Mimmo’s Italian Restaurant & Bar

Totally last minute change of plans and without a reservation my husband and I went to Mimmos on a Wed. Night! We were lucky to get a nice table for two– excellent dinner! I had Veal Picatta which was tender and Delish! My husband had his fav– Veal Marsala which he loved! We shared the Tiramisu for dessert and it was amazing. Our waiter, Fidel, was very professional and so nice, too. We met Mimmo and told him how we used to eat here frequently when it was the old Cucina Pasta! The improvements he made to the restaurant are wonderful– can’t wait to come back! Thank you Mimmo for going the extra mile on a treasured neighborhood restaurant. Great food, great prices, great ambiance.

We were there five times in two weeks. The food, service and atmospere are all wonderful experience. The Veal Parmesan presented bone-​in is the best ever. My wife and I both enjoyed the Tomato Basil soup and she especially enjoyed the Burrata Salad, creamy fresh Mozzarella. Place is popular, so make a reservation. Not too pricey and conversation friendly.

Very disappointing. Went here for my sisters birthday and the food was mediocre at best. We brought our own birthday cake and they charged us an 8 dollar cake fee even after we gave half the cake to their staff. Won’t be going back

Just returned from a dinner and can honestly it was below standard in quality and above the average cost of an Italian restaurant. The appetizer was served on burnt bread (was taken off the bill). The salads were over dressed and just average. The main courses were just ok. My meal was supposed to be seafood linguini with a sauce. What arrived was tasteless soup with over cooked sea food (some ingredients of which were not listed on the menu). The waitress was very attentive but I will never go back nor recommend this restaurant. I know any response from the owners will blame me but we are the customers and deserve to receive the quality we pay for.
I see management has again blamed the customer for bad food. No we did not eat all our food (if you had checked with your help you would have been told that nearly 2 whole meals were not consumed). We asked to take the remaining food home so as not to insult our host who had taken us out for a special occasion. We then dumped the food when we were home. I can not believe that that management can not admit they made a mistake rather they blame the customer. This restaurant is over priced and lacked quality.

Came here to dinner last night with my family, and would definitely recommend. Food and service was great. Chicken parm was out of this WORLDDDDDDD and the house chardonnay was surprisingly decent!

I came here with my girlfriend and her family for her birthday in Palm Springs. We arrived a bit early for our reservation and chilled at the bar. The host brought us to our table and it was freezing in our corner, with the air right on us. We asked our server to move so he turned down the air conditioner immediately and turned up the heat! Great service!
The tomato and basil soup was delicious, as well as all the food here. We didn’t have one bad dish! My girlfriend and I split the crab ravioli and chicken parmigiana. Both were flavorful and very tasty! Even the polenta was rich and full of flavor!
All the ingredients were fresh and made to order, and the service was above average!
I would recommend this spot for anyone looking for solid Italian food in Palm Springs!

Lamb shank succulent
Mushroom soup very tasty
Filet with Barolo reduction was outstanding
All very good

Amazing food and service! Family business and they seem to have fun! My only criticism: The eggplant dish was way to salty :-/

Went a couple weeks ago and I must say our server was absolutely incredible.
She was knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive.
I believe her name was Cathy.
I did not like my Mai Tai, I told her how I would like it and she said that’s exactly how it should be made, so she brought me one exactly to my liking and it was perfect.
The special was Seabass and it was cooked perfectly I do not care for the sauce on it as I’m not one for a lot of lemony or sour type sauces but I would recommend it. The chef has a different pallet then I enjoy.
My dinner companions absolutely loved all of their food so that’s why I give it four stars.

I am here to say that the meal and experience I had at Mimmo’s was amazing! Everything fell into place like a well oiled machine. It all began with the call in for the reservation. We needed a nice table for 5 since we were celebrating a birthday. When we arrived, we were immediately seated to an amazing table and space in one of the dining rooms. It was 7:00 pm and the restaurant was packed. As we walked by the tables, we could see plenty of smiling faces. We were greeted by Johnny, one of the owner’s sons. Let me say that Johnny’s service that night was by far one of the best I have ever experienced. Friendly face, always wanting to please us and gave us excellent recommendations on what to order. We ordered several salads including a Caesar and a Wedge salad. Both perfectly chilled and the Wedge was my favorite. Delicious dressing and lots of crispy fresh bacon. I ordered the sand dabs, which were perfectly cooked and delicious. I highly recommend this dish if you are a fish lover! Others ordered veal dishes and they all raved about the quality of the food and the delicious seasonings. I could go on and on, but to keep this short, I say if you are looking for the best Italian Restaurant in Palm Desert, DO NOT MISS Mimmo’s!

