Small, cheerful Galveston coffee shop provides daily Cambodian lunch specials.

5102 Broadway St., Suite H, Galveston, TX 77551
(409) 974-4492
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7:30am–3pm Mon-Fri; 8:30am–3pm Sat; 8:30am–3pm Sun

While watching Keeley Steenson’s short documentary Donut People about Cambodian donut shop owners in the Houston area, we realized we had yet to spot much in the way of Khmer food in our new hometown. A quick Yelp search revealed the area does have a dearth of Cambodian restaurants; however, we learned Galveston boasts a coffee shop serving this particular Southeast Asian cuisine. We pounced on the excuse to visit the beach and stopped in for lunch on an early afternoon excursion.

Happy Coffee Shop is a cozy place with a laid-back beach vibe. A surfboard hangs above the counter, and Bob Marley plays in the background. Like most small coffee shops, Happy offers a variety of coffee drinks, tea, smoothies, bagels, etc., but a sign on the wall also advertises “Daily Cambodian Lunch Specials” for $9.99 each. Chicken noodle salad, red curry, and beef noodle soup are offered daily, while fried pork & rice, pad Thai, and green curry are offered on different weekdays. We ordered beef noodle soup, chicken noodle salad, and a slice of coconut cake, along with an iced tea and a mango smoothie. The staff of one, who also appeared to be the owner, decamped to the small kitchen in the back and soon emerged with our plates.

Beef noodle soup ($9.99): This bowl of soup approximates the size of a small order of phở at your average Houston Vietnamese restaurant. Thin rice noodles lurk beneath a light, sweetish, slightly spicy broth, and the ingredients recall a hearty beef stew: potatoes, carrots, and a tender, fatty, bone-in cut of beef. Garnishes include a handful of cilantro and a generous topping of fried garlic, which permeates the bowl with browned, pungent flavors. On the whole, this satisfying, homey bowl brought the brightness of Southeast Asia to the heartiness of beef soup.

Chicken noodle salad ($9.99): This fresh, cooling salad combined a bed of lettuce, cucumber, and sliced tomatoes and onions with a generous portion of shredded white-meat chicken, ground peanuts, grated carrots, and a thin, subtle, sweet-sour dressing. We found the salad to be simultaneously refreshing and hunger-satisfying, but if we could make one change, we would add tastier, moister dark meat to the mix.

Coconut cake ($5.14): This simple, square slice of unadorned white cake came with a container of the frosting, which had an unusual consistency: clear syrup with a thicker layer reminiscent of sweetened coconut oil. We were unsure if this was how it was meant to be, or if the frosting components had separated in storage, so we half drizzled, half slathered it on with a plastic knife. In the end, we found the combination addictive: light, sweet, and full of tropical flavor.

Kumquats and Creole seasoning (free, one day only): One of the most interesting parts of the meal came at the end. Two men, obviously regulars, came in for coffee and were chatting with the owner. She produced some kumquats from a neighbor’s tree and started snacking on them, while sprinkling each bite with Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. After she offered some to the men who balked at eating citrus peel, she called us over for a try, giving us each a small handful. These were bursting with the delicious flavors of orange zest and tart citrus juice, taken to an unexpected level by the seasoned salt.

We left glad we had made the trip and thinking Happy Coffee Shop a delightful small business. If we could change anything, we might lower the prices a little, but they are not unreasonable given the location on a beachside town on an island.