A Mediocre Dinner At M Cafe

M Cafe is one of those restaurants that I really want to love. It's quaint and has a relaxed, cafe-like atmosphere, yet is a bit pretentious. The food is overpriced and the portions are quite small. Nevertheless, when they had a deal on Groupon recently, I was excited to return after not having dined there for about two years. I headed over to the Beverly Hills location for a healthy meal.

I began with a small vegetable soup ($4).

The soup was definitely small and barely worked as an appetizer for the meal. The taste was also very odd. It reminded me of the "Franks and Beans" my mom used to make me from my meat eating childhood days. It was very salty and savory, with a bitter taste. The carrots were very soft and chunky and made up the bulk of the soup.

Next, I had the main course, the Hummus and Falafel Wrap ($11).

The wrap was good but was a little dry. I poured some of the accompanying yogurt sauce in it, but the ingredients were so packed together, it didn't disperse very well. Nevertheless, the falafel was perfectly cooked and was nice and crunchy. I could not taste much of the hummus, but the little bit I did taste had a lovely flavor. The wrap came with a choice of a side and I chose the Scarlet Quinoa salad. I regret choosing this salad, as it was pretty bland, with a subtle taste of beets. The quinoa salad did have some potential, it just needed a lot more seasoning.

To end the meal, I had the Chocolate Cake ($6.50), which I ended up taking home since it was way too much to have for one sitting.

The cake was so heavenly and delicious. The frosting was a smooth ganache, which had a rich, chocolate flavor. The cake itself was very moist and dense. It was also not too sweet, but was still decadent.

Overall, I found some of the meal to be enjoyable, while some of the food was just lacking. I do not find M Cafe to be very consistent, as I have had superb meals there and some that were mediocre. This one was definitely the latter. Nevertheless, I have always found the desserts to be delicious and worth the trip alone. I just wish that they would lower the prices, as the food is just not worth paying a premium for. With the Groupon voucher for $10 for $20, the meal totaled about $13.