User alert: the food at Mimmo’s will send you into a state of gastronomic trance and food coma.
My boyfriend’s fall of the bone lamb shank was so rich in flavour, well-​cooked and tasty that both of our jaw’s dropped when we saw the dish. We could barely move after the meal.
Characteristically, I ordered my favourite go-​to Italian dish, Linguine Vongole with White Wine Sauce. Happy to say that the take on my favourite dish was up to my expectations and would gladly come back to eat more. Clams were very fresh, linguine well seasoned and cooked for an optimal amount of time.
I really enjoyed the complimentary bread, which was freshly baked and complemented with compressed olives in olive oil.
Unfortunately, we were seated next to the washroom as the restaurant was full. This made the dining experience slightly unpleasant, but was more of my fault as we decided to still dine at Mimmo’s even after being told that our seat was sub-​optimal. I would suggest taking out that seating in the future if possible.
Servers knew the menu inside and out and were very straight to the point. I really like how they did not beat around the bush and gave us good advice on what to order without being patronizing or coercive.

Solid Italian restaurant with attentive staff and great food. I’ve had better canolis, so don’t expect Little Italy.
The homemade gnocchi was delicious, the meatball appetizer was good.

Everything was very nice at Mimmo’s. We made a reservation after scouring Unilocal for something yummy in a neighborhood we weren’t familiar with. Mimmo’s is a lovely little Italian place. You might miss it, it’s in a weird strip mall and a bit hard to drive to due to the medians and weird parking. But it was worth the trip!
The food here is excellent. Very fresh, very flavorful. Warm bread was brought to the table first. We started with the beet and mozzarella salad which was excellent. I had the sole piccata that I enjoyed very much. It came with polenta that was ok but nothing special and delicious sauteed carrots. Hubs had the seafood pasta of course, his favorite. We both enjoyed our dinners and would say the food is quite good here. Wine list is short but decent. We both had house chianti and were happy with it.
The only downside is no kids menu. Granted, given the older clientele, they probably don’t get kids often. We settled on meatballs for one kid and fettuchini for the other. It was ok but they should consider a few items on the small side for the munchkins.
Our waiter was lovely, very pleasant. Service was a tad slow but not terrible. I would highly recommend Mimmo’s if you are ever in Palm Desert.

Fantastico! Thank you Unilocal for steering my family here for one of the BEST dinners we have enjoyed in a LONG time!
We showed up early (shortly after 5pm when they opened) without a reservation on a Friday night. Lucky us! Little did we know we were in for a real treat. We were promptly seated, and the rest of our evening was amazing. Great waiter, delicious appetizers, (Creamy tomato basil soup and a beet, tomato buratta salad), dinner specials (veal scallopini), wonderful Napa Valley Pinot Noir, and amazing desserts! The Terramisu was divine… Especially when paired with some home made limoncello made by Mimmo himself. We came in here as mere customers but left feeling like we were part of the family! So wonderful to enjoy a great meal at an owner-​operated establishment.
Over the course of our meal, we saw countless customers come in & be warmly greeted by Mimmo himself. He remembers his customers and they certainly seemed happy to return. So nice to see such familiarity in the days of chain restaurants and boring conglomerates.
Tips– make reservations on weekends.
There is a small (and I mean small!) Bar in the back– probably seats about 4ish?!).
Outdoor seating is available (with heaters in winter).
Good for groups– we saw groups of 6 & 10 while we spent 2 hours enjoying our meal.
Note– Mimmo himself came to our table to ensure our meal was to our liking. He wants his customers to be satisfied. If you don’t like something, let him know and he will make it right. We were so impressed we will be sending all of our desert friends and visitors here. We can’t wait to return!
Mucho Bene… Gratzi!

Sooooooo… not sure how to say this nicely. We ordered food to go, the personnel was very nice and attentive. The food unfortunately not so much. In fact, the worst Italian food after Olive Garden. This is coming from a native that is used to al dente pasta and fresh ingredients.
Spaghetti meatballs: tasted just like a frozen microwaveable meal that you can get from Costco (not whole foods).
Linguine vongole: the clams were ok but the noodles were so so extremely overcooked.
The bread was nice. The wine was the best (we already had that, haha). Jokes aside, I’m very picky when it comes to Italian food. Insomma ragazzi…(as we would say in Italy) get it together.

