Ever After Tea Room – Closed

Prior to the pandemic, Taiwanese DIY boba tea and snack shop Class 302 Cafe was part of a small chain – and one of our favorites for years, as it enabled guests to assemble their own drinks using a self-service toppings bar and multiple tea or slushie dispensers, akin to a Yogurtland for boba. But the pandemic made restaurants limit or cut off customer access to buffet-style offerings, closing down some places and forcing others to adapt. The Class 302 chain did both, limiting self-service toppings at its Irvine/Tustin Market Place location, and transforming the Irvine location near Wholesome Choice into a full-service concept called Ever After Tea Room.

Ever After offered similar menus of Taiwanese drinks and snacks, but in a more rustic storybook-like setting designed for the social media era of “aesthetic”-focused Instagram influencers. Beyond hot and cold teas, Ever After introduced cocoa and brulee drinks ($6 to $7), skillet-based entrees ($17 to $20) such as miso salmon, ribeye steak, pork chops, and pork knuckles, as well as multiple black and brown fried rice dishes ($17 to $19), oatmeal porridge ($17 to $18), and oatmeal egg pancakes ($9 to $12). Shaved snow cake ice desserts ($14), sangrias ($9), and even dog foods ($8) were subsequently added, the latter part of a larger drive to make the space pet-friendly.