Man I love Cafe East. This place kept me sane throughout my rough college years. A well-timed banana berry smoothie or tray of salmon nigiri snuck into Butler would immediately boost my morale during midterms season. Sure it may not have the best bubble tea in the neighborhood (Tea Magic takes that title), or the best quality sushi in the UWS (but certainly better than M2M), but Cafe East wins for its convenience, location, and consistency. I always get the black milk tea with no ice (got to maximize volume!). The sushi is also very solid - freshly cut every day and in large pieces...good value. The smoothies though are actually incredible. They make them from actual fruit and frozen yogurt, which gives them a nice, thick consistency without being overly sweet. The frozen yogurt also lends a subtle tartness, which is really good. Compare this to a fruit smoothie I once ordered at Tea Magic, which was 50% more expensive and basically just crushed ice and fruit syrup. I highly recommend the banana berry (strawberries, blueberries, banana, and frozen yogurt). Sometimes I'll even ask for a scoop of protein if I'm coming back from the gym. The place was also recently renovated two years ago, so the whole place overall is cleaner and brighter with additional bench seating options with outlet chargers. Overall, Cafe East is everything you need it to be. Convenient to access in Lerner, relatively cheap, and great for a pick-me-up. A true godsend on this campus. They do need to serve riper mangos though. read more

Café East - Banana Berry Smoothie in front of the newly renovated Cafe East and Cafe 212 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New York, New York

The best Vanilla Matcha in NYC. Perfect for a quick late morning / early afternoon pick me up !! Get 'em before they run out read more

Café East - Vanilla Matcha - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New York, New York

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Recently renovated, Cafe East now serves more people with more space. The bubble tea and smoothies are on point as always, and the addition of new pastries, seating, and Jacques Torres ice cream at next door Cafe 212 is a welcome change. Contrary to what some suspect in the neighborhood, this is a publicly accessible cafe. Simply enter Lerner Hall (the glassy building at the corner of 115 and Broadway) from within the campus and make an immediate left. You'll find yourself right next to the counter of Cafe 212, with Cafe East in the far corner next to the Santander. Decent stop for to-go sushi, smoothies, ice cream, coffee, and pastries. And they accept cards with no minimum! read more

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Mold. In. The. Grapes. They proceeded to "inspect" the other grapes by flipping the containers over but refused to remove them from sale. This is a public health concern and their refusal to properly address it as such is highly concerning. read more

They are absolutely amazing in every way!!! Their smoothies and froyo and boba are just perfecttt

This little café in the Columbia campus offered us a great opportunity to enjoy a milk tea boba on a hot day! We ordered the rose tea with boba and were quite impressed with the smooth, delicious flavour. As Persians, we're very comfortable with rose flavourings in our food/beverages, although others may find it more unique/strange. The service was very courteous and the beverage was excellent. Verdict: If I'm ever in the Morningside Heights area and in need of a boba-fix, I'd return to Café East read more

Consistently innovating fantastic food products for the Columbia community. From froyo to sushi, chashu pork fried rice to bubble tea, Cafe East will always brighten your day. Plus, they take dining dollars, which is an insane t@x fr33 hack. read more

((2.75);) I frequent this place far more often than I'd like to. It is not affordable for the amount and quality you receive, but as busy students we all pay the price for convenience. -- Boba tea is consistently made but not as good as the other two places in Morningside Heights (Tea Magic & the newly opened place on Broadway by LaSalle) -- The smoothies are pretty good but on the juice-y texture side. -- Sushi is freshly made and better than some of the local markets but $1 for each teeny tiny half avocado half salmon roll is ridiculous -____-" -- Frozen yogurt is good (and they have mochi toppings!) but again, a better deal and more flavor and topping options if you just head over to Broadway and grab a froyo at Pinkberry. Tip: Go in around close (usually 9pm) and depending on that day's sales, they will have deals (e.g. buy one get one free) on sushi and fruit cups/bowls that they'd have to toss at the end of the night otherwise. read more

I've been coming here several times a week for the last few months. (Some people like to spend their $4/day on Starbucks, I'd rather have boba.) It's reliable and speedy, and their boba is consistently chewy, fresh, and appropriately sweetened so you don't have to deal with nubs of bland starch. For the price and proximity to Columbia, it's a good deal. Good Asian products are hard to come by anywhere in this neck of the city. Never tried their food, but after some curiosity I did go to the restaurant from which they procure their to-go dumplings, East Dumpling House. I'd say to stick with the boba. Their "frequent" customer promotion sign usually elicits an eye-roll from me, since after 10 visits you're entitled to NOT a free drink, but $3 off any of their drinks. And the most basic one, a milk tea with boba, is $3.81 with tax. Seriously now. read more

Near Columbia, there are three main bubble tea places: TeaMagic, Cafe East, and Culture Tea Bar. Personally, I think Cafe East is 2nd best of the three, TeaMagic being the clear best. The bubbles at Cafe East are pretty decent- cooked well and a good size. But their teas range from really bad (Thai Iced Tea there is awful, imo- very watery) to pretty good. Their almond and ginger milk tea flavors are fairly good, though the ginger occasionally tastes awful. Sometimes it's just way too watered down. By far, their best is the French Vanilla! I get that flavor every time I go now. read more

