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    Vanitea Café

    4.4 (256 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Vanitea Café Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    VANITEA CAFÉ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Vanitea Café

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    Lychee Black Tea with boba in my reusable BYO cup!
    Melissa S.

    The lychee black tea tasted great and the boba was a great consistency! Very friendly staff and they were very welcoming towards me using my reusable BYO cup!! It's also a great study place so I highly recommend if you want to work and BYO to avoid a single-use plastic cup & straw!

    Inside decor
    Linford E.

    A little gem located in the Ralph's shopper center. The inside decor was neat and the store is very clean. The staff was so so on friendliness, but didn't take away from the experience. We ordered an ice coffee, a milk tea and a few macaroons. All were very good and the price point was reasonable. I will definitely come back and sample other menu items.

    Horchata Milk Tea w/ cheese foam & brown sugar walling
    Robin W.

    I've had two drinks so far; a tiger milk tea with rainbow jelly and an horchata milk tea with cheese foam and brown sugar syrup. The tiger milk tea is good if you like less sweet drinks but for my sweet tooth, the horchata was exactly what I was looking for. The cheese foam was salty which was nice but a bit rich. The brown sugar syrup was absolutely delicious and i'll probably add that to every drink from now on. The spot is quiet and casual, with some cute elements to it. Service is super quick too. Definitely will be returning!

    Exterior
    Sarai A.

    Vanitea Cafe is located in Rancho San Diego next to Wing Factory. There is plenty of parking, the interior is simple but sheet. They were playing some calm vibey music. Honey Milk Tea Boba - 3/5 I wish my drink was sweeter, hardly tasted the honey it. Thai Tea Boba - 4/5 Average drink, not sweet which was great. Popcorn Chicken (Spicy) - 4/5 They came out nice and hot, tasty. They do offer happy hour from sun-thurs 730p-close and fri-sat 8p-close. Student discounts mon-fri 3p-5p. Overall this isn't my first choice to grab boba but it is nearby and will do!

    Esther A.

    I don't come here often but this was a great surprise! I wanted to switch up my go-to drink since I always go for their matcha snow bubble or matcha milk tea. Shout out to one of their workers named Janzler, he was really helpful! He offered me a LOT of recommendations to try, but the one that stuck out the most was the Caramel Macchiato. I was hesitant at first since it was a coffee drink and I'm not really into, but he was really nice and offered me what toppings go best with it, and how sweet it could be. Vibe of the story was really nice too! They play a lot of up-to-date music and the atmosphere is amazing when so many people are in the store.

    Athena A.

    Very cute coffee, cold drinks like slushies and smoothie like shop. The place is very spacious on the inside and has a relaxing vibe. You can request boba with your drinks. They also have macaroons and mini sweets.

    Khieng C.

    Not many milk tea options in Rancho SD but Vanitea delivers. It's a small but cute shop. The employees were really friendly and helpful. We got their signature milk tea and popcorn chicken on Molly's recommendation and they were great!

    Tiger milk tea

    Good quick service and even better boba tea!! always a good vibe here, will definitely be returning! Thank you to Naomi for being so kind and helping me find a drink I liked :)

    Menu Aug 2023

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    1 year ago

    That guy with the gold piercings? Was his name Gelo? He made a good vanitea milk tea. Even gave me a sample!

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    Business owner information

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    Ariel T.

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    1 year ago

    Great costumer service! The girl who assisted me had such a welcoming vibe and my popcorn chicken was really good!

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    Page 1 of 7

    Vanitea Café Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Vanitea Café

    Is the matcha here worth getting? Is it bittersweet (bc that's the taste I've been looking for)

    I remember my drink being bittersweet, at least to my taste. Everyone here is super friendly so I'm sure they wouldn't mind making your drink to your liking if you explain it to them!

    Is the milk tea lactose free or does it include milk unless you ask to change it yourself?

    Your choices are almond milk, coconut milk and soy milk- all are lactose free!!!

    Do they have popping pearls/ popping boba?

    I don't think it's the popping pearls but they said it's not like the black boba with all the unhealthy stuff. Might want to call and ask them to verify, think they still use crystal honey boba.

    Is there outdoor seating available?

    Yes, 3 small tables

    View All 5 Questions

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    This place is properly named extraordinary dessert for a reason. They are known for their desserts…read moreboth in taste and in aesthetics. Desserts: 5/5 We got a blood orange scone and a strawberry danish. The scone was warm and delicious. The orange essence was well infused. The danish was crispy and creamy. Everything was so picturesque. Food: 3/5 Unfortunately, the food was not the best. We got the smoked salmon sandwich which was not very flavorful. The salmon was also slimy. The pesto spread was good though. It was creamy and the artisan bread it was served had great variety. Ambiance: 5/5 This place is such super cute. When you walk in, the desserts all look super appetizing. The seating areas are super cute and the floral decor are stunning. Service: 5/5 It is an order then sit down establishment. There is great attention to their dessert. I saw them heat up a knife just to cleanly cut the cake. The food service however did take some time to come out.

