Murata’s Cafe Hana

Back many many years ago, I went to this same store and got a green tea latte from the business at where Murata’s Café Hana is now. I’m not sure if Unilocal was around back then, but since I was nearby, I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and get another green tea latte. The draw of why I liked that green tea latte was that it wasn’t powder based (Starbucks) but it was from a green tea syrup that was slightly sweet and not a sugar bomb.
After I ordered the same drink again, I took a sip and it did trigger some familiar tastes and memories from my past… but perhaps I’ve changed in that I felt it lacked sweetness or that the tea taste fell a little short.
If I ever did come back to Japantown and came into this café to order a drink, I most likely won’t order the green tea latte again as the drink has either changed or my taste in tea latte drinks has.

After all these years of coming to Japantown, I can now say with confidence that if you’re hungry for a snack, either walk 10 feet to May’s coffee shop or pick something up from Nijiya market.
I knew that ordering takoyaki was a bad idea. One, because it was hot. And two, because it shouldn’t normally take this long. I kept standing up to go check because it had been 30 minutes. I gave them the benefit of the doubt because I saw worn in takoyaki pans so I thought ok maybe they’re actually made from scratch. When I went to check if my food had even been done, to my «big» surprise, they hadn’t even started making them. Keep in mind that making them involved microwaving three and then humoring people nearby by putting them into the takoyaki pan. At this point, I should have just said forget it and took something that was already prepared but I still have no idea why I didn’t. But yes, I take takoyaki seriously.
Long story short, take my word and go to May’s.

Takoyaki was really bad. It also upset the stomach of my friends. I would not recommend this place

This small café in the food court serves sandwiches, pastries, some hot food and beverages. They also have 6 takoyaki for $ 5, but it looked kind of mushy.
Not much on the menu interests me, so I’ve only ever tried the Uji Ogura — green tea slush & green tea ice cream with sweet red beans & whipped cream, which I assume was previously known as the Geisha Float.
This comes in a pretty large plastic cup with a tapioca straw and a plastic spoon to scoop up the ice cream and red beans. I didn’t need the whipped cream. It is so simple, yet delicious, cooling, sweet, but not too sweet, and refreshing all at the same time. Perfect for when you’re having a bad day and don’t want to share your dessert. I mean I guess you could share if you really want to. It is, however, too pricey to consume on the regular. I consider it more of a snack to indulge in once in a while.

As a japantown regular, this cat often finds that he can use something quick as a snack, or a drink and some place to just relax for a bit. Café Hana ended up becoming such a place for me I am happy to say!
I first came to this place when I needed an iced coffee badly, and the menu proved to have just what I was looking for. Over the months I’ve also tried their takoyaki which is always served hot and fresh which is a great quick snack, and the smoothies they have here are so refreshing.
The people who work here are very nice and friendly and I always enjoy finding my way back here for something quick.
Weekends gets busy and often it is hard to find seating in the outside area, but luckily their stuff is quite to go friendly.
Prices are good, everything I’ve had here is quite good, I recommend and will continue coming back!
*chirp!*

Over charge for basic food. The takoyaki is not fresh, they were already made and the server just heated them up for us. The Italian soda floats have no flavor and cost 4.50. Not my go to option in Japan town

Since their takoyaki is the only item on the menu that I’ve tried, this review will be based on it.
I’m a huge fan of takoyaki and I’m really happy that they’re trying to promote the dish! However, in terms of taste, it’s clearly frozen and I think I know what frozen takoyaki brand they use. It’s something you can buy at Nijiya or any Japanese market at $ 5 for 12 frozen pieces.
It’s funny how they use actual takoyaki grills to heat the balls. lol
It’s a bummer how they don’t make the takoyaki like how they’re made Japan (using mixture, beni shouga, etc.) but, it’s better than nothing!

I ordered the octopus ball things I already forgot what they are called in Japanese. Well I came here with my friend and we got the octopus balls which I did not really like. It was very doughy and came with a little piece of octopus. My friend who has had this before in Japan said this was a great disappointment and that it was freshly made either so she was not impressed. Well we did not try anything else or go into the café since the octopus stand was outside but connected to their business. They only accept cash but in the café they accept card. It was soft $ 5 for 6 octopus balls.

Stopped by here for a quick breakfast, they have a Morning special ($ 5.20) croissant sandwich and 12 Oz coffee. The coffee tasted like water and the sandwich wasn’t very good.

The uyi uguro was good. Weird enough to be interesting, good enough to buy again.

The teas here are hit or miss. I got a very good matcha latte one time, and the next time it was too sweet without much matcha flavors.
They carry some good Japanese pastries, and freshly made takoyaki for $ 5.
I wish they’d bring back the green tea mille crêpe because it’s just hard to find in sf, even though it’s not the best compared to what I had from fancy nyc bakeries.

There are tons of dessert/​coffee shops in Japantown and this one doesn’t seem any more special than the others.
They have the coffees, ice cream, dessert, etc and takoyaki. For $ 5 you get 6 takoyaki balls which contain a little octopus inside which I thought was cute the first time I had it.
The green tea ice cream here is decent, tastes like green tea, just as expected.
There’s plenty of pastries located in the display case which all seem delicious. There are many different types of cake slices.
The service here is fast which is nice since it’s a small place and there’s always a lot of people in line so it gets quite crowded.

The vegan in me rejoiced when I saw on their board that all smoothies are dairy-​free and blended with ice. Woooot!
So I got myself a nice pineapple-​peach smoothie, seaweed and ume onigiri to noms! The smoothie is blended with real fruit and tasted excatly how I imagined the fruits to taste. The onigiris however were a bit unusual, they were extra, extra hot! I don’t know… but I usually like my seaweed crispy and well, these were being steamed by the hot rice. Otherwise, the onigiris were pretty tasty snacks. There is a bit of a wait for hot foods so you have been warned!

