Joy Cafe

Joy café is one of those great little secrets in St Pete. The woman who works there is super nice and the food is all very reasonably priced with great flavor! Definitely worth a try, because once you try it you’ll want to come back again

Friendly family owned small business. I really love bubble tea. I tried the coffee bubble tea and it was really good.

Vietnamese coffee $ 3.48 … came in 8 oz plastic cup filled with ice cubes, the liquid content is probably close to 1 oz. I finished this treat in 45 seconds after 10 minutes of waiting.
What I envisioned was a big tall glass filled with crushed ice in the middle and sweet milk at the bottom. On the glass top, a Vietnamese coffee dripper, slowly dripping hot dark liquid down into the glass. Once drink is ready I mix coffee and milk and ice, and enjoy it over good 30 minutes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I got. Perhaps everything is suited to to-​go pack only. The place is tiny.
Stalk interior … mismatching chairs and only 3 tables… blasting cable TV, kinda run down, and no guest wifi. I asked for the passcode and the lady said it is not offered any longer.
I surmised that this is not a place for working on your project or for reading books while eating. In and out, chop chop, but you have to be patient for your 1oz Vietnamese iced coffee.

Joy Café sells mainly Vietnamese food; however, it’s not Vietnamese-​owned or operated. Maybe they sell Viet food because of the success of other Vietnamese cafes in the area. But they also sell Cuban sandwiches, American sandwiches, boba tea, coffee, etc. They even offer Thai wings. So I guess they’re trying to please every taste.
I ordered a grilled pork banh mi and a honey lemonade. Let’s start off with the good news… the honey lemonade was very refreshing. I could’ve drank a gallon of it. Now onto the bad news… I found a hair in my sandwich. It was really disappointing. I had already taken a few bites and noticed the hair implanted in my sandwich, so I know it wasn’t mine. I brought it up to the owner, who made me a new sandwich. I was expecting to be offered a full refund but did not get it. I probably should have requested another type of sandwich so I know my old sandwich won’t be recycled in a new baguette. Or maybe I should’ve just left because it was a little uncomfortable eating my new sandwich, which actually was a pretty decent banh mi for not being an authentic Vietnamese restaurant.
Other than finding a hair in my sandwich, the café is pretty clean. I just can’t go back though as my first impression wasn’t good. I know things like that happen. If I was a long-​time customer and this was the first time something like that happened, then I would be more forgiving but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Sorry. Two stars is generous but I really liked the honey lemonade and the flavor of the banh mi was decent.

We had the 2 signature sandwiches and they were amazing! Highly recommend this little hole in the wall! Great Vietnamese flavors that are easy to eat and totally munchable. The Vietnamese coffee is good as well. Great customer service and ultra friendly.

Wow, that was possibly the best grilled chicken wrap I’ve ever had! It had grilled chicken, fresh cucumber, cilantro, tomato, romaine lettuce, and red pepper (Vietnamese-​inspired).
It’s tucked away in a strip mall, but was not too busy at lunch time. I look forward to returning to try their grilled pork sandwich!
The owners were really friendly too!

Great place just a local neighborhood place Christine the owner she goes way out of her way for you fresh ingredients reasonable and I mean reasonable pricing support small businesses and visit her sometime