This place did have a cute little theme going like walking into a small town. They have the service buttons at the table to call for someone to order or what not. I just had the regular milk tea with pearls. I enjoyed their tea since you can taste the freshness of it and wasn't made with powder mix. Others had taro shake and or crepes. My drink was good and everyone else seemed to enjoy their orders. Service was good and friendly. Cash Only. read more

Admittedly, I came here to try the Hello Kitty mango pudding. It was not the best mango pudding I've had but it was more of a novelty to have it Hello Kitty shaped. My boyfriend tried the egg puffs which I enjoyed more than the mango pudding. What's different about Dessert Republic is that they have service buttons. After pressing the button, sometimes someone would come and other times they'd take notice of the sound and ignore it for awhile. It was somewhat busy at the time so it was kind of understandable. But then again, if you're going to ignore the sound then there's no need for the service buttons. Dessert Republic has room for improvement. Their desserts didn't stand out to me so I won't be rushing back. read more

I came here because I yelped desserts and this place had very cool looking pics! I wanted to originally get the dessert that looks like ramen but said nevermind since it ended up being like $15.. I ended up getting the sesame egg white pudding, since the picture on the menu showed it as having a little star in the middle!! But when I got it there was no little star so I was disappointed. The dessert was very sweet and eggy though -- good, but definitely a dense dessert that you should not order this if you are very full!! My BF ordered an almond milk tea which had SO MUCH ICE and not a lot of drink. Also the drink was super super sweet and kind of powdery and therefore not excellent. The vibe was very cool though!! Definitely a bustling and lively atmosphere. I noticed people of all ages too!! Young teenagers to the elderly.. read more

Nice Asian dessert spot that has a funny/cool outdoor feel to it inside. Has a variety of things on the menu - egg custards, mango puddings, crepes, healthy hot options, fruits with some aloe, etc. I guess it also has a more savory menu but a place that is a republic of desserts, I'll stick with the sweet stuff. We went on a Tuesday night around 8:00pm, got a table right away but by the time we left it was packed. I got the mixed fruit mango bowl. It looked exactly like the picture (mango slush, some melon balls, watermelon balls, pieces of pineapple and mango, kiwi, with some aloe mixed around). It was refreshing and it was a healthy portion. Everything about the food and service was just ok. Nothing to complain or rave about. read more

Watermelon juice and eggettes are my weakness. Being that I have at least 5 friends that live in the San Mateo area now, it means I frequent this place a lot. And I adore canto foods. Cindy C. introduced me to this place, along with 2 random dudes she chatted up while we were there. Good ole Cindy C., what a good wing she is indeed. After movies this is a good place to visit. I especially love that they have the little service buzzers on every table. Service is fast and the food is great. read more

$8 for the nutella crepe they offer is ridiculous. Very subpar. Probably not their specialty though. Service and staff was really good though. read more

We had decent milk tea here before so we thought we'd try the desserts. We were seated, used the button on the "quick service" device. After awhile a waiter came by and implied we had used the device wrong and needed to hit the button again before he would come take our order. We found the menu unclear and the waiter was little help to explain what the items actually were and despite googling it we ended up with something we didn't expect. Overall it was a disappointment. read more

This place is AMAZING! All of the desserts were delicious & not overly sweet. Watermelon based aloe mixed fruits & the Tai Chi Sesame Paste was bomb. Will definitely come back the next time I'm in the area. Excellent service as well :) read more

Dessert Republic - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Solid spot for asian dessert. It's a bit difficult to find the entrance to this place as it's located in an alleyway but it's right next to a major parking structure. I like how they have a buzzer for service, water, bill etc, it really streamlines the server-customer communication. I got the mango egg pudding. It comes out hot! freshly steamed. It wasn't too sweet and the consistency came out well. However, it did feel a little dry. I had to keep asking for water to keep it from drying out. s read more

