I like this place... It's small and so there might be a wait, but it's worth it. My only complaint is the variety on the menu... it makes it difficult to decide unless you know what you want going in. Everything I've had here has been good though. I want to add that the special miso soup (with fresh corn) is amazing! read more

MMMMMMMMMMMM!!! I spent six weeks in Tokyo once, and I lost about 10 pounds because, as a vegetarian, most of the cuisine was off-limits to me. Cha-Ya brings the California to Japan, with its full-on vegan menu. Everything I've ever tried here has been delicious. I especially like the Soba Salad and Cha-Ya Roll. Their miso soup is also excellent. I understand that for non-vegetarians, especially hard-core sushi fans, Cha-Ya might not be your go-to Japanese restaurant, but I'm a frequent customer for the long haul. read more

This place is tiny, so you need to plan well in order to not wait outside forever. Luckily when I went, we didn't need to wait long. Despite not being a vegetarian or vegan, I have seen this place consistently reviewed well, so I wanted to check it out. I got the mushroom medley tempura which was great. We shared the Cha-Ya roll, which I enjoyed, but the ginger flavor in the sauce was nearly overpowering. My friend got Japanese curry ramen, which was quite good; I really like Japanese curry. Service was good, and the price wasn't too bad. Definitely check it out if you're in the area! read more

Good food, but I don't get the hype or the wait. I had the vegetarian tempura udon and it was satisfying, but didn't rock my world any more than any of the other great sushi options out there. My friend had a few rolls and seemed satisfied, and we split some potstickers and a pot of gen mai cha. Service was fast and friendly, and the restaurant is super clean, if fairly tiny. In a nutshell: Your average better-than-decent restaurant. So why will I probably not be in a rush to return? Because you can get this sort of fare all over the East Bay and San Francisco. Perhaps if I were a vegetarian or a vegan, I'd really understand the magic that apparently is Cha-Ya. Still, a solid four stars. read more

*3.5 stars* Mia, Nitya and I had dinner here a couple of nights ago. They placed us in a very tight corner, so much so that I was blocking another table and had to stand up and move every time that person wanted to get in/out (so annoying!). What was also annoying was the wait staff. Could they be more surly? Whatever. The food was good. We ordered 5 dishes. I loved the agedashi tofu and the fried banana ending. Mia says that service at the one in San Francisco is better. I'll have to check it out. read more

I just came here yesterday with some friends and must admit that I wasn't expecting much from a restaurant with the word "vegetarian" (and later found out, everything's VEGAN) in it's title. But I was pleasantly surprised...I forgot I wasn't even eating any meat and everything was actually pretty flavorful! I shared a bowl of Sansai soba noodles and a bowl of Taku-Sui. I think this is the healthiest dinner I've had in months. :P Edit: I forgot to mention that the tofu in the Taku-Sui was AMAZING. Some of the best tofu I've ever had!! And yes, I do eat a lot of tofu, haha. read more

When my dear friend DMS suggested we have lunch here, I nearly DIED! We're both total meat eaters and since she lived in Japan, I naturally assumed that she'd view vegetarian Japanese food as complete blasphemy. With apprehension, I agreed to have lunch here. As the Japanese food connoisseur, I figured DMS knew what she was doing. Thank heaven I kept an open mind. I was totally impressed by the flavors and the quality of food. Granted, I hoped that the portions were bigger, but the rich flavors made up for it:) I've had the agedashi tofu (my fave), the tempura, and the tofu and eggplant with miso (I forget the name of the dish), along with a few rolls. Again, everything was absolutely delicious. Yes, I'm coming back... with a meat-eating friend or two! read more

I've been here twice and both times was completely unimpressed. I've had better vegetarian/vegan sushi at places that serve fish than this place, and for a smaller pricetag! For example, their avocado rolls are $4.75 and made with hard/flavorless avocados, whereas Kamado down the street offers the same roll for $3.50 and their avocados are so perfectly ripe, it's almost a euphoric experience to eat them. Additionally, Cha-Ya's special rolls feel sort of unconsidered. It almost feels like they thought, "let's just through all these veggies together and call it a day" rather than considering how each ingredient tastes with one another. Having been to other vegan sushi restaurants, Cha-Ya is noticeably lacking in quality ingredients, interesting flavor combos, and reasonable prices considering what you're getting. If the flavor was meh but the prices were cheap, it'd be less of an issue, but I feel like I'm paying too much for mediocre flavor. Not to mention you have to use an ATM because they only accept cash. read more

