Cafe 86 - San Jose — Restaurant in San Jose

Welcome to the neighborhood, Cafe 86! I had the pleasure of getting dessert here recently. Ordering was quick and efficient at the register. The case of goodies was wet with condensation so it was hard to see what was inside, but after scanning the menu we decided we wanted one pastry and one drink. We ordered the upside down halo halo (halo halo with ube base and vanilla ice cream) and an ube leche flan cupcake. After a short wait, our name was called and the friendly and energetic young man handed us our goodies.

The halo halo was beautiful, with jellies and boba at the bottom, adorned generously with corn flakes, vanilla ice cream, crowned with flan! I really enjoyed the textures, although I thought the base melted too fast. I'm used to halo halo with a bit more iciness, although I know it's not everyone's preference. The ube leche flan cupcake was decadent and rich without being too sweet, although I found the cupcake a bit on the dense side. I'm not a fan of frosting on cupcakes, but flan is a different story! Next time I'd like to try their ube crack cheesecake and a calamansi drink.

The interior is on the smaller side, with the front door facing a wall upon entry so that the flow is a bit cramped. However the bar top type seats indoors and three small tables outdoors provides some variety to enjoy at the cafe. During our visit we saw it was already a popular spot with treats for the whole family, friends catching up, and a mid week pick-me-up-up for one. The menu has a lot of options without being too overwhelming, with something for everyone. We're looking forward to our next visit to Cafe 86 to explore more unique and tasty...

Aug'24 update: Ube flan cupcake...! So good! And the crowds have died down. Adding a star.

Original: Ube is their specialty ingredient, so if you’re into that, this is your place. I’d say it’s good but not worth the wait. The boba was all stuck together and wouldn’t go up the straw. And they only have regular and half sweet. A little annoying on both counts.

They have an ube and an upside down ube halo halo. I love halo halo. I asked what the difference was. an unfriendly and unenthusiastic person at the counter gave a mumbled response. I didn’t want to ask again so I got the regular.

This place was packed every time I went by, I thought it must be incredible. It was packed when I went too. It took about 15m-20m to get those two items after ordering. And it’s not economical. I hope they do well, but I wasn’t that thrilled by the experience.

Halo halo yuuuum. Ube tres leches super sweet and...

On instagram, they posted that they were give out this free drink with no purchase necessary.

I drove about 9 miles and was disappointed when I found out the cashier told me I had to buy something to get the free drink. I ended up paying $6 bucks for two drinks which is a good deal since I already made the drive. But not as a good deal as $0 for one drink.

Felt like I got bait and switched

Edit: after talking to the official cafe 86 instagram account and calling the shift lead at this cafe 86 location, they gave me a full refund. There appears to be a misunderstanding with the employees at this location today but was corrected I guess after the instagram account...