Oishiii Sweets Cafe — Restaurant in Toronto

Been meaning to give this place a visit since pre-COVID but obviously didn't pan out. I was in the area and decided to drop by! Upon first impression, this place didn't look promising from the exterior. I mean, their big logo sign was cute and all, but they had really sketchy "WERE OPEN" signs posted, literally made with bright Bristol board and sharpie. Walking in, things looked more at par. I ended up picking up three items. Black sesame mochi muffin: Honestly lacking in appearance... I've seen ones that are more presentable. I was really happy to be able to see some of the mochi when cutting this open, and though it can be felt when biting into it, I believe more mochi would be better! There was also a subtle grainy feel to the muffin, which affected the overall mouth-feel of this dessert. The black sesame flavors are quite strong, but I'd never disagree to more. A winning factor of this for me was definitely how crispy the edges were, which greatly contrasted the inner texture (4.5 out of 5.0) Hojicha brownie: Since it's a roasted green tea, I find hojicha's flavor palette to be stronger, and so, it came through nicely in this dessert. Overall a sweeter treat, but still within my "acceptable sugar levels" as per my personal preference. I wasn't too fond of the inner texture which felt slightly "pasty" (for a lack of a better word) upon chewing, but the crispy exterior was very enjoyable, not to mention the crushed Oreos to top it off! This was a little bit of a heavy feeling dessert in my opinion, warranting a total of 4.0 out of 5.0. Black sesame cheesecake: As far as aesthetics go, this one takes the cake! (lame, sorry). This black sesame mousse is layered on cheesecake and then is topped with some white chocolate, a blackberry, and some toasted black sesame seeds (small detail, but I loved this addition for flavor and texture). As you all know, I'm not diehard for cheesecake so I was thankful that this palette wasn't overwhelming. However, I found that because cheesecake is naturally quite strong, these notes pulled me away from the black sesame (would have loved this to be the dominant flavor palette). Both mousse layers were very soft and smooth; but the base crust could have been crunchier for contrast (4.2 out of 5.0) Though it would be an entirely different cake, I think this would have been better without its...

Let me start with the best thing about this place. The individual that was there at the front counter. This person was nice, cordial, and very sweet. Unfortunately, besides this person, my experience here was quite unpleasant.

I had ordered a birthday cake on May 2 for pickup on May 4 and received both confirmation and pick up reminder emails. I arrived, and the lovely person at the counter went to look for my cake. She came back asking for some details (no problem) and went back again. Then, a woman from the back came out guns-a-blazing, looking at me like I’ve disrupted her whole day and said, “you didn’t order a cake. The cakes ordered for today are all gone”… I said, “well I received a confirmation email”, which I showed her. She looked at it, then snapped, “it says May 2nd, today is the 4th” to which I promptly responded. “May 2 is the date I ordered the cake”. She then, somehow even more rudely, said she needed to see the pick up date which I was already pulling up. I showed her, and with no words (or no nice ones) she stormed back off into the back. She came out a few minutes later and said, “we didn’t get your order, but I have a cake here and can write on it”. I confirmed what I wanted written and she once again stormed off. She came back out several minutes later with the cake, no eye contact with me, no words, put the cake on the back counter without ever facing me, and walked away. No apology for accusing me of not knowing what I was doing, no apology for not having my order ready, no apology for her rudeness. The front counter staff was very nice and cashed me out and apologized to me even though she did nothing wrong. But seriously… what the heck? If I didn’t need the cake because it was for someone’s birthday party that day I would have left… While them “not receiving” the order is unfortunate, I would not have been too upset had I not been treated as though I was some idiot who inconvenienced them for going to pick up a cake I pre-ordered. As if them not getting my order is somehow my fault… 🤦🏻‍♀️

Update: the store had emailed me to apologize about the service but did not reply to my response re: finding out more about what happened or how things would be different for the future experiences. I appreciate the effort but does not unfortunately change...

Second Visit: I ordered the milk tea cheesecake for a birthday and I was impressed with the flavour, texture, and price point of the cake. It was $28 for a 6 inch cheesecake. The cheesecake isn't dense and the tea flavour came through nicely but you still get the slight tang of creamcheese, a nice balance. The day I picked up the cake also happened to be there 2nd anniversary so they offered me a free drink, which was such a kind gesture! I'm going to order all of my holiday cakes from here as I'm sure my family members would enjoy it thoroughly!

This place has been on my list for a while and I'm so glad I got to try it. Their ube and hojicha twist soft serve is great! The portion and price ($3.50) were very reasonable. The little llama shortbread cookie on top looks unassuming yet cute, but is very tasty. I tried their mochi donuts which were also good. Personally, I don't think mochi donuts are for me, but I can see why people love them as the texture is unique. The flavour was tasty! Service was excellent! We were greeted in a very kind manner and service was quick/efficient.

The customers ahead of me ordered large cake orders, so that's a good sign! I'll visit again and will likely get the soft serve and also try their cakes. Check out this local spot for Asian-inspired desserts/treats and various beverages! There was a decent amount of parking available in the plaza (same plaza as...