I've been to the Square Enix Cafe in Japan before, so I was excited to check out the one in Downtown LA as well! The interior has the same simple, clean feel as the one in Japan, and they were playing music from the games, which added to the atmosphere. You can order individual items from the set menu. I'm a big Sephiroth fan, so of course I had to get the Sephiroth drink! We also ordered the Midgar pizza and a few other items. Everything was delicious and so cute! M I especially loved how Sephiroth's Masamune was represented by an extra-long straw. Such a fun and clever detail! They also have merchandise, including LA-exclusive T-shirts, so I picked one up as a souvenir. I had a great time and would definitely love to come back! read more

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After the initial rush of post-opening died a bit, I decided to come check this themed Café out. I came without any sort of pre-made reservation on a Friday at noon. The decor and ambiance are incredible: the lobby area has a very nice Chocobo/Slime statue welcoming you and to the left is the store with the goodies. A hostess brought me into the dining area, which had 8 TV (4 on each side of the dining room) playing trailers and different videos from Square-Enix's most popular video games franchises. There is a display area with 3 statues right in the center of the dining area, and there's a glass display showcase on the north side of the store showing some of the toys that they sell in the lobby. The food itself was great, I had the Squishy Slime (drink) for starters, then I went double dessert: first with the Slime Pancakes and after that, with the Bite-Sized Cactuar Churros. All 3 were excellent and come highly recommended. Each purchased item gets you coasters (I only got two), and both models I got can be seen in one of the attached pictures. The people in charge of service were Phanary, Sharon and Derek. All 3 were polite, courteous, friendly and professional. For ambiance, Memories Of Life (English version) played in the background, quite the touch. Also, Terra's Theme started playing shortly afterwards. Talk about nostalgia. They really know their audience. I've read other reviews but I believe they're unfounded: yes, the food does have a markup, but you're not eating just some generic pancakes from IHOP or some churros from a cart (those are all good food items in their own right too) but rather you're eating something that was custom-made for fans of Square-Enix or of JRPGs as a whole. This is definitely a themed Café where even those who aren't familiar with Square-Enix can come and enjoy good food but obviously this is more catered towards people who grew up playing their games. My previous experience with anything Final Fantasy themed was the Final Fantasy VII's Seventh Heaven experience at Boba Bear in Koreatown. I feel like Square-Enix took note of how popular that had been and decided to move forward with this project. Anyways, highly recommended Café/Store. 10/10 read more

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My partner and I came at a time where the cafe was only serving desserts and drinks and we decided on the Hydaelyn and the White Mage Healing Magic which were both good albeit overpriced! We both decided on the Slime Pancakes for ourselves, but it took approximately over thirty minutes for us to be notified that there were issues with being able to cook our pancakes. We ended up paying for the drinks and leaving. The servers were the highlight of our drinks! They were kind and attentive and very accommodating. Hopefully we'll be able to sample what this cafe has to offer next time! read more

This cafe is such a fun homage to Square Enix and all of its franchises! Outside the restaurant, there is an adorable la-themed mural featuring Chocobo and others! The sign is a bit small but the restaurant is right next to the adjacent parking lot where the mural is on. When you enter, the merch shop is present and is doubled as a waiting room. The workers were so so kind and seemed to all love the franchises as well~! My partner and I did the $50 Set A, which comes with 1 drink, 1 main entree, 1 dessert, and 1 random exclusive playmat (with reservation only). The themed food and drinks were super fun and not bad! With these types of themed drinks, there is a focus on presentation and merch so we didn't mind the smaller portions as much. It was fun to eat while watching the TV's featuring their various games, and to also look at the huge figures they had for display. FOOD: -[Final Fantasy Themed] Midgar Fondue Pizza -[Final Fantasy Themed] Moogle-Stamped Cheese Hamburg Steak DRINKS: -[NieR Themed] YoRHA No.2 Type B: Milk Coffee -[Final Fantasy Themed] Cloud DESSERT: -[Final Fantasy Themed] Minion Dessert Plate -[Final Fantasy Themed] Warrior of Light No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse read more

