Business is still brisk at Cafe Mimosa in Rohnert Park

Early last year, restaurateur Mike Atallah shuttered his iconic Adel’s Restaurant on College and Mendocino avenues in Santa Rosa. It was an emotional farewell for the property that Atallah had purchased in 1986; the 24-hour diner was popular for belly fillers like its triple meat and cheese three-egg omelets, flame-broiled burgers piled high with kitchen sink toppings and classic grilled liver and onions.

Yet Atallah is plenty happy now. He quickly morphed the space into Cafe Mimosa, opening five months ago with a much more modern interior design and a more contemporary menu spanning all-day breakfast and lunch. It was an offshoot of the first Cafe Mimosa he and his son Yazen Atallah had debuted in the Food Maxx/Target center on Rohnert Park Expressway last May. And just like that original location, waits for tables could reach an hour, as crowds thronged in for satisfying American fare.

Cafe Mimosa has been so successful, in fact, that Atallah has plans for a third spot, on McDowell Avenue near Professional Drive in Petaluma.

Happily, business didn’t slow much over these unsettling past months. These soul-soothing recipes travel well for take-out, and the Rohnert Park eatery boasts a nice, wrap-around patio set with red umbrellas and flanked by a lawn. Last month, diners were allowed back inside at both spots, albeit with sections of booths and banquettes closed down for distancing, staff in masks and menu jackets and tables constantly cleaned with sanitizer.

The crowds still come. On a recent visit for a late lunch, I saw the patio and lawn were full, the dining room was about three quarters full and the kitchen staff was scrambling. There was a half hour wait before our appetizers arrived.

So what’s the fuss about? This isn’t cutting-edge cuisine, but dang, it’s delicious, with familiar dishes served in big portions at good prices. The setting is welcoming, sleek and airy with lots of wood, orange accents, curved built-ins and cool orange and yellow pendant lights. Add in the mimosas, crafted at a clever, open “Mimosa Station” next to the kitchen, and it’s a bit of a party, too.

Atallah’s team makes things from scratch. My server assured me the clam chowder is homemade. The thick, creamy concoction is stocked with plenty of clams, showered in sliced green onion and served with a crusty slab of garlic-cheese bread ($6, bowl). I haven’t had potato skins in forever, either, but these are retro-tasty and loaded with the requisite gooey cheddar, smoked bacon bits, scallions and sour cream ($9).

Choosing entrées is more difficult, among these appealing “greatest hits” options. That all-day breakfast tempts with two pieces of panko-breaded chicken fried steak cooked tonkatsu-crispy then ladled in creamy sausage gravy ($15). I poke the sunny side-up eggs with my fork, and the golden yolk flows into the crisp-edged rosemary potatoes. Then I use the cake-y buttermilk biscuit to sop up every last bit of gravy.

A smoked salmon Benedict feels fancy with its housemade champagne hollandaise ($17) and especially upscale when paired with a mimosa sampler ($15). That brings three full-size mimosas served on a wood board with a curl of orange garnish – the drinks are made with fresh squeezed or pressed fruit, in an array of flavors like orange, grapefruit, mango, strawberry or pineapple ($6 each a la carte), all prettily garnished with the appropriate fruit.

My favorite trio? Blackberry, raspberry and June’s seasonal selection of peach. The cocktails don’t taste like there’s a lot of sparkling wine involved; it’s more a refreshing fizz than a buzz. But it’s worth noting that there are bottomless mimosas served on Saturdays and Sundays for $15 with an entrée purchase. Sure, it’s unnamed “house champagne,” but at these prices and with the superior juice, who’s complaining?

The prime rib melt here is one of the best anywhere. There’s got to be at least a half pound of juicy sliced steak in this monster, layered with mushrooms, pepper Jack, sautéed red onions and garlic mayo on a soft, Santa Rosa-baked Franco American Bakery roll ($15). It comes with either crispy shoestring fries, a cup of soup, potato salad or a luxurious house salad of organic mixed field greens, almonds, dried cranberries and sweet balsamic vinaigrette. I get the fries and dip the sandwich in a side of rich, salty jus ($1 extra).

I love a great turkey club, and this is the real deal, just a classic, perfect triple-decker of sliced house-roasted turkey, crunchy bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on toasted white bread ($13). Alongside: potato salad, a vegan rendition that’s a rough chop of slightly undercooked red and new potatoes; red, yellow and green bell pepper; lots of parsley; scallion and a bit of olive oil.

All of this goodness is just the tip of the iceberg for the menu, too, which I’ve been studying for my next visit. Will it be nicely soaked and chewy salsa verde chilaquiles with eggs, black beans, avocado, queso fresco and sour cream ($13)? Or chorizo hash tumbled with scrambled eggs, queso fresco, salsa verde, rosemary potatoes, onions and sliced avocado for scooping with corn tortillas ($13)?

Or will it be a corn beef brisket and Swiss Reuben with housemade sauerkraut and 1000 Island on marbled rye ($14)? Maybe beer-battered cod fish and chips spritzed with lemon and dunked in homemade tartar sauce ($15).

Yes. All of the above.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.