Trillium Cafe and Inn

The small dining room was packed on a Monday night in mid-​March, a good indication that we’d chosen wisely for our 5^th Anniversary.
The tables were all pretty close together, which always make me uncomfortable, but we were seated by the window overlooking their lovely gardens, which was nice.
We started with a lovely Elderflower Sparkling Wine, and they brought out some housemade soft pretzel-​like breadsticks coated with Himalayan Sea Salt, served with a sweet cream butter. The perfect combination of salty and creamy.
We were really enjoying ourselves at this point, but then things got kind of weird with the guy sitting directly behind me. Started calling our hostess over to him repeatedly. He began by asking her name, which was Beth, just like me. so now, every few minutues, he’d hollar «Beth!» across the crowded dining room to, making me jump because, well, that’s me!
There were only 2 ladies working the room, and the place was quite busy, so it’s not like she had the time to stop and chat, yet he insisted on introducing himself, as he seemed to fancy himself a man of great importance, dipping into his own life story, like she or anyone surrounding him cared. He had an appetizer, but, they were out of the Pork Chops he wanted, so, I guess that was strike one.
But, hey, speaking of appetizers, I had the Butternet Squash Ravioli, which were positively divine. A wonderful balance of creamy, nutty, and sweet, cooked to perfection. Hubby had the prawns which were served with a grilled cabbage that he thought sounded weird, but he turned out really enjoying, maybe even more than the prawns!
We were both cooing over the appetizers, and making googly eyes at one another, but the numbnutz at the table behind me would not stop. When his Spare Ribs Entrée arrived, he took a few bites then called Beth over for the umpteenth time to inform her that he changed his mind, he wanted the chicken because obviously the spare ribs were nothing but fat and the portion was too small. Strike two. She wisked the food away and promptly placed a new order.
Now, considering I’d ordered the Spare Ribs I was a little concerned, though, those fears were definitely unfounded, but, before I could find that out, and no more than 3 minutes after sending his back, Mr Pay Attention to Me called Beth and gestured that he wanted his check. Confused, she came over to insure him that she’d just placed his chicken order, and this time it just got CREEPY. He asked to hold her hand while told her, in a hushed tone, to «cancel the chicken orde», that he «just couldn’t do it». «Three strikes and you’re out», he said, «…or rather I’m out». What the third strike was, Im not sure, but, when you’re just making shit up in your head, anything is a possibility! He mumbled something about not being able to deal with it due to «karma», telling her it was not her and assuring her over and over, «I’ll be back». She ran off to the kitchen to cancel his order, I hope, for her sake, to wash the skuzball off of her, and brought him the check. All that time and effort wasted, and I doubt the guy paid more than $ 20 for his «meal». And, while he waited for his check I noticed my husband start to give the guy some real «fuck you, dude» looks over my shoulder. Come to find out later, once he didn’t have food and Beth to focus on, he turned his attention to my husband and myself, staring my husband down and giving us both the up and down, looking at us like we didn’t belong in a place like this. Thank the gods he paid and left, but not without telling Beth one more time that it wasn’t her fault and that he’d be back. I get it man, you’re pathetic and lonely and have to go to nice restaurants, send good food back, and accost the staff while being a huge pain in the ass just to feel good about yourself, but… wow!
So, whew, now that he was gone, the energy in the room immediately got lighter. You could tell the whole room seemed relieved. When Beth came over to serve us our entrées I told her my name was Beth too, and that she was a saint for having dealt with that jackoff. She really was sweet, even asked my about my tattoos in between our courses, and knew that the one I got in Edinburgh was «trash polka»! Impressive!
But, entrées! My Spare Ribs were not at all fatty, and how could they be? They were slow cooked to perfection, just falling off the bone, served with a creamy polenta, root veg, and crème fraishe. Delicious! Hubby got the Seafood Fettuccine and said it was really good!
Finally, we ordered the Meyer Lemon Tart, because I’m a sucker for all things lemon! It was light and sweet, a great end to a really well put together meal!
Trillium is not cheap, and the dining room is a bit cramped, but the food is superb and the staff is to be commended! Kudos! And thanks for a wonderful Anniversary! No strikes from us. You really hit it out of the park!