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I visited the Square Enix Cafe with a friend to try it out, especially since we've seen it in Japan before. Parking is pretty easy at Judge John Aiso Parking nearby. We made a reservation and had to wait for a few minutes after checking in before they sat us. The workers were attentive, friendly, and helpful as they explained how everything worked. The interior was filled with screens showing their various games, and had figures from games like Nier and Final Fantasy on display. I expected a bit more to the decor though; posters, banners, etc to really immerse into the feeling of a themed cafe. We both got the Moogle Cheese Hamburg Steak and I got the Black Mage Wizard Magic drink. The hamburg steak was OK; little smaller than expected, but the sauce was decent. I wish they gave us more than ~6 fries though. The drink was a bit plain for the price. Overall, this place wasn't going to beat the ones you can experience in Japan, but it's a start. I'd hope for more portions and an improvement to the interior decor before I plan a return visit. There's a shop outside with a limited amount of merchandise that you can purchase once you're done with your meal. read more

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I love Square Enix and their RPGs, particularly the Final Fantasy series. When I saw this pop up, I knew I had to come give it a try. I made a reservation in June for a July visit. The cafe has a small merchandise section in the front of the cafe. Since we got a reservation, we were seated fairly quickly. The staff were nice and explained everything. Being brand new, the cafe was super clean. It was a hot summer day and the air conditioning was more than sufficient. When you get a reservation, you get a complimentary place mat. We got a random sampling of place mats. I ended up picking Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Quest place mats. I personally ordered the set A, which was a drink, entree, and dessert. I got the Cloud drink, which was a pineapple fruity drink. It was way too sweet for me. For the entree, I got the Hamburg steak. The hamburger was way too well done and dry, but it's a themed cafe so my expectations were adjusted accordingly. I really enjoyed the Yorha parfait with coffee jelly though, that was solid. Loved the merchandise store. I got a Chocobo shirt. Overall, solid cafe if you're a huge Final Fantasy fan like me. read more

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I really wanted to love this pop-up cafe because the theme is so much fun, but unfortunately, the experience didn't quite live up to the hype. Between the premium pricing and so many of the menu items being sold out by the time our reservation came around, I left feeling more disappointed than excited. The menu is set up as combos, so our group mixed and matched different sets that each included a drink, a main dish and a dessert. For drinks, I had my heart set on one of the Squishy Slimes, but it was already sold out. Instead, I ordered the YoRHa No. 2 Type B: Milk Coffee. It was just....okay. It tasted more like sweetened condensed milk than coffee, and there was so much whipped cream on top that it overpowered everything else. I honestly don't even remember tasting the crepe flakes. The main dish was another letdown. We originally wanted to order the Midgar Fondue Pizza, but that was sold out too, so I ended up with the Liquid Metal Slime Curry. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't particularly memorable. The temperature was uneven throughout the dish, which made it feel like it had been reheated in a microwave rather than freshly prepared. For dessert, we also missed out on the adorable slime dessert plate because...you guessed it...it was sold out. We settled for the glass parfait instead, and while it looked nice, it was surprisingly flavorless. The service itself wasn't an issue. Our servers were friendly and attentive, but with so many menu items unavailable, there wasn't much they could do beyond serving the food and handing out the collectible coasters. I understand that pop-up cafes or grand openings can have limited quantities, but when several of the signature items are unavailable during a reserved dining time, it takes away from the experience, especially considering the price. I came for both the themed food and the novelty, and unfortunately, I left feeling like I missed out on much of what made this collaboration special. The Square Enix merch area also did not have too much to offer for fans of OctoPath, World Ends With You, and Kingdom Hearts. There was a lot of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Nier. We did visit on June 25 so I am hoping they restocked since then! read more

