CiCi's Cafe

18912 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91356
(Just west of Wilbur)

http://ciciscafe.com

A friend and I went to CiCi's for Sunday brunch because the restaurant came up when I was doing an Internet search for good pancakes in the Valley, and I had had breakfast there once before, early on a weekday morning, and found it very pleasant.

The place is a zoo on Sundays! My friend and I arrived around 11:15 and were told there would be a half-hour wait. It ended up being closer to an hour, but we were game based on the strength of their online menu (as always, it's a huge plus when a place has a good Web site, so props to CiCi's for theirs, though pricing information would make it even better) and, of course, the fact that there was a long wait suggested this was a place worth waiting for. So we found a shady spot and waited for our names to be called.

We were a little disappointed with our table, as we were seated right next to the door at a small table that was only about a foot from the next table over. In addition to feeling like we were on display with the constant foot traffic in and out, it was such a tight squeeze that there were at least two or three occasions when we had to guard our plates from passing butts as people tried to squeeze to or from their tables. This didn't ruin the experience but definitely made it considerably less pleasant than it could have been. It's hard to criticize a restaurant for being so popular that it has too many people even when it uses pretty much every inch of available space for seating, but I probably won't ever go to CiCi's for Sunday brunch again because it was just too crowded for my taste.

The menu, however, went a long way toward making up for the rather unnerving seating arrangement. Take a gander at their offerings via the menu link above—if you, like me, like your pancakes to be like amusement park confections, CiCi's is your Disneyland. They have everything—in fact, when you get there, you learn that their online menu doesn't even cover all the bases.

In particular, I squealed with delight (seriously—ask my friend, who will confirm this) when I saw they had not one but two types of red velvet pancake options on the menu. Two! I have been dying to try red velvet pancakes, so I went for the version with strawberries and whipped cream (the other featured chocolate and whipped cream) and ordered them as part of "the Chopper," CiCi's version of the 2+2+2. My friend ordered the Chopper as well and got his pancakes with Oreos, bananas, caramel and whipped cream, and we made a pact to share the pancakes so we could each try both kinds. We also ordered iced coffee.

The portions were outrageous—apparently the reason CiCi's doesn't call the Chopper the 2+2+2 is that they give you a full stack of three pancakes. And they are large pancakes—not plate-sized but much larger than CDs. They are not stingy with the toppings, either; each came with generous amounts of fruit and a huge dollop of whipped cream. There were at least three eggs as well, and three or four strips of bacon. As you can imagine, having a small table in butt central was quite a challenge when all this food arrived.

It seemed like way too much food, but I actually finished it all and did not and do not feel like I ate too much, which is quite a trick. But I still think the portions were too large. I'm a big Teuton and can eat like a champ, but even though I finished it all, I definitely didn't need that much and would have been happier paying less and getting a more modest portion—more about that later.

But a bigger problem is that even though the food was incredibly decadent, it didn't taste all that rich. Now, on the one hand, this is certainly a good thing, as I did not want to feel overwhelmed by my breakfast two bites in. On the other hand, though, we ordered Oreo and red velvet pancakes with whipped cream and fruit—they should have tasted zippier than they did. So while I realize this is an odd criticism in many ways, I feel that CiCi's did a great job of toeing the "too sweet" line but, ultimately, they erred on the side of caution. For all their topping-opulence, the pancakes were almost bland. This is likely why we had no problem finishing them, and while that appeals to the part of me that is loath to leave food on my plate, if I wanted a blah pancake for Sunday brunch, I could have just made some myself. So this, too, is why I won't be going back to CiCi's for Sunday brunch—it just wasn't satisfying enough in terms of what I wanted for a diet-be-damned Sunday breakfast extravaganza, and combined with the wait and the overcrowded atmosphere, it proved somewhat disappointing.

On top of all of this, our bill came to more than $40 before the tip. Granted, we ordered an extra side of bacon because we didn't realize the Chopper came with bacon (our fault entirely, as it clearly lists bacon on the menu, but we'd managed to miss that). But the Chopper itself was quite pricey, more than $13. As above, the portions were larger than a normal 2+2+2, but I would have preferred to spend less money (even factoring in any extra charged for the fancy pancakes) and get portions more like those for a 2+2+2 than pay so much and get more than I really wanted or needed. If CiCi's has a 2+2+2 equivalent on the menu, I missed it.

On the upside, however, the service was very good, especially taking the crowd into consideration. Our server was prompt and patient, and our iced coffees were attentively filled. Parking was easy enough, as the restaurant is in a strip mall with a large lot, so that's also a plus.

Overall, I liked CiCi's but was not blown away by it. I will certainly go back on a weekday or very early on a Sunday; I think I would be very happy there during a less chaotic time, especially if I can find a menu option that allows me to get smaller portions for a smaller price.