A Cafe
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 874-6989
This weekend, I had one of those moments where I didn’t know what I was craving. BF began driving down Convoy Street, naming one restaurant after another. I kept saying “no” to each choice. And then I saw this grand opening sign for A Cafe. Apparently it’s been open a couple of months, I’m surprised I didn’t notice it until now.
It’s advertised as a Hong Kong style Cafe. However, this seemed more like just another tapioca tea cafe spot. And it happens to be located right near Tapioca Express and Tea Garden.
The place offers tea drinks and various chinese dishes. The food menu is more extensive than a typical tea cafe. The prices were also a bit higher too.
We ordered a Yang Chow Fried rice. The quantity was okay, but the price a bit high, especially for fried rice. Nothing stood out about this dish. It wasn’t that good, just average.
We also ordered the braised string beans. This wasn’t made right at all. The beans weren’t cooked long enough. The beans are supposed to be fried, creating a softer texture and a more wrinkly appearance. These were barely wrinkled and tasted more like stir fried rather than deep fried beans. The pickled vegetables they put it were also extremely salty.
I saw handmade fish dumplings on the menu and was so curious even though I didn’t have high expectations. One look when they came out and obviously the skin was not handmade. The thin, wrinkled texture are evidence of premade skins. I guess they might have wrapped these dumplings themselves but the skin wasn’t handmade. The sauce served with it was sweet which I didn’t like.
We also ordered a diced filet mignon with pepper sauce. It was served with ketchup rice. The filet mignon was actually cooked pretty well. Not overcooked and the dish also was not too salty, as can often happen with pepper sauce.
BF also ordered a mango milkshake. It tasted just like the mango lassi served at Indian restaurants. So while I liked how it tasted, I think this may have been a mango yogurt drink rather than mango milk.
All in all, the food was just average. I think the prices are too high. I wanted to get a shaved ice originally but I was too full.
While we were eating, I noticed the owner of DeDe’s walk in. After asking the waitress, I found out that A Cafe is owned by the owner of DeDe’s and the owner of Imperial Mandarin.
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Hi Sandy,
I agree, the food isn’t terrible. It’s just so-so, but I think with the prices and stuff, they seem to be going for something more high end and I don’t think the food is good enough. This is more like typical tapioca tea cafe food.
I didn’t get a chance to eat the shaved ice this time. Might go back to try it. You’ve only had shaved ice once?? If you are in LA, there are lots of good places. Not so much in SD. You should definitely try the snowflake shaved ice in LA if you get a chance.
I’m not quite sure about whether it is a family owning everything. I asked if the owner was DeDe’s, and the waitress specifically told me that they have two bosses: DeDe’s and Imperial Mandarin. So I think maybe they are separate. I’ve never been to IM so I don’t know who owns it.
We were just at A Cafe, mostly because DeDe’s was closed. I had heard from a friend that A Cafe and Imperial Mandarin had the same owner, but I didn’t know about the DeDe connection. Is it the same person who has all three restaurants, or a family?
I’d be curious about your thoughts on the shaved ice. I’ve only had it once in New York; my husband thought the version at A Cafe needed more condensed milk.
Otherwise, I thought the food was just ok; at least what we had wasn’t terrible, just ok. Somehow, Chinese food in San Diego seems high, especially compared to SF or SGV.
Hi Kirk, yup I found out about the connection when I saw him walk in to have a late lunch. It’s too bad. I would much rather eat at DeDe’s.
Hey Kirbie – I think you’ll be interested to know that this place has the same owners as Dede’s. BTW, I agree, the food there is terrible.