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OKAY to be fair, if you are unfamiliar with collab cafes, the food is NOT supposed to phenomenal. If anything, you're there for the merchandise, the photo worthy themed food, and maybe the decor. With that in mind, I do enjoy that Little Tokyo now has the hopefully permanent Square Enix Cafe. It's great that they have an actual kitchen on site and it's not reheated food prepared elsewhere. We got a reservation on Open Table for 6 people, especially since it was during AX weekend. Just an FYI, there's fee's for late cancellation and no shows. There is a walk in line. There is also a line to just enter the shop to make merchandise purchases so the small front area doesn't get inundated. Half of the front side is merchandise which includes limited Los Angeles themed shirts with the slime and Chocobo, some plushies, model kits, figures, and much more. Some things do run out of stock, so keep that in mind. The other half of the store is a small seating area for people to wait to be called in, photo opportunity with the slime and Chocobo statue and some Square Enix goods on display in a glass case. We all got randomized placemats as we made a reservation, but they were out of the coasters so we had a QR code to scan because they will mail those to you too. Very simple seating inside. There's a bunch of TV screens showcasing trailers for Square Enix games, a display of some of the goods and the sword from Nier near the entryway and on the way to the restroom there are framed posters for the games. Pretty simple in terms of decor. Service is friendly, welcoming, and accommodating. Food menu items do sell out too, so have some back ups just in case. There are different combos with different price points depending on what you get. So everyone in our party got different combinations so we all could try a little bit of everything. For our visit, we got the: 1) Squishy She-Slime: -Mango strawberry soda with some clear jelly inside. There's a small orchid flower as a tropical decor. Cute glass that it comes in that wobbles around like a slime. Not a lot of drink, but definitely perfect for photos and one of my favorites of the night. 2) Cloud: -Black lemon jelly with pineapple juice and whipped cream. Cloud's buster sword on top is a pretty neat touch. Mix in the whipped cream since it's pretty tart. 3) White Mage Healing Magic: -Strawberry flavored milk with bits of mochi, whipped cream and diced strawberries mixed in. Definitely need to eat the rest of this with a spoon to fish it out. Mostly milk with subtle strawberry taste. 4) Black Mage Wizard Magic: -Butterfly pea tea with lemon juice and blue curacao. You mix in the potion at the top. Super light lemon taste, almost watered down tasting. 5) YoRHA Type A No.2: Blackberry: -Comes in a very unique wine glass, but it's not much drink, so keep that in mind. It's ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice, coconut (didn't really taste this), and charcoal powder. It didn't come with a straw, so I'm not sure if I had to mix it. -Without mixing, it just tastes like very watered down cranberry juice. With mixing afterwards, it tasted like slightly sweeter watered down cranberry juice. 6) YorHA No. 2 Type B: Milk Coffee: -Pretty sweet so if you like the subtle taste of coffee, but not coffee itself this is one of the more substantial drinks to go for. Pretty decadent and the most you get for what you pay for. 7) Liquid Metal Slime Curry: -Looks pretty funny in pictures, but it tastes like a standard chicken curry. Not super strong taste, but not offense either. Minimal bits of stewed chicken in the curry, soft dollop of rice. Salad was not the crispiest, but the little fried chicken bite was a nice touch. Slime's face was a bit soggy and crooked when I got it, but adds to the effect. 8) Dalamud Prosciutto Risotto: -Cheese risotto with prosciutto and tomato sauce with a side of salad. Probably one of the better entrees. Great mix of cheesy richness with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the slight kick of the tomato sauce. 9) Moogle Stamped Hamburg Steak: -Decent hamburg steak, almost meat loaf like. Went great with the sauce and the bread. The serving of corn, the carrot stars, and the potato wedges are much smaller than in the display picture, just an FYI. 10) Slime Pancakes: -Probably the best dessert that we got. Solid pancakes and cute for photos. 11) Warrior of Light No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse: -Mousse textured cheesecake. Interesting to eat, not bad. 12) YoRHa No. 2 Type B Glass Parfait: -Pretty sweet and it's technically just coffee jelly with toppings on the top layers. My friends made some purchases in the gift shop around 30 minutes before they closed. I am familiar with Square Enix titles, but I'm not a mega fan, so this was just a fun jaunt in LT for me so my expectations were mega high. Make sure to take a picture of the mural on the side of the building (before it gets tagged...)! read more

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Visited the Square Enix cafe on a Sunday afternoon after they officially opened and were no longer in a soft launch period. We made the reservation on OpenTable. I parked at the Aiso parking structure right across the street. It was a fun one time experience, but the food/drinks are a bit expensive for what you get. It also took over 30 minutes to get our drinks because the kitchen was backed up. Do not order the Black Mage Wizard magic drink if you don't want to be disappointed. It's just butterfly pea tea with some lemon juice. For $11, the taste was underwhelming. The color change with the pH drop was not exciting enough since I've seen it before with other cafe drinks. The Cloud drink was good! We ordered a set menu and got the Moogle Hamburg steak as the entree. It was tiny, even for me who is a 5'1 petite girl that doesn't eat large portions. Tasted decent, but it wasn't memorable. The tomato sauce was the best thing on the plate. The walls were covered with TV screens that displayed videos of Square Enix games. I also visited the Final Fantasy Boba Bear collab in Koreatown a while back. I have to say that in comparison to that experience, the ambiance was not creative with white walls. There are just some displays with statues and figurines around the room and some lighting. This was a fun one time experience but I wouldn't come back regularly. read more

