YakiniQ Cafe

Recent Reviews

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Randall L.

  • 42 friends
  • 22 reviews

  5.0 star rating

  4/30/2012

  I really shouldn't be writing reviews that makes one of my favorite spots even more busy... but I can't help it.  They run a tight ship and… Read More

  I really shouldn't be writing reviews that makes one of my favorite spots even more busy... but I can't help it.  They run a tight ship and offer unique drinks with menu of accompanying desserts and snacks.  I go for the standard cup of coffee most of the time, but will occasionally go with the chai or vanilla latte.  Lighting is comfortable.  The tables are clean.  Internet access.  Games such as chess/scrabble/jenga are available.    And the walls are decorated with unique artwork.  That's all I need to stay productive.
  
  Self promoting plug --- If you are a programmer, go there more often!  I'm looking to discuss startup projects.  Would like to meet you!

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Jennifer W.

  • 99 friends
  • 11 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  5/18/2012

  Lately, this has been my go-to place to get some work done.  While the lighting is a bit dim in some areas and there are limited outlets, I… Read More

  Lately, this has been my go-to place to get some work done.
  While the lighting is a bit dim in some areas and there are limited outlets, I really like this place for the cute decor and the yummy drinks.
  
  The idea of trying a sweet potato latte may sound a bit strange but trust me.. It's goooooood. The sweet potato pieces really add to the natural sweetness of the drink.
  
  Their tuna onigiri is  surprisingly filling. It's kind of nice to see how it's arranged with the avocado on top, which makes it look pretty fancy. However, after  a few bites, everything just gets messy..but it could just be me and my messy eating habits. harharhar.
  
  One thing to note is that they only accept card with purchases over $10 and that it can be a bit difficult to get the seat you want, especially if you're coming in a big group.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Susie C.

  • 30 friends
  • 51 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  5/16/2012

  3.5 Stars.   I'm originally from LA and I often frequent cafes to do work and study since it's such a great environment with tables, chairs,… Read More

  3.5 Stars.
  
  I'm originally from LA and I often frequent cafes to do work and study since it's such a great environment with tables, chairs, food, and drinks! Everything I need in one place!
  
  I found YakiniQ by accident, but was super surprised by how cute the decor is and how it's so simple and spacious.  I also love the dim lighting that just creates a homey vibe!  There's also free wifi at this place, which makes it the ideal studying spot for me, with the exception of...
  
  Pricing:  The pricing is a bit much for what they offer. For a slice of cake it's $7.50-$8 bucks and for drinks this really ranges.  The cakes that I've had thus far have been delicious though, but I just feel like its a little much for a SLICE of cake? Oh wells, its worth it for the ambiance.
  
  Outlets: This is the main reason why I need to drop a star.  The last two times that I've been here there have been no seats available on the right side where there are outlets.  There are also outlets on the left side with the bigger tables, however, the cafe blocked them ALL out. Why would they do this? I don't know, but I don't like it and I find it a bit inconvienent that they have available seating that can be filled with customers, but they are not because they blocked out all the outlets.  
  
  This was perhaps really frustrating after driving out to the city to try and do some work and looking for parking.  Thank goodness I didn't order food before checking the availability of outlets first.
  
  Overall, I love this place, it's cute and the cakes are good too, but I wish that there were more outlets :( I'll come again crossing my fingers outlets will be opened up.
  
  PS.  they are suppose to be home of the sweet potate latte, I got this, but it was terrible :( stick with something more normal!

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Vicki L.

  • Elite '12
  • 81 friends
  • 161 reviews

  3.0 star rating

  5/14/2012

  3.5 stars  First, let me just talk about their coffee. I ordered a soy latte here and was really disappointed. It wasn't strong at all and… Read More

  3.5 stars
  
  First, let me just talk about their coffee. I ordered a soy latte here and was really disappointed. It wasn't strong at all and was pretty poorly made. Don't get me wrong, the presentation was really cute because it came in a white porcelain bowl, yes I said bowl and not cup, with a small spoon. However, I am definitely open to coming here again to try their wide variety of other drinks and desserts! I'm sure I probably just didn't order something too good off their menu. My BF ordered an Americano and I liked that a lot better, but I mean, how can you screw up an Americano right? So definitely a fat average 3 stars for their coffee.
  
  Now for their decor, SUPER CUTE! I walked in and was sooo impressed. Their are bigger tables on the left side once you walk in for 4 people seating and smaller tables for two people seating on the right. Only the tables on the right have outlets for you to plug your charger in for your laptop. As much as I absolutely loved low hanging lights, the lighting was slightly too dim for my liking but pretty adequate.
  
