Mealtime Cafe Brings American-Hawaiian Fare, Shabu-Shabu

A long-awaited restaurant that serves American and Hawaiian dishes at affordable prices opened on Ingleside’s stretch of Ocean Avenue last month.

Mike Lin and Fanny Deng opened Mealtime Cafe in March.

“I love to cook and work with [Deng] so basically we came up with this little idea,” Lin said.

Zoey Liang, the restaurant’s manager, said that they strive to provide affordable meals with good-sized portions, and that they’re eager to grow the business in the neighborhood.

“When we first came in, people around here came in to say hi and all the business owners came to support,” Liang said. “It’s a nice neighborhood. We like it here.”

The menu features Hawaiian dishes like loco moco, the classic white rice dish topped with angus beef, a fried egg and housemade gravy, along with grilled teriyaki rice plates and more. They also serve American staples like an Angus beef burger with fries, jalapeno poppers and more. Their prices range from $6.50 to $13.95.

Next week shabu-shabu, the popular Japanese-style hot pot dish, will be added to the menu. The dish is filled with thinly sliced meat, vegetables and broth. Their rendition will be served with beef, lamb or pork.

Shabu-shabu is the onomatopoeia for waving items in the broth as they are cooked. In English, “shabu-shabu” means swish-swish.

Mealtime Cafe is already getting feedback online.

“Price is good,” a customer wrote on Yelp. “Service is good. Kind of cold, maybe high ceiling but me and my friend like it. Can't wait to try shabu-shabu.”

Once business picks up, they plan to adjust their hours open earlier, Lin said.

Mealtime Cafe is located in the storefront that was once home to the Mayflower Restaurant, a popular American and Vietnamese diner that shuttered in 2019. Mealtime Cafe's owners intended to open the restaurant under the name Gold Yard but obtaining city approvals stalled.

Mealtime Cafe has the same layout as the Mayflower with a long counter and the walls are decorated with metal beer signs for Rolling Rock and Blue Moon.

Along with inside dine-in, customers can order pickup and delivery through apps such as Hungry Panda, Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates and DoorDash.

Mealtime Cafe

Address: 1422 Ocean Ave.
Temporary Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday to Sunday
Phone: (415) 937-4970