What8ver Cafe

Worst experience of my life. I checked beforehand their hours but upon arriving I found they were CLOSED. It is a Saturday night and it is currently 9:05pm and their hours are 5:30pm –12:00am. What a disappointment I came all the way from Abbotsford, out of my way to eat their goddamn toast. I made prior arrangements and plans 2 weeks in advance just to come eat this toast. Never coming again, I just wanted my goddamn toast.

I saw this reviewed on the front page of Unilocal on October 20, 2015 and book marked it for future reference.
Like most Asian dessert places, I love how there is so much choice that it takes forever to just narrow it down to one.
This places opens in the evening which is perfect for an after work treat.
Their claim to fame is box toast with ice cream. Cubed bread hallowed and then filled with ice cream. The toast itself has a sweetness to it that blends with the ice cream. You must it is at a reasonable time frame ’cause when it gets soggy from the melted ice cream it’s mushy and not fun at all to eat.
The platting is very eye appealing.
Prices are reasonable for what they are.
The ambiance was okay.
This was my first toast box experience, therefore, this is a stand alone review on the experience as a whole rather than a comparative.
Service was really bad and slow.

This place is so hyped up for their toast boxes but they honestly weren’t that amazing. It was just sticks of bread coated with sugar, you could honestly make that yourself. The waffles on the other hand were amazing and I definitely would choose them over anything. The bubble teas were good as well.

I dont even need to mention service because all the other reviews seems to have already gone heads deep in it. BUT. I knew that from the start so I didn’t go there for the service. As long as they took my orders, place it in, and bring it then I’m good to go.
Anywho, The toast box. SO. DELICIOUS. The exterior was baked to a crispy texture with honey coating and the inside was soft with a milky flavor. The touch of ice cream made the toast all the more flavorful. Use it as a dip!!! I didn’t get any drinks so I can’t comment on that.
Overall the restaurant has a nice atmosphere to it. Dim lighting with comfortable booths and weird looking wall decos. I would give the toast box alone 5 stars but just to be fair the restaurant’s overall quality would be a 3.5. Just go try the honey toast box if you’re ever craving for creamy, rich, and sweet desserts. JUST DO IT.

TRASH hospitality. I called three times and they intentionally ignored my phone calls. They picked up the phone and hung up after a few seconds. I could hear background noise on the other side. And they did these 3 times without saying a word. I was only interested to know if they were open or not. So I drove there with a friend to enjoy some Toast Boxes (from Port Coquitlam), and there was a sign on there door in Chinese. All I could read was 26 and 27. So I had to assume they were closed (potentially due to technical problems) on March 26 and 27. So stupid I had to physically drive there, and there were workers inside cleaning. They were supposed to be open as well. It was 6:10pm on a Thursday. They lost my business, trash service, trash food, trash attitude, trash restaurant.

I’m giving five stars for the milk tea – black or green, cold or warm or slush. As far as I’ve had, it’s pretty much perfection (vs bbqueen, which I find a bit too sweet).
Since I’ve never tried to sit down, I’ve never been too offended by the service. I recommend ordering ahead by phone to pickup.

LOVE this place! Their toast boxes are legendary, and certainly do not disappoint! Very nice, relaxed atmosphere and friendly servers.

People come here for the toast box. It’s worth trying once. The best ones to get is the strawberry or the chocolate banana. The bread is really sweet and the ice cream compliments it well.
Service is OK.
Drinks are pretty good, I just had slush series so far, doesn’t disappoint.

they told me to just head down there when i called for a reservation and said they will have a table for us… we ended up waiting… for 20 minutes when we arrived.
The waitress looked like she had no interest in serving us…
not worth it at all

I always drop by What8ver café when I’m back in town. They toast box is actually amazing, and the drinks are pretty decent too (a little pricey for me, but hey, it’s the same pricing as you’d get from Pearl Castle/​other sit-​down bbt places, and it’s hell of a lot better than Toronto bbt). I can see where everyone else is coming from regarding service, but it’s not bad enough to really stop me from going back — it’s not like you should be expecting that much from a small bbt place.
Also, I think they’re closed sometime in the afternoon until 5:30? I went by at 5 one day, had to bum around for half an hour.