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We went on the hard Grand Opening day and there was some great vibes. The president of Square USA gave a speech and there were some other Little Tokyo leaders who explained the murals and community. There store is small but as a lifelong Square fan every piece of merchandise was Omega cool. What Square fan wouldn't want a Tonberry plush or metal slime from Dragon Quest and a vinyl Chrono Trigger OST. I only wish the staff knew a bit more about the merch and could explain why there merch was worth buying versus the official Square online store. We couldn't enter the cafe as it was reservation only. I wish there were snacks or other treats available in the regular store area even if you didn't reserve. But judging by the photos of the restaurant itself, I didn't miss much! read more

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My husband was so excited when he saw the cafe was opening up here. We went to the one in Tokyo and while we didn't think it'd be as nice as that one, we were a little disappointed. The cafe itself definitely can use a little more decoration. The figures in the center and the TVs are nice but it still feels a little lackluster theme wise. But, the service as the cafe was great. Definitely one of their strengths right now. The servers were super nice and attentive. We went during the soft opening so I know they're still working out the kinks so take this review accordingly. There was a pretty limited menu given the soft opening. We tried the milk coffee jelly drink which was good. The zodiark was refreshing and definitely the best thing we had here. The drinks by far were the best. We got Set B so we could try the dessert options. Knowing it was cafe food, we weren't expecting anything amazing. The slime pancake was cute but pretty mid. The warrior of light no bake cheesecake was also cute but mid. But given how cafe food is, not surprised and decent for what it is. The presentation was the star. My husband, who is the final fantasy fan, was happy to be able to go but was disappointed. Hopeful that as they gain ground with their opening, that they'll continue to improve. read more

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If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. Beware, this place is the biggest cash grab I've ever seen. It's in soft opening right now, but even the space for the "cafe" is sad. It literally looks like a sad bland plain room with no theming, and just a bunch of screens on the wall not even playing videos or anything, it looked like ads.. it was so pathetic. I made a reservation through OpenTable, and I wanted to cancel, but the app was glitching. Despite cancelling, it kept showing my reservation confirmed so I reached out via email and instagram, but received no confirmation that they even received my email. This forced us to come out to the cafe, which was extremely inconvenient. Upon check in, she asked me about the email and I said yes I did try to cancel but I got no response. Ridiculous. Moving onto the reservation for the cafe itself, the wait time was 50 minutes beyond my reservation time because they were supposedly so backed up. I say supposedly because when we were seated, there were plenty of open tables. In fact, more empty ones than not. Half the menu isn't available as it's soft opening, and that's fair. Not having your full soft opening menu is a problem. Also, being forced into each person buying a set with items is missing is crazy. My option for main entree wasn't even available. I asked to modify one of the dishes due to an allergy and they said they could not accommodate. How is that even possible to not remove a garnishment of a dish? This cafe is a joke, a quick cash grab playing on the good will of its fans. The shop on the front side is tiny, and has all the same merchandise from the Little Akihabara popup. The only special merch they had were shirts that had a Chocobo that said Los Angeles.. unimpressive. Highly disappointed and I will not be coming back, and will actively try to warn others not to waste their money or time here. read more

