For a cafe in the SoHo vicinity, I expect nothing less than 100% hipster--and that exactly describes every component of my visit to Cafe Deadend: brunch items with liberal use of runny eggs, crafty photogenic pastries, a posh ambiance that looks like a Tumblr photoset in real life, a whimsically obscure location, limited seating that gets crowded easily, Instagramable latte art, a paper menu that looks seasonal, coffee campers with shiny Macbooks, and unfortunately, a slightly marked-up pricing for the complete hipster dining experience.
[THE GOOD]
The highlight was definitely the apple tart--somehow they came up with the ingenious idea of taking a whole apple and building the tart around it. It comes out horizontally sliced (and thankfully de-seeded) in a unique presentation and a nice, strong apple taste that goes great with the caramel sauce, pistachio topping, and vanilla ice cream.
[THE MEDIOCRE]
I got the steak salad because I always find myself vegetable-deficient and craving salads when I'm in HK. It was quite good and the portion size was okay. My friends got a BLT and a ham sandwich with which they were generally satisfied.
However there was nothing particularly special about the food and it was wayyyyy pricey. At first it seemed rather normal to me coming from the exalted San Franciscan standard of living, but for this price in SF at least I would get local/organic/fair trade/etc etc and mind-blowing quality, but Cafe Deadend turned out to be rather mediocre. My friends also reminded me of how expensive HK$80+ sandos and sandwiches are when there is in all the yummy and cost-effective glory of HK food.
[THE BAD]
A bunch of my friends developed mosquito bites after our lunch here :/ Not sure if it's something in the cafe or from the semi-wilderness of the Mid-Levels neighborhood.
[THE VERDICT]
If you are into hipster things, this is your natural habitat.
If you are looking for good food, try the apple tart.
If you are looking for cost-effective food, Cafe Deadend might be a bit of a dead end. read more