We had lunch here mid-​week. Restaurant is in a little inn with three guest rooms. I had a smoked salmon salad on spinach with puff pastry. The spinach and dressing were fresh and tasty, but the pastry was cold and tasteless and would have been better if forgotten. The salmon was such a small piece that I felt they must have run out. My friend had a corned beef sandwich with a cabbage slaw on the sandwich which he scraped off the sandwich and the corned beef tasted like overdone store cooked beef. All in all, a lovely and quaint setting but I think they can do better.

Mendocino is a quirky little town and dinning is hit or miss so we were excited to find this little spot. One of the better burgers I’ve had recently.

To sum it up, «some items are clearly better than others.» The wife and I made dinner reservations for this past Saturday night (February 27, 2016), arrived a few minutes early, and were seated promptly. Service was attentive, which we definitely appreciated.
I ordered the their Shellfish Fettuccine and their soup of the day, clam chowder. The wife ordered their blue cheese and pair salad, as the short ribs. The soup and salad both came out quickly, and we generally found them to our liking. I really liked the dressing on the salad, but it could have used a bit more blue cheese, as my wife eat every bit in sight. The soup was chock full of clams and potatoes, but wasn’t very flavorful, despite the ground pepper that the server volunteered.
I really loved the fettuccine; it was slightly spice (cayenne perhaps), creamy and wonderful replete with clams, scallops, small prawns, andouille sausage (additional spicy goodness), and salmon! Bravo!
However, my wife was less than enamored with the short ribs, as she found them a bit dry and flavorless. Her initially comment was that «she made them better», and she’s only made them once before. I tasted them, and found them to be mediocre at best.
Overall a good experience, but not stellar. Debatable if we’d give them a 2^nd chance for dinner, but will check them out for lunch.

Delicious, sophisticated food in a clean, cozy atmosphere with charming owners and staff.

Ordered the fish tacos. Small pieces of overcooked, fried fish, listed as «albacore»…tasty tacos, but over– priced at $ 18 for two tacos and small amount of salad.

Fantastic lunch. The cheese platter, salads, chicken cordon bleu sandwich and veggie pot pie were all fresh and wonderfully prepared. Will absolutely be back, have to try dinner next! Oh and save room for dessert. Wow is all we can say!

Beautiful sun lit ambience in an old farm house with garden and ocean views. Very fresh locally sourced ingredients and an excellent place for lunch. Try the organic Chicken caprese sandwich, or locally caught fish tacos. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve eaten here three times now and the food is always very high quality in ingredients and execution. I was there first when they had just opened — the bartender at Dick’s — the local dive bar — was a foodie as were some other unlikely-​looking guys. They strongly recommended Trillium.
They had a very nice Navarro wine in a 375 ml bottle — which was very nice and a way to go easier on your liver and wallet with a dinner for two. Unfortunately, there was a fly (the only one I saw in the place — the place seems very clean — that decided to commit suicide by drowning itself in my glass. They had no more of that wine on hand, so I was given a glass of something comparable but not as nice — I love Navarro wines.
Anyway, the restaurant is definitely worth a try if you’re in the area, and the fly thing really wasn’t Trillium’s fault. Just one of those moments when you’re behind the cosmic 8-​ball.

Came here again on Oct 14, 2015 and were disappointed after our earlier experience. My seared tuna was overdone, my soup was good but the red beet salad was a letdown — salad with a very few beets rather than beets with salad. My wife’s ginger shrimp was ok but the sauce lacked ginger and was not tasty. We have to consider whether or not we will return.

I am afraid that I cannot review the food at Trillium because I finally left after 20 minutes of sitting at my table with no one even stopping by…
I guess I could have stuck with it, but the whole process of getting a table was pretty chaotic, and after sitting there for quite a long time, I just couldn’t really hang with the vibe… you know how it is when an entire environment feels CONTRACTED? Like, uptight and just a little too serious about the whole endeavor? That was my impression on this place.
maybe the food was fine… But not worth it sitting in that space in order to find out!
(wow I seriously have never written a review even remotely like this before!)