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As a long time Square Enix (Squaresoft beforehand) fan, I was sooooo freakin' excited when I saw this was coming to Little Tokyo. I do not believe this is a popup but for this to open here in the LA area, I think it sort of has to have the premium pricing compared to Japan where they can offer the lower prices because they pretty much have tons of the themed cafes there and are way more commonplace. I feel a lot of the criticisms toward this spot can be improved as time goes on beyond price, as SE tend to have a luxe feel to their properties, so the costs may have to be a bit higher to accommodate for that. It's also extremely cool inside, an amazing oasis away from the hot LA sun. I enjoyed the very 'clean' look of the shop, though I hoped that it would maybe lean into the cute look of the Slime + Chocobo art, but they probably had to pick one and go for it to attract the older clientele. The theming of the food is at least as whimsical and more appropriate imo to the series, which makes a bit of a nice juxtaposition between the "clean" and the "cute". I really enjoyed the food here, even if it was a bit basic, knowing a lot of theme cafes or stuff at Pasela / SE cafes in Japan would pretty much be similar as well. My main criticism of the food would maybe be the portion sizes. It is expensive yes, and I don't think they could go cheaper, but they could possibly do a bit more food or have some kind of filler alongside as well? That said, I love love loved this experience as a whole, coming for a friend's birthday celebration we call "Kimi Con". I want to come again and again with my FFXIV friends from my FC or other groups and we can enjoy the various drinks and foods and desserts! It's just... I hope for some menu rotation or some kind of a la carte side option that allows for you to feel more full without breaking the bank. I think that more time was spent on the desserts and drinks for theming, but that is gonna probably be what most people get. As I saw during our visit, many people opted for the dessert + drink option and we were the last party in the cafe by the end of the reservation time. We got a bit of everything, getting the hamburger steak / risotto / Slime curry. Our drinks were so fantastical, and the desserts super cute but also you were able to tell where they repurposed portions of other dishes/drinks into them to repackage in another way. That said, I can't wait to see what they do in the future. I hope that this is able to thrive and maybe more locations can come to the area or the OC. Another thing - why tear down or overly criticize a new spot like this yet also often yearn for more cafes like this to come to this area? So we can get more, we need to be constructive about what they can do and not just be like "wow this place was bad". I don't get that mentality. read more

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I came in with a reservation and one of the hostesses started by telling me to go outside without even asking if i had a reservation. I used to work as a hostess for 5 years and that was always my first question so i was a bit off put by that and felt unwelcome. Our server was very nice though. I thought the drinks were tastier than the drinks i had at the tokyo sqex cafe. The 2b parfait was really good and not too sweet. The minion pannacotta was my favorite of the three in the set. The minion coffee pudding was really wet and had a bad texture. The slime pancakes took a long time to come out and my friend had to eat after the rest of us had already finished. Not much decor here also. I would probably like to come back when things are running a bit smoother and hopefully the food and service improves read more

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Wow how is this even a themed restaurant. I walked in and right out. It's sad inside. At least put some colorful wall art or something. We looked at the menu and the prices were atrocious! I couldn't even think about eating it since the food looked unappetizing. Get some cool figurines and wall art at least. read more

Let's be real...this popup collab cafe..should be a pop down. It is not great...but I'm giving it a 3 stars because the merch isn't bad and the service was okay...but the food. Terrible. I'm only mainly going to rant about the food.. Food: Their menu comes in sets so my boyfriend and I got set A each which includes drink, main course, dessert, 3 coasters 1 placemat. So my boyfriend got the cloud, moogle-stamped cheese hamburg steak, bite sized cactaur churros....this combination ...4/5. The cloud is a pineapple juice drink and probably one of the safer options if you don't like carbonated drinks....but it's also pineapple juice and jelly ....which you really can't go wrong with either and it comes with a wafer cookie. Admittingly this drink is edible....just be aware that the drink is 11.00 pineapple juice. 3/5. The moogle stamped cheese hamburg steak - actually delicious but the portion is tiny. Also this one did come out at least warm. I do think that the food feels very much microwaved ..there isn't a crispy texture on the potato wedges. It looks like the photo and at least the cheese was melted and the hamburg steak was pretty standard meatloaf thing. I don't remember the sauce but it wasn't horrible. Bread felt like it was toasted a while back and just left sitting ..waiting to be assembled. At least overall the food was edible and it was served warm/ some components were hot. 3.75/5..also this might be one of the better things to get on this menu. Bite sized cactaur churros - actually served warm! I did not get matcha and thought it was green sugar on top of it and while they do give you a buttercream..it doesn't do anything to enhance the churros. Honestly stronger dusting of matcha needed but I thought it was not too sweet, warm, and crispy and chewy. Probably overpriced but actually the best bite on the menu. 4.5/5 My set... Oh lord. White mage healing magic .... Strawberry syrup with milk...and mochi bits...bits of strawberry and whip cream....eh. it's drinkable and thankfully not too sweet but it's exactly what the wording is ..and you need to use a spoon to scoop out the mochi..the milk doesn't really mix well with the strawberry syrup and I think the whip cream is excessive. Genuinely hard to drink because there's a lot going on. 2.5/5. Need a boba straw for this. Liquid metal slime curry - 1/5 don't get this. Taste: edible in the sense that it's like golden curry cube mix with maybe 3 pieces of chicken and a tiny ice cream scoop of rice ...okay. why the hell is this served cold?! This genuinely annoyed me because curry should never be cold. It should be hot. Hell it feels like they microwaved the curry because any warm temperature disappeared in 3 minutes and left the curry inedible. The activated charcoal is for flavor ..eh boring salad mix though I pretty much avoided that because I don't know where they sourced their lettuce greens...and the chicken nugget was actually warm. Best thing on that plate .the wafer face was eh okay. Didn't really notice much but yeah I left half of the plate untouched because genuinely it was quite a rip off. Minion desert plate - 3.5/5. Okay trio of desserts... Just in general pretty but hard to eat. Fat cat panna cotta - best desert from trio. It's actually balanced, dole oranges and I think chocolate sauce on a vanilla panna Cotta. This one I finished and it's adorable. 4.6/5 Peridot carbuncle - whip cream strawberries and jelly. Jelly is flavorless...too much whip cream, and strawberries were fine. There isn't much sugar or anything to flavor it. But it is cute. 2.5/5 Paissa brat - whip cream and coffee pudding does go well with each other though I would prefer the whip cream in a separate cup because it's hard to dig and eat the pudding without having the whip cream get everywhere. Coffee pudding was not sweet and generic coffee but it was edible. 3.5/5 The merch was adorable. Slightly pricy but it's what I honestly expected. Service was okay. At least the waiters are passionate about final fantasy and do want you to be happy. I want them to cook the food longer but otherwise it was cute. Kinda want more theming with the decor because it's so bare... Esp for the price you pay to be at the cafe. I want to be immersed in the experience! But yeah that's it for today...if you can ignore the food it's a cute experience but if you're like me and the food is huge... Yeah no I don't recommend this collab cafe read more

