Mustard Seed

Mustard Seed is considered to be one of the upscale restaurants in Davis. They offer a seasonal menu, with something new every week, specializing in sustainable fresh fish, natural meats and local seasonal produce. They also offer house made desserts. You can wine and dine in their little cabin in the trees or outside on their garden patio. All of their wines are from California.

In business for almost 30 years, they offer catering for all occasions and are a UCDavis approved caterer. Individual dining rooms are available for private dining, along with the entire restaurant for wedding receptions, anniversaries, and birthday parties.

In the past, many of the reviews praised the food but criticized the slow service and the rude behavior of the owners towards their staff. In February 2013, the ownership changed when the restaurant was purchased by Steve and Lyn Kwon, who moved to the area to be closer to their daughter, a UC Davis student. The menu stayed the same, and the owners have restored lunch and added breakfast service.

Mustard Seed has been voted "Best Restaurant" in Davis by reader's polls in both The Davis Enterprise and Sacramento Magazine. Zagat Rated for food: 27 out of a possible 29.

They are proud members of:

• Seafood Choices Alliance
• Community Alliance of Family Farmers
• Slow Food USA

Reservations can be made online at http://www.opentable.com/ or http://www.mustardseeddavis.com/.

Want to avoid trouble while eating and/or drinking here? Check out the Bar Taboos page before entering.

The location was once home to Mr. B's Branding Iron, an iconic Davis bar that existed during the town's early burgeoning years.

Older Reviews

• Reviews from 2005 ~ 11 comments
• Reviews from 2006 ~ 13 comments
• Reviews from 2007 ~ 19 comments
• Reviews from 2008 ~ 7 comments
• Reviews from 2009 ~ 10 comments
• Reviews from 2010 ~ 13 comments
• Reviews from 2011 ~ 12 comments
• Reviews from 2012 ~ 4 comments

More Current Reviews

2013-02-27 16:22:20   The comments on here are ridiculous. Be kind to people and they will be kind to you. There is no need to be rude to a server, or the owner of a restaurant, just because they are performing a service for pay. I've come to the Mustard Seed more than 10 times, am a student, and have felt like I've been treated and fed extremely all by everyone there. The food is delicious, they have a great wine list, and the atmosphere is unbeatable in Davis, where most restaurants are one big, weird, unattractive room. —GennaY

2013-04-06 21:30:49   After a 2-year hiatus from the Mustard Seed, a group of us went tonight to see how the restaurant is doing under its new ownership. We had a wonderful dinner. The food quality is as good, if not better, than in recent years, and the service was remarkably improved.

Because the ownership has changed and so many of the older reviews were either pro/con the owners, I moved them to archive pages. —ScottLay

2013-05-13 10:41:11   Incredible Seafood...great staff, very friendly —MelanieMiles

2013-05-22 13:20:29   I decided to try breakfast and ordered the Lemony Ricotta Pancakes with blueberry sauce, poached eggs, and bacon. I really liked the pancakes. The poached eggs were perfect, and the bacon was good. The coffee was also good. The place was empty except for me and some people at another table. I hope they continue serving breakfast. The service and food are high quality. —nowhereman

2013-10-03 22:16:48   I've had breakfast here several times and left a positive review. This evening I had dinner with three others and was very disappointed. It was quite noisy when we were there because a crew with chain saws were in front of the restaurant cutting and removing a tree that had fallen because of the strong winds. The food and service were satisfactory. Our server Emma was friendly and attentive. We brought two excellent bottles of wine with us to celebrate an occasion. One of the owners, Lyn, mentioned there would be a $15 corkage fee. I suggested waiving it because of the noise, and she just smiled. At the end of our dinner Emma presented us with a bill that included a corkage fee of $30. I mentioned having been there several times before and wondered if the owners could at least reduce the fee to $15 given the noise. Emma checked and said the owners were adamant about the $30. I won't be back, even for breakfast. They're a little too money hungry for my taste and don't seem to care much about what the customers think. —nowhereman

2015-10-16 17:01:28   The posted hours here no longer seem to apply. According to the restaurant's website, lunch is from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. I came by for lunch at 1:25 pm a few weeks ago and was told that the kitchen had been shut down. I tried again this afternoon at 1:15 and was told that lunch was over. I mentioned the posted hours, and the server said they close if business is slow. I just spoke to some people who had gone there for a birthday lunch yesterday around 1:10 and told they were no longer serving lunch. A woman in line behind them screamed that this had happened too many times, and she was not returning. The irony is that the irregular hours and closing at 1:10 pm are probably why the lunch business is slow. Probably better off having lunch at a restaurant that sticks to posted hours. —Davisbest