Fujiwara Tofu Cafe — Restaurant in El Monte

Initial D fans celebrate! Super cute themed cafe that takes inspiration from the tofu store owned by the main character and his dad in the series. In fact, they basically replicate the tofu store's awning inside above the cash register. We saw on other reviews they park a AE86 replica outside the storefront - unfortunately the day we went, it wasn't there.

PARKING - Smaller lot, but still a decent amount of space! Be careful as to not park in the FedEx specific spots during business hours. Parking is probably impacted when they have car meet-ups here, which I hear is fairly frequent.

SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - As briefly mentioned before, the interior is Initial D themed from head to toe, with the tofu shop awning and the seating/tables having a similar vibe. After you order, it took less than 5 minutes to get our drinks, although I could see it being much longer if it was busier. We went right when they opened and there were already 5 parties waiting. There's cool display cases with items from the series and also merch available. They even have two racing set-ups if you want to play while you wait!

DRINKS - Emperor ($6.86): Black Sesame Soymilk w/ Tofu Pudding. I definitely wish there was more Black Sesame flavor in this. It almost seemed like they only smeared Black Sesame paste along the cup and that was it. I'm glad I got to try a bit of their Tofu Pudding through this drink as we did not get a separate order. Super silky! The soymilk itself was a nice sweetness level, although I'd definitely get less ice if possible next time - once the ice melted, the soymilk was way too diluted.

Red Suns ($6.86): Red Bean Matcha Soymilk. Your typical Matcha + Red Bean drink. Nothing to complain about, although I would once again recommend getting less ice to avoid diluting your drink.

OVERALL - Really cool spot if you're an Initial D fan. Drinks are pretty good if you like soymilk, but I would recommend getting less ice. I would come back to try their other drinks and maybe order a tofu...

I literally work in the poki place across from the store and gave the place a try after work. I thought this place was themed after JDM cars, since I never read or watched the series "Initial D", but I then realized that's what this place is themed after, and while I never seen the show, the interior is very clean, and is a overall very lovely place to be to spend some time with friends, I especially love the little art pieces merchandise on display. They also have two arcade machines that are based on Initial D, which I think adds more charm to the place.

The drinks are definitely something different if your never had soy milk before. While I wasn't a fan of the drink I tried, im not gonna base my review too much on the drink itself because well, it's probably trying to be a vegan cafe and that's totally fine, although I wish they had more alternatives like oatmilk, or almond milk for those who want something else then soy milk.

That being said, since this cafe is literally in front of where I work, I'm definitely going to return, and try all the drinks and desserts they offer. If your a fan of Initial D, then your going to love this place. Even if you never seen the show, then its still a lovely place to be at. As for the drinks, well I can't say much as I only had one as of me writing this, but keep in mind it's all soy milk based, but that shouldn't be a reason to not go, just a good note to...

The aesthetic and look of the place was very cool, and they have Initial D themed toys and collectables all over which was cool to see. And the smell of cigarettes right when I entered really made me feel like Bunta was actually in there, but it also made me want to leave asap.

The actual cafe portion was incredibly lacking. The menu had six "special" drink options, all of which were Initial D themed, four options for soy cream tea (which I'm assuming is a vegetarian option to cheese foam), and two bottled soy milk (I've never seen this before). So if you want a regular milk tea, you can't get that here. The special drinks were all a mix of different things and $7. I went on a Sunday night and a couple things on the menu were not available for the day, further limiting an already small menu.

I ended up buying only a tofu pudding with red bean which was kind of okay.

In my opinion, they should keep what they have as the specials, and add regular tea options, all I wanted was a normal milk tea. I really wanted to like this place as I love the show, but will probably not be coming back. It breaks my heart to admit I was wondering how long they'd last :( please, I want to come back and...