Class 302 Cafe

Their services have improved, and their Boba drink was still very good, I would say one of the better ones in Irvine. In terms of food, they are pretty generous with their portions, especially when you order the peppercorn beef/​chicken entrée, it’s pretty delicious too. I would come back again for sure. The only major con I have for Class 302 is that they only take cash.

It’s been three years since my last review… so it’s definitely time to give an update. When they first opened, I felt like their drinks were very inconsistent. Sometimes they would be too watered down or too sweet… but now I think that Class 302 is my favorite boba spot in Irvine! I prefer this location over the BYOB location (which is closer) because you can customize the sweetness of your drinks. I will drive here (let’s be real… ask my boyfriend to drive here) so I can get my boba the way I like it.
My go to drink is the 302 milk tea either ½ sugar or ¹⁄₃ sugar depending on how I feel that day. The boba here isn’t bad either so I will ask for «less boba» if I feel like it’s a boba day. The only place I will get the regular amount of boba is Half and Half.
The food here is pretty good. My boyfriend always orders one of the bento boxes (usually popcorn chicken). It comes with a TON of food and I think it’s a great price for the amount you get. We’ve also tried the bento box with the crispy pork chop and crispy chicken leg. The crispy chicken leg is so juicy and moist! It’s a great pick, but you get a lot less compared to the popcorn chicken or crispy pork chop… but it’s probably a little healthier.
I’ve heard great things about the oyster omelette and I want to try the hot pot here one day. I will definitely be back for boba and food.
Only downside is that it’s CASH ONLY. There’s a Wells Fargo ATM near Whole Foods though.

Self serve boba! They have humongous cups that you can fill with whatever suits you. Wish we had this down in San Diego!

Yea. Clas 302. So cool. So awesome. Love this place because they make the best boba around. I know there are some that make the boba better then others, so if you can make it in the morning then you should give it a try. The food is pretty good too. I like hotpot. The mango mochi is super good too. It is all really good. The wait can get long if it is busy. Try to plan ahead if you are going with a large group.
There is a place for family to go and enjoy lunch or dinner together. If this is something that you are into then you should go and check it out. It is a good way to have something simple and on the go. Or you can it is and the Culver location is awesome. It can get crowded if you don’t like crowds.
It is a great place and location, so if you are looking for awesome boba, then you must stop by and try some. I like the oreo frap with boba made by Abby. She is the best, but there are others that make great boba as well. Hope to see you there.
Kruger

Was looking for a new place to get boba so I decided to check this place out with my friend. We came around 2pm and the place wasnt too busy. The inside is extremely small and theres an area for people to sit only if you’re dining. Theres tables outside too if you just want to chill out there also. There was maybe only 6 people sitting inside and 1 person in front of us for the line so I expected the wait not to be long.
Their menu is pretty big, with a lot of different flavors for drinks and different foods available. Looking at previous reviews I saw that the honey boba was talked a lot about so I decided to order that while my friend got a taro boba. I was hungry too so I ordered two popcorn chickens. And this is when things went downhill. There were a 5 chairs for people to wait for their order and my friend and I just waited. And waited. And waited… It took maybe 30 minutes just to get our order I was surprised because the restaurant wasn’t even busy. The chicken was just meh, but however the honey boba did taste pretty good. Just know that if you’re ordering food, its gonna take a long ass time.

Came for shaved ice but we ended up ordering food first. We told our waitress that we wanted to order dessert later but she never ran last call. So by the time we wanted to order, they had closed the kitchen :(
Other than that, don’t get the pig blood cake. It was not chewable.

I can understand that the standard of customer service of some Asian restaurants is virtually zero compared to American standards, and honestly I can tolerate it literally anywhere except here.
I’ve been to 302 countless times because 1. It’s quick 2. It’s open late and 3. The food is very tasty.
I absolutely love Taiwanese food and this café has potential to be great if they didn’t hire literal potatoes to staff this place. One time I was next in line standing in front of the cashier and she started talking to the person in back of me. There has been two occasions where they’ve lost my ticket, and one time they refused to make the order since I didn’t keep my receipt. Um…
They will also ignore you if you don’t stand up and flag someone down. This place is a complete nightmare because of the service. There are many other Taiwanese places in SoCal that surpass 302, but unfortunately this place will still be in business because of the college kids.

This place serves very authentic Taiwanese food. The restaurant looks like a public school classroom in Taiwan with blackboard, lab, old fashion clock, trophies, textbooks, bulletin boards & posters. If you can read Chinese, you will appreciate the realistic writings. There are also old album covers & photos of street food stands on the wall near the entrance. Class 302 appeals to the «4^th» & «5^th» graders (born in the ’50 & ’60) of Taiwan. Yet there’re a lot of young people in line to get the boba drinks, shaved ice, snacks & deserts.
My favorites include salmon lunchbox, pork chop lunchbox, fried rice noodle & bacon cabbage. If you’re really hungry, you can order the hotpot or the skillet dish. Both come with big portion of meat & vegetables.

