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    Joys' Cafe

    3.1 (33 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Joys' Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    JOYS' CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed

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    Rianne A.

    great prices, $8 meal sets and generally ~$10/dish. best things were hk french toast, baked pork chop rice. lots of seating, right across st from kst which has my heart Favorite Dishes: baked pork chop rice, french toast

    Ken W.

    The mini pineapple bun was buttery and smooth, scrumptious and just the right amount for a late snack; the Portuguese egg tart was creamy and flavorful.

    Amy M.

    Stopped by this new spot I seen on social media since they were still open when ai went by. The place looks great--very clean and welcoming. Even though it was right before closing, the staff was very friendly. Since this is a HK style cafe I tried a few classic items, but unfortunately, they didn't quite hit the mark for me. Shaved Ice with Red Bean & Coconut: This was toosweet, and the coconut flavor was overwhelming. I noticed a thick white syrup being added during prep; I'm lactose intolerant, and after drinking it, I ended up with a stomach ache. I'd recommend double-checking ingredients if you have sensitivities. Pineapple Bun with Butter: This was just okay. The bun itself was kind of dry and the butter didn't have much flavor. While I'll be skipping the sweets next time, I might come back to give their hot/cooked food a try.

    Tony Y.

    I've been seeing a lot of Instagram stories for this place and always enjoy a new HK Cafe. We came here for dinner and ordered the imitation shark fin soup, the salt and pepper squid, the Portuguese baked pork chop over rice, and the Black pepper baked chicken over rice. The service was decent and the staff was friendly. The food came pretty quickly but they weren't that busy. The restaurant is spacious as well. Shark fin soup - not the best. It was fine but I wouldn't order it again. Salt and pepper squid - could use more seasoning Portuguese pork chop - under seasoned but was ok Black pepper chicken - this was great. Perfectly seasoned and delicious. These guys are like a 3/3.5. They're inexpensive and some dishes are pretty good.

    Salt and pepper squid
    Betty Y.

    Just came here for dinner. Despite having a line at first, it moved rather quickly and we were soon seated. The staff was very nice and friendly. My table shared everything family style enabling us to have a bit of everything. The salt and pepper squid and the salt and pepper wings stole the show. Even my picky husband and daughter duo loved them. Flavorful and the wings were so juicy. Even through the pictures, you can see how plump those wings were. 100% recommend. We ended up 2 of each. The curry oxtail was very light in color. Flavor could have been stronger but the oxtail was pretty tender. The soy sauce noodle and fried rice were both good. Flavorful and not dry. I would get it again. The "bite sized" bolo bao were not very bite sized but they were surprisingly good. The Portuguese tart had very smooth custard and had a very flaky crust. This was also a hit. Their milk tea is pretty smooth and strong, very hk style. Their ovaltine was also pretty good. I liked how it wasn't so overly sweet like most places. My daughter had been very into this drink lately and the fact that this had less sugar made me feel a lot more comfortable for her to have. During this whole meal I was only disappointed in one thing, the beef lo mein. The meat was ok but the sauce was not very flavorful. The noodle was also very soggy. The soup that it came with was too bland for my liking. They did definitely add a lot of pepper to it though. I would not order this again. I would definitely come again but won't be getting any of their lo meins.

    Milk Tea 港式奶茶
    Ruby C.

    A new HK cafe just opened in Chinatown and I was honestly kinda amazed by how authentic and good the food was. You really can't go wrong with their 炒粉麵 (chow fun) and 焗飯 (baked rice). You can definitely taste that wok hei in the rice and noodle dishes. They've got some baked goods too, but imo they're not as standout as the entrees. The chefs are from Hong Kong with years of experience at HK cafes. They just opened about three weeks ago. I saw mixed reviews online, but I personally had a great experience. The service was super attentive. *Thai Style Fried Rice 泰皇炒飯 $16.95 ** *Thai Style Beef Chow Fun 泰皇炒牛河 $14.95 ** They used a "secret thai sauce", and they loaded them up with toppings! The fried rice had scallops, squid, and shrimp. So good with a squeeze of lime. The chow fun lowkey blew my mind... pretty sure there was more beef than noodles lol. The beef was super tender and thick-cut. *Baked Tomato Pork Chop Rice 焗豬扒飯 $11.95 I usually find pork chop in baked rice kinda tough, but theirs was super tender, almost like it was slow-cooked. Only small note: the rice wasn't egg fried (炒底). *Singapore Chow Mei Fun 星洲炒米粉 $14.95 * This was the most authentic dish out of everything. It was packed with curry flavor but not too spicy or oily. *Mini Pineapple Bun w. Butter 一口菠蘿油 $5.95/4pcs *Portuguese Egg Tart 葡撻 $2.95 The boloyau comes in four perfect bite sized pieces, which I actually liked since the usual one can be heavy. They also heat up the pineapple bun for you. The egg tart custard tasted just like Macau style, just on the sweeter side. *Shaved Ice w.Red Bean & Coconut Juice 椰汁紅豆冰 $8.75 *Milk Tea 港式奶茶 $3.95 I saw them pulling the milk tea through a mesh strainer (拉茶), though the tea base was a bit too bitter for my taste. The red bean shaved ice drink was refreshing but pricey.

    Menu 1
    Angela L.