One of the best authentic ITALIAN dinners I have ever had!
I normally do not go out for ITALIAN food because I usually find it mediocre at best. So what a surprise finding Mimmo’s. My daughters and I were in town for field hockey festival and found Mimmo’s on Unilocal.
We were quickly seated and attended to immediately by numerous staff members. What a cozy place. I always tell my daughters that the bread will predict the dining experience. So when we were given warm crusty bread served with a delicious tapenade I knew this was going to be a meal to remember.
Our waiter Luigi was amazing!! He accurately explained the menu and specialties. All sauces are made in house. You could tell Luigi was obviously knowledgeable of the restaurant’s offerings and he was going to do whatever necessary to make this a wonderful dining experience for us.
We shared an appetizer of in-​house made sausage over polenta. What a great start! The sausage was not fatty nor loaded with fennel. Very well balanced. The polenta was sooooo smooth and creamy!
I went with one of my favorite ITALIAN standards; eggplant Parmesan. Layered tender eggplant was paired with a lovely red sauce and topped with cheese. The sauce was vibrantly fresh and not bitter at all. But what made this dish was a wonderful smokiness undertone. So many layers of flavors!
My one daughter got linguini with white clam sauce. The noodles were cooked al dente. The clams served in shell were tender and sweet. The sauce was a perfect balance of garlic and brine. Perfect ratio of sauce to pasta.
My other daughter got the homemade gnocchi in four cheese sauce. Wow! The gnocchi were tender little morsels that melted in your mouth. It’s hard to believe these were made from potatoes as they were so light and delicate. Easily the best gnocchi I have ever tasted.
We shared tiramisu for dessert. Light sponge cake and mascarpone with expresso and cocoa. An excellent representation of this classic!
The food was excellent, but the staff made this a true dining experience. The obvious pride and love for the restaurant and its food was shared by all of the staff. I was in the parking lot walking to my car when the owner’s son Joey came out and thanked us for coming and hoped we enjoyed our meal. I told him it was probably one of the best Italian dinners I ever had!
And yes we came back the next night with a group of 16.

Mimmo’s had delicious food, great service during dining, reasonably priced meals, and nice ambiance, but the HORRIBLE tableside manners our group experienced from Hector (our waiter for the evening) while paying for our meal ruined our otherwise pleasant experience at Mimmo’s. I couldn’t tell what the his problem was, but I feel like he was profiling us as a bunch of college kids that couldn’t afford to dine at this moderately-​priced restaurant. We’re all working professionals and we were even dressed appropriately for the venue.
While I know our experience may have been a one-​off account, I cannot recommend this place to any of my friends or family due to the upsetting conclusion to our experience at Mimmo’s.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR THE ²⁄₅ RATING:
We were a group of five and had otherwise experienced quite good service during our meal. I myself had the hanger steak cooked medium with roasted potatoes and carrots and it was fantastic. The food was delicious and we were constantly being asked how we were doing. While appreciated, it did feel like our waiter was hovering over our table a lot. We ended up getting dessert and a cappuccino as well.
After our meal we were planning on paying separately. We all understood that this might be an issue for our waiter to split the check based on who had what, so when we received the bill, we thought it would be helpful for us to list the amounts to be charged on each credit card (post-​tax, pre-​tip) to make it easier for him.
When we asked if he could split the bill for us, he said he’ll split the check evenly. We told him we have specific amounts written down per person, per card, and he just looked at us and said to our faces «Come on guys, really?» and walked away. ABSOLUTELY RUDE. He came back to our table and was actually able to split out the bill within a few minutes, which we told him we appreciated. But as we handed him our signed tabs with tip, he proceeded to LOOK at each person’s tab, and also counted money of one of my friends who paid in cash IN FRONT OF US. You don’t do that to your customers who ordered a good deal of food. You don’t do that to anyone in the service industry, especially at a nice restaurant like Mimmo’s. He made us feel like we were delinquents who would otherwise not pay the full amount or skip on tip. Very rude…
Needless to say, it was a very upsetting conclusion to our evening and I personally will not be returning here ever again.