3.5 stars though not nearly 4 for a fairly tasty birthday dinner up in Mendocino. While the intimate atmosphere was very comfortable and inviting, some dishes were noticeably better than others.
The strongest hitters were easily the local dungeness crab strudel and ravioli with pesto — both very well done with the delicate flaky crust of the former and its copious amounts of fresh crab absolutely killing it.
Mains were a bit of a letdown with my housemade shellfish fettuccine turning out to be the unexpected star. The texture and unevenness of the pasta was great and went very well with the huge amounts of shellfish, salmon and sausage. That being said, the cream-​based sauce was good though a bit bland. This actually turned out to be the theme as the pork chop and salmon dishes were similarly underseasoned. My friend’s miso-​ginger grilled prawns were great though as was my other friend’s filet mignon.
For desserts, the salted caramel chocolate ganache tart and chocolate hazelnut layer cake were both derricious and totally worth trying.
Our server, as nice as she was, was admittedly on the awkward side and not so well-​versed with the wine selection. I also found it odd that she decided to switch from standard wine glasses for the pinot noir I brought in to pinot noir glasses for a pinot noir that we ordered for our second bottle…
Overall, a slightly above average meal though I’ve just had far better for similar prices elsewhere.

We went here on Friday evening with no reservations. Often we have found with higher end dining we don’t get the most pleasant response from the staff for even inquiring if we could possibly be seated. Alisa the hostess was delightful, and very kind. It was busy, but she said it was a pleasure for her to help us be able to enjoy the restaurant. A refreshing welcome.
Sara was our server, and very, very knowledgable about wines. She gave excellent recommendations, and provided excellent service; very attentive without being intrusive.
We had the shellfish pasta. House made noodles were delicious. The sauce was good but not fabulous. It needed some more spice or zest. It was a bit bland. Shellfish was cooked well, and again, the pasta was delicious.
Blue cheese salad was delicious.
The blackberry crisp was excellent.
We went back for lunch on Saturday and had the burger, which was good. The fish tacos which were exceptional, and the Meyer lemon torte, which if you like lemon, you will be overjoyed with! It is amazing and creamy and perfect! Lauren offered really great service as well at out lunchtime visit.
The vibe here is really nice. You can tell the staff likes doing what they do. They care about your patronage, and your enjoyment. Highly recommend this little gem!

We always get to Mendocino mid afternoon and hungry and
have fallen upon Trillium twice now. It’s a wonderful atmosphere,
romantic and tasteful. My husband ordered a Reuben sandwich? What is a Reuben, the cornerstone of a diner in the midwest, doing in a trendy place? Updated that’s what! FRESH sauerkraut, juicy homemade corned beef, lovely rye. Fresh salad (or fries) to go with. I had the homemade lentil soup which I expected to be weighty but it was light and fresh and perfectly seasoned as well. This next comment is for ALL the restaurants in Mendocino and other places like Sonoma County. Somehow they all decided that no glass of wine can cost less
than $ 10 and many are $ 12 and $ 13 a glass. Come on! These are not old cabs or special
chards, just plain old white and red wine. Give us a break. Anyway, food wonderful. Bring a flask.

Had a wonderful meal here on our last night in Mendocino. Started off with the citrus baby lettuces and jicama salad, which was refreshing — especially loved the tang of the candied kumquats. I got the house made fettuccine with andouille and seafood (clams, salmon, baby scallops, shrimps) and was very happy with it — the pasta wasn’t perfectly al Dente but it was still good and I loved the subtle creamy, slightly spicy, Cajun-​flavored sauce it came with. The seafood was super fresh which was really appreciated. Husband got the pork chop which was cooked to perfection — it came crusted with flavorful herbs and was really juicy — a light pink color. Finished off with the Meyer lemon tart with fresh whipped chantilly cream which was AMAZING — not to sweet (my fav) but nice rich lemon flavor and the cream was soooo good with it.
Highly recommend this place! Haven’t tried all the places in Mendocino but wouldn’t be surprised if this was the best. I went to Café Beaujolais last night and this place definitely beats it.

