CoCo Cafe & Tea

My friends who live in downtown San Jose kept telling me about that Coco Café has really good popcorn chicken. Popcorn Chicken is my favorite snack, so I decided to come down and try out this popcorn chicken I kept hearing so many great things about. I didn’t know what to order to drink, so I asked the lady who was working the cashier what she would recommend. She was very nice, and she told me that the fresh sugar cane juice, thai teas, and floating macha green tea were their most popular drinks. Ive never had sugarcane juice before and it sounded interesting, so I gave it a try. I got the Sugarcane juice with Ginger, because I like ginger, and WOW, that sugar cane juice was damn good. It was very sweet and had a lot of flavors in it, it was definitely unlike anything I had ever tried before. The popcorn chicken did not disappoint either. The outside was hot and crunchy, but the inside was juicy and savory. I’m not sure what they marinate their chicken in before they cook it, but whatever they did made it SOO DELICIOUS. Ive eaten at a lot of different cafes and restaurants in San Jose, and I would have to say that without question, Coco Café has the BEST Popcorn Chicken that I have EVER had. I seriously loved it, there is honestly probably no way to fairly describe it besides that you just have to go try it for yourself. I came in around the lunch rush, so the place was pretty busy, however i only had to wait about 5 minutes for my food! I was very impressed with both the food and service. Not to mention the sugar cane juice and popcorn chicken cost under $ 10 in total, which is an awesome deal for downtown san jose.

I’ve been here multiple times. I’ve also been disappointed multiple times. You guessed it– both for the same reason: the quality of CoCo’s products.
*Their phở tastes canned and is overpriced.
*Their tea+drinks are watery and rather bland.
*Their food is subpar, poorly portioned, overpriced, and has been mixed up before.
The last time I went (which is the last time I’ll go) was mixed up– my roommate and I ordered two different items and both got the same thing. I’d recommend finding your sustenance at another place.

2^nd location opened I guess? Original I think in berryessa, but the service there sucks balls! Close to sjsu, next to iguana’s near China chen. Ordered rice paper salad ($ 5.97 after tax). It’s not as bad as you might think. The spicy sauce mixed in will make the rice paper soft so no worries.
Served in those small paper trays, but I heard they use to give you more. There’s strips of vietnamese beef jerky, cooked quail egg, crushed peanuts, sesame? And spicy dressing made of sriracha, soy sauce and my guess is sesame oil and sugar. Not many vietnamese places serve this kind of salad. Coco’s is the only place I know that serves it.
Their yellow curry has a strong curry smell. Try it with salt and lime juice or dip it with French bread. Luu noodle restaurant has the same curry, but with duck. Highly recommend trying this kind of curry. Maybe not here, but luu noodle. Not sure if taste will differ since luu noodle is mainly chu chao style noodle.

Gave this place a try and the first time I thought was really good. Me and my co worker shared the same thing she got sick after nothing happen to me. I have it another try and got the orange chicken with fried rice there was one shrimp in it and the whole food smelt super fishy I didn’t eat any shrimp, I still ate the orange chicken and was pretty decent and the rice wasn’t that good at all. The next day I was sick.

I’ve been to this place three times. I usually give a place another go before I decide the full worth of the place.
The first time, I got pad thai… which tasted pretty good but not the best.
The second time, I got the curry and it had too much bone for its own good. I wouldn’t get it again because I personally prefer a thicker curry and something that wouldn’t take an extra while to eat (probably being picky). One of my friends got the pad thai since I recommended it and it came out super doused in sauce and as orange as a carrot. It tasted okay but not as good as the first time.
The third time, I got the popcorn chicken and so did my friend. I also ordered the rice salad since it was happy hour and cheaper. Both were a mistake. The popcorn chicken was cold and undercooked twice after I gave it back to them. The staff was very apologetic since they were training new people. After we got a properly cooked batch, I lost my appetite and my rice salad had been sitting there. So when I ate the salad later, it was too hard and there was not enough sauce to soften it.
The popcorn chicken my friend ordered did not arrive because the staff thought they finished after dealing with my order. We waited too long since they forgot and so she asked for a refund. They gave her a refund and we got two free thai milk teas with boba (sort of watery). They were being considerate but I also felt sorry for them.
The interior is very cute and edgy and the staff tries their best. However, I don’t think I’ll come back here unless I’m super hungry for pad thai.

Great place to hangout with friends, drink fresh fruit juices and have lunch & dinner. Enjoy playing uno games with awesome fried rice.

