Powderface Cafe 2

Powderface in San Jose: Random find on my part. The husband and I came here after a great pizza at Pizza Antica and a bad experience at Kara’s Cupcakes at Santana Row.
I wanted dessert and to try something new. The place is rather close to my home so we stopped by at about 6:30pm on Sunday (+1 STAR because they were still open that late on Sunday) I knew I wanted beignets and was overjoyed to find that they were made to order.
These crispy little doughy pillow of love was just perfect for the night. I am a huge fan and will definitely be back.
Customer service: pretty much non existent. There was no, «Hello,» «Welcome» or «Thank you,» so minus one STAR for that. The beignets make up for the lack of customer service. I was also a bit confused by the décor but enjoyed the variety it brought… there were some high tables (classy boutique style) then there were long tables (more like Italian family style) then there were couches and coffee tables which I thought added a cute setting for a couple. There were people at each little setting. The place was pretty busy for a Sunday night. Must try the passion fruit tea with all of the fruit in it!!! One of the best drinks EVER!!!
Highly recommended.
MANAGEMENT HAS CHANGED, SO HAS THE NAME AND ALL THAT JAZZ AND THE PASSION TEA IS STILL REALLY GOOD BUT THERE IS SOMETHING LACKING IN BEIGNETS! Sorry folks!

YEP, you sure do get a powder face after a few Beignets…
I had been craving Beignets for a while, and unfortunately the selection of places that offer them in San Jose are very slim. Luckily, Powderface is good enough to get your fix. I just wish the Vietnamese Iced Coffee I ordered was less bitter because it would compliment the Beignets so well if it was just a bit sweeter. Maybe next time I could just get some Beignets to go and then pick up some iced coffee elsewhere.

I love the coffee here as they give me a very strong boost. One thing that I like is that they put in the effort to create an art on top of the foam and it looks pretty nice. We ordered 3 cups and got 3 different drawings… ;-)
The only that I don’t like is the BAD smell on my cloth after seating here for about an hour.

I’ve definitely had better beignets and this place is totally over-​priced! Three small beignets for $ 3.75 before tax… wow and the size of the beignets are tiny. I like the décor of the store and the ambiance, but the service here isn’t the greatest. The cashier was quite rude and had the rudest tone when she took my order. She doesn’t smile and sounded quite annoyed when she took my order. The place can definitely work on their customer service! The beignets tasted average and nothing more. A lot of Unilocalers and friends recommended this place to me, but I was honestly very disappointed and will never come back.
If I could, I would have gave this business no stars, but Unilocal is way to generous making one star the minimum rating. Shitty service and average beignets… definitely over-​rated!

Powderface is a must if you are looking for freshly-​made beignets in a very Parisian environment.
I have been to Powderface three times, and each time I never get tired of watching the employees make the beignets behind a glass window. When they come out, they are HOT, so be careful when picking them up to take a bite. They are covered with mounds of powdered sugar and are super fun to eat. My friends and I had a hell of a time trying to eat without making a mess all over our faces.
I have to take off 1 star because the prices could definitely be better, since they are making a huge profit of something that is just made of sugar and dough, but hey if it sells, then good for them. Their other crêpe and drink items are not much cheaper.

I haven’t had beignets since 2001 in NOLA. I saw this place as I was leaving the Nail salon (THEY SUCK!) a few doors down. I wanted to drown my bad experience from the nail salon in food! I ordered beignets and asked the worker for their strongest coffee. He said that it was their HOT VIETNAMESE coffee. I asked them not to put too much condensed milk. He said that it was already mixed so he couldn’t control the amount. When I came by to pick up my order, I received a thick sludgy coffee that was on ice. WHAT THE HECK!!! It was like drinking a milkshake. GEEZ !! ONCE AGAIN!!! SUB-​PAR in this part of town!!! I MISS NEW ORLEANS!
The Plus: Free WI-​FI and the staff was nice! The beignets were standard. If you have the chance, go to CAFÉ Du MONDÉ in NOLA !!

Finally a beignets place in San Jose. Now I do not have to make them myself when I crave for some. I am glad they open this place at a convenient location where everything is really close by. I have to say they have good customer service and cool ambiance. Very casual and relaxing. I also like the French music in the background. Would come back here if I am around the area.

The décor looks great and welcoming, but the staff is cold and unfriendly. The lady behind the counter looks like she’d rather be on her laptop than to help us, we, being the only customers inside.
Usually, in cafes, there are people sipping on coffee, reading the paper, or crunching on their laptops all while there’s background music going on in the background to make the place inviting. Here, it’s empty, quiet, cold, and without personality.
Price wise, for a place that specializes in Beignets, you’d think, you’re getting great Beignets or Beignets at a good price, but it is neither. You’re paying nearly $ 4 for 3 pieces of Beignets.
My recommendations:
have your employees enroll in some type of customer service or hire someone that’s worked at Safeway or something
Put some light background music
lower your prices some
make the place more inviting
maybe have some type of special time to time

