Styled after cafes in Hong Kong, Venus Cafe was filled with Cantonese-speaking customers when we walked in and jotted our name on the clipboard. There isn't much of a waiting area--we crammed ourselves in a corner to get out of everyone's way. I recommend you to wait inside for your table because, when it comes to getting a table, your visibility to the restaurant staff will matter more than your placement on the clipboard.
Once seated, we were happy to see that the kids got complimentary juice pouches while we got water. When it came to ordering, though, I didn't quite get what I expected. It's really my fault because I didn't know that seafood with guilin rice noodles was really a noodle soup, which was a bummer because I wanted something dry. The noodles were fine, but the bowl was swamped with whole and chopped peanuts. There was ample seafood, but be aware a lot of it was squid. Each of the other three in my party got a wonton soup. And, each finished his six wontons. The noodles were good but had a slight flour aftertaste.
Just for fun--and because they looked so good in those metal cups--we ordered a Hong Kong style milk tea, which was bitter on its own, but delicious with some sweetener.
After tax but before tip dinner came in at a touch over $26, which wasn't bad considering all but one of us got drinks. That lunch easily carried us through to a late dinner, too. Though I passed by this unassuming little strip mall many times, I never gave it a thought until a few weeks ago, when I went to the bowling alley tucked in the back for a birthday party. Venus Cafe will certainly give us a reason to return, but so will the neighboring Shanghai Garden and Fusion Korea when we give them a whirl.
20956 W Homestead Rd
Cupertino, CA 95015
(408) 865-1122