My sister brought me here for dinner last week. I wanted so badly to like it – esp since the location /​restaurant itself is really cute. But, there was something off putting about my Pad Thai… there was a smell — like lotion, I’m not sure if it was the herbs or what in the Pad Thai — but it was really like perfumy and to the point to where I couldn’t enjoy my food. My sister says the Phở was okay. nothing special. but I feel like this place could be really poppin with some tweaks and improvements food wise. I’m not a finnicky eater but I do have an issue when I can’t tell what kind of meat is being used and that alone is suspect. The eggrolls are a perfect example of this, it looked and tasted weird!
Overall, 2 stars for the cute ambiance but they need to step their game up on the food quality. Don’t skimp on that!

I really love their drinks here! The last few times I’ve bought food from them, though, the chicken in their dishes has been thigh meat that isn’t really seasoned. :(
Super good service, good drinks, good sauces. can I have some white meat chicken with a little seasoning on it next time?

Nice location. Like a café. But there are a few issues here.
The service is a bit on the slow side. Had to wait 20mis for food. I understand that it was busy at the time (6pm) but they should have more cooks working in the back. I saw 3 people working total.
The food is a low okay. It really depends on what you get here… including the boba.
I recommend any fried rice because that was flavorful to me.
Don’t get the orange chicken .
Pricing is normal but… the food here is mediocre at best…
Come here at your own discussion
²⁄₅
–Super Starlord

Boba drinks are meh.
Come here for their free wifi, phở, and noodle and rice plates (each meal around $ 7) and sugarcane drink (~$ 5).
However, the drinks may be overpriced.

Today I ventured out to this place with some coworkers. They ordered first, I ordered last. They received their food and were more than halfway done when I got my food. Only after they delivered the food of people that came in after me did I stand up to complain when the person at the counter rushed into the back to make the food that they clearly forgot about. I got the fried noodles with chicken. It was basically some chow mein noodles with chicken, vegetables and that is about it. Not much flavor… the worst part was the broccoli… I saw something black on it… it was mold. Awful.
More ranting… guy at counter, first day… may be his last.
Soda, no ice machine… Coke flat and tasted like shit. ***when telling the owner (?) that the Coke was terrible, he made two Thai teas… just made them and gave them to us… I don’t like Thai tea, so that was a waste for both of us. Next time ask…
Water, you have to ask for it, it is behind the counter… why?
No vermicelli… ugh.
This place will not see me again and now I am hungry…

I was here for lunch before my class. I had chicken gizzards and spring rolls. Overall the price was cheap and the food was good. The peanut sauce for the rolls had a bit of spicyness to it, which i thought gave the rolls a good kick. The chicken gizzards was not salty and came out crispy. Its a good place to hang since they have outlets and tv. I only wished they kept playing Britney Spear’s concert

My friend and I decided to come here after seeing it the other day while walking by. I was a little hesitant to come because I didn’t see too much good reviews for this place. But still, I gave it a try.
I didn’t think too much of what I wanted to eat since their lunch menu wasn’t too big. I chose the Pad Thai and got a Mango Green Tea along with my food. Oh, you order up front and wait for them to call out your drink and they will bring you your food if you’re having a real meal (not snacks) when you dine in.
I got my food pretty quickly and it looked pretty good. I mixed the onions, bean sprouts, peanuts, and the noodles together like usual. I started eating and it was actually pretty decent… until I encountered my worst nightmare: a piece of hair. I was really disgusted by it but I was too hungry so I picked it out and ate the rest carefully. My guy friend was looking at me funny because it’s just a piece of hair so I guess guys aren’t too «traumatized» by it compared to girls. But still, it’s a piece of hair… in my food… of course I had to voice my shock.
The drinks, on the other hand, were decent. My mango green tea was decent and surprisingly not too sweet. I most likely would only come back for their drinks. But with other boba places around, maybe not.
Overall, the food is ok despite my encounter and drinks are decent. I am probably really biased about this place now and I don’t want to make you not come here because you should always try new things at least once. Maybe you’ll have a better time than me.

Great for studying as there are power outlets, large tables, and music videos playing on the TV.
With Vietnamese food (phở, etc) options, it stands out as eatery and boba place. We tried out their kumquat milk tea and popcorn chicken.
I don’t recommend the kumquat milk tea, kumquat is just a weird tasting, adding milk just add to the weirdness.
popcorn chicken — not greasy, not super spicy, but decent.

I consider CoCo’s Café & Tea like the incoming freshman to an already popular and distinguished university. Awkward, but ambitious. Technically a 3.5÷5, but it’s generally favorable.
The atmosphere is unique. The original artwork on the walls provide the space with a modern, yet comforting feel. The inclusion of fresh fruit at the front and juicer left me curious. The area is spacious and there is a lot of seating. I like the inclusion of outlets beneath the booths and the free wi-​fi: clearly they’re aiming for the student crowd. And like most milk tea places in the Bay Area, there are TVs showing music videos. Adele was lamenting as I ate my house fries.
Speaking of my house fries, I thought they were good. The house sauce left me with a pleasant tingling sensation. The fries were thin and crisp. While I would have like a slightly larger portion, I would say it’s rightfully priced.
Things I worry about are the huge menu and the lack of water at the soda machine. With a large menu, especially with so many snacks ranging from popcorn chicken to calamari heads to even phở, it leads me to wonder how fresh certain foods are. If they’re fresh, it makes me wonder how long the wait must be, given how the café looks sadly understaffed. I would have also liked to give myself water refills, instead of asking the cashier.
However, I left CoCo’s satisfied. I’ll be sure to come back again to see if this incoming freshman improves.

