I don’t think a lot of people in Richmond know about this
place called “Cafe de Waraku” but this restaurant has been open for quite some
time now. They specialize in Japanese inspired pasta dishes and desserts.
This little restaurant is located inside the strip mall that
is between Parker Place and Aberdeen, next to Lido Restaurant.
When Meta Knight and I stepped in, we instantly noticed the
emptiness of the restaurant. I think we were one of three tables dining but
this was during peak dinner time. :(
If you want to find a new restaurant to eat dessert, you
should try this place out because they offer many varieties of cheesecake,
panna cottas, and other kind of desserts.
They also have... DURIAN CHEESECAKE!! I tried it once before
and it was amazing! It was full bodied, delicious and fragrant. Mmm... :D
They also have a wonderful display case to showcase their
goodies and to knock down any willpower you have of trying to eat healthier.
The Crab and Fresh
Tomato Spaghetti ($9.49) consisted of a creamy rose type of sauce and it
was more sweet than savoury which was weird. There were chunks of fresh tomato
(as indicated in the title) and acceptable amounts of real crab meat. Fresh or
canned, on the other hand, is questionable.
I thought it tasted pretty delicious but it didn’t blow my mind.
Also, I can’t help but to compare this pasta dish to the Asian pastas at “Bistro
The Home” (now closed). If I had to choose, it would be Bistro hands down.
Meta Knight ordered the Deluxe
Meat Sauce ($8.99) because he just wanted the dish with the most meat. His
meat varieties include sausage, bacon, and meatballs.
He didn’t enjoy the meatballs and I thought the sauce tasted
too much like it came from a can. Meta Knight also was a little sad from the
small portion size as it didn’t fill his man-belly up.
We ordered the Caramel
Apple Cheesecake ($7.00) for dessert and luckily, this saved the entire
dinner. The cheesecake was quite large and there were copious amounts of apple
chunks within the cheesecake. The caramel icing on the top made the entire
thing taste EXACTLY like caramel apple! The price is a bit steep for a slice
but you know what, I wouldn’t mind just coming here for dessert and drinks from
time to time.
All in all, I wouldn't rule this restaurant out completely because some of their pastas (if you know which ones to get) are pretty good and they clearly know what they are doing for desserts. I say, if you are in the mood for some fancy cheesecake or if you are just a cheesecake lover in general, then give Cafe de Waraku a try.
Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $$
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
Came here once when it first opened. The food was tasteless and the waiter said it was because they cook "healthy" with no MSG, minimal oil and condiments and all that. But I didn't think that was a good excuse for crappy food. If I wanted healthy and bad-tasting food, I could boil pasta and veggies in water at home. I also tried the panna cotta which was bad as well. It was just a very solid pudding without much flavour.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear your cheesecake was good, but $7 is waaaay too expensive for that sort of presentation, portion size and the restaurant's cafe-like ambiance.
Haha you finally came here after talking about it for quite some time!
ReplyDeleteCaramel apple sounds interesting as a cheesecake flavour, but I agree with Krispy. I think Berry Good or even Yavis may be cheaper....?
I agree it's super expensive :( but then the caramel apple cheesecake was just so gooood! I don't find yavis club to be that good and berry good has really small portions :(
ReplyDeleteThe spaghetti I can pass on next time because it really wasn't that good enough to justify the price. :P