Visited Cha-Ya 8/27/06 at 9:45pm. It was a saturday. they are busy earlier in the night, but cleared up after 9:15 Food: 5 stars Decor: N/A basically a cafe sized space turned into a 22 seat restaurant. Service: 5 stars They were attentive and removed plates properly. Cost: 4 stars. a bit pricey, but i guess they can get away with it, eh? Ordered: Soba Salad- Very cute presentation, with flower shaped carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, and other veggies. And the soba noodles were terrific. this was very tasty but not my style as a salad. it was much better as a stir fry. Goma AE- this was a cold dish with very strong sesame sauce. it was way better in a stir fry the next day. House Miso- lacked that taste which i associate with miso soup, but i guess is in fact fish base. tasty othewise with a very light miso flavor. cha-ya roll- yumyum. ask for the sauce on the side, cause they pour it on. very heavy roll. ten bou- tasty tempura pieces, with incredible tofu. avocado and cucumber roll- dusted with sesame seeds and very good. yellow moon- tasty but we could only eat 1 piece each. very rich. Pros: soba noodles, ten bou. Cons: small space, there is a wait earlier at night. Overall: i loved it and cant wait to come back and try a warm soba noodle bowl! and eat some more of those tempura sticks. read more

Like many other reviewers, let me start out by acknowledging that I am not vegetarian in any sense. My meals usually do include some sort of meat, poultry or fish, but usually once a week or so I crave an all-veggie meal. My friend and I went here for dinner last night, and neither of us knew quite what to expect. Both of us have been to many sushi and Japanese places, and wanted to try this one. The prices I have listed are approximate, based on what I remember. I started with a House Miso Soup ($3.50), which was absolutely delicious. It seriously might have been my favorite thing all night, but that might just have been because I had a sore throat. Anyway, it was very flavorful and full of yummy tofu and wakame. We then shared a bunch of items, which I'll list below: -Goma Ae ($4.75) Cold spinach and broccolini with sesame miso sauce. Very refreshing, just the right amount of sauce. -Hana Gomoku ($8.50) Warm sushi rice with all kinds of cooked veggies on top. Yum! -Shattuck Roll ($6) Asparagus and yam tempura sushi roll. Tempura was perfectly done, not heavy or greasy at all. -Avocado/Shitake Uramaki Roll ($4.75) Wrapped a bit loosely, it fell apart in the soy sauce bowl if we weren't careful. Very tasty though! For dessert, we had the Oshiruko ($4.50), which was warm mochi rice cakes floating in a sauce made from sweetened azuki beans. A great end to the meal! We were pleasantly surprised when our bill came and totalled only about $35, as we were sure we'd spent way more. A great spot, but definitely be prepared to wait for a table! As some other reviewers have mentioned, the service is not all that great, but the food more than makes up for it. If you flag them down, they're more than happy to get you whatever it is you need (such as more water). We paid with a credit card at dinner and had no problem. Also, we parked on Shattuck, but I noticed a sign in their window that said there was free parking in the lot behind the restaurant after 6PM. I can't wait to get back here again! read more

Go-chuui kudasai: the following review will be written by an unrepentant omnivore. The best thing I've tried here is the appetiser-sized sea vegetable salad. I especially like the hijiki (rough black seaweed), though you might prefer to ask for your salad without it if you're on a low-arsenic diet. (And they say vegan food is healthy.) The various combinations with miso and rice are good value, especially for lunch. I like the hangetsu: deep-fried (maybe it's just the vegan food I like that isn't healthy) portobello and tofu with a better-than-it-sounds kiwifruit sauce. Sushi is OK -- they have good rice -- but I'd rather have fish on my nigiri. read more

This place has a lot of special meaning to me since it is where my boyfriend and I had our first date. I would have originally given it 3 stars for the food alone, but the 4th star is for the experience and service we received which made our date very enjoyable and memorable. The food here quite unique. Vegan style sushi, who would have ever thought I'd actually enjoy it? The rolls are quite large and the sushi smells and tastes very fresh. The prices are standard for sushi, but maybe it can be considered overpriced because there isn't any seafood yet you're paying practically the same price. Overall I think it's a great place to take vegetarians or vegans. It's always a pain to go out for sushi and having to read every single thing on the menu to make sure it doesn't have meat or seafood (especially if it's in Japanese!). At this place, you can feel comfortable and order whatever you want and still get that japanese/sushi experience. My only suggestion is to come a little bit earlier because seating is very limited. read more

Went again to the Berkeley location on a Saturday at 5pm. The place was pretty empty since they had just opened so we grabbed a table. Service was much better this time. I wouldn't say it was amazing but compared to last time anything would be an improvement. We had the tempura veggie sticks again, the tempura here is just soo good. I enjoyed the cha-ya roll and some inari. Both were reallly good. My boyfriend had another noodle bowl, the mixed veggie, it was also awesome. I love the flavors and that the serving is a decent amount. We tried the pineapple dessert, it was good but it was essentially just cold pineapple pieces with some sauce, felt $5 was too much for a can of pineapple. I'm going to stick to the sushi and noodle bowls. read more

