Breakfast at the Cafe Muse

It's been a few weeks since I breakfasted at Cafe Muse in Royal Oak and much as I'd like to gtive them plenty of stars, I can't. We went on a very cold weekend day and found a parking spot directly in front of the cafe on Washington (north of Fourth). A tiny front dining space inside the front door was our home for the next while - three tables in a space plenty large enough for two tables. Our table, in the corner, was tiny, tiny and both daughter and I are reasonably large people. It might have been a tight fit, but -- this is why I liked the place -- the other patrons in the front room shuffled and scraped chairs around until we all had just enough room to breathe and to move the arm attached to our fork. A couple at the table to our west smiled and greeted us while the young family at the third table allowed their twoish-year-old to entertain us all with his happy banter. The greeter and seater was cheerful and pleasant, the waiter equally so. All in all, Cafe Muse was comfy, warm, inviting, friendly on a terribly cold day. The day was sunny.

The food was certainly decent - quality ingredients well-prepared as far as I could tell. Daughter had raisin French toast and she enjoyed her meal. I had pancakes with a bit of pear compote on top. The pancakes were fine - fairly thin and large, good flavor and texture. Everything would have been fine except

a) the pear compote had been sitting atop the cakes so long that the compote nearly soaked its way through the cakes and
b) the cakes are nearly the diameter of the plates which meant there wasn't much room for syrup, some of which tries to drip off the plate.

Here's what I think of the Cafe Muse:
very good food (perhaps a bit pricey)
friendly, warm cafe and staff
too tiny a space
some kind of disconnect between the stove and the table that designs plates too large for the tiny table, food too large for the plates that are already too large for the tables and leaves juicy fruit on top of waiting pancakes when it could have been easily and more successfully added at the table

I enjoyed the meal, I enjoyed hanging out with my delightful daughter. It's just all these little irritations that shouldn't be there in a 20 dollar breakfast for two...