Café de Waraku

This café is a scam! We were passing by to eat tofu dessert next door, but we saw they have Durian cheese cake and Mousse can, so we decided to try after Tofu dessert !
When we walk in, we already just decided order 2 piece cake to share. We saw that if we order one drink & one cheese cake, it only take $ 10, instead of $ 8 per cheese cake and $ 5 per coffee. However, after we ordered 2 cheese cake & 2 coffee, the waiter wispered to my friend and said minium we need to have one order each person. Alright, then we think lets order one more combo (1 cheesecake + 1 coffee) to make it 6 item and $ 30 only.
Durian cheese cake is good. However, when we about to leave, the bill is $ 42 !! We said it should be count as combo. They said they count combo as 1 item !!! Also, on the buttom part of the menu, it only said Minimum $ 4 per person only, did not said minimum 1 order per person!!!
The way they do the business is really dishonest. Because we are super nice people, we just agree to pay for it! But we won’t go back anymore! Did not servce us water at all! They missing the basic service as well!!!
If you like cheese cake, go somewhere else, their cake is overprice as well!!!

Café de Waraku is located across from Aberdeen in Excel Plaza, beside Lido Restaurant. Parking is rather limited so I suggest you park in Aberdeen and walk over.
Their durian cheesecake is delicious! The cake is the perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours. The cheesecake is super creamy and melts in your mouth.
Service was pleasant. The server was very polite, and efficient. When I stood up to pay for my meal, he insisted that I sit down.
The only thing deterring me from returning are their prices. $ 8.50 for a cheesecake is really pricey, considering the location and portion size. I would rather go downtown to Thierry, Faubourg or Thomas Haas for my cake fix.

I went to Waraku with a friend who had the $ 35 Groupon deal. The service was okay, but the food was mediocre and some dishes were clearly not fresh. Like Klaud said, Waraku imposes a 15% gratuity fee, not only on the Groupon deal but all other orders as well. Further, the gratuity is calculated on the original price ($ 80), so it comes down to $ 12, a significant fee I feel that should be made explicit in the Groupon. Buyers beware.

I’ve always wanted to try this restaurant, and was ecstatic when I saw a Groupon for this little café. But to my disappointment, the dishes were made from frozen food from Costco, and the serving size was very small. The pasta we ordered had a heavy foul fishy smell that overpowered the cream sauce; our group could not take more than one bite. After inquiring the chef/​manager about this dish, he had verified that they made this dish from canned seafood ingredients and sounded rather proud of it. Although we voiced our dissatisfaction with the dish, he did not show his apologies nor did he try to compensate us in any way.
As another Unilocaler has explained, you are automatically charged 15% gratuity on the ORIGINAL price if you use a Groupon. I came here with a $ 35 Groupon and was charged $ 12 in gratuities for the Groupon. However, we ordered other dishes on the side as well, and were charged 15% for that, too. I asked the manager whether they charge 15% on all food and drinks, or if it was only the Groupon, and he said they put the 15% gratuity charge on all food menus.
I would need another Unilocaler to verify if they do charge 15% gratuity for all food menus, since I will definitely not be going back to find out myself.

Came here with the fam with a groupon. After reading reviews, I realized the restaurant caters more to the dessert crowd. I should’ve done my research!
WARNING: they automatically charge you 15% gratuity because of the groupon deal. I wasn’t expecting this and thought it was a pretty lame rule. HOWEVER, the service from the server was impeccable. He deserved the 15%. Can’t say they’re all like that though.
We ordered chicken wings and potato skins for appies. Nothing special. Tasted like it was from frozen. The two oven pizzas were also nothing special. Although my parents liked the smoked salmon one. Now to the worse part of the meal, pasta! Chicken ravioli and cheese tortellini were by far the biggest disappointment. Again i should’ve known. Bland, not enough sauce and you know the pasta was bought from Costco. Good thing is we all left full but quite disappointed. I can’t comment on the dessert but you can read other reviews on that.

the cookies and crème cake and durian mousse cake were really good!
the cookies and crème cake tasted more like chocolate cheesecake, but was rich and really good!