    We stopped by here after being downtown for Comicon…read more Things must have changed over the years since I felt the establishment has changed a bit. We used to come visit here when we come to San Diego. On this summer day - the restaurant doesn't bave any AC on so it made it a bit uncomfortable to enjoy our desert when it is a bit cooler to sit outside. The other thing that got to me was that the men's restroom was out of service so they did not announce it or anything but the women's bathroom was to be used by both genders but it was crowded so a bit uncomfortable. Service wise we got our deserts and the deserts are still very delicious. We were a larger party and they were able to accommodate and get all of our orders correctly. Noise level was normal and gave us time to sit down and relax our feet. Over all - food was good but things were a bit worn down from a building perspective

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    Extraordinary Desserts - One of our 'go to' dessert places in San Diego.

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    Extraordinary Desserts - Chocolate lemon bon bon

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    An's Dry Cleaning - An's is Now Lit for the holiday season!

    An's Dry Cleaning

    4.6(2k reviews)
    11.4 miUniversity Heights, North Park
    $$

    $28.73 all in for three orders: Short, Tall, and a Cone…read more Let's get the obvious part out of the way: there was a line. It was two storefronts long. It took us 43 minutes to get to the counter. Forty-three minutes. At that point, you have enough time to question your life choices, make several new friends, and convince yourself that gelato is technically a meal. This place isn't really set up like a typical ice cream shop. There's one register and two scoopers, and the scoopers seem to rotate through like Vegas blackjack dealers as they go through a very deliberate routine. Watching them work felt less like standing in line at an ice cream shop and more like being taken on a small culinary tour. And that's intentional. An's calls it a "flavor tour," offering guests a sample of every flavor before ordering. Their menu rotates every couple of weeks, and the gelato is made from scratch with fresh, local ingredients. There were seven menu items, but there's always eight flavors and they offer samples of everything. We arrived when there was a shift change, and the person behind the counter asked if we wanted to do the samples or just order. After waiting 43 minutes, do you think I wanted the samples? Hell yeah I did. At that point, I had earned my tiny cup of gelato. I truly appreciated the experience. It never felt like the staff was simply trying to get people through the line. They were explaining flavors, answering questions, and actually providing a service. The scoopers really are more like tour guides. During the wait outside, I walked over to the bottle shop on the corner and bought us some water. When I came back, someone from An's came outside and offered everyone in line a cup of water. Lol. Apparently they had already figured out that people standing in the sun on the sidewalk for 43 minutes might need hydration. But that's service. The parking situation is tight. I had to make a few circles before finding a spot, which meant my gelato pilgrimage had an appropriate amount of suffering attached to it. But then came the payoff. The product is excellent. Every flavor we tried was delicious, including the Phở, which I absolutely did not expect to like as much as I did. Somehow, it works as do all the flavors. The curators use ingredients that taste like they actually matter. The flavors are distinct, balanced, and thoughtfully constructed rather than just being unusual for the sake of being unusual. I went with the cone, which is by far the best value of the three options, and had Pienfu and Hampton. Pienfu is oolong with butterscotch peanut butter. Hampton combines dark chocolate, white chocolate, and butter cookie. Separately, both were fantastic. Together, these were even better. Would I wait 43 minutes again? Absolutely not. Would I happily come back and eat more of this gelato? Absolutely. There have to be some off-hours when I can walk in without joining a standing parade; and when I find that time, I'll be back. The flavors are creative without being gimmicky, the ingredients are top-notch, the staff actually engages with customers, and the whole thing feels like there's genuine care behind it. I just need to figure out what time to come back when everyone else is asleep!

    this is by no means a fair rating - I had it delivered to me so it was basically soup but my god…read more Number one gelato spot in the us is not an easy shoe to fill, but man they met my expectations Moyozashi- hojicha black cherry dark chocolate, insane flavor combo. The crunchy chocolate fantastic and hojicha still shone despite the strong cherry Pho- it tastes like pho what can I say. Strong cinnamon and it really did feel like pho but sweet. They did what other can only dream of doing well

    Photos
    An's Dry Cleaning - Calico, an October classic, is made with cream cheese and pumpkin butter from Jackie's Jams

    Calico, an October classic, is made with cream cheese and pumpkin butter from Jackie's Jams

    An's Dry Cleaning - Spooky Brocade, a dark chocolate gelato with in-house made gluten free pumpkin blondies

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    An's Dry Cleaning - 2 flavors- Canvas-Olive Oil Rosemary and Termeh -Saffron Pistachio Vanilla   All the ice cream was unique.

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    2 flavors- Canvas-Olive Oil Rosemary and Termeh -Saffron Pistachio Vanilla All the ice cream was unique.

    Vanitea Café - desserts - Updated September 2026

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