As much as I sincerely try to support local small businesses, I just can't rate this place any higher. Ordered the black sesame paste. It came out barely lukewarm, had a strange greenish tint, and tasted neither of sesame nor even sweet. UGH! Took 2 bites and gave up. Ended up horning in on my husband's fruit crepe, which was pretty decent and redeemed the rating somewhat. WOULD RECOMMEND WALKING OVER TO GOLDEN ISLAND OR QUICKLY INSTEAD. SIDE RANT: While this did not affect the rating but will stop me from ever returning, the owners were distributing a huge stack of pamphlets suggesting that my neighbors and I vote "Yes on Prop 8." WTF. Isn't it hypocritical for an establishment that caters primarily to one minority group to advocate the curbing of rights for another minority group?!? read more

What to say? I guess the decor is pretty nice since it makes the place look a lot bigger than it really is. Ordered the chocolate crepe, egg puff, and green wonder. Chocolate crepe was alright for the price. The egg puff was more puff and less egg so go to eggettes if you want some real ones. Green wonder was good as it had honeydew which I love and green tea ice cream on top. Kinda neat thing is the little bell for service or whatever which my friend totally was in awe of but the waiter was nice about it. I wouldn't recomment this place for a group larger than say 6 because they don't have many tables and mostly focused on smaller parties. read more

This place is great. I go here often with my husband and friends. It's a great place to get some interesting and yummy desserts and hang out with friends. The crepes are not as good as other places, like Sophies. But I like the egg puffs, egg puddings, hk style teas, fruit bowls, peanut butter and condensed milk toast, and the stars of milky way. There are several other desserts we've tried that we really like also. The service is good and the prices are reasonable. There's a parking garage right next door also. read more

Two months ago i came here with a few friends to try this place out since I've been to San Mateo so many times and seen this place everytime I park in that parking lot next to it. It was a Friday night and I just wanted dessert since I was tired of the same old dessert places in SF so i drove 20 minutes just for this place. The place was 2/3s empty and it was about one table taken and our table. the service was decent and they were somewhat nice but you dont really enjoy your stay i guess. I didn't really feel comfortable in tehere and the dessert wasnt too great. I got some HK eggette kinda thing and it was ALRIGHT. my friends got some fruity desserts and they they rather have it elsewhere in SF. after driving so far, i guess i expected more and they didnt meet my expectations. oh yeah, those banners about best restaurant or some crap, i see why there were years ago. the hype probably just died out read more

My favorite dessert place ever! I love their almond tea and full house crepe, everything is very fresh. And I would recommend to try their new dessert cheesecake undo!! read more

Dessert Republic - Cheesecake undo - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Awesome dessert place! Very created and tastes great! Great place to go with friends! First time here, it's around 8, not that much people but we had 7people so we waited a little. Must sign in! After we seated more and more people comes! Be prepare of waiting for fried stuff takes longer than other desserts. Overall was great! We all loved our food and later even got 2 more orders of Chicken Wings with fries togo! read more

See all

This spot is decent for desserts (never tried anything savory) but don't have high expectations. The crepes are standard, the HK style milk tea is good, the egg pudding is good (not very sweet but flavorful) and the egg puffs are just OK if you really crave some. I expect egg puffs to be less crispy and I should be able to hold them out with my finger and it should drape over; this one stays completely flat. Service can be slow but always friendly. read more

The Dessert Republic is a foreign country that doesn't require a passport. The place is as appealing, yet as disappointing, as the pretty quiet girl you always wanted to ask out -- it has that quirky, unique charm that is immediately attractive, but as you approach you are left standing in an awkward silence, not exactly knowing why you are there. It's a bit of your typical Asian business identity crisis - with both snacks, entrees, cold desserts, hot desserts, crepes, milk tea and tapioca drinks. I'm not sure what it is with Nor Cal's crepe fascination and it's oddly Asian ties... but I passed on that. I asked the woman for a recommendation and she recommended "Stars of the Milky Way" which was accompanied by a small color photo of 6 round dough balls on a rectangular plate. There was no description as to what these dough balls were made of. But, with a name as sexy and promisingly transporting as "Stars of the Milky Way," I decided to be adventurous and ordered it. When it was delivered, it turned out to be very warm rice cake balls dusted in mung bean powder, drizzled with chocolate and filled with black toasted sesame. It wasn't bad, but was very sweet. I joked and said the filling was squid ink. Not the sort of dessert that has the cravability factor of say ice cream or cookies, but not bad. Probably a great place if you had a seasoned tourguide. read more

