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I Cafe
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
2525 Heather StVancouver, BC V5Z 3J2
Neighbourhood: Fairview Slopes
(604) 630-0238
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
12 reviews for I Cafe
12 reviews in English
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Review from Neill M.
Richmond, BC
5/14/2012
I think my favourite aspect of this restaurant is the hidden parking lot (give them a call when you arrive and they will open the garage door in the adjacent alleyway for you).
A nice view of Broadway from inside, friendly staff and very affordable meals. I'm a fan of the pork schnitzel they often have at these Hong Kong style restaurants. Go to try their lunch menu, it includes a soup, drink and the main course for just over 10 bucks. -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
6/13/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Hmmmmm if memory serves me right.... iCafe used to be the HK cafe on Cambie right off of Broadway? I remember it was quite packed back in the days too, but I guess that was many many years ago.
I ordered the curry beef with rice noodle. Broth was tasty, well balanced. Beef, eh I had better... that's for sure. The drinks were alright. Nothing quite worth mentioning.
A little over priced for the quality and the type of food served here. I guess that's why this place isn't as packed as I remember.
Too bad this place has changed so much. -
Review from Henry B.
Vancouver, BC
It's a decent HK style cafe on the same level as Cafe Gloucester and Copa cafe nearby on Cambie St. I had the lunch special, chicken and fried fish with spaghetti. It comes with a choice of borscht or cream soup; bun; tea or coffee. The chicken was tender, not dry at all. Overall, pretty good for just $10 and change. Polish the lunch off with a blackforest cake similar to the ones you get from Maxims bakery.
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Review from Randy F.
8/8/2008 1 photo
One of the strengths of Vancouver casual cuisine is the plethora of Hong Kong-style cafes or bistros. Specializing in American cuisine, these restaurants cook traditional Western items such as macaroni noodle soup, baked pork chop and Russian Borscht soup with an Asian flare.
In Hong Kong, such cafes are both popular and affordable for the every man or woman. Think of it as McDonald's but with higher quality cuisine.
I Cafe is among the oldest such cafes and has survived the turnover that characterizes many of these places. Both the high quality food, comfortable and clean interior, and nice prices keep people coming back.
Standout dishes are : Japanese inspired curry beef with rice, baked pork chop over rice, and the Russian Borscht soup. The Hong Kong milk tea (condensed milk mixed with hot red tea) is also especially good.
Overall, a great place to try simple, yet tasty cuisine and see what Hong Kong style food is all about. -
Review from Pia W.
8/12/2009
Don't be be fooled by the fact that this establishment's name doesn't have a Chinese counterpart, because guess what? It's just another Hong Kong style cafe.
Compared with other Hong Kong style cafes, iCafe offers the least combo (aka set) menus. Ttheir menu is mostly a la carte. To me as someone from Hong Kong AND a student, this already raises the red flag as relatively pricey (compared with other Hong Kong style cafes in the Lower Mainland). The prices on each dish (which would practically be your meal) is well above $6 each, if you want to add a drink, it will put you over $10 per person...and you don't get a soup/dessert? -- definitely overpriced for a Hong Kong style cafe.
I have managed to try one of their very few combos: The 10 oz. Prime Rib. With that, I get a choice of Russian Borscht/Cream of something soup, a dinner bun, a choice of any drink (to have an originally served hot drink like Hong Kong style tea served as iced there's an extra fee of $2) and a dessert. You also get to choose if you want rice, spaghetti or tater tots with the prime rib and the sauce you want to go with it (i.e. black pepper, mushroom, garlic...etc). (Note: If you want the tater tots, you should ask for it, they usually just ask if you want either rice or spaghetti...don't worry, there's no additional cost)
All this for $16-$17 (before tax).
The cream of something soup: Till this day, I still don't know what it should be called...it had a few (few meaning 1 or 2) niblets of corn, a few shreds of the top of a broccoli (I think...) and a few chunks of the fake crab meat...otherwise, it's pretty much your thick and heavy (smells a lot like butter) Hong Kong style cream soup.
The dinner bun: Nothing much to say on it...smells like they used a lot of butter to make it too -- Your regular Hong Kong style pastry.
The rice/spaghetti/tater tots: Never choose the rice at iCafe, it always come overly dry. The spaghetti is an alright option, but be warned that it is served just right out of the boiling water (that's where you utilize the sauce that comes with the prime rib).
The drink: I usually get the Hong Kong style milk tea mixed with coffee, nothing so special about it...I'd say some other Hong Kong style cafes make a better one than they do.
Prime Rib with sauce: Prime Rib is alright, but I've eaten better (namely at the Keg). The sauce...no matter which one I choose, it always comes out as too salty and clumps up into disgusting lumps of lard when it cools down (usually at the end of the meal).
