April Calf Cafe Restaurant

Hello guys!!!
If you ever come to outer richmond and want some drink and organic homemade style asian food, with different styles of dishes. April Calf restaurant is the place to be!
When i first ate there, my stomach is full of happiness and joy! The price is reasonable and their food is so delicious and their drinks are so much better than alot of places such as Quickly, Purple kow and tea way
Their food and drinks are all homemade and naturally processed, and good quality!
Plus the service and environment is so amazing!
If you dont give April Calf a chance, you will miss out the real meaning of good food and, healthy and tasty drink…

Neat little place! The first visit was an accidental find but we kept coming back!
The kimchi fried rice is great; when it gets to your table the egg is poured into the sizzling serving plate which cooks immediately. Great presentation and good flavors! The milk tea was served in a cute little mason jar glass and really creamy. We have also gotten a hot pot served with coconut rice — soup base was amazing and they kept refilling the soup! Awesome service.
Laksa was also really flavorful and the only complaint I have would be that the price for laksa is a bit on the higher end. Otherwise it’s a really great café for food! Will definitely be coming back again and again!

I was originally headed for a drink at Purple Kow when I stumbled into April Calf, After looking at the drink menu I settled on the Flowerpot Boba. WOW! it was bomb From the presentation of the drink to the quality of the drink down to the taste and quality of the boba pearls, and I’m actually very picky when it comes down to the texture of the Boba. I have been back 3 times since and am happy to say the quality has stayed consistent. Only thing I will complain about since I did compare it to Purple Kow is the size of the drink cup. I got the Large and it left me wanting more.

I ordered their pineapple smoothie. It was sweet and good. I enjoyed tasting my friends brown rice milk tea (?). That was delicious too.

Came back for a second time recently with a friend. Friend came to have a late lunch and I came for a nibble to accompany her.
Friend ordered a stir fired UDON that came with a drink for $ 7.99. I tried a bite and thought the udon was cooked to a good texture but it was a bit salty. Friend thought it was super salty, but she was a good sport and ate most of it. She got a milk tea when she said was ok. (I’ve tried it before and thought it was alright). Well, $ 7.99 is a great deal for a dish + drink nowadays.
I was deciding what to order, saw a cute potted plant dessert but didn’t know what it is since the menu lacked description. Asked the waitress who was very nice and told me it is like cookie filled with ice cream. Hmm… Ok I’ll try it since it looked cute. I enjoyed the Oreo crumbs but the cookie ‘pot’ was not good. It’s just a frozen ‘pot’ that they unpackage to fill and it was very hard. The ‘pot’ itself had a white layer of something at the bottom, it’s cold but didn’t taste quite like ice cream… Not sure what it was but it was super sweet. I couldn’t finish my dessert. Given the price point, I was even more disappointed by how the cute dessert was not that enjoyable.
My previous review was a 4 star, helped out with the excellent service that day, but I’d have to say that I have to downgrade my rating to a 3 star now. Oh btw, they repainted the interior. I like the new paint colors more than before, when it was too bright (like fast food restaurant)!

Lunch special: $ 7.99 selections with a milk tea or coffee!
PARKING
There’s always street parking outside the restaurant but we did public transportation during our trip here.
INTERIOR/​EXTERIOR
Plain exterior, nothing to gawk about. To be honest, their restaurant name is a little strange. Am I missing an inside joke somewhere or something? Not a very large place either — I would consider it more of a café. Several tables inside and it was very calm and quiet in the late afternoon.
MENU
Despite the strange name and plain exterior, our meal here was very pleasant. We were starving after our hike and the food seem to hit the spot for me. The friend and I shared a Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and the dish came out pippin’ hot and ready to eat. The sauce was sweeter than what I am used to but it was good change. The rest of our party got the Kimchi Beef Fried Rice and the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl. The chicken was very nice and tender!
The milk tea that came with our lunch special was light and refreshing! Not too sweet, and definitely exceeded my expectations. I was expecting some watered down dollar drink we usually get on the house, but it was nothing like that. We noticed they shook our drink based on order, which is a huge plus! It was more fresh and not sitting in the fridge waiting for you.
SERVICE
In terms of service, they were a little slow. Food came out in a little less than 15 minutes, which was great. However, our server did not seem to understand fluent English. We had a party of four, but two sets of utensils. We asked for another, but she brought us soy sauce instead.

