Dolce Espresso

They charge $ 5 for an iced coffee. They also charge $ 2.50 to use my debit card which I believe is illegal. No coffee is worth $ 7.50.

Terribly grimy place, with mediocre coffee at best. Not a very friendly or inviting atmosphere here at all, it actually made me a little nervous to enter. No one greeted us or even acknowledged our presence, and although the coffee was cheap, it lacked any flavor whatsoever. Never again.

Dolce Espresso i thought was a coffee shop. obviously not. they’re a cross between a lotto dispensary and vietnamese coffee place (i.e. scantily dressed female hosts).
brew: vietnamese iced tea (5)
–very strong stuff, sweet too.
–small serving. not enough to keep me awake.
drips:
–parking difficult, some cars not parked straight in lanes.
–just a few minutes looking, found one…

Definitely a place with strong good coffee, but not a place to bring children.
I don’t have any, but just a tip if you’re driving by and decide to peep this place.
Reeks of cigarette smoke and there’s scratchers and lotto everywhere. No menu on what espressos or coffees or pastries, if any. Parking was cluttered. It’s a pretty interesting environment, but I won’t return.
Most definitely better for it’s regulars.
Paid $ 5 for maybe 6oz iced coffee. Very strong.
From the review I read it seems to be a typical Vietnamese espresso bar, so for the average american I see I being a bit different, I just think it was an interesting experience. :)

They need to hire better looking waitresses here. Impossible to find parking because of a small parking lot.

I couldn’t put it much better than Berg W. I however am a woman, so you can imagine the looks of the 40+ Vietnamise men when I walked thought the door, I to was afraid they thought I would report their odd business and I think there is more than illegal gambling going on, but you will hear nothing from me! The tea was awesome and the «ladies» we’re friendly and I was also able to buy lottery tickets to tonights $ 290million dollar Mega Millions a win win for me!

4 years ago the chicks were hotter. Now it’s boring and uneventful.

Yeeahhhh. My girlfriend and I went in here in the hopes of getting some good old fashioned coffee. When we walked through the door, there was a man smoking (indoors) in the corner and playing what looked like one of those bar-​top gambling games. The place reeked of smoke, so I guess they don’t kick out people smoking. Another patron looked like Tom Hanks from Castaway, except less attractive.
When we approached the counter, there was no menu posted anywhere. No big menu up on the wall or anything. The person behind the bar didn’t say hello or anything. We figured the place must be doing something illicit. We turned around and left.
Upon reading other people’s reviews here, it sounds like they have tiny specialty vietnamese coffees and the machines are some kind of lotto game. But it really was pretty shady in there.
Basically, don’t go here.

Oh GAWD I need a coffee! Where can I find an independent coffeeshop in eastside San Jose? Now I understand why that’s a stupid question… It pretty much doesn’t exist there.
I’m anti-​coffee chain so I GPSed «café» and found Dolce Espresso. Hey cool! I imagine a cute coffeeshop where I can catch up on some work. I walk in and it reeked of smoke… and filled with staring old men. No menu in sight. No food in sight. I’m carrying my bag of paperwork, freaking out, and debating whether or not to just turn around and not get anything. Too bad I suffer from fear of embarrassment so I walk up to the counter and order a coffee from the girl in white bootie shorts and stilettos (yes she was hot).
OOhhh man this is so reminiscent of my experience in Nguyen Trai Billiards. Old Vietnamese men, the only woman there is serving, and trying to keep my cool and not run.
Yes it felt super intimidating being there. Yes it crushed my vision of being in a cute café and working. And yes… the Vietnamese coffee was bomb-​diggity. Had the perfect balance of strength and sweetness for an afternoon delight. But I paid $ 4 for it!
Bottom Line: I won’t be back… okay unless I just get my coffee and run out of there.

My experience was nearly the same as Berg W’s. I was running ahead of schedule, saw this place and was glad it wasn’t a Starbucks. I had an iced mocha which the attractive girl in the clubbing attire blended instead of preparing over ice. Which made wait longer and more uncomfortable as all the scratcher dudes and the other lady behind the counter stared at me… occasionally smiling. I sat out front since it was so nice out. As I finished their version of an iced mocha, the attractive club girl brought me an ice water. I found that to be a nice touch. Weird experience overall, but all turned out more than fine in the end with a tasty, but expensive cold coffee drink and a thoughtful unsolicited cup of ice water

My guy orders coffee from here for me when he picks up our dry cleaning at Liens. I have learned to stick with the Vietnamese coffee! The last time he accidentally ordered an Americano and it tasted like old watery coffee and I actually got coffee grounds! I was like WTF? Don’t be ordering an Americano up in the Vietnamese coffee shop!
That would be like trying to order a burrito in a pizza joint! I forgive him because he is not a coffee drinker, yet he is sweet enough to pick one up for me. The Vietnamese coffee is pretty good– but I’m always disappointed that I only get three sips and then it’s gone. That’s $ 1 a sip!

I’m not going to lie, this was some damn good coffee. I stumbled across this place when I was returning my U-​haul. Let me just explain how weird the experience is getting it though.
Me: 6’6″ white guy looking pretty haggered the morning after packing up my life in like 6 hours and throwing it into a truck. I’m about to go to 7 – 11 and choke down some of their burnt dishwater, when I spot the sign «Dolce Espresso». My spirits lift, I’m setting my palette for a nice cappuccino in an Italian café. I’m stoked to find this at Senter and Tully.
The first sign of weirdness was the banner on the outside of the café that said «lotto hotspot»…never seen that before on a coffee house, but hey never hung out at Tully and Senter either. That’s when I walk in this place and it seemed like the music came to a scratching halt and everybody looked at me walking through the door. 45 Vietnamese men are playing scratchers, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee and/​or alcohol, I think.
There are a dozen flat screen TV’s on mute showing various television stations and Vietnamese movies. Vietnamese pop music plays loudly from the speakers. A clean cut Vietnamese man with glasses stands at a counter hovering over dozens of piles of scratchers, chatting with patrons. Two attractive, younger-​looking Vietnamese girls are making the drinks wearing what would be to me clubbing attire.
The ladies have a startled look, as one of them quickly comes to take my order. I think of backing out, but that would have looked weird… I felt committed to this foreign environment. I think I paid 7 bucks for two coffee drinks. I sit and wait for what seemed like the longest five minutes of my life. Men sit alone at tables smoking… angry at their losing scratchers… pounding their fists. I was thinking there must be a back room or basement where the real gambling goes on… maybe Russian roulette or bare knuckle fighting… I feel like it’s the beginning of a Jean-​Claude Van Damme movie. It was weeeeerd. I just hoped they wouldn’t lock me in a dungeon for discovering their secret operation.
Finally, the coffee came, and I left. The anxiety passed and I sipped my cappuccino… the best I had in a while. Four stars for the good coffee and the good story.

Good, strong Vietnamese coffee — it’ll give you a boost of energy and keep ya up for hours!
Don’t be deterred by the large number of guys that hang out here. The coffee is good, and you can get it to go! =D