  Also, they have free wi-fi as long as you ask for the password. But beware! It's kind of slow, sorry people who love YouTube!
  
  TIP: Come EARLY! This place fills up FAST and many people had a hard time finding seating!
  
  Overall, good place to come and study for a place with food, desserts, coffee, and other drinks. Wouldn't rely on this place for their coffee, especially if you're a coffee fiend like me but I'm sure their other drinks are pretty good based on what other people have said. Will definitely come here again to give it another try! :)

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Ty T.

  • Elite '12
  • 105 friends
  • 158 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  4/30/2012

  I was a bit disoriented by the staggering breadth of variety offered by Yakini's menu..  So naturally, my eyes were guided towards a… Read More

  I was a bit disoriented by the staggering breadth of variety offered by Yakini's menu..  So naturally, my eyes were guided towards a colorful cascade of poofy, yet savory Macaroons (raspberry, hazelnut, lemon, green-tea, almond) -I think the nuttier ones were the best.. The fruity ones were a bit too rich, these aren't as delicate as other places I've tried for Macaroons but for an Asian equivalent I am pretty impressed.
  
  My iced green tea latte (with no additional sugar) was the perfect drink to compliment the sweets.  I was also thankful that they didn't turn me away for ordering an iced drink since they were 10 minutes til' closing (I know.. -I'm sorry!!), like they did the guest who came in immediately after me..

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Surge C.

  • Elite '12
  • 90 friends
  • 326 reviews

  3.0 star rating

  5/2/2012

  Bougie cafe in Pacific Heights/Japantown! What a shocker.  It looked so cute and my friend and I were drawn in by the sweet potato latte and… Read More

  Bougie cafe in Pacific Heights/Japantown! What a shocker.
  
  It looked so cute and my friend and I were drawn in by the sweet potato latte and yuzu honey tea (FYI: yuzu is a type of fruit and has a very citrus-like flavor).
  
  I wish we would have gotten some of the delectable treats, but we were already trekking around Kabuki and knew we wanted to eat a substantial meal first. So we got the drinks and all I thought was "wow I paid $4 something for this?".
  
  The yuzu honey tea was OK; nothing special about it. It was refreshing and did hit the spot especially since it was a rare warm day in SF. I tried my friend's sweet potato latte and almost spit it out. If you like the taste of mashed up baby food, then you will enjoy the taste of this. Why do I still remember what baby food taste like is beyond me...don't judge.
  
  **Credit card minimum: $10, which is ridiculous since it is located in Pacific Heights

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Joanne C.

  • 137 friends
  • 58 reviews

  5.0 star rating

  4/19/2012

  This place is so cute! I was so happy when I came across it on yelp.  You walk in, and you feel like you're not even in San Francisco… Read More

  This place is so cute! I was so happy when I came across it on yelp.
  
  You walk in, and you feel like you're not even in San Francisco anymore. It instantly reminded me of a clean cafe in Korea town, Los Angeles. I guess I liked it because it reminded me of home. But the place is CLEAN (rare for most cafes in SF), CUTE (also rare) and is a very nice place to study.
  
  I came here to study for an exam, and it was a really great place to study. There aren't too many outlets around, but the lightning is good and the noise level is low. Also, for a cafe in SF the place isn't cramped at all (really spacious actually. You won't have to bump elbows while you're on your laptop).
  
  The service is great too. I really like the staff here :)
  Right on closing time, the chef/manager decided to have us play a "game". He played a song on the record player, and whoever guessed the song/artist would get a free cupcake! I thought that was really cute.
  
  I'm definitely coming back here. Again and again.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Can C.

  • 10 friends
  • 63 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  5/2/2012

  Get their shaved ice.  It is the perfect treat on a hot spring or summer day.  I stopped here with my boyfriend on our way to the Cherry… Read More

  Get their shaved ice.  It is the perfect treat on a hot spring or summer day.  I stopped here with my boyfriend on our way to the Cherry Blossom Festival and I was craving shaved ice (the Taiwanese kind with condensed milk) and since it was about 82 degrees out, it was the perfect weather to enjoy one.
  
  I ordered the Green Tea Shaved Ice and I thought it would just come with green tea ice cream.  Boy, did I get a pleasant surprise!  It came with fruit (which was pretty good, but nothing too special), red beans, and a scoop of green tea ice cream to top it off.  The ice cream was creamy and light (but not too light) in flavor.  At the bottom, the ice had the milk infused or they added the perfect amount of milk because it was just right.  
  
  Definitely will be coming here again with the upcoming summer months!

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Steven B.