Service is at par...not any better than other Hong Kong style cafes.
I've gone back a few times and tried their spaghettis and rice, so I'd say I've given them a fair chance.
Conclusion: iCafe isn't exactly above average with relatively high menu prices, I'd only go if I absolutely have to. -
Review from Annie M.
Vancouver, BC
Another HK style cafe in Vancouver that I usually go for it. However, it's not easy to find parking spot on Broadway or Heather St during the day time.
They serve better food than other Cafes.. (Copa or Gloucester). I agreed with others reviews that least choices and $1-2 more than other HK style cafes.
We ordered 2 lunch sets to share:
Deep fried pork chop with Japanese ramen - Pork chop was crispy and tasty, ramen was ok.
Stir-fried flat rice noodle with beef was good too. -
Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
11/25/2009 1 photo
iCafe has been around for a while (upstairs on Broadway by VGH) - while this is a good sign, it seems to have slid downhill steadily. Although it's not one of my regular haunts, it *used* to be go-to place if I was in the area.
As mentioned in Pia's review, iCafe is pretty pricey for a HK cafe and lacks combo options. The decor is nicer than your typical HK cafe but it seems extremely pretentious (they had a wine rack near the entrance -- really? Wine in an HK cafe?!?) - seems like they are trying to get further and further away from what makes HK cafes so popular.
I remember being wow'ed by their baked pork chop on rice the first time I was here (in which case, the price would not be an issue) - however on my last visit, the portions seem to have shrunk and it was pretty bland.
I may give them another shot in the future (as the location is great) but my hopes aren't high.Listed in: HK Cafes
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Review from Steven N.
Vancouver, BC
1/28/2010
A staple HK cafe that's open late and somewhat close to the downtown core.
This place doesn't scream amazing to me but it is consistent. Try the sambal seafood fried rice and you'll begin to spot the hidden gems in its otherwise-stale-looking menu.
The ambience is nice, especially when you compare to many of its competitors but the food is pretty much on par with slightly higher prices. -
Review from Kymberli C.
I hate writing 1 star reviews, but I feel this place really deserves it. We were still hungry after walking around the Chinatown Night Market and wanted a late night snack. I was thinking of some sort of HK cafe that has desserts or toasts, so I looked on Yelp and this place was opened for at least another hour so we came here. There was one other couple and no one else there... we were seated and handed menus... after looking through the menu, nothing really caught my eye except for the big toasts... exactly what I was craving... there were sandwiches and other things that involve bread on the menu. After a long wait, the waitress came to us and took our orders... when I ordered the toast, she said NO! without any reason... I looked at her and waited for a reason but she didn't give one, so I said okay... what about a sandwich.. and she said NO! very sternly again. So I asked why not? She said they don't have bread there. ok... so I didn't want to get up and leave so we just ordered a milk tea and iced coffee. The whole time we were there she just stared at us waiting for us to finish them fast or something. She then came when we were half way done withour drinks, and said "Do you want anything else, it's last call." I said, "No, just the check please" I gave her money right away as she handed us the check, and we should've had some sort of change even if we left a 20% tip for our drinks but she never gave it back! We were tired of waiting, and she didn't look in our direction after we paid so we just left. As we were walking out, we heard the owner or manager ask her did you give them back their change, and she said no, I figured it was just tip. UGH!
Listed in: Vancouver in 1.5 days...
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Review from Daphne H.
2/1/2009
I remember I Cafe when it was near Cambie.
My faves was their Baked spaghetti bolognese and the usual go-to HK cafe style drinks. For me, its the watercrest water with honey. I also like their Omurice. Their menu is pretty extensive, everything you can expect from a HK style cafe.
I haven't been a while...so its about time I went back to check it out.
Will report back again ;) -
Review from C J.
Vancouver, BC
1/7/2010
I'm obviously not a big fan of HK-style cafes that re-invent western style dishes. I prefer the original renditions thank you very much. That being said, we didn't go for any spaghetti.
Four of us had lunch and we ordered:
Sliced beef with broad noodles
Curry beef brisket with rice
Minced beef with fried egg on rice
Stir fried spinach with garlic
The last dish was my wife's request - we must be anomalies because we always need to order a vegetable dish. If you're the same, you'll have to ask as they do not offer this on the menu.
Everything was tasty and well prepared. Nothing really to complain about but nothing to rave about either. Cheap but not that fast with typical chaotic service - we never had the same person respond to our queries, take our order or serve us a dish. $40 w/tip -
Review from David L.
11/30/2009
Hmmm... a fusion of Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine and Western dishes. This is the place to get it. I had a tomato, beef, rice dish and it tasted hot and fresh. Did I just say that? Yep, nothing like I've never tasted before, and prices are on the expensive side. Interior is kinda modern techno funky but the food needs more substance and value.