Dessert Republic is a short walk from the Little Sheep hot pot place. It looks very casual but there was a line of at least 8 people waiting to be seated on a Sunday night so it must be good, right? Since I just stuffed myself silly at hot pot, I decided to order 2 beverages (1 for later, of course!) off of their exteeensive menu - a green milk tea with tapioca ($3) and a papaya milk ($4). Unfortunately, I must not know how to order because I was disappointed with both. I was expecting my green milk tea to be actual green tea with milk but it tasted like some artificial powder with a ton of sugar...imagine green tea ice cream melted, then add water and sugar to it. The tapioca was overcooked in general but some had hard centers still. And lastly, the papaya milk had a bitter aftertaste...I'm not really sure how to explain that one. A friend of mine ordered a red bean ice which sounded really good, but was also just average at best. I'll probably come back and try something else next time I'm in the area but this visit did not make me happy. This is actually a 2-star review but simply due to the fact that everyone else seems to love them, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and upgrade my rating to a 3, for now. read more

Snacks: They aite. If you're in the mood for a lighter dessert than the traditional Western cakes, pies and ice creams, and you're already in the area, stop on in. the menu isn't as creative as Shooting Star in oakland or Creations in SF, but it'll do. Try the egg puff with the black sesame egg pudding; they go well together. Service: They try, but it seems like all of the people working here are introverts. AND there's nothing wrong with that! BUT, extroverts - or at least those who project themselves to be - tend to be more effective in the service sector. Perhaps it's because they're more apt to communicating openly, without much hesitation. Whatever the case, I can't express to you how difficult it was to communicate that we wanted to pay the bill. I mean, we conspicuously walked up to register to after finishing our snacks, but for some reason, the guy behind the counter just froze and stared either at us or...into space. Yeah, like I said, I don't know what happened. I'm pretty sure the bill was handled. Again, this place isn't bad at all. I'll prolly come here again some day. read more

I never was a huge fan of asian dessert places, but I've got to say this place is one of the better ones I've tried. Their menu is never ending, so sometimes it's hard to choose. If all else fails, stick to their SUPER MANGO! Who doens't love mango chunks, mango ice cream and aloe pieces?? Also i've recently come to like their egg puffs. I hadn't eaten any since maybe middle school, but the other night my friend order it and it was delish!!! The consistency is unlike any other that I've tried. It's more on the crunchy side instead of doughy. So if you like crisper, you've got to try these...kind of reminds me of crepe batter :) MINUS ONE STAR because if you ask to substitute one ice cream flavor for another they charge 50cents, but it depends on who you ask! Apparently they've never done it to my other friends, but even worse, she gave my friend the wrong flavor and ended up dumping it in mines! WHO DOES THAT AND STILL CHARGES ME 50CENTS?!?! TIP: egg puffs take a little longer to make, so order them while you're still trying to figure out what to order from the 100+ other things on the menu. read more

I like the crepes in this place especially the strawberry, vanilla, and kiwi one. The drinks are so-so and the prices are higher than they should be. The decorations are great and the dun dan and dun lai are pretty good too. They have a big menu for a local small tapioca place. read more

This place is so fun just go to and sit with friends, sip tea, eat delicious crepes/egg puffs, and be warm after a movie. Its like a little piece of Hong Kong with the adorable painting/decor. There are many other Hong Kong style desserts to try as well which all look appetizing but I can never say no to banana crepe! The prices are reasonable, the service is fast, and they even have these little buttons on each table that you push when you want service. Its awesome. read more

