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A Sunday noon hour, outside the popular Mimosa Breakfast & Brunch restaurant in Franklin. We're looking over the menu while my group waits for a table. A customer walking toward the entrance asks, "Is this your first time?"

Yes, it is. "It's fabulous!" she says before heading inside.

Well. That doesn't happen every day. 

So, we ordered omelets and blintzes and potatoes and more that day in the name of science and when we returned to this cute, light-filled restaurant. Mimosa by and large is fabulous. It has what a breakfast/brunch lover wants: good food and good coffee (organic and fair trade, by the way). Cups are refilled frequently by friendly roving staff — part of what makes the service good here.

And it doesn't hurt that prices are reasonable and portions lavish, like a Thanksgiving of breakfasts.

You'd think Mimosa was named for the brunch drink, but restaurant owner Apostoli Evreniadis named it for the plant that grows freely in Greece, where he spent his childhood. 

But Mimosa does indeed serve mimosas, made with fresh-squeezed orange juice, no less, and a choice of Spanish or American sparkling wines or French Champagne ($4.95 to $15.95). It mixes a solid Bloody Mary ($8.95), too, with garnishes of a strip of bacon, pickled mushroom, cheese and more, served with a beer chaser.

That it's choosy about coffee and squeezes its own OJ says something about the place. Potatoes are another of those signposts of a solid breakfast spot.

Mimosa potatoes are like home fries that are basically poached and ultimately browned in olive oil; they spill across the plate as a side dish for many of the menu items. Add toppings such as the particularly delicious combination of lemon, feta and bacon for a couple dollars more. (Other toppings are 50 cents or $1; potatoes a la carte are $2.95 to $4.95.)

Evreniadis has said they're the same potatoes his mother, Katerina, always made at home. Lucky guy. (She and her husband, Taso, operated Spring Gardens restaurant on Milwaukee's south side.)

Home-style cooking is beloved at breakfast, but Evreniadis wanted to offer dishes that aren't the usual, he said. 

So, one of the fluffy omelets on the menu is filled with good-sized shrimp, plus tomato, onion, bell pepper, pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, and garnished with slices of fresh avocado ($11.95). Another, the Hellene omelet, is made with young kale, feta and roasted red pepper sauce ($9.45). Tasty, both of them.

The menu covers the sweet side of breakfast with plates like stuffed French toast coated in corn flakes ($10.45) and oversize fruit blintzes ($8.95), topped with strawberries and wrapped around a cream cheese filling.

Pancakes, such as blueberry ($8.45), are another test of just how hungry a diner is: They're stacked three large cakes to a plate, made from buttermilk batter that's the restaurant's own. Pancake syrup is the default, but real maple syrup at least is available on request ($2). 

Thick Greek yogurt is served several ways; the Classic is topped with fresh berries, granola and honey ($5.95). It's so satisfying that it could be a meal in itself, but it's so rich that it's good to share. 

One of the very best plates was also one of the most basic, in a way: steak and eggs ($13.95). It was a bargain price for a terrific 7-ounce steak that was juicy, flavorful and a perfect medium rare. It's a coulotte cut, from the top sirloin, and comes with potatoes or a fruit cup (generously sized, of course), and pancake or toast with butter and house jam, besides eggs.

Mimosa does have sandwiches and salads for lunch. Unlike the steak, burgers ($9.45 and $9.95) were cooked beyond the requested temperature.

Mimosa, which opened in February, does so well with so much that the burgers and another stumble seemed out of character (shredded chicken breast with the chicken chicken chorizo and eggs dish, $9.95, skewed dry, in need of juices or sauce). They should be easy fixes, though.

A couple of other dishes didn't exactly hit the mark. The smoke was almost imperceptible in house-smoked pecans served with Belgian waffles ($8.95), though it's an appealing idea, and red pepper sauce and pickled onions weren't the right fit for the Irish Benedict ($11.95), with otherwise good components of house corned beef and perfect poached eggs on marble rye.

Those things don't detract from the overall feeling, though, that Mimosa really is fabulous. Breakfast and brunch? It felt more like a celebration.



9405 S. 27th St., Franklin

(414) 574-5132

* * * (very good)

Food:* * *

Service: * * ½

Ambience: * * ½

Fare: Breakfast, lunch and brunch

Atmosphere: Light-filled and homey for a casual brunch

Hours: 6 a.m.-3 p.m. daily

Prices: Entrées, $5.95-$24.95; most are less than $11

Parking: Adjacent lots and on W. Central Ave.

Wheelchair access: Ramp to door; restrooms accessible

Payment: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover

Of special note: Vegetarian options; takeout, including coffee and baked goods to go; catering; private room for up to 40; children’s menu, high chairs, booster seats, slings for car seats, changing tables in both restrooms; Wi-Fi; rewards program

Reservations: Accepted

Noise level: Loud at peak times (midday weekends)

Deptolla’s star ratings





Poor restaurants would receive no stars.


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