Took my grandparents to eat lunch here and they really liked it :) I’d say it’s a pretty average meal with a cute theme but the restaurant didn’t necessarily stick out as awesome to me, hence the 3 stars. We ordered a bento box set with chicken, a pork chop with fried rice, and a minced pork rice. Honestly could’ve done without the minced pork rice because it’s already included in the bento set! To top it off, we got the mango shaved ice which was awesome :) Favorite thing to order here because it’s huge and yummy to share!
The pork chop stood out the most out of the three entrees. It’s pretty oily but it tasted so good! Pretty sure there’s MSG in their food because we nearly knocked out immediately after (MSG sucks the water out of your body making you sleepy). The minced pork rice is also very good and fills you up!
All in all, this is a pretty standard place to take a group of people whether it’s for a meal or dessert. Again, highly recommend their shaved snow!

Class 302 will take you back to the setting of a middle school. Small tables, small chairs, cute décor.
Hubby loves class 302 herbal chicken soup, and I have to admit that it is one of the best versions in Irvine. Strong alcohol favor. Granted that if you order this, prepare to wait for 20 minutes. It takes that long to cook.
My other favorite is the sizzling spicy basil chicken. It is not spicy, and I have no idea how they made the basil and sauce so flavorful. Eat with rice, perfect. The beef version tasted just as good.
Hot pot– really great value for the price, no matter which one you order. Lots of food– meat, veggie, fish paste– with your own pot on fire. Comes with rice.
Of course– the dessert! My favorite is the red bean green tea shaved ice. It is gigantic and it can easily feeds 4 people. You can’t go wrong with the mango one either.
The only problem is service. Obviously they are understaffed. Water served upon request, which is fine, but you have to ask three different people multiple times. The servers are running around doing the best that they can. We ended up getting what we need from the utensils drawers ourselves because no one have time to attend to us!

I’ve been to this one, the other one in Irvine and in Cerritos. Some of the food tastes like authentic Taiwanese food, others kind of miss the mark. I phoned in my order and picked it up. I like that they don’t use styrofoam containers, but who knows what kind of plastic wax lining is used for their paper containers.
The fried chicken stew with noodles with tasty and just the right amount of spiciness.
I always get the hot grass jelly dessert. still good as leftovers for 2 days after.

WOW! This «chipotle» — build your own concept is awesome especially when it comes to building your own «tea» drink!
You go in — order your cup size (large or small); then fill in your «toppings» such as pudding, boba, jellies, etc. Then you can fill your cup with your «tea» — there’s smoothie like teas, milk teas and regular flavored teas.
You can mix and match anything you want… and once you’re done — you go back in line to get your cup «sealed».
LOVE this concept! Got to fill my cup with three kinds of pudding — milk, egg and taro — and then got the almond milk tea. The almond milk tea was a bit sweet but hubby was smart — he mixed his almond milk tea with regular tea to cut down a bit of sweetness. Will have to do that next time.
I will say — the only negative was that you go to the same line as customers purchasing their cups as to seal your drink. If the line is long — you tend to stand there sipping your drink then running back to fill up with more tea… maybe that’s not a bad thing? but it is a bit awkward as you’re holding your tea cup with two hands so you don’t spill while people push their way past you after they pay to then fill up their cups…
And unfortunately they had problems sealing my daughter’s cup — I guess when you hire students who don’t care about customer service — you get what pay for? They kept resealing her cup and it kept leaking and instead of checking each time they resealed — they would just hand it to her — she would see it dripping out and hand it back — this went back and forth quite a few times. So much for good customer service?
The other side of the café offered food like rice dishes and noodles but we had eaten already so didn’t try it — next time…

I got their winter melon tea with lemon jelly. It was ok at best. All I could taste was the lemon jelly. I don’t think it tasted like winter melon tea at all. I probably should’ve ordered something else. I like the décor of the place with the classroom desks. Despite not liking my drink, I would still like to return to try their Taiwanese food. Bring cash, because they don’t accept credit cards!

Came here wanting some boba. and to be honest the food is just OK but my drink was good! You’re better off going to 626! The only things I liked here was:
–jasmine green milk tea (ok, this is hard to mess up so I’m glad they got it here!)
–beef noodle soup has really soft meat but the soup base is definitely medium spicy
–popcorn chicken was good too!
Don’t recommend the oyster omelette… I’ve had better elsewhere!
Would I recommend this place? No. Just drive to Arcadia! So much better food there…

