Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Anaheim

Very happy I finally tried them out on a busy late Saturday morning. I still want another spicy curry bun from this place.

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Matcha Sea Salt Cold Brew Spicy Curry Pan Japini Matcha Sunrise Spicy Mentaiko

TASTE:

Matcha Sea Salt Cold Brew was actually better than I expected. Glad I was wrong in this case. I've had been having a few viet coffee/matcha hybrid drinks recently & I initially thought this version wouldn't be as good since cold brew is not as strong as viet coffee. Luckily the cold brew holds up well in this. The cold brew component comes off as a just sweet enough latte while the matcha was saltier than I thought (not a bad thing) with the earthy matcha flavor still being present. Mixed together gives a pleasantly balanced drink that is worth a try.

Already knew I'd be getting the Spicy Curry Pan & luckily there was literally one left in the display case as I was ordering. So fresh, crisp & flavorful. Very good savory veggie curry with a pleasant heat that grows as you eat it. I would've eaten the thing much faster, but didn't want the flavor to end.

Japini (Japanese Panini) was a nice little sandwich. I mainly tasted just the cheese & tomato, not so much the bacon, or shisho leaf or pesto. Still good though.

Matcha Sunrise did not have the strongest matcha flavor for you die hard matcha fans. Besides that the bread is nice & soft while the cookie crust had a nice sweetness level.

Mentaiko had a savory salt flavor which worked well with the really fresh bread. Did not taste any real "fish" flavor.

Seems like they are big on quality of ingredients & they bake fresh daily. I definitely could see that since all the baked goods were very fresh, nothing coming off like it had been sitting there forever.

SERVICE, LOCATION & PARKING:

I was lucky & the busy line started after I already ordered. Staff were all very nice & did not make me feel rushed which was good.

The interior is very warm, welcoming & cute. The mint color tables outside are a nice touch. It looks like the area towards the left when you enter may have once been used for inside seating (precovid).

They are located right off W Center Street Promenade, so parking can be a problem. If you're lucky you'll find timed parking right on this main street. It's 90 min which is enough time.

Quality was there in everything I tried which I imagine is why their baked goods are a little more pricey then I've seen. But in this instance you are paying for what you get.

I'd return back here & for sure get the spicy curry pan along with other...

Service was great, the workers were fast when you order and give good recommendations to you. Overall it's quick and easy even if you don't know what you want. On the other hand it is always busy. I haven't seen a day where the line isn't already filled unless it's at opening or before 11am. It can go quick or you can end up waiting ten minutes (it's not always the case so don't be discouraged). to add on the atmosphere you can't eat inside because it's a small store but the outdoor seats aren't great. They are small and every chair and table that I have sat in is always uneven or missing a piece. The most recent one case was when I was eating directly Infront of the entrance The seat was wonky in the way that if I moved it would rebalance the table was on the ledge so it would not lose balance which made it difficult to move and the table was low so I didn't have enough left room and kept bumping into the table. I even scooted much farther out but the seat still was annoying. Hopefully it has been fixed by now. The food is amazing if you eat it there and then but if you do take out with let's say the chocolate emoji it causes the chocolate to freeze into a small disc which is great but it's much nicer when you can just have that rich chocolate taste and not a Hershey. The bread is also cold and feels like it loses it shape after biting it and it feels like I'm holding a sandwich rather than a nice springy sphere. Even after microwaving it has a different texture on the bread and the chocolate feels like it cools very quickly if not eaten fast. Same with other foods like cinnamon rolls and the bacon. But overall foods great if you dine in and if you do take out maybe have something to regulate the foods temperature so that it doesn't get cold and you have to reheat it.

Overall I'm of course still going to eat here but that's just what I've noticed since coming here recently. But the food and drinks are still amazing at the end of the day so I would say go get some bread and tip the workers a few...

Thankful for my addictive hobby of browsing google maps for allowing me to discover this gem of a spot. I’ve been here three times already, and this time I brought the hubz with me. We’re HUGE bakery fans and have quite the palate for the simplicity of asian baked goods. As hard as it’s been to find some quality pastries - Okayama does it perfectly well. Prices range from $3 to $5 each and everything that gets pushed out is made fresh daily. With the bakery section on one end and their cafe side on the other, this place is a super cute pit stop to start off your day as you venture around the plaza. The bakery seems to also collab with a few other eateries around Orange County and LA. Since my first time visiting, you can now order Uncle Tetsu and Ippudo. They’re quite consistent on updating social media with these ventures and opportunities for pop up orders too!

So far our TOP must trys are their *Salt and Butter Roll and the Kobokuma. The cresent rolls seem super plain and simple but they’ve got it down to the details. The outer layer is super crisp and lightly salted while the inside is fluffy and airy. Kobokuma is the super cute bear that you’ll find yourself awe-ing at when you order. It’s filled with vanilla bean custard cream - AND BOY, I’m pretty sure we had these two as soon as they cooled from the oven because the inside of this was warm and gooey and oh-so-perfect. Matcha Sunrise is an honorable mention as well! The out of the box orders have been the Yakisoba Coppe and the Katsu one. Both didn’t blow our minds- they were way too carby for us. Coffee wise, I wouldn’t splurge for anything out of the box and just go for a straight latte or black as their coffee beans are immaculate. The matcha with sea salt foam was a little off for me.

I totally recommend this place for anyone with a sweet tooth or have a slight obsession for small local coffee shops. The pastries will be the factor to keep...