Motto Tea Cafe - Pasadena

Bewildered prices for basic pancake batter and minimalist ordering experience via screens, would assume to pass along some serious savings to customers doing all the ordering work! Nope! Our group ended up well north of seventy bucks for a couple cakes and drinks, quite the bang to the wallet. There is a sublime craft to each bite, cannot fault fresh fruits, tangy citrus, smooth chocolate and nutella. Motto provided cute take out boxes and friendly smiles across the counter. Outdoor corner seating space proved very popular as well as other cheesecakes we hoped to get again later but noticed many items sold out. Wish they offered discounts on family purchases, these costs surely shut down kids getting the full yum moment with five or more appetites taking a small loan to satisfy.

Pancakes are fluffy and flavorful! We arrived right at opening time to avoid a wait and paid about $18 per order. We tried the pork soufflé pancakes which did not disappoint for a savory option and the mini pancake sampler platter which allowed us to choose the cheese and plain soufflé pancakes (included a side of maple syrup). I had previously tried their creme brûlée pancakes which were a tad too sweet for me, so this time we opted for less sugary options.

I’ve been wanting to try soufflé pancakes for a while, so I was excited to find out that Motto Cafe serves them. Unfortunately, they weren’t what I was expecting and left me a bit disappointed. I ordered the Nutellamisu flavor, the mousse was delicious, but the pancake itself had a strong eggy taste and didn’t pair well with the sweet mousse. I also tried the pistachio crepe chiffon cake, which was decent, and the grapefruit lychee sunset tea, which was just okay. I liked that you can order from a kiosk, but it’s odd that someone brings the food while you still have to grab your own utensils. The girl who brought my pancakes also had a bit of an attitude, which made the experience less pleasant. Overall, between the food and the service, I don’t think I’ll be coming back.

Very skip-able. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. I thought it was odd that a pancake place isn’t open for breakfast. The flavour of the pancakes was overly eggy. The service was lacklustre (eg you tip for service but when they bring you the dish you have to get silverware yourself?). The Nutella mouse was good and boba is great!

Finally had the opportunity to try Motto Tea Cafe. We had the mango matcha drink and mango Souffle Pancakes. The place has nice covered outdoor seating as well as indoor seating. You have to use the kiosks to place your order which was pretty easy and had plenty of options. They made our drink pretty fast. The Souffle Pancakes took about 30 minutes since they are freshly made which is typical for this dish. I appreciate that they had a sign advising of the wait time. The cups used at many of these types of places for these drinks are cleverly designed to be tall and concaved to make it look like you are getting a really huge drink...which you are not. I added an entire tiny cup of water when we were about 75% done and it filled it up more than half way. Don't get me wrong, the drink was absolutely delicious and looked amazing! The Mango Souffle Pancakes were delicious as well. The white sauce was not sweet but creamy. The mango sauce and fruit added the right amount of sweetness and the drink more than satisfied our sweetness cravings. Overall great experience.