Cafe Hollywood

I went in the morning to use their WiFi. The black covering on the windows blocked a lot of sunlight making the room too dark. It was also really smokey and there was an ashtray on every table. The music was kind of loud. The free tea they give you tastes like it has been flavored with plum. The OJ was good. The server was very friendly. Another woman tried to sell me a flat iron and makeup. (Did she think this was an Asian straight perm?!) I hope this place lasts but I wouldn’t return unless the bakeries were closed, I was looking for a place indoors to hang out with a smoker, or some big sports game involving Asians was being broadcast.
Wouldn’t you know it I went back less than a month later with some curious guys I told about the place. My experience was much better in part because I wasn’t trying to do work. It was nighttime so we weren’t the only customers. At another table they had brought in their own alcohol and crawfish. The weather was cooler so the server gave us a pot of the same tea hot which I thought made it taste better. I tried chanh mui for the first time and now I have a favorite Vietnamese beverage. The room was still really smokey but I don’t think the music was as loud. They had a men’s restroom and a unisex restroom. The men’s restroom didn’t lock but thank goodness the unisex one did or I would have left. The servers were very attentive to us having enough tea and asking us if we liked the drinks they’d prepared.

Café Hollywood opened July 11, 2014 in the Vietnamese Center strip mall on Buford Highway. This is the same strip mall with Phở 24. Café Hollywood replaced the short-​lived Café Anh Phi. It’s sandwiched between Purnima (Bangladeshi restaurant) and B Spa.
Like the café that came before it, Café Hollywood is a Vietnamese coffee shop. In California, these coffee shops are known for having cute female servers, typically of Asian descent, often times wearing scantily-​clad outfits. The idea at Café Hollywood is similar, but the outfits the staff wear are not as revealing. As the owner told me, he wants his café to be «classy.» Here, the servers dress like they’re going out to the club or a night on the town.
If you couldn’t tell already, this place is akin to Hooters, Tilted Kilt, and Twin Peaks. The main attraction is the staff. Unlike the aforementioned large chains, Café Hollywood is small and serves no alcohol nor food. This is also not a hostess bar. Kitchen space is limited and I don’t believe management has any plans of acquiring a liquor license. However, food may possibly be served in the future.
The café sells coffees, teas, lemonade, and smoothies. There is no menu. It’s a very simple setup. I believe the basic iced tea is complimentary. The staff will bring tea out for customers by default (with straws for females). The popular drink here is cà phê sua đá or Vietnamese iced coffee. It’s a dark roast coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk over ice. It’s actually pretty good, though there’s way more ice than coffee per glass.
The lemonade served is chanh mui, which is made with salted, pickled lime. It’s not your traditional American lemonade. It’s noticeably more salty and tart, a somewhat acquired taste. Smoothies ($ 5 each) are large and sweet. I’m not sure how many smoothie flavors are offered, but avocado is the one I’ve tried. If I could only pick one beverage to have here, it would be the iced coffee.
Seating consists of five swanky, white coffee tables outfitted with six, bright green and yellow, modern-​looking, lounge-​like swivel chairs. There’s a bar with seating for about eight more plus a couple basic four-​top tables, making for a total seating capacity of about 40 – 50. There are a couple Chinese chess sets along with video slots in the back. There are four widescreen HD displays, so you can come here to watch sports.
The atmosphere is casual. During the daytime, it’s bright. At night, the café is dimly lit with yellow, pink, and green ambient lighting. Loud music plays in the background like a bar or club. I was told that daytime service is generally busier than nighttime service. One thing I don’t like about this place is it’s smoky inside (because smoking is allowed inside).
The servers are polite, sweet, and attractive. It’s what keeps the customers coming back. Tip generously.

Hmmmm… there’s so much and so little to say about this place. I believe it recently opened in the past two weeks, it’s located in the Chamblee/​Doraville (not Norcross) strip of Buford Highway in the Phở 24 retail strip.
Now, some might assume this two star rating is because I’m a woman and this place is demeaning to women and blah blah blah. the truth is this place was quite the let down, I was expecting to leave with incredulous stories to tell.
First off, there was only one girl working, who while was very sweet seemed quite overwhelmed; and second there’s no food and no alcohol. Yes, no alcohol. I think the lone server alluded to a pending liquor license but until then I’d put off a visit. All that’s available are [mediocre] smoothies (avocado and strawberry specifically), iced tea, lemonade, and coffee — there’s no menu as well. The iced tea is complimentary and a seemingly mandatory starter, so don’t be alarmed when it’s brought to your table (I thought I received someone else’s order).
Otherwise a pretty boring evening for a place that’s marketed for a more «adult» evening, there are some board games, a tv and well not much else. If you’re in it for the ladies, the weekends might be your best bet, otherwise it’s not worth the visit.

One of my friends told me that out west, there is a café that exists that scantily clad women of Asian descent serving coffee drinks and such. I was flabbergasted that the idea never came to Atlanta.
Thankfully, I was told that it did come to Atlanta. And it opened right in time for me to check it out while I was on vacation. A group of us went in on a Wednesday night to check it out (which for the record, it is in the same shopping center as Phở 24 in Chamblee, not in Norcross– so don’t get mixed up when looking for it). When we went in, I was kind of surprised.
First of all, let me forewarn you– there are a lot of kinks that need to be worked out (which possibly some of them could already be worked out). I personally think the owner wanted to be the first type of café like this in Atlanta without thinking the business concept through. This will make more sense as the review continues…
The place itself looks like you entered a space bubble. The seats are big, and low to the ground. There are big plastic tables with random dips in them (be careful where you put your drink!). 2 large tvs on the wall, a Chinese checkers board, and a small room in the back to play video gambling stuff.
The group was already situated by the time entered, so I missed the spiel about how it works. We were all brought glasses of tea as a compliment. We then asked about a menu. They really did not have one. I just told the server to make me the strongest thing they had (which the coffee selections are of Vietnamese descent). I ended up getting 3 of them (it felt like I was doing lines by the time I was done with the third one!). I know that the drinks were all $ 5 a piece. They also had a fruit slush too. As I said, it was somewhat confusing but I knew they had coffee and that is all I wanted, so I was OK with that.
In terms of anything else, who knows. At one table was a group of dudes, another table had the owner and his friends (go figure), another table was a poor old chap (pretty much me in 5 years), and 2 waiters from next door (Phở 24) came to play the video gambling. There was only one server working. She was pretty nice. Hell I felt bad for her because I am sure it makes it hard to do a job with little to no instruction given, and to have no menu. I even asked her if she needed any help with any cleaning up tables or anything (since I was tweaking so hard and I felt bad).
She told us the best time to come would be in the morning time or on the weekends– when there would be more ladies working. In a nutshell, this place reminds me of when I was younger and when I would drop LSD I was waiting for it to kick in– that weird, odd feeling your body gets when you are about to get launched in the unknown– you just want it over with already…
But hey, if you like cute Asian women and strong coffee, it’s worth a shot! There is even a rub n tug next door if you can’t enough (did I just say that!!!)!

The Asian Hooters…
Men will like this place…
Women will hate on this place…
Coffee, tea and smoothies are served, and the place is still coming together, but who cares? It ain’t the main attraction.
Come and enjoy the sights! :)