends

07/27/06

excellent food, excellent price, excellent atmosphere, excellent restaurant

by mauricerobert

i love the mustard seed cafe! ideal location, relaxed environment, and tasty food. for an empowering breakfast, try the lean plate. at lunchtime, order the ahi tuna tacos. and leave room for dessert -- the coffee cheescake brownie. if these food items sound appealing and you want to sit outside and enjoy the warm, california sun, then the mustard seed cafe is the ideal restaurant for you. on weekends you might have to wait for a table, but it's a small price to pay for the pefect l.a. meal.

• Pros: outdoor seating, delicious food, reasonable prices

06/13/06

one of my favorites!

by carie

While the service may be slow at times, the staff has always been friendly to me! Think leisurely cafe meal and you won't be so freaked if you're not out in thirty minutes or less. Very veg-friendly...they'll sub tofu for eggs if you'd like and their salads are so fresh and healthy! Good chai lattes too and they'll make 'em with soy! I highly recommend the chilaquiles!

• Pros: great food, laid-back atmosphere
• Cons: busy on weekends @ brunch time

05/22/06

what are they thinking?

by kevpho

Could the service be worse? I may be crazy but I don't like to wait 50 minutes for three empty, but unclean tables. The staff actually looked annoyed when everyone waiting asked if could bother to clean the tables so we can eat (it is a reastaurant after all). Since I'm NEVER, EVER, EVER going back to this place, can someone else point out to the manager (who should probably wash his greasy hair before he goes to work) all the horrible reviews this place has on citysearch? Tell him to read them and pay attention! Maybe, just maybe, he'll figure it out!

• Pros: food's ok
• Cons: lazy staff

05/20/06

Worst Service and Mediocre Food

by baggish

I went there for the first time with friends for lunch. The waitress could not have been more unpleasant, rude and successful in making our meal very uncomfortable. She threw our food down, was curt with us and then threw the bill down on our table at the end of our meal. She never once checked with us to see if we needed anything during our meal and was overtly irritated when I asked for a refill on my iced tea. The food is mediocre at best. The ambience leave much to be desired (concrete floor, tables topped with white paper, utensils in a cup on the table). I would never go back to this restaraut and would never recommend it to anybody. The owner should do him/herself a favor and train the food servers.

• Cons: service, ambience, food