These are archived reviews of Mustard Seed from 2007. For more recent comments, please visit the entry.
2007-02-24 15:33:13 The service is unprofessional and rather obnoxious. The owner is confrontational and inappropriate. I've eaten at Mustard Seed 4-5 times in the last year and the ambiance is great. The food is good, too. But, we’ve had enough of the service and snobby owner. She believes Mustard Seed is Chez Panisse. It is not. One Mustard Seed waiter fancies himself a comedian and makes his routine part of your dining entertainment. One fellow diner wanted his steak well done, this waiter said, "once you go black you never go back." Another time much younger friends used a gift certificate and the owner remarked, "what DID you do to deserve THIS!?" She is condescending, odd and very pretentious. When we last ate there she screamed at her staff, "Why is table X looking at me!?" This all detracts from enjoying a good meal and atmosphere. People go to dinner to relax, not to endure forced banter and irascible, mercurial owners. Davis offers many options for good food/professional staff. Go elsewhere. —RobertBoole
2007-03-04 13:35:48 I would say this place is ideal for a lunch date: delicious food, a cosy set-up, and service a bit on the slow side. I've always really enjoyed lunch here. —LynnetteWharton
2007-05-02 11:32:10 The food is definitely not worth the big price tag. Great CA wine list. Food was average and overpriced. Service is really slow. Friendly. Somewhat romantic only we would have preferred the deck to the crowded noisy inside tables. The best part of the meal was the dessert and the salad. One of the nicest restaurants in Davis only not totally impressed by it. —HeatherParker
2007-05-16 04:17:06 I agree with many of the negative comments here concerning the service and the so-so food. The owner Robyn can be quite rude and I know from personal experience. They too asked me and my fiance to move in the middle of dessert for a large party who had been waiting a few minutes...very annoying and unprofessional. The waitress's there are also just as bad, even more obnoxious at times. You think after blowing 200 bucks for dinner these people would learn how to treat their customers. NOT recommended. —christinegallo
2007-05-18 21:48:47 They have the best food I've had in Davis, no question, but the staff definitely seemed cool and condescending. The place felt very, I guess, white - I felt like I was at a country club in the northeast fifty years ago. It's the kind of thing you can't put your finger on, but they have a way of making you feel like you don't belong. The lack of vegetarian options was also disappointing, and I'm not even a vegetarian - I just don't like eating out to always mean eating meat. That said, I also appreciate them bringing good food to the farmer's market. —wobbly
2007-05-19 23:49:55 We've eaten here several times and it's always good and interesting food, as it was when we returned today, but I have to mention the gazpacho which we just tried for the first time - it is amazing. Very light and with a great blend of subtle flavors that fill the mouth and last a long time. Little bits of cucumber, red onion, garlic, fresh herbs. It's not something I would normally order anywhere, but I would get it here again in an instant. —EdHenn
2007-07-25 14:07:59 I went there and felt as if i was bothering them i though this was a business, I won't be back i will not recommend at all , The owners need to take etiquette classes sooner than later if want to stay around to many people feel the same way i do if the owners read this maybe you can take seriously and try harder —dickjones
2007-08-05 10:00:10 First off, I'm one of the biggest fans of the food of The Mustard Seed. Living three blocks away, we regularly go there, and it's our favorite place to take out of town guests. However, simply put, Paul and the other often hardworking staff cannot make up for Robyn's often rude and frantic behavior.
We’ve constantly witnessed all of the "don'ts" in restaurant customer service, and it comes down to Robyn. And, now, she's allegedly deleting mostly reasonable negative comments. (but, is it really her?)
Paul and Robyn, I've been a fan since your deli on G Street. There's no place I'd rather take visitors to Davis or simply enjoy that nice end of week dinner, but it's often been intolerable. You wouldn't believe how happy we were a couple of weeks ago to eat dinner there when you weren't there.