  • Elite '12
  • 35 friends
  • 241 reviews

  5.0 star rating

  4/26/2012

  YakiniQ Cafe is the cafe on the ground floor of YakiniQ KBBQ. They have everything a cafe has from coffee to free wifi. There's plenty of… Read More

  YakiniQ Cafe is the cafe on the ground floor of YakiniQ KBBQ. They have everything a cafe has from coffee to free wifi. There's plenty of seats with tables on the inside. Most of the tables are two seaters, but there are a few for around four people. Then there's the couch area in the middle of the room for bigger groups. Their wifi is a bit spiffy where it sometimes disappears for a few seconds and comes back after. It's pretty quiet inside which makes this a nice place to go and study or for quiet time.
  
  The desserts are great! Flour-less chocolate cake is very artistically pleasing and tastes nice. It's literally a tiny chocolate cup filled with chocolate cream with mixed berries on top. The macaroons are expensive, but delicious!. It's definitely a most try if you're here.
  
  The drink: Mocha tasted pretty good. Supposedly, they use TCHO chocolate for their mocha from what they advertise. The Sweet potato latte tastes exactly what it sounds. These two drinks were pretty good overall.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Christina Y.

  • Elite '12
  • 2910 friends
  • 884 reviews

  5.0 star rating

  4/10/2012

  I was walking down the street with a chill in my bones, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the sign advertising YakiniQ's sweet… Read More

  I was walking down the street with a chill in my bones, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the sign advertising YakiniQ's sweet potato latte. Can you imagine anything more comforting and cozy on a cold SF evening than that? Well, I couldn't, so I walked right in, and ordered one straight away. I couldn't resist ordering a couple of their macarons as well, though all of their dessert selections looked so incredible it was hard not to order everything!
  
  The interior of the place is really quiet because it looks to be mostly a study/working cafe. I love places like this, where the customers are encouraged to make themselves comfortable and stay for a long time. The one thing I thought was kind of lame were the people who brought in their own drinks and food. I understand the whole starving student thing but if you're going to take up a whole table (and there aren't very many of them), you could at least buy a little something from the business that's providing it for you.
  
  Other than that, I was completely charmed by the funky, eclectic decor and the young, friendly staff. It felt like one of those fake cafes in movies that you claim don't exist in real life... well they do!

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Mariko F.

  • Elite '12
  • 191 friends
  • 533 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  4/9/2012

  I love coming here to work. They have free wifi, and friendly staff. Although they have a lot of power outlets, they have covered up the… Read More

  I love coming here to work. They have free wifi, and friendly staff. Although they have a lot of power outlets, they have covered up the ones at the bigger tables. So basically, there are small tables if you want to plug in.
  
  I am slowly working my way through the menu here. The pastries are good. I have to say that, although the sweet potato latte was good, I won't order it again. It was like drinking sweet potato. Good for a few sips but the. It's just too much.
  
  The coffee in general is good though. It's cute that they serve their lattes in a bowl (like a cafe au lait), and they have a decent tea selection. And their cakes are so pretty and the macrons are delicious.
  
  $10 minimun on credit cards.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Laurence H.

  • 127 friends
  • 459 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  5/9/2012

  Charming hang out place in Japantown serving traditional European desserts as well as Asian desserts.  The quality is great with comfortable… Read More

  Charming hang out place in Japantown serving traditional European desserts as well as Asian desserts.  The quality is great with comfortable sofas, table, board games and WIFI.  Great place to study, write a book or place to enjoy some Japanese shaved ice.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Erica T.

  • Elite '12
  • 142 friends
  • 172 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  4/2/2012

  Very unique and very popular drink here! The sweet potato latte made with real sweet potatoes!  I decided to order this while waiting for… Read More

  Very unique and very popular drink here! The sweet potato latte made with real sweet potatoes!
  
  I decided to order this while waiting for some friends for dinner. It came out to be $3.80 something for a small cup to go. Very interesting to have a latte really taste like sweet potatoes! My bf didn't know what I ordered and so when he took a sip and said "whoa what is this?!"
  
  There is tiny chunks of sweet potatoes in this drink, so don't be afraid to chew the tiny pieces! I found it refreshing. It reminded me of the winter time when my mom would bake bake whole sweet potatoes for us to eat.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Denise C.

  • 23 friends
  • 19 reviews

  1.0 star rating

  4/21/2012

  HORRIBLE SERVICE! I moved two tables of two together because we had four people. The male blonde hair staff came up to me and said "what do… Read More

  HORRIBLE SERVICE! I moved two tables of two together because we had four people. The male blonde hair staff came up to me and said "what do you think you're doing?" I said, "we have four people." He goes, "We don't like it when you guys join tables together like that." We got pissed and just left. We were going to order a lot of drinks and food but decided not to because of his attitude.
  
