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Within the last few months, Westfield Valley Fair has unveiled a movie theater with local brews on tap, a Hello Kitty Cafe serving afternoon tea and a Mongolian barbecue spot in its food court. Later this year, a food complex celebrating pan-Asian cuisine and a Michelin-recommended Japanese noodle restaurant are expected to open.
In an attempt to continue diversifying and promoting its dining lineup, Valley Fair is also hosting its first-ever Foodie Week. From Aug. 9-17, customers can partake in promotions like tasting menus, exclusive specials and new dishes at some of the mall’s restaurants. Participating in this event are popular spots like Eataly, Mong Q, Mastro’s Steakhouse and Salt & Straw.
“I think just a sense of fun and adventure will add to what Valley Fair is trying to do, (which) is create the best culinary experience in the South Bay,” said chef George Chen, who will be bringing pan-Asian restaurant Asia Live to Valley Fair later this year.
Asia Live
Chen’s latest venture is Asia Live, a restaurant and marketplace that will highlight culinary techniques and influences from across Asia. Asia Live is set to open this winter where iChina was in Valley Fair. Following the success of China Live, Chen’s San Francisco restaurant, he is now expanding the cuisine into Southeast Asia to develop a more comprehensive menu.
“Asia is a big place, so we’re going to have (menus) revolving around seasons, dishes from not just greater China, but from…Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. We even have a tandoori oven to make Indian breads,” Chen said.
Chen said some fan favorites from China Live, like the sheng jian bao and Peking duck sesame pockets, will be available in his Valley Fair restaurant.
The ground-floor entrance will lead customers into an experiential retail space, which will offer tea and chocolate tastings, a wine cellar and even culinary classes.
An open sushi bar will be on the ground floor, as well as an outdoor Japanese grill, a robata, in the patio space. The main dining room will be upstairs, featuring a cocktail bar likened to San Francisco’s Cold Drinks Bar.
On the concourse level, which connects to the rest of the mall’s indoor space, will be a grab-and-go section with dishes like the aforementioned China Live fan favorites, as well as sesame soft serve and mango shave ice. In addition to food products, the concourse level will also have a retail space that sells artisanal Asian housewares.
“I think it’s not so much that you go into Asia Live, and you’re gonna get a little Thai food in this corner and a little Vietnamese in that corner. It’s really encompassing,” Chen said. “It’s about the cohesiveness of Asia and how you can go in there and try not only the classics from China Live, but evolving dishes with our interpretation throughout Asia.”
Asia Live, Instagram: @asialivesv. Opening winter 2025.
Alamo Drafthouse
A new and improved movie-watching experience has arrived at Valley Fair. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opened its location in the mall in late June following the abrupt closure of ShowPlace Icon movie theaters last summer. A new Alamo Drafthouse movie theater also opened in the former ShowPlace Icon location in Mountain View in June.
Existing patrons of Alamo Drafthouse can expect some of their favorite familiar quirks, like themed decor and allusions to famous works of film, along with its policy prohibiting talking and texting.
Alamo Drafthouse is also excited to offer moviegoers lavish culinary choices alongside their favorite new films and screenings of popular old movies, according to John Smith, the West Coast marketing director.
“(The menu features) a rich combination of foods that you’ll find in great restaurants, but not usually in a concession stand, and so we’re trying to provide a rich, rich experience,” Smith said. “We want to make sure that guests who come in have the ability to order everything from a small bite to a snack to a dessert to a handmade cocktail to a local draft beer to a full entree. They got all the options here at their disposal.”
Apart from the pizza, burgers, chicken wings and tenders, flavored popcorns and robust vegetarian and vegan options, Alamo Drafthouse patrons can enjoy a dynamic selection of 24 ales, lagers, IPAs and sours on tap.
“What we try to do is really highlight the beer culture of the areas we’re in,” Smith said.
The around a dozen primarily Bay Area breweries on Alamo Drafthouse’s menu consist of companies like Oakland United Beerworks and San Francisco’s Black Hammer Brewing Company, among others.
Guests can also look forward to a menu refresh sometime this September as the theater continues to respond to feedback and incorporates seasonal elements into its food offerings.
Alamo Drafthouse, 669-999-7425, Instagram: @drafthousesf. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Blue Bottle Coffee
A two-year plan has finally come to fruition with Blue Bottle Coffee’s new kiosk cafe, which opened July 2. The company is once again tapping into its local roots with its new Valley Fair location joining its many Bay Area cafes.
The kiosk layout intends to engage with the open space of the mall, offering interaction between Blue Bottle staff and customers while adapting to the mall’s design needs.
“We have a smaller menu due to our smaller space, and this will allow our teams to be able to create our coffees and matcha faster, knowing that the mall guest is on the go,” said Jody Heltzel, the general manager of U.S. cafes. “The space is designed to make it more efficient for our guests and for our team.”