Some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced for a café type restaurant… or maybe just about anywhere… here. I’ve never been so thoroughly ignored and then given such attitude.
Being curt but efficient is one thing. The service I experienced here was something else entirely.
Walked in one evening and it was mostly empty. My friend and I were lured in by the beignet sign on a very cold night. There was only one other pair in the whole café, looking over a tablet together.
We walked up to the counter and the server was cleaning and setting the tables.
No acknowledgement or anything.
We wait. At least 2 minutes. Still no acknowledgement. The tables that could obviously have waited were getting more attention. The man in the kitchen comes out to talk to the girl and neither of them acknowledge us. At least a good 4 awkward minutes of standing there at the counter.
After she finishes setting all of the tables and making sure all of the flowers are perfectly arranged, the server finally wanders up to the counter and takes our order with such attitude like she wished we’d just left. It took a while for the deep fried dough balls to come out.
Only 2 stars because the beignets were decent fried dough balls.
But with that service, I won’t be back. It’s really obvious they don’t want my business, and so I’ll be certain to take it elsewhere as a result.
Meh. It fouled an otherwise lovely evening.

I didn’t realize I would be meeting The Housewives of Little Saigon when I decided to come here for my afternoon coffee. It was so loud and annoying. Now onto their coffee and beignets.
$ 4 for Vietnamese Iced Coffee is a little steep, but at least it was strong and pleasantly sweet.
The beignets were a failure. They don’t resemble beignets at all. They tasted more like Chinese donuts with powdered sugar to me. They were crispy on the outside, but they were really dense. Beignets are supposed to be light and fluffy! It also took them way too long to cook. I’m sure beignets do not take 15 mins to fry in the deep fryer. I also noticed people were getting their beignets and they came in after I did! My BF had to go to them several times to ask about our order.
I definitely didn’t have such a nice experience here. Unless you like heavy fried pieces of bread as beignets and chilling with housewives, I wouldn’t recommend coming here.

Having never been to New Orleans/​The South, my experiences with true beignets is somewhat limited. Of the times I’ve had them, I’m pretty sure they haven’t always been truly authentic. After all, I don’t think «fluffy doughnut hole sprinkled with powdered sugar» is likely to show up on the beignet Wikipedia page. However, if Powderface’s beignet is at least a decent offering, then I could potentially like the real deal quite a bit. I mean, what’s not to like about a sweet, fried dessert?
Stopping in with friends, we decided to share an order of each flavor: powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, caramel, and chocolate. Of the bunch, I thought the cinnamon sugar was the best — you get enough sweetness while still being able to taste the beignet. The chocolate one wasn’t bad either, but the caramel was too sweet for my liking. As for the «traditional» variety, it was okay, just that there was a ridiculous amount of powdered sugar. Seriously, about a third of it ended up on either our faces or our clothes (although, the latter was somewhat intentional…). I agree with what other Unilocalers have mentioned though — the dough seems a little dense and doughy for something that is supposed to be light and fluffy.
On the flip side, I didn’t have the same issues with the service as others did. The guy at the front counter seemed pretty nice, and the guava smoothie he made me was pretty decent. And while the beignets did come out a little slower than I would have imagined (considering it’s the only thing they make), it’s hard to get too mad since they’re essentially being made to order. Given my small basis for comparison, it’s hard to say how Powderface compares to true beignets. On their own, they’re okay, but they don’t separate themselves from other beignets I’ve had. I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back, just that now I want to explore other places.

I had the powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar beignets here.
They are made to order and you can actually watch them make yours if you’d like. I wish the beignets weren’t so dense on the inside and so crunchy on the outside.
On the brighter side, they have a pretty big coffee and drink menu, so I’ll try that next time I am in town!

Having never been to NOLA, I’ve never had the opportunity to have beignets. Since I was at Crawdaddy next door, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try some on my way home. Since I had a pretty heavy meal, I wanted to get some beignets and a light drink. I asked if they had unsweetened iced tea and they said they didn’t. As Scooby Doo says, Ruuuhh? BUT, they did have iced green tea, a beverage not on their big board on the wall. Not wanting to nitpick further, I went with that. $ 6.75 for my drink and beignets.
The beignets were freshly made as I saw the guy rolling them in flour after we ordered. Nice!!! And when they got to us freshly hot, with powdered sugar on top, it was quite the scent awakening experience! It tasted like a freshly deep fried donut but lighter and crispier. There is an option to add syrup to the top but since it was my first time, I went with the standard powdered sugar topping.
The inside is very spacious with tall ceilings and windows that make it look inviting from the outside and the music jamming from the speakers were hand selected by the guys running the shop. The night I went was a nice melody of Lady Gaga mash ups and top 40 remixes.
3.5 STARS for my first time with possibilities if they add more to their drink and food menu options.

I adore the name of this place. So cute. Love the idea of hanging up photos of customers getting messy with their beignets!
While the beignets had a nice exterior crisp, I felt the dough was a little too thick on the inside and it lacked fluffiness. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t great either. Guess I’ve been spoiled with the original beignets in New Orleans’s Café du Monde!
Still, I wouldn’t mind coming back here. It’d make a good hang-​out place anytime of the day.
Expect to get your hands dirty here!