We came across Class 302 in Irvine after eating dinner around the area. Since we were looking for a convenient dessert place in the area, this looked like the ideal place. For those of you that have never been, Class 302 Café is a classroom-​themed Taiwanese chain of restaurants that has branches all over the Southern California area.
This branch in Irvine is decent sized with ample sitting space. Though I cannot say that the tables were clean or the service was impeccable, it wasn’t a real mess either. In the front, there is a self service counter that is split between to go and takeout orders and sit-​down orders. The décor is full of classroom items such as chalkboards, educational posters, and cut out drawings. In the back, there are more seating areas that are near the kitchen and bathroom entrances.
Most people come here just for their teas and small dishes, but we did not hold back. The Mango Shaved Ice that we ordered was really good. It wasn’t like the artificial, over sweetened ice dishes that you’ll find in other places. I really enjoyed it! Plus, this place serves other traditional Taiwanese side dishes such as Stinky Tofu, Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken, and Barbecue Corn. If you’re hungry, they also serve individual hotpot combinations and rice dishes.
Surprisingly, the prices are affordable and you will most likely get your fill. I would definitely come back at a less busier time. This is a cash only establishment, so just remember that when you come here.

I feel the food quality may have decreased since their opening quite a few years back. The drinks are still good and consistent as I’ve always ordered the same grass jelly milk tea, no ice, and ½ sweet. When I don’t finish the drink, still tastes good the next day.
Food on the other hand is a different story. I rotate between 2 entrees here: Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup or Stir Fry Rice Noodles. This past time, I got the rice noodles and boy was it overly salty. Perhaps they should go easy on the meat sautee sauce or find a different brand. I didn’t finish it and the next day was worse, but I ate it anyway.
In the future, I’ll just stick only to their drinks.

For dessert and boba, I love it.
For service… it’s gotten better from when they first opened, or even a year ago. At least my recent visit was better than most. If you go during off hours, it’s better than waiting 30+ minutes for a seat that you can barely fit into.
Aside from the cons of this place, let’s talk about something sweeter. The shaved snow is what I come here for. Their snow portions are pretty generous with a healthy amount of toppings and I find the shaved snow to be fluffy and lightly sweetened. It arrives to the table as a mountain in a bowl with a plate underneath to catch some of the drippings if you don’t eat fast enough. Time is not on your side if you eat slow.
My brother and I got the Berry Dream last time we were in. If it’s real crowded, we usually ask for to-​go, but since there was an open seat in the back, we chose to stay. Strawberry snow, condensed milk, chocolate pudding and fudge drizzled atop. At first, I thought they forgot our chocolate pudding, but they don’t tell you that it’s buried in the center instead of on top.
If you like choco strawbs, this would be your go to. My brother loves chocolate so we got this, but the green tea red bean and fruit options are pretty good too! I’m quite curious about the taro and oreo cookie latte, but I guess I need to find more people to share this sweet tooth with. It’s a good portion for two, but a little too much for one.

I came here just for the boba — I felt like all the drinks I got were a little too sweet even when I asked the less sugar and ice. They were, however, super cheap — I got five drinks for $ 20 and they were in huge cups.
I hope to come here again for the hot pot or to sit down and share a shaved snow — I think my experience this time based off just the drinks was a little disappointing.
I would recommend the Oolong Milk Tea and the Regular Milk Tea if you do go, those are decent!

Absolutely incredible food and boba drinks. Great place for lunch and excellent value. Taiwanese food cuisine: won ton with noodles, Shabu Shabu for $ 14.
Love their boba drinks and snow ice plates. Honey black pearls and light tea flavored drinks. The best place for an morning, lunch or dinner.
Small indoor seating area, for about 50 people. Plus outdoor seating for another 20 people.

I have a bit of a love and hate relationship with this place. Class 302 offers a school themed café with tables that look like class room desks giving you that elementary school vibe. A café chain that offers street snacks and boba tea drinks for late night eaters like myself.
I was going through a fried calamari craving and decided to order the fried calamari five times in one week. Each day it was a bit different.
The experience:
Day 1: Flavorful with whole garlic cloves and perfect crispness that makes me crave for more
Day 2: Same flavor though extra oily and soggy
Day 3: Perfectly crispy but the batter/​flavor was different as if they dipped it in the popcorn chicken batter
Day 4: Crispy with no garlic
Day 5: Crispy, perfect! With sliced garlic
(LOL!!! It’s like playing roulette. I’ll still order it and gripe later.)
Other snacks that I like:
Oyster omelet
Bacon fried rice (bacon not crispy :()
Fried pork chop
Popcorn chicken
What I’d skip
The taiwanese sausage (bland and boiled, not fried)
What I’d like to try
The hotpot

The food has its off days but if you’re looking for a small snack it’s still a pretty decent place to be. Tea drinks are solid. The milky options is more on the sweet side.
Yes, I am sorta griping but this place is one that I’ll still return to for the variety and hours of business.
What you need to know:
— There will be some inconsistency in food preparation
— Open late
— Friendly staff/​delayed service
— Extensive food and drink menu
— Take-​out containers are available
— Ample parking is available at the plaza
— This location does not allow you to make your own drinks
— Sit down is only for diners
— Regular is a fat cup which may not fit your car cup holders