I really want to give this place more stars, but maybe it was just the time that we went... it was Sat. morning, about 11 am. I was really craving a green tea w/pearls and my friend recommended DR. We walk up and they just opened. I ordered my tea, my friend ordered curried fish balls and a pineapple ice slushee thing. We waited and i thought the deco was cute. My tea came, it was eh. The pearls were way too hard. My friends order came and they were ok too... we waited and waited for the pineapple drink till finally I went to the counter and they said that they didn't have the pineapple drink! they didn't catch the order and they didn't charge me, but it was sort of annoying to be waiting and not asked if there was anything else we needed. I'm sure if the situation were different, like a late night after a movie my feelings would be different about this place. Oh, on the table they have these little panels that says to "press for water" "press for check" "press for table service" -- like, does it really matter?? when i want someone to come to my table, they should just come. whatever. read more

They were remodeling or closed the few other times that I wanted to try the place and there were other times where I was just too full from dinner to find the courage to venture in Dessert Republic. I finally got a chance to try this place after hitting up Izakaya Mai, & Sweet Breams. I made sure I controlled my portions throughout the night just to save room to try Dessert Republic. Boy am I glad I did! Decor-charming, cute, and very animated. There are paintings and fake building structures to make you feel like you're in HK. I love the buzzer on the table (5 buttons-service, water, bill, cancel, & order). We all took turns pressing a button and eagerly awaited a response each time. It was a thrilling experience LOL Service-friendly, fast, & responsive. Food: Peanut butter toast with condensed milk-mmMmmm Asian toast.......sweet peanut butter.......yummy condensed milk. We were so full but tempted to order more toast! Super mango-mango slush, mango ice cream, chunks of mango, and mango jelly = yum! There were some tart pieces, but I liked it because the sweetness of the other items in the dish balanced it out. lychee freeze- delish! iced milk tea-creamy, sweet, and enough tea flavor. It was good. mango & green tea ice cream-both flavors were good. egg pudding with sesame center-it was really cute because the sesame came in the shape of a star. The egg pudding was light and smooth. cold ovaltine-more ovaltine please!!!! :D **sign up for their free membership to receive their membership card that gives you 10% off your order. I can't wait to go back :D read more

Asian desserts are kind of new to me. Came here with a group of friends who suggested I get the Pink Lady. I was not disappointed! This dessert was so good! Sweet and cold, with many textures--creamy from the ice cream, slushy from the watermelon, chewy from the aloe jellies. The type of ice cream they use is delicious with strawberry chunks and fresh strawberries on top. It definitely satisfied my sweet tooth. They also bring everyone a cup of hot tea to begin as well. Just push the button on the table when you're ready to order, need the check, or want something else. read more

Hidden behind the parking lot near Cinemark theaters..this is a nice place to grab a quick asian snack... You have to love the "high-tech" order system... There is a device at your table that you push a button when you want "water, order, bill, etc." it rings an alarm at the counter and someone comes runnin'... not sure if this is cool or wierd...? Gotta love the Super Mango dessert, and the crepes are okay... As for the food... I will have to take another visit after a night at the movies... enough said... read more

I like their murals in the restaurant..its cool like a museum haha This place is small, and sometimes it feels like I am sitting too close to other people...as if I can eavesdrop in their conversations ;D Overall dessert was good..I order the a hot dessert and it was nothing too special. read more

We stopped by here after dinner last week. Egg pops were wonderful and we finished it even though we were full !!! The milk tea is exactly like Indian milk tea - I would love to come back for that. read more

See all

This place is authentic. They have all kinds of HK style desserts, snacks and cafe food. The milk tea, red bean pudding were very very good. Egg puffs were good too after I asked them to toast it a little longer than they usually do. My friend tried their pork chop over rice and said that it was only average and not as good as Golden Island's. But I only go here for dessert and am very happy with it. read more

I tried this place about a month ago and had the mango freeze desert and thought it was pretty good. The best word to describe the deserts I think are that they are light and refreshing. Perfect for hot summer days. I don't like anywhere near San Mateo so driving all the way back is unlikely unless I'm on the way to SF for some reason or heading back down to SJ. I would definitely go there again and I agree with most everything from other reviewers. read more

