HELLO KITTY CAFE
The first U.S. Hello Kitty Cafe launched at Irvine Spectrum Center. (Photo: Jenn Tanaka)
HELLO KITTY GRAND CAFE | The Bow Room
670 Spectrum Center Dr. #860 Irvine, CA. 92618
The donuts are fried to order and dusted with cinnamon-sugar or coated with Oreo cookie crumbs at Hello Kitty Cafe at Irvine Spectrum Center. (Photo: Jenn Tanaka)
Hello Kitty desserts: berry fruit tart (Photo: Jenn Tanaka)
Strawberry drink and sweet tea at Hello Kitty Cafe grand opening . (photo: Jenn Tanaka)
Afternoon Tea and Cocktails
Did you know about the speakeasy inspired bar hidden inside the Hello Kitty Cafe at the Irvine Spectrum Center?
A golden bow-shaped door knocker clues you in that something special awaits beyond.
Behind a pocket door hides The Bow Room, a secluded haven for Hello Kitty fans and a must visit place for Sanrio fanatics.
During the day, the cafe presents an Instagram-worthy tea service. (Securing a reservation for tea is tricky. It books out months in advance.)
An assortment of Sanrio desserts at Hello Kitty Cafe.
The afternoon tea service features gilded Hello Kitty pedestals decorated with Sanrio-inspired confections and delicate cones brimmed with chilled egg salad. This is the first Hello Kitty Cafe of its kind in the U.S.
In the evening, the space transforms into a plush pink cocktail bar. Knowing that this is when the cool cats come out to play, co-proprietors Alan Tea and Urania Chien enlisted veteran craft bartenders to oversee the Hello Kitty-driven cocktail program.
Hello Kit-Tea (photo: Jenn Tanaka)
RECIPE: Hello Kit-Tea
2 oz. Toki Japanese whisky
2 oz. Art of Tea Jasmine White Tip tea
2 tsp Depaz syrup
2 tsp Yuzu-lime juice
2 tsp Dolin Blanc vermouth
Garnish: Whipped cream and matcha powder
METHOD:
Place ingredients into a shaker.
Add ice and stir. Strain cocktail into a tea cup.
Top with heavy whipped cream.
Sprinkle matcha powder on top.
* This recipe was inspired by the Hello Kit-tea cocktail served at The Bow Room.
Kawaii Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends cocktails.
A bite-sized version of the apple pie at Hello Kitty Grand Cafe’s opening party. (photo: Jenn Tanaka)
The cocktails at Hello Kitty Cafe (Photo: Jenn Tanaka)