Uncle Fluffy

Having opened its first location in 2017, the Dubai-based Uncle Fluffy chain doesn’t seem to be pretending that it wasn’t heavily inspired by Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake, a rival brand that debuted in Japan around 1985 and spent the 2010’s expanding across China, the U.S., and other countries. Beyond their similar names, both focus on jiggly Japanese cheesecakes and flavored cheese tarts in a variety of flavors; both physically brand the tops of their cakes with cute logos, too. But there are some differences in pricing, flavors, non-core offerings, and locations guests should be aware of.

Starting with Huntington Beach and coming in late 2025 to Costa Mesa, Uncle Fluffy offers Orange County four flavors of Japanese cheesecake: pistachio, mocha, lemon, and plain, the latter also in sugar-and gluten-free versions. All are circular, with the “regular” size ($11) equivalent to perhaps 1.5 slices of regular cake, a “large” ($25-$28) closer to 4 slices, and “x large” ($40-$43) somewhere around 7 or 8 slices. While the “large” is comparable in physical size to Uncle Tetsu’s much less expensive ($13) standard cheesecake, we appreciate that Uncle Fluffy offers a single portion at a slightly lower price, an option not available for Japanese cheesecakes at either Uncle Tetsu’s or rival chain Cheesetella.

Bright green on the inside, the pistachio cake we tried was every bit as delicious and light as an Uncle Tetsu cheesecake, with just enough pistachio flavor to be obvious without going either super sweet or strong, meeting the typical standards of Japanese cheesecake in all regards. While some people have opined that Uncle Fluffy’s cakes are less sweet or more airy than Uncle Tetsu’s, we didn’t think either was the case with the version we sampled; if anything, the center was a little more gooey and cheesy, which we liked. Those seeking more flavor can add chocolate, caramel, strawberry, or nutella toppings for $1.25 to $1.50 each – an option not available at Uncle Tetsu’s.

Uncle Fluffy also offers six macaron flavors (lemon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, pistachio, and raspberry) in $10 packages of six cookies, as well as individual mochi ice cream bites for $2.25 each in common flavors such as mango, vanilla, and green tea. Cheesecakes, cookies, and cheese tarts are on display in transparent cases for easy inspection; mochi are not.