Café East - Lerner entrance - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New York, New York

Honestly, I only go here for the bubble tea. Only decent bubble tea near the campus and I usually get the iced jasmine green tea with boba or lychee jelly. Definitely pricer but worth it! The wait can be a bit long if you go during peak hours but quick service! I have had their food; decent but prefer the bubble tea over any other thing. Going back soon! :-) read more

I was craving for bubble tea and didn't want to walk to the most excellent Culture Tea Bar at 123rd and Broadway, so I thought I'll try East Cafe at Lerner Hall in Columbia University. The Oolong Milk tea tastes and is priced just about ok--not terrible but not very good. They also have straws that are too narrow (through which the bubbles don't fit and when it does they don't move!) and defeat the whole purpose of sipping on bubble tea. The only reason I would go here again is if I was short on time and wanted a bubble tea fix. Otherwise, Culture Tea Bar is absolutely worth the 7 minute walk. read more

cafe east's french vanilla bubble milk tea = love. even the regular boba is amazing. better than saints alp over in the east village. :D read more

I'm all about Cafe East's banana soymilk smoothies, watermelon juice and sesame black tea w/ boba. Mmmmmmmm, so good!

Expensive for the quality of food and not very great customer service. The guy didn't wash his hands in between cutting fruit and making other smoothies which is gross read more

The staff here is extremely rude. I called to ask for a large order and the guy hung up on me because he thought I was spamming him or something. I then went into the store and tried the bubble tea. It tasted cheap, watered down, and had a weird after taste. avoid this place at all costs. read more

Beware!!! The people who work here do not follow health and safety standards. The people who are cutting fruit do not wash hands before hand. at both locations the workers that handle food do not always wear gloves, and when they do they seldom change them. Another big problem is they use the register and handle your food without washing their hands. so who ever they've come into contact with has also come into contact with your food. the customer service, when you can get it is sometimes very rude, and they do not always put the proper care when serving the food. I now, when I have to only buy pre-packaged food and check the dates on them as I've purchased yogurt that was expired, and was scolded about switching it when i tried to refund it. that is frankly unacceptable. read more

I love Cafe East for their bubble tea and their dumplings. I come here with the understanding that I'm not after the perfect dumpling experience- I pick a plastic takeout container of either pork, chicken or shrimp dumplings (boiled shui jiao only- no pan fried guo tie) from the refrigerated case and pass it over the counter to be microwaved. One caveat: they only give you soy sauce- no vinegar. A far far cry from the delights of Shanghai Cafe, but when I'm stuck on Columbia campus with a dumpling craving (happens AT LEAST twice a week), Cafe East definitely does the trick. read more

Not a big bubble tea fan, but Cafe East at least made me realize why people like it to much!

The steamed dumplings are SO addicting, 4 stars for taste! So why the low rating? Well, it's because they gave me food poisoning last week (these were the only things I ate that day). Will I go back? Probably. But certainly not before an exam or deadline. read more

This is where I get my bubble tea fix. I like it so much better than downtown and Ollie's (formerly Swish) offerings. My go to drink is the coconut bubble tea. It tastes nothing like coconut, but it is delicious. read more

They now carry premium boba tea brewed from deliciously aromatic tea leaves! It takes a few minutes extra but only 50 cents more.

Great cafe with AUTHENTIC chinese food!

They are the one who can make best bubble tea in nyc. Taro bubble tea is my favorite. It's really really great. They are consisrtenrtly making tea and boba. their boba is very chewy and fresh. allways same taste and fast service. Iuv cafe east read more

Super rude and unfriendly staff here! I ordered a milk tea and kindly asked for half sugar. The Asian lady suddenly came out and yelled "sweet milk already." Why do you have to yell to a customer for that? I don't know what the sweet milk means. Perhaps condensed milk? Feel so bad for paying for what I got. I'd rather go to a different cafe nearby. read more

Watch out! On weekends they charge costumers more than what is indicated on the price label. Beware.

Had food poisoning after eating sushi at cafe East, and it's not the first time. Cleaningness of the establishment is beyond unacceptable. Non of the staff uses gloves, they got trash right next to where they prepare food, and refrigerator used to keep sushi fresh obviously doesn't keep anything fresh. Sushi is always dry and has after taste, which means it is not renewed after certain amount of time, but same product sold the next day, if not for two days. I am working on filing a complaint with the health department. Horrible place. Do not eat their sushi or fruits, if you care about your health. read more

Workers are not friendly not spending my money here again...Not worth it go to tea magic!

. I was a bit disappointed at first because they only had a free seat available at the sushi bar upstairs, and so I could not order any teriyaki chicken or beef which had been my original plan. But the starter and the entree I had instead completely made up for this! The tempura shrimps and vegetables were delicious. And the main course, a sashimi platter of 9 different tastes and varieties, was just what they call it in the menu - A Dream in a Box! Good selection of wines available as well. Prices a bit elevated but still reasonable. read more