What an interesting name for a place. April Calf? Okay then…
Had breakfast here on a Saturday morning. Browsed the menu to see what they offered – pasta, fried rice, waffles, chicken wings, soup, honey toast? Say whuh? They have a little bit of everything. So its like asian-​american fusion. And of course they have boba, coffee and smoothies. I ended up going with $ 7.99 breakfast + milk tea deal (I wanted something light and affordable).
Order came with country potatoes, bacon, sausage (but it was really just hot dogs), eggs and waffles. I upgraded my milk tea to the flower pot milk tea. Not bad for what I paid. but I wouldn’t get the meal again… I mean you could easily make it at home. But their house milk tea was on point. I think it was the besterest milk tea I’ve ever had. They put the milk, tea, and sugar in a cocktail shaker and mix it all up at the front of the café. I would come back just for that it was so good! I was able to sample my friends kimchi fried rice and it was tasty! The waiter brings it out on a hot skillet and pours the egg over it.
Some of their dishes are a bit pricey tho but you get a lot of food. May I suggest a small/​large bowl option? Café is quite small and basic looking. They’re located next to a little convenience store and sushi restaurant. Overall, food was good, drinks were on point and service was swell. I’d come back again

Came in on a Friday afternoon. There were eight of us, but there wasn’t that much people so it was fine. I know when there’s a big order it gets confusing or whatever, but they were all simple orders. If you think about it, restaurants have to make dishes for way more people. My french toast was pretty good and my honey milk tea wasn’t bad either. I got my order in a timely matter. The chicken wings were one of the first orders to come out as well. Most of the wings were still a tad bit red inside, but edible. After about 30 mins, most of the drinks arrived, but something as simple as an expresso shot came last of all the drinks. The drinks were alright, except for the white mocha that tasted plasticy. Nothing was mind blowing at all. After an hour, we decided to cancel a waffle order and the banana toast or something. The cotton candy drink was kinda lame. The crème brûlée was actually not good. The waiter was nice, but there was slight mistakes and the orders we cancelled were actually never started on… We waited for a long time, which we easily forgot what we even ordered. I know they were really apologetic, but that was just insane. I’ve been too many places like these and this never happened. They have people inside the kitchen and at the little drink area outside, so why would it be that bad. Overall, I’ve tried to like this place but I think I’m finally over it.

Either my expectations are way too high or I’m just picky, but this place wasn’t that great. We decided to come here for dinner and I had ordered a Spicy Chili Sauce Chicken w/​rice. They ran out of the chili sauce so they replaced it with black pepper sauce, I was totally fine with that. The chicken pieces were tender and there was a decent amount. The black pepper had it’s own spicy kick, but it was weird, way too salty like they mixed it with soy sauce or something. It didn’t taste like the black pepper gravy that’s usually paired when you order a black pepper steak.
I also ordered a taro milk tea, which was the worst thing to do. They make it with powder, and sometimes I’m fine with that. However, not only was this one way sweet, there were powder clumps still. I didn’t bother finishing it.
The waitress is really nice. And there’s definitely a lot of regulars here, which I don’t understand. But nothing is really attracting me back to this place.

Although this café is very small (probably can fit at most 15 people), the food and drinks were really good. A lot of the items on the menu was unique and had a cute twist to them. My husband had to try out what they were known for (indicated by the crown on the menu) and selected the kimchi and beef over rice with scrambled eggs. It was cool and an interesting concept to pour raw scrambled egg into the sizzling tanpan and see it cook so fast. It was definitely very yummy.
At every hong kong café, everyone knows to order the baked pork chop fried rice to truly test how good the café is. The baked pork chop was just ok. They used fresh tomatoes but the sauce tasted too much like spaghetti sauce. I’m used to the orange color sauce that taste a little more sweet and salty than sour (hence the minus star). But the portions were good.
Lastly, I tried the hot potted milk tea and deep fried calamari rings. The calamari wasn’t made like Italian restaurants, but more like what you would get at Quicklys. Nevertheless, both items tasted great.
For sure, I’ll come again and try other things.