Wow I’m so surprised that people really hate this place. Well I guess in Richmond people hate a lot of stuff lol. Bah humbug. Well It’s busy so they must be doing something right.
It’s a VERY small place but the wait it worth it for the toast which is the best around. Also their drinks are ok, good but not the best. Service is what you can expect from a BBT place, so don’t expect Michelin Star service.
They have two types of toast, the thick one, and the box one. You want the box one, it’s the super huge hollowed out half block that you drizzle maple syrup into and eat with ice cream, fruit and cream toppings. Doesn’t that sound good? Only four flavors which is a downfall since I was hoping they’d have more. Original, red been matcha, strawberry macaron, and chocolate banana. Personally the strawberry one is the best.
Drinks are good, a bit on the bland side (better than being overly sweet) and they do take forever… the food comes out waaaay before the drinks. You do have to wait a while for a table, and then again for food and drinks, but it’s nothing too extreme about 25 minutes for a toast and drinks are dependent on how fast or slow the bubble tea barista maker person is.

3.5 stars. Pretty good drinks. Like other Unilocalers mentioned, totally lacking in service. I get that Chinese places tend to have shoddy service but my friends and I were basically ignored for a while…
I think they’re known for their honey brick toast but I didn’t try it. I had a chilled Passion Fruit Green Tea with half sugar and it was delicious! It had a pretty strong passion fruit flavor with a kick of green tea bitterness that lingered on the tongue. My friends ordered Mango Green Tea and Matcha Milk Tea. They were served in huge glass cups. Our orders took about 15 – 20 minutes arrive, which seemed kinda long considering there weren’t many customers.
After our drinks were served, my friends and I just chilled for an hour or two and the waitress never came back to ask us if we wanted our check or needed anything else. Even though the drinks were really good, we had to call the waitress a few more times before we finally got the bill. I’d come here again for convenience if I’m nearby but I’m not expected anything good in terms of service.

Great little café with a good selection of drinks and desserts. Had a late night craving and was happy to find out that they were open till 3 on Fridays and Saturdays! They’re known for their toast boxes, but it’s not on the menu so you have to ask them about it. I don’t find it too sweet, but its probably cuz I like sweet things. Their usual flavours are strawberry, chocolate, matcha, and vanilla. I love their calpico drinks, especially peach :3 I think the service depends on whether they’re busy or not. When it’s busier, it usually takes a while to order but otherwise they’re pretty good. It’s a very casual place, so don’t expect 5-​star service! They’re usually packed in the evening — I tried to go on a Saturday around 6 and they didn’t have a spot open until 10 :(But I like the place, would go back again!

This is a nice, casual spot for bubble tea with a great selection, good prices, and flavourful drinks with tons of variety. The cream float is particularly an interesting, tasty, and delightful beverage.

THIS IS WHY THERE ARE BAD REVIEWS FOR THIS PLACE.
Don’t go here. Don’t go here. Don’t go here. The service is terrible and the staff is rude. My boyfriend and I came in at around 12AM on a Friday and were ignored for a good 5 minutes even though there was a table open and the staff could CLEARLY see us over the bar and yet nobody said hello or welcome (or anything for that matter).
The waitress seated us and then wiped down the table and left. She cleaned the table next to ours and ignored us for another 5 minutes. We thought she had left to get us menus but I was wrong. We asked her about their special Honey Toast box which was recommended to us by a friend and he mentioned that it wasn’t on the menu but if you asked the staff they would know.
So we asked her about the Honey Toast box and she says «there’s two flavours fruit or red bean,» and promptly left to the back again. So we were sitting there thinking ‘uh what else does it come with what are those flavours for? The ice cream? The topping?’ She comes back and we ask her how do we order it and what does it come with and she rudely says «you just order it» and gives us a dumbfounded look. Now some people would say oh maybe it’s a language barrier but nope, she spoke perfect english. She was just rude and completely useless as a server.
We ended up choosing the fruit one with green tea ice cream after FINALLY getting her to ELABORATE on the damn toast box. We waited for nearly 15 minutes wondering if they forgot our order or something but realized that it just takes a long time to make. It would have been HELPFUL if she informed us that it would take awhile.
She wasn’t the only rude one though, when we were waiting to be seated or whenever we tried to flag down someone they just ignored us. The service was slow and seemed horrible to EVERYONE in the restaurant at that time too (all the tables were full). Worst of all the toast box was just mediocre and I could’ve made it at home myself with damn better toppings. I would never go here again.
I don’t understand why anyone would accept being treated this way, you are going to be tipping these people for no service. I understand asian places don’t often put service to a priority but AT LEAST DO YOUR DAMN JOB DESCRIPTION. I don’t need you to be charming and chatty (I don’t expect you to treat me how they would if I went to a fine dining restaurant). I just want you to answer the damn questions for items you DON’T HAVE on a the menu (that’s so smart) and GREET PEOPLE. Even other bubble tea places can manage that.

