Bopomofo Cafe — Restaurant in San Diego

11/10 on all fronts. Their quality is consistently excellent. Their ingenuity with creative new ideas is bold and risky, and they execute on everything they do. In my opinion this is the best tea shop in sd, and it’s not even close. The food is arguably the best in sd as well, even when lined up against pricey restaurants. I will be spending lots of money here. So far I’ve ordered the following: ba-La matcha is guava and matcha, and a fantastic mix of flavors. black assam milk tea- great quality tea flavor shrimp sandwich - one of the best things I’ve ever eaten period. There is not one flaw with the flavor, complexity, quality, or execution. mapo tofu tater tots. Probably the best versions of tots I’ve ever had. This speaks to the creativity and riskiness, and they hit the bullseye with this dish.

Tips for new customers - check out the photos of their menu with hours before going. Food service has its own hours. On weekends it is crowded so go after 3 for a shorter wait. But be prepared to wait a bit regardless. They are uncompromising on the quality even when it’s busy so that means they’re going to take their time to get each...

each time I went was not crowded or had lines, but it's expensive for the food and the amount they serve. I would like to try what else is on the menu. +Clean bathroom and store, love they use bamboo type straws. They just need blinds for their side windows because when the sun glares in, it gets hot and too bright from the cars. Would be nice to have different bins for trash and recycling

Orange Wang - 9/10 - love the orange Creamsicle taste would get again!

Strawberry Basil Ginger Lemonade - 6/10 - Was expecting more of the Strawberry flavor as the description described a hint of ginger. It was a small drop of strawberry and all ginger taste

BA-LA Matcha w/boba - 8/10 - mainly tasted the nectar in it and just a hint of matcha

Heritage Braised Pork Rice - 8/10 - it was good, not dry at all, probably not worth the price of $16 for a small portion

Taiwanese Fried Chicken Sandwhich & Tots - 7/10 - Seem small but was fulfilling with the chicken. Tots always taste good. The price is expensive.

Assam Milk Tea - 7/10 - would drink again but it's not...

Leave your pets at home. Pets do not belong in a restaurant, let alone sitting in one of the chairs at said restaurant and proceeding to put the PET CARRIER ON TOP OF THE COUNTER WHERE PEOPLE EAT (yummm toxoplasmosis). Absolutely ridiculous and none of the workers said anything. Seating is already limited, your cat does not need a chair and does not belong here.

Food is good when it’s the right cook; on the expensive side though. Ordered the classic popcorn chicken and prefer the dark meat since the white meat be dry.

I always get the jasmine milk tea and in my opinion they use way too much milk. I kindly asked the cashier on 12/20 around 5:30pm if it’s possible to put less milk and she gave me the goofiest, dumbfounded look as if it was the craziest request (It’s really not). After some back and forth she finally said they can put 1.5 oz of milk instead of their regular 2oz and that made a huge difference in the quality of the drink itself.

As I stated before, this restaurant has limited seating and is not dine-in friendly...