Broke my own #notogo rule so I could rush dinner home in time for the latest gotham episode. Frendos all like «What’s that! …What’s THAT!» louder with each item I took out the bag.
Certified heaviest menu ever contains the whole Internet. But no cat videos. Very dairy. Seemed microwavey but wgaf. On a scale of 1 to fob, 2ish = safe for #coolkids to eat here.
(^_​^) 2203 Clam Chowder $ 5 (
)
Run clam dat.
(^_​^) 2807 Baked Coconut Chicken $ 13.5 (
)
Tender meat but didn’t taste coconut.
(^_​^) 4235 Iced Peppermint Latte $ 4.5 (
)
0% is still sweet bc premade syzzurps.
(-_​^) 2111 Lobster Balls $ 6 (
)
Spensive for what you get. #novelty
Above standard fob desserteries but not #ohyoufancy like the-​artist-​formerly-​known-​as-​cooking or soofs cafoofs — comfortable middle ground. I’d return.

Had a great lunch time here with my friend :) The laksa seafood’s broth has the after taste. For their kimchi fried rice it wasn’t like the kimchi you eat everyone. They put special butter in the middle and let you mix it with the rice and egg which blend well together.
For drinks, we ordered the matcha milk tea and cloud latte. The matcha milk wasn’t too sweet and it had a very strong matcha flavor. The cloud latte is the special here. The waitress told me it would taste different w/​o the cotton candy inside the drink because of different sweetness level.
**the cotton candy, kimchi, and most of their menu are homemade by themselves bcoz they want to serve customer with fresh food.***
Because of their nice service and foods I rate them 5 :)
I would definitely visit again to different dishes and milk tea

This review is based solely on their drinks, which I always get to-​go. I haven’t had a chance to dine in yet. The one time I ordered a snack it was baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, which was just okay. It did seem to take a while to get my food, but only because I really needed to be somewhere. I don’t blame them, I just misjudged how much time I actually had.
Anyways, the drinks here are very tasty! I always try something different when I come in because I know I can’t go wrong with any of their milk or flavored teas. They are fairly new still so they’re working out kinks (their boba isn’t consistent, and is too hard most of the time). They also offer smoothies and coffee!
The young woman working knows me by now and is super sweet! Most times I’m in a rush and on my bike so I will wait with my bike outside and listen for my order but she always insists on coming out from behind the counter and bringing me my drink, with a smile, and a ‘see you next time’! She’s awesome, please be patient with her! She is one of like three employees lol
They do stamp cards here so if you think you will return, kindly ask for one. The young woman will probably offer you one though regardless.
Drinks I recommend:
* grass jelly roasted milk tea
* matcha red bean smoothie
* honey green tea with aloe
* jasmine milk tea with egg pudding
The drinks here are a little on the pricier side in my opinion, but I come back for taste, of course, and the quick and friendly service. The wait is never long and the teeny boppers usually go right past this place and head for Purple Kow instead. Perfect!
Also note that the drinks are a little on the sweeter side, but not too sweet for me. I haven’t tried asking if they can modify sweetness because I’m not that picky and am always satisfied with how my drinks turn out.
They also take card, no minimum. Tip in cash though.

Did you know one of my favorite animals is a cow? When i walked in here they had these awesome Cow/​Milk carton salt and pepper shaker sets on the tables. They have a few tables for you to eat and hang out at. If you check in on Unilocal,you get 10% but remember, you have to tell them! Even though it’s advertised on their menu that you get 10% off (they don’t mention the check-​in on the menu) they won’t give you the discount unless you mention it (obviously I forgot to mention it).
Their house milk tea was «interesting.» I can’t pinpoint the flavor but it was different and I’m not too sure I liked it. I’ll try it again though :) Also, they have hong kong style snacks and what nots so I’ll be back.

Great milk teas!
Average food. Even that amazing looking teppan kimchi fried rice with the runny egg.
I was looking for the ‘crowns’ that are placed on the menu next to «favorites» or specials. There was only one next to the teppan kimchi fried rice for actually food items. The rest of the ‘crowns’ were placed over desserts and beverages.
I wouldn’t recommend eating a real meal here. Do come for their desserts like waffle and ice cream and flower potted milk teas.