What8ver Café — a small, but promising bubbletea joint.
In my opinion, you either love or hate What8ver. What makes this little tea and snack restaurant so appealing is the creativity and extensiveness of their menu. Ever seen a block of toast, hollowed out and filled with various dessert items? Their drink menu is enough to fill you with indecision.
Cons about this place is that it is always busy. I suppose that’s a good thing, but if you’re looking to get seating, this place is very limited (and I mean VERY limited). Even calling ahead of time, you’ll encounter a 30+ minute wait list. In addition, the staff members are not always attentive so don’t expect top-​notch service from this place.
All-​in-​all, you can only expect so much from a bubbletea restaurant. I enjoy coming out to this place at night when I’m cruising around town. It has also quickly become a favourite to my friends.

Not sure why all the bad reviews. Neither the food, nor the service were particularly bad to warrant a «bad» review.
Food was fine, the fried squid was tasty, some pieces were goopy and seemed a little undercooked, but overall was decent.
Ordered the «special» toast with strawberry and macha ice team. Its pretty much half a loaf of bread that they hollow out the inside and cut it into sticks. They then toast each stick and sprinkle wit sugar. Stuff them all back into the loaf and top with ice cream and fruit. Not too shabby. Get your sugar and carb fix all in one.
Would probably come back again.

pretty well what other reviewers have said.
They’re supposed to be known for their cube-​box bread, stuffed w/​ice cream, strawberries, chocolate pocky sticks, but meh…
It’s very small w/​5 booths along the wall, so expect a wait during the prime time. And staff isn’t exactly friendly.
Their lychee w/​coconut jelly saved this from a one-star…they sure gave you plenty, big-​size ones, a bit on the sour side, and served in a glass jar!

This review is only for their bubble tea and House Special Honey Bread Toast that look like a fort rather than piece a toast. Note this toast is the special one that is NOT on their standard menu.
We heard of their Special Honey Toast awhile ago from a friend so we decided to make a trip to give it a try. Unfortunately their bubble tea drinks, and especially their «Special Honey Toast» is NOT special at all. It is a total waste of my trip.
Décor: typical Taiwanese hippy décor. This place is very small. Have 7 tables at max. Good luck waiting for an empty table during peak hours.
Service: typical Taiwanese hippy bubble tea service. That means little to none. If you want to be served, you need to remind them again and again of what you want.
Drink: Ordered a passion fruit green tea with mango jelly. Quite sweet, need to dilute down to drinkable level with ice water. Should have ordered it «less sweet». Jelly was good though, fresh, fruity and not too sweet. But over all the drink is nothing special.
Food: Ordered a Special Honey Bread Toast with fresh strawberry topping, custard crème and ice-​cream. The toast itself is crispy on the outside and rather soft on the inside. Interesting texture combination, but taste-​wise it was not anything close to spectacular on the tongue. The topping consisted of basically 2 pcs of strawberry got sliced into fine layers, and some very stale, hard custard crème probably made 2 days ago. As far as the ice-​cream, it was some standard vanilla favor, short of surprises in terms of flavor and texture. For close to $ 10 bucks, it is rather over-​priced and totally not worth it.
I know this is my first try at this place and probably went in with too much expectation, but based on my experience of the quality of its «core» food & house-​signature drink, I will definitely not come here again, well needless to say recommending to anyone.

This is a cute little place with delicious waffles! My favorite is the blueberry with vanilla ice cream ($ 5 incl. HST). The prices for food is fairly reasonable; However, I find their drinks are on the expensive side ($ 4-​$ 7).
We also ordered calamari (‘Deep Fried Octopus Tentacles’ on their menu) which were absolutely amazing but the portion was really teensy weeny.