On a bright autumn afternoon in Los Angeles, a Chocobo and a Slime watched over 1st Street in Little Tokyo. The Square Enix Cafe & Shop sign hangs above a white-painted mural wall, and queue barriers were already set up along the pavement outside.
The cafe is serving its first collaboration menu, built around Final Fantasy VII, from October 16th until January 21st 2027. Inven visited the cafe to try the menu for itself. Separately, the cafe team answered Inven's questions in writing.
A dining room full of SOLDIERs
Inside, the dining room is bright and white, with grey booth seating along the walls and screens playing Square Enix footage overhead. A long black table runs down the middle and holds large statues of Cloud, Sephiroth and other Final Fantasy VII characters, set on blue bases styled like crystals.
Near the kitchen door, a wooden Shinra Electric Power Company crate sits under a framed set of the original Final Fantasy VII discs. Beside them is a sheet of acrylic mounted on the wall, with a pencil sketch of Cloud by Tetsuya Nomura.
That sketch almost did not happen. The original plan was to ask Nomura for an illustration on a traditional Japanese autograph board and ship it from Japan. When the team learned he would be in Los Angeles for two nights on a business trip in August, it decided that "it can't hurt to ask."
"We felt that having Tetsuya Nomura himself actually visit the cafe and draw directly on the wall would make it something really special and memorable for the fans," the cafe team explained.
His schedule was tight and confidential, so Nomura could not reach the cafe until after 1 AM. "There was definitely some nervousness among all of us as we watched him begin the process," the team recalled. After about an hour he had finished Cloud, and the team said, "I think the result was something that he himself was very happy with as well." As the team put it, "It has become a very special part of the cafe not just for us but for all of FINAL FANTASY fans."
Why Final Fantasy VII came first
The cafe plans to rotate menus built around different Square Enix series every quarter, "so that there is always something new for our guests to experience." Final Fantasy VII went first for a simple reason. "The biggest reason we chose FINAL FANTASY VII for our first collaboration was simply its tremendous popularity," the cafe team said.
Timing mattered too, with Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the last game in the Remake trilogy, launching on April 8th 2027. "That's why this collaboration features menus inspired by both REMAKE and REBIRTH, allowing guests to experience those two chapters again in a different way through the cafés," the team explained.
Dishes are developed in one of two ways. "The first is to recreate food that actually appears in the game as faithfully as possible. The second is to develop an original dish inspired by a character or a memorable scene from the game," the team explained. Popular dishes from Japan get first consideration. "When bringing these menus overseas, we also look at items that have been especially well received by guests in Japan and consider which ones we think overseas guests will enjoy as well," the team said.
Ingredients are not always available in the US, so the Los Angeles staff work with the team in Japan "to determine how best to localize the dish while preserving as much of the original atmosphere and visual presentation as possible. Through that back-and-forth, we ultimately arrive at the final menu item."
Sitting down to eat
Because I had a reservation, my table came with a placemat: Tifa, Sephiroth and Aerith on a burning, sunset-lit battlefield, with the Cafe & Shop Los Angeles logo along the bottom. Guests with reservations each get a random placemat. After guests asked for a way to keep them in good condition, the cafe started offering a paid lamination service, and the team said "that service has also been very well received."
First up was Cloud's Dark Omelette Rice, the most expensive item on the menu and one served in both phases. It arrives in a wide black bowl: the omelette is covered in a black cheese sauce and sits in a pool of white sauce, topped with ribbons of yellow garnish and a sprig of green. Its black and gold colours echo Cloud's outfit, and the black cheese sauce tasted richer than its colour suggests.
Next came Egg & Chips, served in a small cast-iron skillet on a cork mat. Two fried eggs sit on a red base with chopped spring onions, and thick-cut chips stand up around the edge. It was the most filling thing I ordered and an easy one to share.
Sephiroth, Cloud and the Turks, in glasses
Each drink is designed to look like its character. Sephiroth – Octaslash comes in a tall stemmed glass with dark berries at the bottom, a black straw and a sprig of rosemary on top. Cloud – Ascension goes from orange to deep red in a clear cup, with a yellow rock-candy stick standing in it.