It’s a far trek out here but its worth coming out all the way from the mission where I live. House milk tea is very good with cute Mason jar containers. Boba is not too soft with firm texture to chew.
The kimchi beef fried rice is a nice show for lunch, they put the egg in the middle of a teppan platter. Laksa seafood is a welcome dish– great broth!
I’d come here just for the cute salt and pepper shakers alone!

How the hell does this place have a 4 star rating? Feeling very deceived and pissy right now. Ordered the baked pork chop over fried rice, baked seafood with white sauce over spaghetti and cream of corn soup. All of it was nasty.
But the worst out of the 3 items would be the baked pork chop over rice. The sauce wasn’t the typical HK style sweet/​savory tomato sauce but more like a marinara pasta sauce. Fried rice or rice does not go with marinara sauce! It was so gross. Pork chop was bad too. Tasted artificial and missing the bone.
Extra star for the cute/​cozy interior and super friendly service. But I won’t be back.

Recent grand opening offering 10% off your entire meal, not sure when this is going to end though. Chinese operated café so bear with them when their English is a little hard to understand, but if you speak Cantonese that should help speed things up. Cute little place, unsure if they are understaffed or just too overwhelmed by the customer load. Just up the street from Purple Kow and the milk tea here I would say is better than purple kow, the sweetness is just perfect.
A VERY VERY lengthy menu to choose from for snacks and munchies.
My cousin and I ordered these to share:
KIMCHI FRIED RICE here comes with SCRAMBLED EGGS, served on a hot plate. The server pours the scrambled eggs on top, cute little idea.
WAFFLES WITH MIXED FRUIT, originally we wanted French toast but they ran out of the bread and offered if we wanted waffles instead. Still a very good substitute. they drizzle chocolate syrup over the waffles, cooked not too crispy or too soft, just perfect. comes with vanilla ice cream, chopped strawberries, and blueberries on the side.
CALAMARI comes with tartar sauce, still pretty good, very light batter, not a lot of pieces though, just the right amount for appetizer.
FLOWER POT MILK TEA, oreo crumbs that imitate soil ontop of the milk tea:) comes in mason cups!
total was around $ 30 for us two, servers were super sweet and nice, a little hot in there though so maybe try to bring some sort of ventilation into the seating area? Other than that, a place i’ll return to:)

Did Purple Kow finally find a worthy competitor? I believe so! And I am extremely excited about this new bubble tea shop on Balboa.
April Calf Café is a small shop that just opened on Balboa but already won my heart. The décor is extremely cute, and so are the glasses and cups they use. I have an obsession with mason jars, so of course I was extremely happy when I got my pudding milk tea in a mason jar cup. Really adorable! Besides, I can’t help but notice that this place looks way cleaner than Purple Kow.
When you come here, expect very friendly costumer service and to be amazed by the variety of delicious drinks and snacks that they sell. This place is definitely great for having bubble tea with some sweet treat (they have great waffles), but apparently, it is also nice to have a savory meal.
One thing that they can improve on is their process. They take a little while to prepare the orders, and I worry that this will make the experience bad in the future (when people realize how awesome they are and they have lines in the sidewalk). In that way, they need to develop procedures to have faster service. However, I’ll seize this secret sweet place as long as I can before it becomes crazy crowded.

April Calf Café Restaurant had a (food) special of the day on the front window (5.99) + $ 2 for bubble tea. didn’t notice any other menu until i was leaving. a laminated full menu is on a platform in front of the window.
boba menu looks the usual with pricing for reg and large. .+.50 for a range of toppings.
drink: house milk tea (2.25+ tax)
–fab tasty milk, best ever tasted, slight sweetness, very creamy
wasn’t watching how it was made.
–very enjoyable, 5 star quality
4.5 stars for now
drips:
–café inside is a regular eatery setup with tables, not single seats.
–April good alternative is there are lines at Purple Kow…
–menu offers many entrees, some pricey. just perused it so not sure exactly
what they are offering.
–milk tea’s fab here!