Murata is a pretty neat dessert place in Japantown.
You’ll find all sorts of fruit smoothies, espresso drinks, (milk) teas, bobas, ice cream, and even hot food there (ham & cheese sandwich). Pretty good selection of mochi cakes and desserts — if you’re a fan then this is definitely your place.
Seating can be found outside the shop in the mall.

Time: 5:03pm/66°F partly sunny
Purpose: I vaguely remember this experience here as I’m coming of a draft a while back. Oh wait that’s right I was here to check out Chocolate Chair nearby.
Ambiance: No seating in/​out strictly a to go place. However you can grab one of the seats in front of shop. Inside feels very cheesy with decorations that of a Japanese ramen place. Some of the items on displays looks so real to eat but not edible at all. One cake display rotating around with various assorted desserts. Set up is kind of weird as you order in the center of counter but pay on your left. Say that you forget a drink from self service fridge or a piece of dessert you’ll need to start the process all over again.
Staff: Asian couple speaking Cantonese around their early 30s. Not too friendly however if you’re known to them or work close by they’ll kiss your a** just to be known that they watch out for you. I stood there a good 3 minutes no greeting or asking me to wait a second. Tell me that you’re busy at the moment would make a world of a difference, showing you know I was there. I’m not invisible at least to my knowledge. No enthusiasm at all what looks to be that, I don’t care how you feel look.
Cleanliness: Grade B+, it’s clean on the customer side behind the counter I don’t know can’t elaborate on that. It’s clean because most items are package or made in advance storing in fridge.
Eats/​Drinks: Black sesame mochi $ 2 and a red bean green tea dessert cup $ 4.20. The mochi is really one of those that can be had at any Japanese grocery or café. Sometimes eating not so fresh mochi is not always a good idea. The powder sugar tasted like cornstarch meaning it has thaw and it’s consistency is gone. Never had semi hard mochi as this one leaves the teeth indentations on a bite and it doesn’t recoil back. The matcha green tea cup was overly too sweet for my taste. It has the matcha taste but really all powder version mixed in with plain gelatin. They even ask if I wanted wipe cream on top before applyingvtje dome shape lid. Maybe to offset something hidden within. Out of the whole cup I just like the red bean paste, that’s real fiber.
Products/​Services: Egglet, cheesecake, sponge cake, assorted dessert cups, mochi, fruit tarts/​rolls, chocolate drizzle berries, cold/​hot drinks, shaved ice, breakfast/​lunch sandos, soup noodles, fish ball, cakes, slices, chips.
Punch Lines: Share business level, no seating, not too friendly, not knowledgeable on products, most item premade, not good for diabetic, moderately price, not all authentic. Japantown, ramen places, specialty shops, auto accessories shop, home furnishings, animé shop, martial art shop, book shop, cafes/​restaurants, make up/​beauty shop, sushi, jewelry shop, gift/​stationary shop.
Tradeoffs: Not all that Japanese here! Call it world dessert instead. You’ll reap more benefits from a shop that makes real dessert. There’s simply nothing worth while here.
Final Thoughts: I will have to label it under 3 stars and no more. Attitude simply wasn’t inviting to warrant another visit to try it again. Between the lady and guy it looks although they are trying to aim for an high end shop but simply, uses the most basic set up and ingredients to pass it off. Hey, look on the bright side! What works for me may not work for you different person with different taste.

Smack dab right in the middle of San Francisco’s Japan Town. This is a great place for dessert if you’re in Japantown.
Is it the best place for dessert in Japan Town? Maybe. Maybe not. What’s for certain is that it’s pretty damn good. The mochi tastes fresh and their drinks are refreshing especially the green ice ice cream. Mmmmm.
If you’re in a rush this is the place to get a quick dessert with a good quality taste overall.
Thumbs up.

Came here hoping to try their green tea crêpe cake, but they were out.
I was able to try their black sesame dessert. It was so decadent and creamy. 100x better than the instant sesame pudding I made at home from a package. If you like sesame dishes this can’t be missed.
They have other items like ice cream, coffee, and even takoyaki.

This is my go-​to shop for morning coffee when I have to go SF early in a day.
Located right at the entrance of Japan Center West Mall, you can’t miss this place. They offer a lot of Japanese goodies snacks such as takoyaki and different cakes; they also have curry rice, karaage, gyoza and stuff. Seats are located right outside the place.
I usually get their latte just for the caffeine purpose. It’s really not impressive at all. I still haven’t had a chance to try their food yet, but I won’t recommend getting any drinks here. Tried their green tea latte before as well, and it’s just a lot of sweetness…
In terms of staff and service, I have seen one or two being very polite with great attitude but most of the others are kind of rude…
I don’t think I will stop going this place because of its location convenience; but not somewhere impressive that makes me wanna come back.

I come here for one thing, and one thing only, their coffee jello.
I’ve tried something different once, a green tea mousse, which was good, but I love their coffee jello.
Hence, be warned that the 5 stars is for their coffee jello.
I had this dessert in Japan, and am happy that I can find it here now.
When I’m old and my loved ones decide to put me in a retirement home, where they only serve jello and slushy food.
I’ll forgive them, as long as it’s coffee jello.

Simple shop in Japantown central mall!
$ 5 for takoyaki that comes in 6 — not bad at all. It’s like a food stand, but in a café setting. It was freshly made and there are seats to dine outside the corner shop.
They offer pastries and desserts, but I feel like the main attraction was their takoyaki stand.
Good place as a rest stop or for a leisurely walk in for some light munchies.