I was on my way with the family to Grand Century on Sunday and saw this on the way and the moment I saw the word «beignets» I KNEW I had to come here sometime the same week. I’ve only had beignets a couple of times and the best place is at a restaurant in Berkeley so I was really excited when this place opened up since it’s much, much closer.
The moment my boyfriend and I walked in we were greeted instantly. We each got an order of beignets (3 per order) for $ 3.50 each order. It would be a 15 minute wait they said which was totally fine since I really wanted my sugar! I also asked if they could give my order extra powdered sugar and they did.
I LOVED MY BEIGNETS! Those fluffy pillows of yummy goodness that are covered in powdered sugar! How can I not love them?! The beignets were delicious, not over-​fried, not dry and tasted quite like dau chau quay, this asian type bread that I often eat with porridge or soup. Considering how much I love sugar, I took my boyfriend’s leftover powdered sugar added it with my leftover sugar and took it to the car. Spoonful of powdered sugar for me? I was bouncing off walls from being so sugar high. YUM! I’ve already planned to make another trip with some friends for next week! Excited!

I’ve never been to New Orleans or anywhere in the South so I guess I am not the best gauge of what good beignets are supposed to taste like, but if it’s anything like the beignets I had at Powderface I’m not impressed. The only other beignets I’ve had were at Brenda’s French Soul Food in SF and those were a gazillion times better. Powderface’s version was not very fluffy, more on the oily side, kinda small, and overloaded with powdered sugar. My husband’s Thai iced tea was so milky it was practically white. He had to take it back and ask them for another one with less milk (which they were pretty nice about doing).
I’m not sure how long Powderface has been open but it looks like it’s struggling. They don’t seem to have all the kinks worked out behind the counter yet and the place just seems hollow and empty even when several customers are in there. Beignets are a cute idea in theory (especially with a name like Powderface), but I’m not sure how long a place like this will last.

************************** 505 ****************************
I’ve been home a lot lately, my dad dragged me out and told me this beignets place is worth to check out. He saw it on Mercury News, and he was all excited! I said «dad, I don’t care for sweet stuff, savory only please!» I was reluctant to come here with my dad!
A typical café shop, spacious, clean, and new that also serves beignets beside latte and espresso for a change. Beignets are just fried dough then powdered in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla depend how you want it.
$ 3.50 for three big piece of beignets; chocolate, caramel or cinnamon is 95 cents additional. My dad ordered the regular beignets and I had a latte. The beignets were harder to bite on than we expected, it was a bit crunchy crust, but sit a for a bit, it became chewy! My parents and I, 3 of us, 1 each, I didn’t finish mine!
Although the latte was really good, much cheaper than Starbuck’s, and the service was excellent!
P. S. Do not wear dark clothes!!!

Good beignets are hard to come by on the West Coast. So far two out of the three beignet experiences had been a disappointment — Zibbibo (
) and Bookbindery (
). While the rest that we had at both restaurants were great, the beignet was the weakest link on both occasions.
Powderface Café, while cute, charming and spacious, unfortunately didn’t really wow me in the beignet department either. True, you can make all sorts of silly little faces with the abundant sugar, but it lacks the fluffiness and bounciness that a beignet should have. Otherwise, it’ll just be crispy little triangles overloaded with white powdery substance.
The nice proprietor and strong espresso (at 9PM) more than made up for it. Plus, it’s just nice having a place to settle the stomach after 2 lbs of fiery crawfish from the nearby Crawdaddy (
).

Pretty chill spot with tasty food. Granted I don’t have other experiences with beignets, but it is a pretty good snack to share with some coffee.
The beignets were fresh with ample powdered sugar. I have had their Mexican spice mocha, white mocha, and their thai ice tea and all were good. My favorite was the Mexican spice mocha though. Rich and tasty and something you can’t get from Starbucks.
You order from the counter, they have a fairly simple menu. Then you go find a place to sit and they bring you your order when it’s ready. They do take the time to make your coffee and experience a good one.
What I think makes me keep coming back here though is the atmosphere. Never feels too busy or crowded. It is chill spot with lots of natural lighting and high ceiling which makes it feel more open. Makes it easy to hang out with friends and have conversation with some coffee and beignets.
Make sure where you park though, the parking right in front has spots that say for 20 or 30 minutes and even though I have parked there for longer periods of time, I am not sure if anyone has gotten ticketed or anything.

I really wanted to love Powderface Café 2, but ended up just liking it. It’s a great concept and it’s definitely a one-​of-​a-​kind in this San Jose area. I came in on a weeknight around 7pm so there was no traffic. The menu is straightforward: beignets with various topping options. We opted for the basic: beignets with powdered sugar and beignets with powdered sugar AND chocolate sauce. The staff was very gracious — in taking our order and allowing me to take pictures of the process.
Final verdict: The beignets looked quite tasty, but the wow factor was missing for me.
Additional tip: cash only.