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Cute cafe and fun ! Food was ok , drinks are really sweet. Staff was super friendly and nice read more

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Service was great! The workers and servers there are very nice and super efficient and helpful As a huge fan and someone super excited for this. Here is my honest review. Cafe: there were no decor. Just tv screens playing things. Looks like an empty room with a minimal effort con type of set up and even then it was probably less effort than that Food & Drinks: Nice selection of options. Poor execution of presentation and taste. Tasted pretty bad and probably microwavable. And honestly made me feel sick after. A bit over priced for 2 items bought (1 meal 1 drink) came out to be over 40 bucks. Store: very small and wish there were way more options. Basically is just a small portion of the old pop up that lived in little Tokyo prior to here. I would love to see this place flourish and grow but the effort is definitely not there unfortunately. Would look forward to seeing if it is in the far future. read more

Square Enix Cafe & Shop - Midgar pizza fondue and strawberry milk boba - Themed Cafes Near Me - Los Angeles, California

My partner and I came here on our anniversary weekend and we had a lovely time. They're officially letting in walk-ins now, we came the week after Anime Expo on purpose to hopefully avoid the crowds and that worked in our favor. The small photo op with the chocobo and the slime up front are cute and the tiny store was stocked with a lot of really cool stuff, some of which my partner and I grabbed. Once inside and sat, I will say (and I've seen many others echo it here) the space itself is very... corporate? This feels more like a place for business meetings rather than an actual cafe - there are so many cute and cozy places across Square Enix's games (Seventh Heaven, Traverse Town, Nier's village, FFXVI's Hideaway just to name a few) that I was sad to see none of that reflected here. They really could've done something amazing with the theming, the fact the space looks like it does feels a bit like a missed opportunity and like it caters to the sanitized influencer crowd as opposed to the people who enjoy their games. Square should really take a page out of Requiem's (a Final Fantasy inspired cafe in Anaheim) book when it comes to decor. Obviously none of this was up to the decision of the staff, all of whom were exceptionally friendly and sweet. Shoutout to our girl Amber, who struck up a conversation with me over my Soul Eater shoulder bag and who continued being kind with me and my partner. The staff DOES seem to be passionate about Square's games as she was decked out in some very on-brand jewelry and I saw a couple other's with accessories from the games as well waiting tables. Even though they were busier (it was a Saturday after all) everything came out in a good amount of time, we were vibing to the game music they were playing as we waited the whole time, I'd recommend expanding the playlist as I think we got through it like three times while we were there but that's just me. (if you need rec's Squenix Cafe I GOT YOU) The prices were to be expected from a collab cafe, I've seen other people complaining about them but sadly its just what is normal from any place like this. BUT I WILL SAY - I think they were worth what we got, I got the Sephiroth drink which was very refreshing for a hot day, tart flavors and carbonation go hand in hand and Masamune's hilt in the straw was a nice touch. My partner got the Yorha Milk Coffee and she really enjoyed it, again the little Yorha logo on top was so cute, and there was a good amount of it as well. For food we just got dessert, I got the Yorha dessert cup... coffee thing with the coffee jelly cubes in it? I don't remember what it was called, but that was great and then my partner got the slime pancakes which were fluffy, delicious and paired well with the fruit and scoop of ice cream on the plate. Overall I think this place is just getting started and thats the only fair metric by which to judge it. Personally mine and my partner's experience was positive and wholesome, we had a lot of fun, though I am hoping they'll allow Bahamut to destroy the decor of this place so they can come back with the Square Enix Cafe: A Cafe Reborn with some new better theming that'll really make this place a must-visit for fans everywhere. Thank you for a good time Square Enix Cafe, excited to see where you'll go from here. read more

