The BN’K on Tour team loves a good Maid Cafe, and during coverage of Anime Festival of Orlando 2024,
we had one of the most delightful Cafe experiences with folks of Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe.
If you’re unfamiliar with maid cafes, these are themed experiences based on the entertainment phenomena
popularized in the Japanese shopping hub of Akihabara. These cute cafes feature an adorable ambiance where
employees dress up like maids and butlers all while serving up adorable snacks and or themed treats,
playing games with guests, and even putting on fun and interactive performances for patrons.
The experience is truly one of a kind and pretty different from the typical cafe experience you receive in the States; and for anime fans who love Japanese culture, it’s an absolute must-attend activity. So of course, as the team was wrapping up day 2 Anime Festival of Orlando, it was a no-brainer that we’d stop by and enjoy what the maid cafe had to offer.
Welcome Back Home, Master!
A few hours before we sat down to experience the cafe, we had to select our time slot and grab tickets to attend as this experience was not part of your base ticket for attending Anime Festival of Orlando. Despite this though, I would say this experience was very affordable and had two price points you could attend at. The base ticket was $15 which covered your snack, beverage, and the general experience, and for 5 dollars more, at $20, you could take video and pictures inside of the cafe and you get a complimentary Polaroid taken with and decorated by your maid. We each decided to pick the deluxe ticket option and received a wristband as well as a time slot of when to return to join the cafe.
Several hours passed and as the attendees for the time slot began to line up for experience the hall was filled with the most pleasant and fragrant strawberry and vanilla perfume. While we can’t say if this was intentional or not, it was certainly a welcome primer to our experience inside. As the host announced the last call for sign-up and to join the line we got an amazing spot at the front to capture what has got to be one of the best parts of the maid cafe experience. As the doors of the cafe opened, each of the maids and butlers lined up along each door in the most adorable uniforms. The fragrant strawberry vanilla perfume intensified and bubbles began to flow from the room. Quickly, we whipped out our cameras to capture our grand entrance, as the maids and butlers in unison greeted us, “ Okaerinasaimase, Goshujin-sama, Ojo-sama.”
This greeting translates to “Welcome home, master” or “Welcome home, lord or lady.” In the moment it’s very cute and makes you feel super special. After the maids and butler greet you, you’re escorted off to find a table and seat to your liking where your maid greets you at your table and introduces themselves.
Sweet Treats, Games, and A Fantastic Show!
After one of the cutest greetings in the world, the teams got seated and an adorably decorated table filled with
little keepsakes and frills that was placed by our most adorable, ecstatic maid Shiki. Shiki is a deer-themed maid
with a sweet and extremely cheery disposition. As we got settled in, Shiki took our order where we got to choose
a cookie of our choice, as well as a beverage. The cookie came with a very tasty brownie, and the drink options
consisted of ramenae, tea, or a strawberry jelly drink. After getting our snack,
Shiki worked her way around the table to get to know us a little, asking us about our favorite maid tropes from anime, showering us with plenty of compliments, and telling us a ton of insightful information about our environment and the other maids and butlers of the cafe. As we nommed on our sweets, Shiki prepared a game of Cat Tower for us, which is much more difficult than it sounds. We got a few rounds in as we chatted away but a group activity stole our attention.
The group activity in question was a classic yet super fun game of Can You Guess That Anime Opening. It was at this moment the team realized that we may not watch as much anime as we think. We got a few answers, but overall we generally just enjoyed the vibes and the deep nostalgia bursts that come with playing songs from TV shows in your childhood. During the game, we got to really interact with other maids and also interact with the other cafe guests as well. I think this aspect of interaction made the experience exceptionally special.
As our group game ended, our attentions were drawn to the front of the cafe room where we were serenaded by Maid Kasumi and Maid Shiki in a stellar performance. It was so nice to watch them sing and dance, as well as see how kind and encouraging everyone was while they performed. We even did a bit of sing-a-long towards the end!
Nothing this Sweet Can Last Forever
As the curtains were drawn on such a delightful performance, the end of our time at the Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe had come. But not before some final heartfelt words, the bites of our yummy snacks and drinks had been consumed and our cute polaroid pictures had been taken. As clean-up commenced, we chatted more with maid Shiki and deliberated on who we’d take our commemorative photos with. Our group had decided on maids Shiki (of course), Kasumi, and maid Tsuki.
After taking our snapshots, the maid decorated them as we chatted and congregated outside with other cafe patrons and congoers. In a little less than 20 minutes we had the cutest Polaroids decorated by the maids of the cafe. It was honestly pretty sad to wrap up our experience as we genuinely had such a memorable and enjoyable time.
Final Thoughts on Sweet Tooth
As seasoned con-goers, experiences such as maid cafes aren’t new to us, but it’s truly how the cafe treats you that makes these fun experiences into memorable moments. One of the things I loved about Cafe Sweet Tooth was the kindness and joy each maid had. They were full of energy and very attentive throughout the entire service, which is commendable because there is quite a bit that goes into these cafe experiences. We also enjoyed the diversity of the cast. Everyone had a different look and different energy; it was electrifying to be in a room with so many enthusiastic people all delivering such fun characters that still felt very grounded as people.
If you love maid cafes, kawaii culture, Akihabara aesthetics, and other things from Japanese culture, then we greatly
encourage you to follow and support the amazing Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe wherever they end up next!
Comments
Post a Comment