We'll give you a few more chances, and really, for the sake of your food and the delight in patronizing a locally owned business, really hope it gets better. I just can’t apologize to our guests anymore. —ScottLay
2007-10-13 21:40:49 Thanks for letting us know about it. I was planning to have dinner with my friends over there, because one of my friend choose this place. But, we won't go over there—if the manager is rude to her employees. It is really BAD situation for the employees. It was not good attitude if BOSS/MANAGER was screaming the employees around costumers. Sorry, NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL. —viviancute
2007-10-31 10:20:25 The food is good, but service has been slow when I've been there in person. Unfortunately, I once had the Mustard Seed cater a lunch for my workplace. Their delivery person arrived 15 minutes before I had asked that the food be delivered, and our staff person hadn't arrived yet at the venue. Rather than call me, or wait for someone to arrive, the delivery person left. 15 minutes later (at the time the lunch was supposed to be delivered) a staff person called to say that lunch wasn't there yet. I called the Mustard Seed and they told me their delivery person had left when he saw that nobody was there, that WE should have been at our event 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled delivery time to accept the food, and that they couldn't deliver it now because they were too busy. I could hear the manager screaming in the background, "No! Tell them we're not doing it! There's no way we're doing it!" I needed the food for our staff, and they said I would have to come pick it up myself. At the last moment, someone over there volunteered to deliver the food to us, and they did bring it. But it was a bad experience, and I'll never use them for catering again. —amay
2007-11-09 13:42:36 Went for lunch today. Our party had a reservation and some of us showed up a little early but the staff refused to seat them and made them stand outside until the other people arrived. It was not busy and was probably a little less than 1/2 full. I have never seen this happen anywhere! The server said she could not seat us because the manager would get really angry...The food was fine... but the server kept calling some in our party older than she was "Miss" everytime she addressed one of us. While the attempt at politeness is appreciated, its a good idea to call women older than you "ma'am", if you say it at all. —MyaBrn
2007-11-11 10:06:40 I have been corrected by EdWins in regard to my post. I defer to his wisdom in the matter. I still think there are some planted ones on here. The food is okay definitely not even Season's or Bistro 33 caliber. The prices are over the top for what you get. And that older manager lady yelling at employees is so unprofessional some one needs to put that woman on medication. I don't blame the employees because that manager woman would have a leg of lamb in her rather large, loud orifice if I worked there. Well, that would make it my last day of course. And the offering the bottled water and then dinging you for $3 a glass is true. The better restaurants serve you filtered water as a courtesy. My advice is to stay away. There are way better places to eat. The Mustard Seed catered my friends wedding at the Vets. When they set out the food table, the portions were so skimpy every one thought it was hors d'oeuvres. That manager woman was an insufferable ass there as well. —LouisM
- It's possible there are some, but I'd look at the non-established users as shills before your (incorrect) choice. Clicking MattHh leads to his personal page, which also (on another link) lead you to Matt's Restaurant Rankings, his list of restaurants he's eaten at and his impressions. There's obviously a difficulty with this sort of medium in telling who may or may not be a shill. Although there are obvious examples (which are typically removed/reverted), it's quite easy for those who have not established themselves (such as yourself and others on this page - although you did edit the furniture store page, kudos) to sneak it in. In general, established users with userpages and edits on lots of pages tend to be considered more credible than one-edit wonders. Some comments, on other restaurant pages, are noted as being 'suspicious.' There's only so much one can do, but I'd also imagine if the employees are unhappy here they wouldn't gladly be acting as shills :P -ES
** I will defer to your expertise on the phony posts. However check the apartment complexes. You can't tell me some of those are not suspicious. As for the Mustard Seed, with the employee turnover, I would suspect management of posting the phonies. In most mediums, if I log in, I can only edit my comments. This wide open format I do find strange. Thanks for the researching tips though. I will edit my comment to a more general nature. Still I have to laugh that I am not the only one that has noticed the the barking manager lady! —LouisM
2007-11-14 22:32:37 Though the service has never been great, the food was unique enough that I would continue to bring company clients and friends to dinner at Mustard Seed...never again after my last experience! I brought my boyfriend's entire family, a group that is not very adventurous but was hopeful to have a nice group meal— the man serving water was bumped by another party sitting near us, poured water ALL OVER my boyfriend's mother and also some on her aunt, and didn't even really apologize. The waitress brought out a towel, but didn't apologize. No apologies throughout the meal, and when the bill came, nothing had been deducted! I confronted the manager/waitress, and she denied that her water guy had done anything wrong, and that my boyfriend's mother had caused the water to be poured on herself! I told her she was wrong, and she told me that she wasn't removing anything from the bill. IT WAS AWFUL! I could never bring another company dinner here knowing that is how they treat these kinds of situations. I was so, so, so incredibly disappointed. —katherine1234
2007-11-15 23:00:26 I love the Mustard Seed. Try the crabcake salad for lunch. I didn't have water spilled on me, but if I had, oh well! Things like that sometimes happen! It sounds a bit snooty to want to have your bill reduced because of having water spilled on you. —PilatesLaura
2007-11-16 07:43:49 I don't think thats unreasonable at all. But if someone wants a reduction in there bill, they should be proactive and not assume that a reduction in the bill is automatic just because something like that happens without an apologie. If they don't apologize, don't tip. —MyaBrn
2007-12-14 21:09:06 I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a reduction in the bill for poor service. Each time I have had an accident occur at my table, or a gross error in the order, I have gotten a bill reduction for that error at other restaurants. Dining is supposed to be a special experience, not a negative one. If a restaurant gives you a break on the bill for the error, it shows that they would like you to return! My experience at Mustard Seed was a good one, but the other entries here make me a little nervous about returning. —tadd
2007-12-19 14:58:43 Last night, had another wonderful dinner at The Mustard Seed. Great crabcakes, quail and fish. It truly is a wonderful restaurant, when the drama takes a night off. —ScottLay