The Octaslash was the more refreshing of the two, while Ascension leaned sweet and fruity. The Turks latte is the cheapest item on the menu: a ribbed black cup with the red Shinra logo printed on the foam. It was a solid latte under the branding.
For dessert I had Moogle Mousse, a Phase One exclusive. The white mousse is shaped like a moogle's face, with a red pom-pom on a pick and a pink macaron, and it comes with cubes of strawberry, mango and kiwi and a line of red sauce hearts. It was almost too cute to cut into, and the mousse was light rather than heavy.
Every food, drink or dessert order comes with a random coaster, and the ones on my table featured Reno, Cloud, Red XIII and Tseng. "These special giveaway items had already been very popular with fans at our cafe in Japan," the cafe team recalled, so bringing them to Los Angeles was always the plan. "We're very happy to see the fans here are enjoying the placemats and coasters as collectible items, just as we see in Japan."
Two parts, more visits
The menu is split into two phases. Phase One runs until December 3rd, and Phase Two from December 4th until January 21st 2027. The team said launching too many items at once "can be difficult to manage with limited kitchen space and staffing." "Rather than offering so many items at once that it becomes difficult to choose everything you want to try on a single visit, we decided to change some of the menu items and promotional giveaways between the two periods," the team explained.
"By doing that, we hope to give guests a reason to come back more than once and enjoy a different experience each time," the team said. According to the menu, Phase One also offers Wall Market Noodle Stir Fry, the "Consummate Professional" Risotto and drinks named after Tifa and the Midgar mako reactors. Phase Two brings items including Zack Sea-Fairing Pizza, the Tiny Bronco and Gilded Paradise - Gold Saucer.
Tonberries, Chocobos and old cartridges
The decor is full of small details. A Tonberry plush sits at one table, a Vivi plush sits in a high chair, and a frame on the wall holds a signed message from Dragon Quest artist Ryoma Ito.
"We also hope guests will take the time to look around the cafe itself," the cafe team said. "We'd really like everyone to discover and enjoy those details for themselves when they visit." Glass cases hold Slime and King Slime figures along with boxed NES copies of Dragon Warrior, and framed game discs and Famicom cartridges line the walls.
A new chapter for Little Tokyo
The cafe opened this year, with a soft opening on June 13th and a grand opening on June 27th. It is operated under licence by J-Pop Culture Cafe Inc. "I think Little Tokyo itself is going through a period of change right now," the cafe team said. "Today, alongside that history, we're also seeing more businesses where visitors can experience contemporary Japanese culture, not only through anime and character goods, but through food as well."
"We've also seen long lines forming for anime and video game pop-up shops, and we felt that themed cafés could be one of the experiences people were looking for next," the team recalled.
The space was home to a sushi restaurant for 49 years. "A wall that was previously covered in graffiti now features a large, colorful mural of Chocobo and Slime with bright smiles," the team said. "We hope it helps create a fresher, more welcoming and family-friendly atmosphere for everyone walking along First Street, and that in some small way it contributes positively to the neighborhood."
"I think the transformation of this space itself reflects some of the changes taking place in Little Tokyo," the team said. It hopes the cafe can give people who had never had a reason to visit the area a new one, and "can become part of the next chapter in Little Tokyo's history."
"And of course, before you leave, we hope you'll also enjoy shopping for Square Enix merchandise, including exclusive Los Angeles Chocobo and Slime T-shirt designs and more," the team added. In the shop next door, the shelves are stacked with Slime and Chocobo plushies, and Los Angeles-exclusive T-shirts hang on display. On the day I visited, the shop floor was busy with people browsing.
For the team, the food is the way in. "We hope that through the food and drinks inspired by them, guests can experience Square Enix IP in a deeper way, engaging all five senses, and take those memories home with them," the cafe team said.
The cafe is open Monday and Thursday to Sunday from 11:30 AM to 9 PM PT. The shop also opens on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 7 PM PT. If you are a Final Fantasy VII fan in Los Angeles, the coasters alone make it worth a visit before Phase One ends.