We literally walked in because we noticed all the Final Fantasy items and the giant Chocobo! Idk why people are complaining.. we didn't grow up having stores like this so you're not gonna see me complaining. We should be supporting small businesses like this so they grow in business...which means more merchandise from square Enix and more stuff to fill up my walls. Our experience was amazing. The staff was amazing. The desserts were amazing. We bought two vinyl records, plushy's and a shirt. We're definitely coming back to try out their food! read more

Square Enix Cafe & Shop - Pennna cotta, blue jello w/berries and coffee!! If you get the churros it pair as well with the coffee! - Themed Cafes Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Square enix delivers an impeccable presentation brought down by the soul reason it is present... the food. To the cafe credit. The way items are advertised it looks fantastic. When the food came to the table I smiled. Then I wish I sent the food back. No knives to cut pancake. Pancake hard to cut. (They should have used bisquick.) The drink tasted like sprite. Again everything about this place is great. Skip the restaurant and just check out the shop. Maybe they will improve... maybe who knows. The atmosphere is certainly jrpg but the food leaves... you hungry. read more

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As others have said, the café could do with more decor. It definitely looks pretty bland, maybe more large figures like the chocobo and paintings/posters on the wall? Just seems like a large white room and a small white room that sells SE merch and themed foods. Food itself was good albeit, the drink was a bit overpriced for its size. I had the Cloud drink, Metal Slime Curry and Pancakes. The coasters were cool. The staff was incredibly kind, patient, and fans of SE so it was nice to talk about them about the games. Overall, I'm looking forward to returning after their grand opening and hope they take some of the criticism into consideration as a fan of FF. read more

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I came here with the intentions of ordering just the dessert alone. The waitress told me that I cannot just order the dessert. I had to order a drink with entree or a drink with dessert. There was no mention of that at all anywhere. It wasn't on the menu and there were no signs. I was extremely upset by this. Please change this because I can guarantee I won't be the first person upset about this. The inside of the cafe is pretty boring. Extremely bright with TVs on the wall. One shelf with figures and a sword next to it. There could be so much more character here but the place felt so void of anything Square Enix. The shop part of the store was cool - lots of figures, plushies, some shirts, and cool trinkets. You won't find anything Kingdom Hearts related, which will be unfortunate for some fans. Overall I can't see this place being a repeat visit for anyone and I encourage others to not go until they change their ridiculous drink + item policy, improve prices, and make the place not look like a corporate office inside. Edit 6/21 - I saw they had the rule about the beverage and food on their website but since I was brought along as a guest, I did not check the website. It still stands that the rule for guests having to order one drink and one food item is ridiculous. I don't know any restaurant that has a rule against someone ordering just ONE SINGLE thing. If this rule is applied so that people don't just order one thing and sit there for ages, then apply a time limit to those guests. It's really not that difficult. Not like there's much to see or do inside the actual cafe either way. If this place wants to be taken seriously, then the customs of being allowed to order a single item needs to be applied. read more

To put it simply: Don't come here. They didn't theme the space at all; like if you removed all the purchasable things, this is just an empty white walled building. The food was way too expensive for way too basic, out pricing nearby theme parks' dining options. The curry had just three pieces of chopped chicken and it was on the menu for $26. The cloud drink was just pineapple juice? Zero artistry in the visual of the space and the craft of the food. I'm sure it'll be great for game events, they have a blank canvas. If it comes out that this place isn't licensed at all, I wouldn't be surprised. It was just nothing and bad food. read more