Lunch at the Trillium Café with Henry the Dog was sweet. I had the rock cod Fish Tacos and they are prepared with a crust that was gluten free. They were flavorful with the chipotle sauce and they offered hot sauce if you prefer more heat and they were generous in size. I love the watermelon salad that was served as a side, it was wonderful. I am not sure if they serve it as a side but if they did I could eat a bowl for lunch alone. They offered a large selection of housemade desserts that started at $ 9. Next visit I would like to eat just dessert and sit in the garden and return for dinner! Ten the next time have one of their tempting salads.
I loved the garden setting with the ocean view and that they allow dogs. Henry was given a water bowl and hat is always appreciated. My server was very professional and pleasant, and was timely with everything. I loved the food, I loved the setting.

We absolutely loved our stay at Trillium. I stayed here for one night and would come again in a heartbeat. First of all, the owners were great. They responded very quickly and seemed genuinely dedicated to creating an amazing atmosphere for us to stay in. So, the room. The room was roomy, clean, and had an equally clean shared bathroom (yay!). The room also had a great view of the garden and ocean! The breakfast in the morning was also very yummy — we were given scones and some parfait. In fact, the scones were so good, they inspired me to make my own!
Overall, I would give this place a solid 4.5 stars, but the amazing breakfast and overall atmosphere at Trillium Café and Inn pushed it over to 5 stars!

This review is for the Inn only.
We arrived late in the afternoon and after talking with several people we met a guy that stayed here for a week or so while on business. So we decided to stay there.
The restaurant is downstairs and there are three rooms upstairs.
We were greeted by a friendly person who took us up to see the rooms. The one with the private bath was reserved so we opted for the room that shares a bath with the one remaining room. We were glad that the other room was not booked so we had the bathroom to ourselves.
The room was small but nice, comfortable and clean. Minimal views out the two windows. Linens were fresh and clean as were the towels.
Overall it was a good place to stay, we felt lucky to find the place. One thing that didn’t dawn on us until later is … Well there is a restaurant downstairs, the seafood they prepared smelled delicious haha.
So if you stay anyplace that has a restaurant below be prepared to enjoy the food smells wafting up and hope they are as good as the ones at the Trillium.

No problem getting seated, slow start with server (woman in her later 50’s I’m guessing) got the vibe maybe she was owner., part owner, idk. That’s the attitude she had.
Potato soup was very good, blue cheese salad good, burger good, bacon grilled cheese sandwich way to much bread, fish tacos. pretty good but it
Needs double tortillas cause they just completely fall apart while trying to eat them, deep fried taco fish a tad oily too. Wish there was more seafood to choose from on the lunch menu.

Review is for the restaurant.
A wonderful gem for casual but sophisticated dining. The dining room is on the lower floor below several rooms. Most bed and breakfasts this size don’t attempt dinner. I can see why a Unilocaler stated this was the best dinner they had in Mendocino.
We had the blackened cod. The presentation was excellent and the cod was nicely cooked without being overcooked. I almost ordered it with very light blackening sauce but didn’t. Ironically the chef read my mind and provided the fish with very little blackening herbs. If you want traditional blackening I suggest you talk to your server and ask questions.
The crab appetizer was wrapped in a puff pastry. The flavors just seemed to melt in our mouths.
We finished with a fantastic lemon tartlet.
Mendocino is laid back where people come to unwind. As such, client facing businesses can be fun since they cannot predict the number of customers. It was fun to see how the restaurant recovered from a Thursday customer rush. They started the evening with only two reservations and one server but were nearly full when we left. Part way through dinner the owner came down to help. The server did a fantastic job managing the crowd and being helpful. She had a finesse that I rarely see today.
We strongly suggest you give Trillium a try if you want a pleasant dinner evening without having to worry about the time.