  Definitely not going back if that guy still works there. Might consider if he leaves.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Mai H.

  • Elite '12
  • 17 friends
  • 65 reviews

  5.0 star rating

  3/27/2012

  I love this place! It also happened to be right across the street from my hotel, Hotel Kabuki. Walking in brought me back to the cute… Read More

  I love this place! It also happened to be right across the street from my hotel, Hotel Kabuki. Walking in brought me back to the cute Seoul/Tokyo cafes I went to last summer. I was blown away by the cuteness and the amount of seating they had. I ordered a sweet potato latte because uhh...where else could you get a sweet potato latte? It wasn't too sweet and you could taste the sweet potato. So good!
  
  I also ordered the salted caramel macaroon...wasn't expecting much but it was AMAZING. The buttercream inside was light and airy with a swirl of caramel..DELISH.
  
  Free wi-fi. I had the couch all to myself, the one thing I didn't notice was the amount of outlets they had. I think there were only a handful in various corners of the cafe but luckily it wasn't that crowded.
  
  They have an assortment of sweet cakes and mousse as well as a few savory items like sandwiches, baked breads, etc.
  
  Gotta come here again!

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Lauren A.

  • 39 friends
  • 62 reviews

  2.0 star rating

  3/26/2012

  Cute spot. Cool place to hangout. Good desserts. French Macarons were just so-so. Reason for the low rating is because the guy that was… Read More

  Cute spot. Cool place to hangout. Good desserts. French Macarons were just so-so. Reason for the low rating is because the guy that was helping us was kind of a douche. We asked what flavor he recommends for the Macarons, and his art ass replied with, "well its different for every person." No shit, Sherlock. But I still wanna know what YOU recommend. And when we were about to pay, we asked to pay with part cash and the rest on the card. And he replies with, "Well its a lot easier for ME if you just pay everything with your card." Really???
  Note: good customer service will take you and this place a lot further buddy.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Alice C.

  • Elite '12
  • 22 friends
  • 487 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  4/1/2012

  Nice atmosphere and cute interior, with a good menu of drinks as well. Definitely a good café to stop by, especially if you are sick of… Read More

  Nice atmosphere and cute interior, with a good menu of drinks as well. Definitely a good café to stop by, especially if you are sick of Starbucks or Peet's.
  
  There are also a selection of pastries, but unfortunately I didn't have the stomach to try any. I'll be sure to try it next time I stop by though.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Kevin G.

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

  1.0 star rating

  5/6/2012

  Nice place, bad business ideas. I used to come here to enjoy a nice drink, and do some work with 1-2 friends. They've recently decided to… Read More

  Nice place, bad business ideas. I used to come here to enjoy a nice drink, and do some work with 1-2 friends. They've recently decided to cover up all of their outlets along the left wall in order to increase turnover. This was a poor decision, as I will not be back because of it. I think the main issue is that one customer would come, order one thing, and sit at a large table. All they had to do was ask that he share the table, or move to a smaller table.
  
  When we came the place was totally empty too, so it would've been nice if the folks behind the counter were more understanding. Especially considering we spent close to $30 for a light lunch and tea for two people.
  
  Two action items for the owners:
  - Unblock the outlets, and consider adding even more easily accessible outlets
  - Remove the $10 minimum credit card charge
  - Take some pointers from Starbucks, and create a welcoming environment where people will want to stay.
  
  Unfortunately this is not a good place to work on a laptop anymore, head to one of the many more accommodating cafes down Fillmore st.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  Dorothy L.

  • 59 friends
  • 430 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  3/19/2012

  Great service!  Fan of anything "Yuzu" on the menu.

• YakiniQ Cafe

  

  ju C.

  • 21 friends
  • 230 reviews

  4.0 star rating

  3/24/2012

  Sweet potato latte was really good.  I asked for a decaf version and the guy says, there's no caf in it.  I think it's made with sweet… Read More

  Sweet potato latte was really good.  I asked for a decaf version and the guy says, there's no caf in it.  I think it's made with sweet potato puree and milk.  There are other non-traditional drinks on the menu which I'd like to go back and try.
  
  They have a good selection of pastries and desserts, but some of them are really pricey.  It's over $7 for a piece of cake and the macarons are $2.25 each.  I tried rose and earl grey flavor and LOVED the earl grey.  The rose one tasted like eating soap because of the fragrance.  BUT, I will say that the consistency and texture of the macarons is the best I've had in the city.