Matcha Cafe Maiko

I absolutely am in love with this place, the funny thing is I didn't understand all the rage until I put my pride down and let the novelty take control...but it was worth it! Countless times of walking down grant street and seeing people unmercifully making out with their matcha and vanilla soft serves had done their time and I was ready to surrender finally.I did try a sample of the matcha soft serve and it was like taking a bite out of angel stuff, their matcha quality truly is premium as they say...I can't really say how or why but the way it tasted, the texture and how fragrant yet light the mouthfeel is is out of this world, and I'm honestly a eh soft serve person but I am changed. What I really went there for was a hot drink on a very cold February evening and they had a dream come true drink right there for me: BLACK SESAME LATTE. It's like you're drinking moon liquid, from the color to the taste, I'm obsessed. I went there 2 days in a row just for that. They're affordable too. Love.Small little nook place so you really can't enjoy your drink inside without others trying to look at the menu and the excitement is just pulsing all around but there's literally so many parks and just walkable Chinatown right outside, that you really don't need to be a cafe fly and stay. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a sweet subtle treat and or unique and yummy lattes like the black sesame or hojicha latte.

i'm a big fan of matcha and i love their japantown location. this chinatown location is slightly smaller, on a bustling street located alongside many souvenir and dessert shops. there's usually a line, but service is quick and orders come out fast! we ordered 2 soft serves ($7 each) - one matcha and one ube/hojicha swirl. the matcha soft serve was scrumptious! as you can tell by the picture, the matcha is dark green and tastes authentic - i can compare its authenticity to izumi matcha in cupertino. the flavor was nice and strong, and not too sweet!the ube/hojicha swirl was also quite nice if you're a fan of both flavors. this cafe nails down the authenticity of the flavors!!

I've been here quite a few more times, I really enjoy checking out their seasonal rotating flavors - though the classic matcha soft serve is good too.Hojicha latte: I've gotten this with large size, regular milk, and as little as no sugar. When you select no sugar, it's really not sweet at all and you can strongly taste the tea. They still have one of the better hojicha lattes I've had, factoring in price and flavor, so I highly recommend it if you're looking for a great nutty hojicha.Matcha latte: I've also tried this with large size, regular milk, and no sugar. Similarly, the matcha flavor comes out really strongly and it's great if you like that savory yet bitter flavor of the matcha. I appreciate that they use a powerful matcha and aren't watering it down with too much milk.Peach oolong ice cream: I tried this when it was one of the seasonal flavors, it has a nice fruity and floral flavor At the time, their other temporary seasonal flavor was yuzu.The waffle cones are fresh and crunchy too.Definitely one of my favorite places to get soft serve style ice cream, and they have great tea lattes as well. The shop is very small, but they're pretty quick with making your order - it's typically been out within a minute or two of me ordering.

Came here around noon looking for a matcha latte, and this place did not disappoint! There was a bit of line because this place is popular. There's no seating inside, just a couple of countertops to stand at and drink but probably easier to take your treat to-go. The employee was very nice but seemed like the only person there working, but drinks still came out in reasonable time. I got their Iced Matcha Latte with half sugar, and it was great! I definitely recommend getting less sugar, it really allows the matcha flavor to shine through. It was a beautiful shade of green, and the drink itself was smooth. Would definitely come back!

This Matcha Cafe Maiko location is in the heart of SF Chinatown. So it's expected to have long lines as there is a lot of foot traffic. However line moves decently fast so don't be too defeated by the crowd haha.I have a matcha soft serve in a cup. You can get it in the cone which smelled so good. But getting it in a cup seems like a less messy way~ the matcha flavor is delicious strong, the soft serve is sweet but not too sweet. The texture is great too. Love it~I would recommend visiting this store by walking. Really don't see much street parking near by but perhaps I didn't notice. I think if you happen to walk by definitely give it a try~

One location of a small chain. I popped in here after a dim sum dinner in Chinatown. Cute spot with lots of tasty drinks and desserts. I got a cone of matcha soft serve swirl with vanilla. Very yummy (I think it's hard to go wrong with matcha soft serve!) and there was no line when I went in so service was quick. I'd like to try the ube flavor next time!

Tasty! Live the matcha ice cream sundae and hojicha latte. It's our go to spot after dinner in Chinatown:)

This is an awesome dessert spot. Their soft served ice cream is a treat. I like that it isn't too sweet. They always have a monthly flavor too. Sometimes it can be a hit or miss though. Their ice cream flavors are limited too.

First time at this place. Generally, there's a line out the door. It's quite popular. I was happy to see they had Hojicha Latte! I had it in LA and fell in love with it. My cousin ordered all our drinks and unfortunately, he ordered everyone's drink iced. Apparently, the person who took his order didn't ask him whether he wanted them hot or cold. Regardless, it was good enough to where I would go back and order it hot next time.

This place is small with a few counters to stand by. About half the menu is soft serve matcha and the other are drinks. We went with a warm matcha latte, an iced matcha tea, and a matcha lemonade. Only one worker to take the orders and prep the items but was still very quick. The drinks were great - all real matcha based drinks.