Stumbled across this place after a trip to the tofu shop next door… the «home-​made durian cake» sign on the door caught my eye. (I love that stinky fruit.)
I ordered a Durian Mousse cake and my gf had the Cookies & Cream cheesecake. The durian cake was amazing, fittingly light and had the right amount of flavor without being overpowering… If they had a whole cake I’ve no doubt I would’ve destroyed it. The cookies and cream tasted more like chocolate cheesecake, was very rich, but not too sweet… even my gf who doesn’t like cheesecakes thought it was really good.
Reading the other reviews I’m not sure I’d be down to try the food, but the desserts are definitely worth the trip… I’ll be back to try more for sure.

The quality of the food will depend on what you order. I ordered a cream mushroom omurice, which is essentially fried rice wrapped in an egg omelette. The sauce was too watery for my liking, but the overall taste was good. Some of the mushrooms had a strange taste and were a little bitter inside. I studied for maybe 2 – 3 more hours and then ordered the a pesto pasta. The sauce was absolutely delicious. This completely made up for the mediocre food I had earlier. I didn’t try the dessert but I heard it’s delicious so I’ll definitely be back to try.
This is probably one of my favorite places to study. It’s quiet, secluded, and the lighting is perfect for reading. The service was really good too!

Friends wanted to come here for the pseudo yōshoku cuisine. It was ok but not great. The café was utterly empty when we came in on a friday night at 8:30pm. Not a good sign in Richmond. Server wasn’t very good at communicating or selling the menu. Food came out in a staggered pace. Our group was relatively large. By the time the last people got their dishes, the first people had already finished eating.
I think this location is just bad for a café restaurant. Its too small and hidden. When we left, the restaurant was empty again. I would rather have gone upstairs to Ninkazu Sushi.

Café de Waraku is an often overlooked dessert place in Richmond sandwiched between Aberdeen Centre and Parker Place Mall — crossroads at Browngate Road /​Hazelbridge Way. This quaint little café offers some of the smoothest and most delicious cheesecakes around. I used to go to Yavis Club Cheesecake then I moved onto the cheesecake at The Market (Jean-​Georges) — but alas it is no longer offered… Then one day I discovered Waraku and there was no turning back.

This little café offers an array of selections, from original cheesecake to mousse cheesecake, to coffee, milk tea, matcha latte, soon to come cookies, and Japanese /​Italian fusion pasta. Today’s post will specifically focus on the dessert!
Cuisine: Japanese, Desserts, Italian Fusion, Cheesecakes
Price/​Entrée: $less than 10
Out of 5… (1: Don’t bother — 5: Excellent)
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Rose Cheesecake

Most delicious cake of the night. Baked in original New York cheesecake method, this cake is rich, creamy but also light at the same time. Rose flavour was intense and aromatic! Sister to the Lavender Cheesecake that also runs out quickly. Also a must try if you are lucky.
Original New York
Crowd pleaser dessert. Simplicity at its best. Everyone was basically picking at this one throughout the entire seating.
Sesame Cheesecake
Rich in sesame flavour layered in between sponge cake. The center is light like mousse cake. This one would definitely stand out more if it was done like an Original New York Cheesecake.
Lavender Cheesecake
OMG! How I heart this cake! As mentioned before this baby is not always available and sells out fast. Lavender floral flavour is intense and deliciously fragrant not only to your taste buds but also with every breath.
Bailey’s Cheesecake **New**
I had high hopes for this one since I really love Bailey’s but unfortunately there was lack of flavour. I hope this cheesecake was just having one of those days that it doesn’t feel like «drinking» and that next time the flavour would be more intense. Aside of this, the cheesecake is more of a mousse cake than a cheesecake — light sponge like and creamy.
Hazelnut Cheesecake
Rich in hazelnut flavour and again smooth and creamy mousse cake
Tiramisu Cheesecake
I have mixed sentiments about this cake — it was good but it lacked the «tiramisu» flavour. It tasted more like a coffee cake than any. Perhaps it was missing some mascarpone cheese or the chef went heavy on coffee instead of rum.
Milk Tea
Iced Matcha Latte
Rich and creamy and full of Matcha. delish!
Hot Chocolate
Like a big bowl of soup this hot coco is chocolatey but not overly sweet.
Café de Waraku also serves Japanese and Italian fusion pasta dishes… Be sure to come back for a different experience! or cater to your party!

My workers were craving for dessert, that’s why we came back for lunch and dessert.
Spaghetti fairly ok.
We found the cakes a bit disappointed, probably was different than we expected.
Japanese style black sesame cheese cake — was soft and tasty.
Japanese style tofu cheese cake — taste so light but smooth.
Tiramisu — just ok.