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I want to be fair to the cafe and its customers. This is LA and not Tokyo, and it is a bit of a rushed opening, but there were a few things that could use improvement and a great deal of potential here. These places always require reservations and with that some minimum orders, it's clearly stated on the website. Unfortunately I see the same at the Demon Slayer place in Temple City where people want to order next to nothing and sit for the maximum time. That said, we weren't expecting great food, just a good time, and the cafe really needs more decorations and fast, people want to feel immersed when they come here. The ambience is the key. It really has fallen short here. The workers were really kind and nice and the drinks were really good. Which is why I encourage people to give it a try (but you do have to order a food item per their reservation policy), or you can wait until the decor and ambience is up to par with the themed cafes in Tokyo and even some here in the USA. There are so many popping up here in the west coast now too. While you're in Little Tokyo take in the Japanese Village Plaza and Weller Court nearby, Little Tokyo is and always will be a gem in LA. read more

Great food! I had the Hamburg steak with a cute color changing drink (black mage wizard magic) and for dessert, the minion dessert plate! Everything was presented well and staff was very friendly and gave us good recommendations :) read more

I'm so sorry to say this, but the food was so atrocious it's not even funny. Obviously, the people who come here are fans of whichever game they've played and just want to enjoy the experience of eating a cute meal related to it, so it should feel special and fun. It's just ridiculous how extremely low quality the food is. The pizza is so awful, it's genuinely a scam to charge $25 for something that looks like a nearly expired lunchable. The drinks and slime curry were really cute, definitely didn't taste as bad as the pizza, but just very below average. The drinks remind me of Ramune or candy, and the curry made me think of the boxed "Golden Curry." The space is pretty plain and boring too. The service was great, everyone was kind and polite. The menu genuinely needs to be revamped immediately, it's is EXTREMELY unfair to charge the amount they do for something of this quality. Gift shop is also cute, but pretty small. read more

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Sat 6/20 evening reservation. 0 parties ahead of us in the reservation line was foreshadowing. 0 decorative effort inside the cafe (if you can call it that). 8 TVs playing the same repeated slideshow. 1 display case in the corner. THAT'S IT. It reminds me of a conference room. --Food - terrible, bland, no flavor --Drinks - all sugar, nothing special --Dessert - cheesecake was disgusting, seems frozen If you like their food, something is wrong with you. All the while, everything on the menu is $$$. Spend your money elsewhere and get real food. Don't believe the hype from influencers/ social media. Guaranteed they were asked to attend for free. read more

Terrible experience. I wouldnt even call this place a "cafe". It was an empty room with tables and tv screens with no theme. The food was very expensive and terrible tasting. The curry tasted like instant curry with gross 3 little pieces of chicken decorated along with 1 cold chicken nugget. The cheesecake dessert tasted old and the spongecake was really hard. The best thing was the drink which was basically sprite and blue cucarao. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Do not trust influencer reviews. This was such a disappointment read more

Square Enix Cafe & Shop - Themed Cafes Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Food was good, service is fine but the prices are a little too high. The ambiance was nice.

I have never left a review before but this place was genuinely so disappointing. I was visiting the L.A area at the time and I decided to visit this place purely for the shop as I had just finished the Nier games and loved them to bits. The shop was very small which was understandable but all of the Nier merch was sold out except a puzzle. There was a display case on the other side of the room with figures and cool looking merch, so I had decided to ask the staff if I could go over to look at it (there's a divider in the middle of the room separating the shop and seats for the people waiting to be seated). She said no and that area was only for diners. I was so heavily depressed by this as i have bad eyes and couldnt make out what was in it. I had to have a friend describe it to me. Why have a display case with merchandise and prices if we're not even allowed to look at it without purchasing what seems to be very overpriced food? Okay, Whatever I thought to myself. I decided to buy the Nier puzzle as I wanted something as a memento for this place. I asked the cashier if any of the Nier stuff in the display case was available. He only said "No" and gave me the most disgusted/annoyed look. I wish I was confrontational as this is the worst service I have ever received. It takes so little to just be kind to people. Please do not visit if you're on the fence about it. The shop is nice for people who are final fantasy fans but do not expect to see any other type of merch. This place had so much potential, but instead it feels like a rushed school project thrown together by people who had no real interest in making it a good experience. read more

It was reservations only when I came by. The merch section was really small too. Thought there was going to be more