This is a cute late night spot indeed! Great place for the fellas to take their gals to for dessert after watching a movie (which is conveniently located in the same plaza). I've only been here twice, but it's still enough time spent here to say that this place is awesome. The first time I came here was around four years ago with my sister and a friend. We were all CRAVING fondue, so we went on yelp, and found this place! We definitely did not leave disappointed. About a month ago, the boyfriend and I had dinner at Old Town Sushi, and I was craving some good dessert. I remembered having awesome fondue here from all those years ago, and I suggested this place. I looked up the directions on my phone, and I was surprised to learn that it was only about a one minute walk from Old Town. Don't believe me? Go to Google maps right now and see for yourself. I DARE YA. If you're craving asian appetizers, and fondue with a variety of fruits on a budget, then this is the place to be. Seriously, $12 for fondue isn't bad at all, considering Melting Pot, which is in the same general area, prices their fondue starting at $30! It's open late (I believe until 1AM on the weekends anyway), and they have this cute little ordering contraption on all the tables that utilizes buttons to ask for water, to order, etc. The only reason I'm docking a star is because this place only takes cash, and it can get a little loud depending on the amount of people in there. read more

Just a long wait depending on the time of day you go. I feel like because it's so hectic/crowded, the servers have a difficult time keeping up with who ordered what, but I don't blame them. Portions of the dessert are deceiving small compared to other places I've been. I thought I was ordering a lot until it came and realized it's like the size of my hand...and I have small hands! (uploading picture now). Food is good, probably would NOT recommend the wings. Usually at dessert places, the wings are really good and normal sized, but the wings here are HUGE...it's kind of overwhelmingly big and doesn't seem as appetizing because of its size. They also use msg in their fries and what not so ehhh ...what can I expect. Desserts are good though, just small. read more

Dessert Republic - Small portions... Did not expect it to be like the size of my hand - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

We've been to this place too many times not to review about it! It is too good to be true. We run into too many places that sell tapioca drinks that attempts to sell chinese appetizers, etc.. Everything here is very HK style.. service isn't slow but it's not fast either, but the system works very well.. with their little ordering buttons on the table.. so when you're reading to order, just press 'order'... (duh)! Mark tried the 'Pink Lady' the first time. It was a bowl of clear jelly, watermelon balls, strawberries and a yummy scoop of Strawberry ice cream right in the center of the bowl. He fell in love, again. I tried the tofu almond & sesame dessert.... it's not too sweet (just the way I like it!!!) and it was oh soooo smooooth! They really grind their own sesame!!! .. So, to know whether this place was really that good... I had brought my grandma and brother along. They are VERY picky people.. and my brother misses HK style food a lot (always on the hunt). When I went with them, we ordered wayyyyy too much food, but finished it all. We had the curry fish balls (perfect), the rice rolls (we wanted MORE!), mango chicken rice (it was okay, but a bit weird for me since it was sweet)... and all sorts of desserts. OVERALL; Many great experiences!! Service is great, and its pretty cute inside. We love coming here when we have those late night cravings (they close at 1am). Can't wait to go back already! read more

This place is pretty amazing for the adventurous and "vanilla" dessert seekers alike. My date had a frozen green treat with a delicious mix of flavors based around a melon sorbet, and I was immediately taken in by "Mango and White Fungus" on the menu so I ordered it. Man, anything that gross-sounding HAS to be good, and unbelievably, it was. A sweet, syrupy soup with soft mango bits, some sort of floating nuts and... that fungus. It was clear, squishy, and had ruffled edges, and it had it's own meaty flavor, but also took on the flavor of the broth. Both dishes were amazing. I'm rarely disappointed going with the "weird thing" and this was no exception. read more

I've been hearing about this place, but never knew where it was or anything. Finally got a chance to try it! Green Wonder & Egg Puffs are very very good! Green Wonder melted my heart & the Egg Puffs were crispy on the outside & soft on the inside. Gave me a surprise! The place is sooo cute! It reminds me of Hong Kong movies(: I would come back whenever I have a chance to(: read more

I didn't really believe that it was in the middle of nowhere but when we found it...by accident...I was glad! They have boba and it tasted fresh (got the honeydew milk tea) and it wasn't powder-like taste. We also ordered the peach blossom and it was a good combo for a good afternoon snack. Will definitely check this place out again when I'm around SM. read more

