Capsule Cafe

Food is not bad but sometimes the flavor can be a little bland. Good for a casual quick bite. They have gacha machine if you spend over 25 before tax - very fun! They also have affordable menu items to order like popcorn chicken, braised pork over rice - nothing to write home about but flavor is good! Personally i think if you're picking your own items for them to cook then YGF up the road has more selection and better flavors. I like the ambiance here though, and it's usually not as crowded.

Pretty fun concept located in UDistrict! Just like a lot of gacha related stuff, a lot of money is involved - here, for a chance to use the capsule machine to get either toys or some promotion, you need to spend $25 before tax and tip which is fairly high if everyone in the party wants one. We did end up doing that, by trying out the braised soup as well as some of the hot food menu.The braised soup is $14.99/lb and is a similar concept to that of YGF Malatang in UDistrict, where you get a bowl and tongs to put in whatever you want and they will cook it for you. They have vegetables, tofu, noodles, fish balls, and sliced beef you can choose from. I got a little bit because we also got hot food, and it was solid. I opted for a little bit of spicy so there are some spicy peppers thrown in a rich, thick soup. They separate out the noodles from the other ingredients in a bowl which is interesting.We also tried the braised pork over rice, popcorn chicken, chicken fillet, and fried king oyster mushroom. The braised pork over rice is very flavorful and good, and it is perfect to pair this with one of the other dishes like popcorn chicken or king oyster mushroom. The popcorn chicken itself is well-spiced, though portions are on the smaller end for the price of $8. The chicken fillet has more chicken overall and less breading, but it has spices and preparation similar to the popcorn chicken. The king oyster mushroom also has similar spices and preparation methods, and is like the vegetarian option.Overall, the food is decent and the bonus is that even though after tax and tip our order is over $75, but we were $1 short of 3 coins (3x$25), the cashier still let us have it since the 4 of us ordered so much food overall. However, in terms of price versus quality, I have had better and the food here is priced in a way that it is hard to go just over $25, and you end up over-ordering as you feel like you are just so close to getting the capsule that not spending a few bucks more will trigger sink cost fallacy.

I came here for the gatcha capsule! I had to eat 25 dollars worth of food for it, which I felt was a bit too pricy. I got a cute bunny though! I thought the ambiance was nice with little figurines decorating a wall. I came here 20 minutes til close so I could only do take out. I got braised pork over rice which was delicious! I also got corn dogs, mozzarella sticks, fried king oyster mushrooms and sesame balls. I told them to cover it in hot spice since I like it spicy. Theres a lingering kick that you should definitely watch out for! I ended up in a food coma on account of all the food I ate. Just look at the photos of all the food I took. Tell me that wouldn't put you in a food coma! I hear the main dish is the soup so I will need to try that the next time I come here.

Craving for god-tier braised pork over rice? Capsule cafe is where you should go! The seasoning is well done and with the price - perfect. Their front door is pretty hidden which could be easy to be ignored but give it a try! Also, if you spend over $20, they will give you a token for the capsule machine for either a cute little toy or a free drink/sides. Fun! PS: Remember to check their hours in their yelp/Instagram since they have weird hours

Finally got to stop by and take a visit here after wondering about it for so long. Was admittedly a little lost after walking in because of the wall of raw ingredients, but the employee was kind when explaining how it works (pick your foods of choice from the wall and pay by the pound, then have it braised in the back and delivered cooked) and it was fun to browse all the options. Was slightly concerned about the cleanliness of the tongs being used and the cross-contamination between veggies and meats, but it was a fun experience overall and worth a visit. The chicken katsu was slightly dry but tasted like it was made fresh.Also got a little panda charm out of the capsule machine for spending over $25. Cute!

always come here for their braised pork over rice... super flavorful and delicious. service was very nice and if you spend over $25 you get a coin to use the capsule machine for a mini toy

Cute little restaurant with a capsule game for customers. Lots of flavors to choose from

I love Capsule Cafe! It's my favorite restaurant on the Ave. their braised pork over rice is good, their mushroom and popcorn chicken are the best!

Popcorn chicken portion size was very small. This was how it was packaged for us. Not crispy and not worth $8. I've had cheaper popcorn chicken orders with much greater portion sizes. The corn dogs and mozzarella sticks were packaged together tho charged separately. Only got 3 mozzarella sticks in the order.

Not sure how this can claim to be Taiwanese. Popcorn chicken. Which is a Taiwaneses classic had the wrong batter. Felt soft. Had no fried basil in it. The 'Lou way' another Taiwanese staple. Was simply not even Lou way. It was just some ingredients with sauce poured on top. Food was simply ok. But bugs me when places call themselves Taiwanese, but it's clear that either the chef simply doesn't care about authenticity or has never actually eaten proper Taiwanese food.