To celebrate Hello Kitty’s 50th birthday, Sanrio is opening pop-up cafes in multiple cities worldwide. The Australian cafe is located in Melbourne’s Chadstone! We recommend visiting in the morning or during weekdays to avoid the crowds, as we discovered the pop-up by chance, and there were fewer people when we arrived.
The Melbourne’s Hello Kitty pop-up cafe
We ordered the high tea set, but by around 1 p.m., some items were already sold out, so we ended up with two of the same dessert plates.
The set included a cheesecake, which we thought was decent, along with a chocolate cookie, strawberries, and other treats. The taste was okay, and kids seemed to love it. However, don’t expect too much overall.
The price is reasonable, $45 per set. So it’s about $15 for the two cheesecakes, $5 for the two cookies, and around $20 for the chocolate strawberries and some blueberries. If you bought these items separately, it would probably be around the same price.
It opens daily 10am – 9pm. Walk-ins only.
20 September – 27 October
There are three key spots for this event!
1. There’s a giant inflatable Hello Kitty doll at the entrance near Louis Vuitton.
2. On the Uniqlo side, under the stairs, there’s an event area that opens tomorrow. It looks like a kid’s interactive zone, and you’ll need to book online, but they will release a few walk-in spots each day.
3. The café is in The Social Quarter (upstairs from the COS food court area, directly opposite TGI Fridays) with super cute themed food and drinks.
Additionally, Chadstone’s double-decker shuttle bus is now decked out in a pink Hello Kitty design!
The Merchandise
They only have T-shirts, mugs, and canvas tote bags available. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any plush toys. If you have some at home, we suggest bringing them for a photo op!
There’s also a gashapon machine, and if you spend $150 at Chadstone on the day, you can enter a prize draw. Some people won Hello Kitty mugs and mall gift cards, it seemed worth it!