Fan Favorite The Depot Café and Bookstore Gets an Upgrade

Mill valley The Depot Cafe and Bookstore

Nearly two years after it first closed, The Depot Café and Bookstore in Mill Valley re-opened for business in late January. The former railroad depot turned all-day café and bookstore endured countless delays and an extensive remodel that doubled the number of bathrooms to two while moving them outside, thus allowing room for an expanded kitchen and bar area, more seating inside and the resumption of a well-curated bookstore.

the depot

“You can still buy a book while the café is open,” says owner Paul Lazzareschi, who also owns Vasco restaurant kitty-corner from the plaza. The kitchen, helmed by Chef Mary Pult of Mill Valley, offers the same counter service model as before and a veg-forward menu that tilts towards the Mediterranean and points farther east.

The depot bookstore and cafe bagel image

At breakfast, look for Linea Coffee and dishes like coddled eggs with potato puree and trout roe or and an Indian style version of toad-in-the-hole known as kejriwal. Pastries from Sausalito’s Cibo Bakery made only for this restaurant include bostock (brioche topped with almond cream, jam, and almonds) and a pistachio croissant. At lunch, a mezze plate, happy hippie salad and muffuletta give way to an early evening menu of bar snacks, wine and beer and a bar vibe, perfect for sitting on one of the two patios near the two firepits. Though a later schedule may arrive with the Covid-19 vaccine, hours are expected to be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for now.


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Christina MuellerChristina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract PublishingSunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her child’s school, and supports the Marin Audubon SocietyPEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.