This wonderful place has exceptional food from a menu that is larger than it should be. When we walked in, the staff was speaking to many customers in Italian. I felt like it was going to be special.
I am often skeptical of veal dishes — I had the most wonderful, tender, flavorful veal Marsala I have ever tasted (sorry nana).
The bread, the Italian wine selection, everything was sooo good
There is a desert item called marscapone cheesecake– good enough to put Cheesecake Factory out of business.
The only knock on this place would be the limited hours they are open.

Mimmos is by far one of the best Italian places I have ever been to. I was in town on business and came with three business partners, and we were greeted and sat by Mimmo himself. The restaurant is very intimate and great for a date.
The service from minute one was absolutely amazing, my cup was never more than half empty, plates were changed out instantly. Our waiter was extremely helpful and his suggestions were very well reviewed and on point. Everything he suggested was extremely delicious.
The appetizers were delicious, the bruschetta was perfect. And the rest were just as good. The lamb shank, was absolutely breath taking, didn’t even need to use a knife to eat it. It melted in my mouth.
For dessert get the Tiramasu or cheesecake, both were finger licking good.
I recommend everyone come here, I am from Arizona and I would fly here just for dinner.

Charming little ristorante in the middle of the northwestern branch of the great Sonoran desert, Mimmo offers 4 different dining areas: the room nearest the bar, a middle main dining area, farthest dining area seems to be reserved for families with kids since they all seemed to be shunted there, & a patio that lines the front of the restaurant. Since it was 4^th of July, the patio was too hot for me for it to be an option.
1) I ordered the Ravioli al Granchio e Salsa de Vodka which is a sauce that «made from a smooth tomato sauce, vodka, typical Italian herbs and heavy cream, which gives the sauce its distinctive pink coloration. It gained popularity in the 1970s, when a variation won a national recipe contest in Italy.» Mimmo’s ravioli was not al dente, and for me a bit overcooked & mushy. The ravioli lacked that fresh, sweet, elastic with a bounce just handmade goodness.
The Granchio or crab was probably frozen & rather old so that it lost any sweet fresh sea minerality so that it was hard to know what was being eaten. The Vodka Sauce had a thick, rich, creamy tomato flavour, but was too strong & masked whatever flavour that the crab may have had. Unfortunately, it was like eating ravioli from Chef Boyardee.
2) The Saltimboca alla Romana is scallopine di vitello (veal) marinated in DRY white wine with a thin tranche of prosciutto, sage leaf sauteed in a bit of butter or olive oil & dry white wine. Mimmo’s recipe was close to the traditional style, but the divergence was that there was only a hint of prosciutto, and the white wine used was so sweet that when it was reduced during cooking, it became too overpoweringly sweet for the delicate veal to come through.
Also I asked the veal to be cooked only to medium rare since I knew that over cooking the meats would cause the texture of the meat to be hard & dry. However, it came out medium well so that dryness & toughness prevailed. The honeyed, buttered carrots were acceptable, but that also added to the too sweet flavour of this dish. The corn based Polenta which is like a thickened porridge or grits tasted flat & rather lifeless.
1−2a) To pair with the above, I order a glass of Piedmontese wine, Marcarini, Barbera 2011. This was a good balance of mellow tannins & acids with fruit forward taste of black cherries, black berries. There was some astringency to the Barbera so it also served to act as a palate cleanser as well as complementing the flavours of meat & the vodka sauce.
4) Dessert was Tiramisu which is usually made of Savoiardi (Lady Fingers) dipped in dark Espesso, «layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, egg whites, sugar and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa». Mimmo’s tiramisu has basically similar ingredients, but instead of ladyfingers, chocolate sponge cake was used with a whipped mixture that seemed to have more Crème Chantilly than Mascarpone. The addition of Kahlua, a coffee liquer from Mexico, was a supplement to the Espresso. Overall it was a good version.
4a) Pairing the Tiramisu was Espresso Doppio for $ 4.00 which is quite a deal since the single is $ 3.25. The full soft bitterness of the Espresso was a good contrast to the sweetness & chocolate flavours.
Ricky was a fun waiter to have. He’s friendly, attentive, outgoing. The meal might not have been stellar, but Ricky’s bonhomie & one liner jokes made for a pleasant evening. Perhaps going on a holiday weekend may not have been the best time in going to Mimmo’s, and the kitchen may have been understaffed.
My experience at Mimmo, compared to such places as Laconda Veneta, Piccolo, Drago Centro, Factory Kitchen by Chef Auriana, seems to be closer to 2 Unilocal stars, but thanks to Ricky, whose service made a difference, I would like to upgrade to 3– Unilocal stars.