I hadn’t eaten in this particular part of downtown in some time. I live in-​between downtown and Japan Town, so there’s no lack of places to try. Today we (my partner and I) found Coco’s Café and it was a nice surprise. We stopped in about 4, and ordered the spring rolls, papaya salad, and deep fried chicken gizzards. Service was quick and friendly. The environment was cool (on a hot afternoon) and welcoming. Finally, the menu was moderately priced, with many, if not all dishes in the $ 5 – 8 price range.
The food: our order was pretty pedestrian, except maybe for the gizzards. First, let me say… get the gizzards! I eat gizzards regularly and these were salty, and chicken-​y, and crunchy. If you’ve had deep fried oysters, then you are undoubtedly familiar with the «pop» where all the juices flood your taste buds; with the gizzards you get hit with chicken juice and are left with a nice crunchy, a little chewy, bit of chicken. Second, we received the spring rolls. They aren’t the best rolls I’ve had, but there’s a lot of competition when it comes to Vietnamese food. The rolls, nevertheless, were good, fresh and clearly made to order, as we asked for modified spring rolls. Last, we received the papaya salad. If you have a peanut allergy, know that the papaya salad is blasted with nuts. I loved it, well as much as one can love a papaya salad. It was the perfect choice for a hot day.
For me, other than the gizzards – obviously, I appreciated the portions, the price and the freshness of the food. ~$ 20 bought us enough food and drink for us to be a little more full than we wanted to be. My partner has been looking for a new place to get her Phở fix (y u close City!!!), so we will be back and the soup/​noodle dishes are the next thing on the list of items to try. Plus they are one of the few boba places downtown that has popping boba. It’s definitely a fusion place, but so far that has been a nice addition to what is otherwise pretty traditional Vietnamese food.
I’m going back. Seriously, fried gizzards, of course I’m going back! The gizzards made this place four-​star worthy, and I’m pretty stingy with ratings.

CoCo Café occupies an historical landmark. watch ur steps as steps are stone, painful should u stumble.
menu: ice tea, boba tea, ice cream, coffee, snacks, smoothies, desserts, noodles, entrees. appetitzers, etc.
drinks: taro and panda jelly (3.99)
–tasted mostly pandan jelly, found clump of taro at bottom of cup
–iced on top, sweet solution in the middle.
just so so for a che drink
take outs:
–no number nor name asked when order taken
name of drink/​entrée called out when it’s ready
*can be chaotic should misdelivery take place
–only 1 person in kitchen, 1 person making drinks
10 minutes wait at the minimum.
–they need a name or number system. lucky all patrons cool otherwise chaos is a potential.

Man it’s been hot lately. Had ramen for lunch which wasnt helping my case in keeping it cool, theyve got a sugar cane juicer here so i went for that with ginger. The worker takes bunch of cane branches and the robot smashes away. Iced cold, mixed with the ginger and some good sweetness. Freat for the hot afternoon

New to downtown! In a spot that is ever changing, a new eatery opens up here every 8 months. It’d be nice to see a name stay. With such a vast menu, you have plenty of snacks, drinks, and meals to choose from. The meals ranging from phở to fried noodles and fried rice. If you’re nearby, give this place a try!
Taro milkshake: yum yum! You can tell its taro, really sweet, a little taste of bubblegum. Very smooth and easy to drink, so you won’t need a boba straw! Drinking it with a boba straw would be sweetness overkill!
House fries: crispy with a drizzle of ranch and sweet chili sauce. The sauces taste great and add a variety of flavor, but it seems like the fries should have been salted more, and cooked a little less. If you want even more flavor, add some phở sauces (sriracha and hoisin sauce).

I had no idea this place was open! I had a hankering crave for my usual haunt, Iguana’s. But it was so crowded there I opted to try this spot.
To sum up my experience in 4 words or less: It’s pretty good!
The staff are very nice, and I had little trouble figuring out what I wanted. I ordered the Chicken Phở and a Mint Milk Tea w/​boba.
The phở was very flavorful and delicious. The chicken itself wasn’t quite to my liking, but I’m picky about meat. I may try the beef next time I come here. The noodles were especially delicious.
The mint milk tea was pleasant, a bit sweeter than I prefer. A good treat for the hot day at work I had that day.
The place has a pretty nice atmosphere and is very nice looking. I will definitely come back to try it again!