This is the only Hong Kong style desserts place I know of in San Mateo. They actually also serve rice plates, noodle dishes and snacks but I usually come here for desserts. The decor looks like you are sitting in a neighborhood courtyard - very cute. There is a wide variety of desserts. I recommend the Green Wonder, which is a bowl of honeydew, kiwi, aloe jelly & green tea ice cream. The Pink Lady is the strawberry version of that. They offer both cold and hot desserts. They have a selection of crepes and they make eggettes. I have not had a bad dessert here yet. They also have many different drinks, from tapioca teas, juices, and ice cream floats, to Hong Kong style drinks. The only thing is that I wish they serve some of the drinks such as coffee-tea, in larger mugs, especially for the price. There is often a line but it doesn't seem to be very long. They try to move people in as efficiently as possible. Each table has a cute little contraption that you can press buttons for service, water, or the bill. I've never seen this anywhere else. Very cute. I will keep coming back. read more

See all

Dessert Republic reminds me of Hong Kong more than anywhere else I've been in the bay area, and I've lived my whole life here. We got the banana crepe and the "dun dan" and both were delicious. I really enjoyed my crepe, it was crispy and sweet with plenty of ice cream and banana slices inside. A great desert! The atmosphere is a great place to hang out and talk. The decor is really cool and the whole place gives off a bright and colorful visual thing. There was a stand for a hong kong bus stop just in the back of the restaurant. Cool. The place got pretty busy and even had people waiting for a table, and this is at around 10pm on a tuesday night. The button thing on the tables that everyone is talking about is really cool. If you haven't read them, you press different buttons to let the workers know when you're ready to order, when you need water, the bill, etc. Perfect for a place that has its workers too busy to figure out what you need. And its really the perfect solution to service at asian places, since, traditionally they're not supposed to ask you how you're doing all the time. To summarize, I have no reason why this place isn't 5 stars. The food was really good, the place was really cool, service was great with help from their button thingy, and it's definitely a place I want to take my friends. It is especially a great place to check out on a date. I really wanna come back and try more stuff here. Hopefully my 5 star rating will stay! read more

I used to come here with my friends a lot, but when I came back this past weekend, I was sorely disappointed. Our waiter was a bit rude, I asked him if it was possible to make my almond tea not too sweet, and he said no. At first I thought he was being sarcastic, but he was serious. He later explained it was made already, but with no eye contact and a straight face. My friend ordered the egg puff, and she found a bug in it. They gave us another one, but honestly, who's to say that there weren't anymore bugs in the batter? o_0 read more

I really and truly love eating crepes. I love it with all my heart, that's how much I love it. I used to force my ex-boyfriend to have dinner at Clement so that I could eat Genki for dessert. The highlight of visiting my godsister in Japantown was going to Sophie's Crepes. Then I moved to San Mateo, broke up with my ex, and my godsister moved to the other side of the world. I love the warm(er) weather of San Mateo but gotdammit, good crepes are hard to come by! I was so excited that this cute little Asian dessert shop was right in downtown by the 2nd Ave parking structure and I thought that I'd find a new (and even more convenient) place to eat a crepe. I was wrong. Their crepes SUCK. Maybe because it's made by Chinese people and I'm used to it being made by Japanese people? OK, I take that back, that just makes me sound racist, but seriously, their crepes suck and they don't even know how to follow instructions. All I ask for is nutella and banana...why do you keep adding in ice cream or whip cream??? I've been here maybe 5 times since I've moved here a year ago and I only got it right the last 2 times because I had to specifically say JUST nutella and banana, DO NOT ADD WHIPPED CREAM OR ICE CREAM! But besides service, I actually don't even really enjoy the taste of the crepe itself. If it's an Asian dessert shoppe, I expect it to be the crispy crepes and it's much too soft for my liking. At the same time, I also enjoy the softer crepes because it reminds me of when I used to live in Europe but it wasn't the same as that either. Plus, their prices are even more expensive than Sophie's Crepes! The only reason why I'd come back here is if I haven't been able to get a crepe for 6 months and I'm about to lose my mind and this is the most convenient. Yelp 365 challenge #8 read more