These are archived reviews of Mustard Seed from 2006. For more recent comments, please visit the entry.
2006-01-12 17:08:53 I've been eating at The Mustard Seed for about six years and can't believe some of the negative comments that I've read here. For instance, Alison's comment about the water. They always ask if you want bottled or tap water. Besides who, when given a choice would drink Davis water anyway. As far as the cake, I had a Birthday there, brought in a cake from Ciocolat and the $1.50 charge per person was made very clear to me. She probably misunderstood the explanation of the charge. As far as waiting for the food, well I've waited 40 minutes at In and Out and The Mustard Sedd's menu is a bit more complex, don't you think? One of my favorite pastas is their "Crab and ASPARAGUS Pasta." They've never served an alfredo that I know of. As for the service it's been great. The servers will bend over backwards to do anything they can to make your meal more enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.. In my opinion it's the best restaurant in town. —Jeffrey Evans
2006-01-12 17:52:03 Its perfectly reasonable for a restaurant to charge a corking of a dessert plate fee. I do agree with the comments about the long wait. Even with reservations, I've had to wait to get seated, and they take way too long to get you your food. —CraigBrozinsky
2006-02-01 15:24:35 2-1-06 Good food, astonishingly rude service. Four adults ordered dinner, dessert and coffee to the tune of almost $200 and then were asked to leave because people had been "waiting almost 20 minutes" for our table. This despite the fact that all other tables had been seated within 5-10 minutes of our seating. We were well-dressed, did not misbehave nor laugh out loud. The only thing we did not do was order wine. I was prepared to recommend this restaurant to my friends. Not now. Not ever. —ChristineJohnson
2006-02-12 23:46:35 I've eaten at the Mustard Seed several times and I have always had a great time. The food and service were both great. It is on the expensive side, but the food is worth it. At times the service has been slow, but I found this to be a good thing because it gave me and my friends a chance to enjoy our wine, savor each course, and have a nice conversation without rushing to eat. I also enjoy how the menu constantly changes with what is in season. —SharonPetersen
2006-02-13 16:15:53 While we may have witnessed the hostess/manager screaming at the waitress for seating another couple at the wrong table - before we even made it in the door - we had a very nice experience at the Mustard Seed. The service we received was perfectly adequate, but each and every dish was wonderful. The seared ahi in a ponzu citrus sauce w/ wasabi mashed potatoes...a true delight. I look forward to my next visit. —MichaelMellema
2006-04-30 23:25:34 Easily one of the best restaurants in town! By that I mean top 3 or so. Excellent food, good wine list with lots of local favorites, knowledgeable staff, and friendly owner. I’m from the Bay Area and don’t usually blink at high prices, but I found the menu to be over priced. All in all, a great experience. —DjzayValenta
2006-06-13 14:14:12 I've eaten here a couple of times with my boyfriend. Nice atmosphere, great service, good food. No complaints, really. —AndreaStewart
2006-06-28 11:18:35 Mustard Seed has wonderful food, however, the manager is insane. As Michael mentioned, she is not discrete or polite when giving employees feedback. I have known some wonderful servers who worked for her and eventually quit because of her ridiculous demands and rude behavior. If you had bad service its probably because all the good servers have left due to bad working conditions. Even though I loved the food there I won't go back because I don't want to support a business that has such bad treatment for hardworking employees (many of whom are college students who need the jobs). —AliceSaurus
2006-07-06 13:59:39 Love the food, love the atmosphere...but won't go back because of the extremely rude behavior of the manager. I have witnessed the yelling at the staff on several occasions but the last two times that I was there our server was in tears. I spoke to the manager about the behavior and I think she still wanted to blame it on the server. Too bad because it really has wonderful food. —NancyWilson
2006-09-27 17:58:18 The food was fancy but mediocre. The only vegetarian options reside on the appetizers list. The restaurant DOES charge for water without asking. —JustinCummins
2006-10-13 11:34:03 Too bad that Satan runs the joint screaming the whole time your trying to enjoy your 30 dollar dinner plate and 5 dollar water. Food is really not even very good. Silverware was a bit "dirty," and so was the manager's vulgar ways of speaking to her employees! I will never go back! —LeeBerret
2006-11-01 16:01:29 They have the best lunch menu in Davis. I love it! And the staff is very friendly and always remember me when I come back. I think the dinner menu is not that impressive, however. There are few choices and though I've never had anything fabulous for dinner, I've always paid dearly. Also, as one of the better restaurants in town, the MS could really use a more updated and higher quality wine list. That said: their lunch is to die for!! —GradStudent06
2006-12-15 13:14:58 The negative comments about The Mustardseed posted here are very puzzling. My wife and I have been regulars there since the restaurant started, and even before that when Paul and Robyn ran a downtown deli. The food has generally been excellent and the service impeccable. We have dined in some of the world’s great restaurants, so we know what good food and service are all about, and The Mustardseed has plenty of both. —JohnCrowe