    This is a new Hong Kong style café that use to be where a typical BBQ meat place use to be. They rennovated inside so everything looks clean and new although the footprint of the original restaurant is pretty much the same. My cousin wanted to try it. He got the roast pork with scrambled eggs over rice. His son got the curry chicken and I got the salt and pepper squid. The service was pretty quick. The food came within 10 minutes. My cousin liked his dish. I tried some and the roast pork was flavorful but was tough. The scrambled eggs were done perfectly, soft and silky. My salt and pepper squid had the right flavor but it was also not as tender as I would have preferred. The curry chicken was decent. Good solid cafe.

    Spam & egg with instant noodle
    Christine L.

    Love to eat HK cafes and see that this opened recently. It was pretty busy and filled up quickly for evening dinner crowd. It took awhile for the waitstaff because they only had one Ipad available to put in the orders. Food was bit of a wait. The spaghetti is tasty but portion was smaller then usual. Ramen a bit al dente. I wasnt full, but getting a drink will be ok to hold me over. It is a nice clean restaurant, but I think they have to work on a few kinks. Will be back in a few to see if things get ironed out. The menu looks good and various things I would love to try.

    Interior.
    Celian O.

    Pros: - I like the interior design of the restaurant, it's minimalist but still well decorated and aesthetically pleasing - the staff are nice, friendly and welcoming - honestly, the food tastes pretty decent, it's just that the food isn't hot enough Cons: - it seems that the staff may not have been trained sufficiently, though there were 2 that seemed to know what they were doing - from my observation, even though (most of) the staff were moving around, it almost seemed as if they were just doing that to look busy. A lot of them kind of look and sound confused - I see that they're very busy, especially when I was there but, the food took quite a while to come out. Even the more simple foods like basic noodle soups - the food was also very lukewarm when it arrived at the table - the butter pineapple toast was basically cold and the taste wasn't that good, wouldn't recommend it Comments: - went on a Saturday right about when it opened at 11AM, and there were only 2 tables open left. A few minutes later, it was completely packed with some people waiting to be seated - I think it was still during their soft opening when I went - genuinely, I think with more staff training/hiring and cooking improvements, it would be a lot better. I see potential here - I would give this place a 2.5/5 but, that's not an option so I gave it a three

    Hung king style wet scramble with shrimp.  Not what I expected.
    Moshi M.

    Ambience. A Service. A Food. A Price. A Cousin wanted me to try Hong Kong style dishes ... Heard open 2026. New. Still nice and clean and service was quick and friendly. You can pay at table with handheld devices and phone wallet apps. It was okay. Just not different enough style for my taste today even though the dishes were tasty. Scrambled egg with shrimp, salted egg fried toast (just okay- have to eat it hot- didn't like when cooled off). And nice curry Singapore mai fun noodles. Hot tea was not charged. NOT sure if I want to go. Sick as there are so many other options for more obscure Chinese eating for my taste buds. Today food experience was just on par.

    Menu outside
    Kim C.

    Came on a Wednesday night when the restaurant was about half full. We started with a few appetizers, portions were a bit smaller than expected. I was especially excited to try the lava toast, but it didn't quite meet expectations for me, as it felt a bit greasy, salty and lacked the custard flavor I was hoping for. Overall, the dishes were okay, but the flavors felt a bit more subtle than I expected. Nothing in particular stood out as especially memorable or something I'd come back specifically for. There were also some service hiccups, our appetizers came out after the entrees, and my entrée arrived about 10 minutes after my friends'. When we checked in, it turned out the dish had already been ready at the front but no one had bothered to bring it to the table. The staff was friendly, but service felt a bit inconsistent at times. We had to ask a few times for tea refills, and ordering took a little longer than expected. Overall, the restaurant has a great look and atmosphere, but the food and service didn't fully match that experience for me.

    Albert K.

    Solid HK eatery and cafe. - delicious fried chicken wings - roast BBQ pork and egg with rice was good - my favorite was the rice noodles with beef - HK milk tea was almost all ice - pineapple bun with butter was unique Overall very satisfied! Great meal although the rooms by the bathroom are literally looking into the bathroom

    Chaner P.

    A Cantonese roast-meat shop couldn't stay afloat and has now turned into Joy's Cafe. The renovation looked pretty nice, so I decided to give it a try -- but it was a complete disaster. The servers were walking around looking busy, yet we sat there for ten minutes without anyone acknowledging us. The plates and chopsticks they gave us were not properly cleaned, and there was black sediment in the drinking water. When a server finally came over, they gave us attitude just for asking to change the plates and water. If this is because they're in soft opening and the staff is still untrained and inexperienced, that might explain the service -- but the food is the real fatal problem. The curry chicken chop rice looked like they just scooped some pre-made curry sauce onto the plate and placed a pre-fried chicken chop on top without even bothering to mix it. The salt-and-pepper pork chop was the same story: basically a breaded fried pork cutlet plus a packet of salt-and-pepper seasoning, dumped on the plate without even tossing it together. The stir-fried beef chow fun was at least made fresh and had some wok hei, but it was far too salty. Every dish came out lukewarm at best. This is clearly another Hong Kong-style cafe surviving on pre-made food. If they don't make changes, I doubt they'll last a year.

    French toast with salted egg yolk

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    25 days ago

    The food was good, service was great. Very spacious. Nice new restaurant in Chinatown

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    14 days ago

    It was great dinning experience, food alright, service ok. I feel like I'll come back when I come to China town.

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    Ask the Community - Joys' Cafe

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