THE MUSTARD SEED CAFE (Los Feliz)...Sunday brunch, around 11:30am - just the 3 of us

So, we've wandered by this place several times always impressed by the busyness.  Our trusty motto - "if it's crowded it must be good", unfortunately did not work in our favor this time.  When we arrived, although crowded, we scored a table right away - a cozy booth amongst a room of seating designed for parties of two and four at most.  We slipped in and were immediately given menus - within five minutes flat drink orders taken and served.  Argh, the first of many blunders - the tea bag, although loose leaf, was served in the (metal, no less) container of hot water!  Not only is it a pet peeve, but simply uncouth.  After mom could breath again, we made our order and waited - waited and waited.  40 minutes later our luke warm food arrived and the fun began....

successes                                                                  

• napkins and flatware stored on each table within reach right when you need it
• breakfast potatoes were crispy and well-seasoned and made with red potatoes
• pancakes were thick, fluffy and moist
• the bananas and strawberries served with the pancakes were sweet and ripe
• eggs benedict had the perfect amount of hollandaise sauce
• busser was energetic and helpful
• waiter was friendly, but inefficient and oblivious
• the restroom had a kid-friendly toilet seat
• the atmosphere was cozy, not too cold, not too warm on a cloudy day;  it was kid-friendly (but not to the extreme)
• outdoor and indoor seating

failures

• wobbly table led to spilling of tea pot
• nearly everything was served luke warm including our drinks (hot tea and coffee)
• eggs Benedict - english muffin wasn't toasted, thus became soggy
• omelette - the cheese inside wasn't melted
• the eggs were dry and overcooked; the vegetables were not cooked with eggs but added later
• only milk instead of real cream was served with the coffee
• syrup was not real maple and came in an annoying container which made it difficult to pour
• side of fruit was either unripe or old and overripe
• coffee - had been sitting, thus became sour
• waiter was absent for most of the meal
• took a long time to get anything (extra plates, more water, etc...)

Was it the wrong dish or the wrong day?  The fact that this eatery is consistently crowded makes us wonder if we just experienced a fluke.  Nonetheless, if we had to give our...

OVERALL RATING:  * * / 5 stars

Would you eat there again?

   dad...."I'd give it another try, I think.  They had another pancake breakfast meal I'd like to try and I would order the eggs scrambled instead of in an omelette next time."

    mom..."The potatos were good, but not that good.  I would only eat there again if there were nothing else open."

    sister..."The bad coffee was a big turn off to me and the cold food was a big disappointment.  It didn't leave me wanting more."