Pastries and merchandise are also sold at the Valley Fair kiosk, though selection is limited.
“(We’re) really proud of our teams and what we’ve accomplished here, and I hope our guests will come and check it out and have some delicious coffee,” Heltzel said.
Blue Bottle is expanding this year and has plans for both new kiosks and signature cafes.
Blue Bottle Coffee, Instagram: @bluebottle. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Hello Kitty Cafe
With the immense success of the first cafe in Irvine, co-founder Urania Chien was able to execute on plans for a Santa Clara location that were placed on the back burner during the pandemic. The cafe opened in July and has connected with Hello Kitty fans of all ages.
Sanrio’s first North American headquarters was in San Francisco, which informed Chien’s decision to expand into the Bay Area and tap into a large customer base.
Offerings at Valley Fair’s cafe combine concepts from the original location in Irvine, as well as the three Hello Kitty Cafe trucks that Chien and her team operate. Customers can indulge in signature snacks like mini hot doughnuts, which come in seasonal flavors in addition to their usual cinnamon sugar and cookies ‘n creme versions. Small desserts such as birthday cakes, sugar cookies and macarons are available in the front room alongside drinks and a rotating seasonal menu.
“We do friends of the month specials. This month was My Melody and Kuromi, so we looked at their personalities and what we think their flavor profile would be,” Chien said. “For Melody, we did peach…and for Kuromi we did a cherry chai, because she’s the darker, mischievous one.”
Storytelling and offering a cohesive experience for customers is vital to the cafe’s ethos.
Behind the cafe storefront is the Bow Room, a dining area serving afternoon tea during the day and tableside dessert and drinks service in the evenings. (Reservations are recommended for the Bow Room.)
Chien hopes the cafe’s variety can appeal to an equally diverse Hello Kitty fan base.
“It’s been super fun even though the days are long,” Chien said. “It’s amazing to see people being so excited because we’re excited!”
Hello Kitty Cafe, 408-320-2576, Instagram: @hellokittycafesantaclara. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kajiken
Kajiken, a Japanese noodle restaurant, is slated to open in Valley Fair this fall. Originally from Nagoya, Japan, Kajiken opened its first Bay Area location in San Mateo in early 2023.
Featured in the Michelin Guide, Kajiken specializes in a dish similar to ramen, abura soba. Rather than broth, oils, sauces and seasonings accompany the homemade noodles, along with familiar toppings like minced pork, Wagyu slices, fried tofu and more. The menu will also have appetizers like gyoza, edamame and karaage with rice plates.
Kajiken, Instagram: @kajikenusa. Opening fall 2025.
Killiney Kopitiam
Killiney Kopitiam was set to open a location at Valley Fair, but it will instead be replaced with a different storefront not yet announced by the mall, according to PR spokesperson Lea Wadhams.
The Singaporean cafe, which opened its first U.S. location in Palo Alto in 2020, announced on Instagram in December 2023 that the Palo Alto location would be closing and moving to Westfield Valley Fair.
In November 2024, Killiney Kopitiam posted a hiring call for this new location, reassuring fans that the “much-anticipated Killiney Valley Fair is opening soon.” An Eventbrite was posted in February for an opening party, but it has since been “postponed.”
On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Killiney Kopitiam had scrapped its opening at Valley Fair and abandoned its plans to expand throughout the country after its U.S. franchisee decided to retire.
In a statement, Wadhams said the mall is “excited that their former space will soon welcome a new retailer,” adding that they “look forward to sharing more soon.”
Mong Q
Mong Q, a Mongolian barbecue restaurant, opened at the Valley Fair food court on June 13. Courtesy Mong Q. 
The restaurant is known for its customizable noodle bowls, which customers build themselves by picking ingredients from a toppings bar that get stir-fried with sauces and noodles. Courtesy Mong Q. 
Mong Q has also been leveraging current culinary trends by introducing Dubai chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert. Courtesy Mong Q.
Mong Q, a Mongolian barbecue restaurant, opened at the Valley Fair food court on June 13. Customers have been posting about the highly interactive dining process on social media, highlighting the fresh ingredients and efficient service.
The restaurant is known for its customizable noodle bowls, which customers build themselves by picking ingredients from a toppings bar that get stir-fried with sauces and noodles. Mong Q has also been leveraging current culinary trends by introducing Dubai chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert, made with melted Belgian chocolate, kadayif, chopped filo pastry and pistachio cream.
The Valley Fair restaurant joins Mong Q in Serramonte Center as its second Bay Area location.
Mong Q, 310-963-2337, Instagram: @mongq_valleyfair. Open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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