Cha-Ya - TG menu page1 - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Went for dinner last night and got right in at 6pm as a party of four. Food was still fabulous (although, I gotta say, I've been spoiled by Big Mike and crew at Islands Sushi in SD - see that review - when it comes to veggie sushi). I wanna knock off a star, though, because I realised I just don't enjoy the ambiance of Berkeley. Once reaching the Berkeley/Oakland border, people change. They seem to have a over-bloated sense of self and personal glory is sometimes too, too much. Having to drive so far into Berkley is not fun. It's a good thing everything was so tasty and fresh. Still love both the Cha-Ya rolls and the Shattuck roll, but if deep-fried isn't your thing, definitely go for the Garden roll, but careful, those orange sticks aren't carrot, they're burdock root (mmmmm tasty!!). read more

I loved the concept of this restaurant; vegetarian Japanese? Heck yeah! My only regret was things took way too long to get to our table. Around 45 minutes from finally placing the order to receiving the food. So I wouldn't suggest this place if you are in a rush. But it is a unique experience! read more

This is one of my favorite vegan Japanese restaurants in Berkeley. They have a wide variety of soups, appetizers, rice based dishes, and noodles. The dishes are made very simply - boiled veggies like broccoli, lotus root, cucumber, and the noodle broth is extremely tasty. It's amazing that something so simple, one can hardly taste any spices, can taste so good and can be so filling. I usually order the dinner combo that lets me order two dishes from A la carte, the miso soup, and the salad. The salad is cold and tangy and the miso soup is just what one needs on a nice cool night. It's a quiet place and is the best place for a lovely, nice, vegan Japanese dinner. And remember, it's cash only. read more

I love Cha-Ya because it's unique, fresh and a nice place to eat. I'm not at all a vegetarian, but this place kicks ass. You would think that vegetarian sushi cancels itself out - how can you have sushi without the sushi/ raw fish? They create colorful, interesting masterpieces by transforming vegetables in imaginative ways. The food is soothing and not overly-spiced, so if you're the type who only likes fast-food, exciting salty, spicy mumbojumbo then this isn't for you, or if you do come bring your hot sauce bottle and maybe some bacon bits. I do like eating more piquantly-spiced foods, with meat and wine-reduction, truffles, rich cheese, cheeseburgerfries, etc but it's nice to take a break sometimes too. The servers aren't intrusive, but they're attentive and pleasant. The space is very small and it's warm, the lighting isn't too harsh which creates a comfortable atmosphere. I feel relaxed in this space, although it's a little too bustling for a romantic dinner. read more

Food was good, but I think its a bit pricey. Not going to be my first choice to come back. Came here last night... I normally don't go to Vegetarian places a lot since I have an love affair with meat. However we were looking for a last minute Udon place because it was cold out and I thought I might be getting sick, so hot noodle soup sounded perfect. We arrive at sometime past 8, the place is tiny, but had a nice cozy feeling to it. The hostess/waitress greeted us and quickly sat us down at a table for two. I decided on the vegetable soba, my friend got the curry one I think. We also ordered the deep fried tofo appetizer, which was delicious. My vegetable soba was really good, except that it was a little salty. Friend's curry soba was.. interesting, but he liked it! :) . read more

If you blink, you'll miss it. At most, they have four or five tables. The sushi bar has a few stools too. More than just one veggie roll? Hell Yes! If you're sick of saying "I'll have THE vegan option," come here and be prepared to make some tough decisions because everything on the menu is vegan. It's pretty good but not spectacular: taste is 4/5 stars. read more

I know there is a lot of love for this place, but I just don't get it. Service is slow, which when coupled with the popularity and the limited number of tables, can mean a very long wait to be seated. (Get ready for a line down the block). When I've dined here, I've always had difficulty getting my server's attention for very obvious problems like: empty water glass, needing a napkin. They just don't really pay attention to their tables / are too busy. The food is good, but nothing special... and I love vegetarian/vegan sushi. I feel like it's pretty overrated and not worth the wait. read more

Became our favorite restaurant during a four day stay in Berkeley. I particularly loved the huge bowls of noodle soup and pan fried spring roll. It can get a bit crowded at dinner time, so go early if possible. read more

I love the food here. I hate the waits and the cramped dining - there is room for about 30 total, and I've waited upwards of an hour to get in on multiple occasion. Great udon, tempura and agedashi tofu, very solid sushi. Just bring a banana to snack on while you wait. read more

Get here early if you don't want to wait over half an hour - there is usually a line outside before it's even open!! I was apprehensive about the whole vegan thing (I am a meateater myself) but the constant lines outside daily made me curious and at the same time turned off, it just didnt' seem worth it to me to wait an hour for some veggies... But finally one night we managed to walk by when the wait wasn't long and tried the food. Udon was excellent. I was amazed by the flavors and richness of the broth considering it was vegetarian. Not all that impressed with the vegan sushi, except for the fact that it's vegan. 4 stars for food, but overall 3 stars simply because of the impossibly long wait. read more

The price is kind of high for the quantity of food served but the food itself is delicious and very satisfying. I know that it sounds so cliche but whatev, I actually feel like the food is very healing. Yeah, yeah, I just puked in my mouth. Anyway, I like the sushi but I don't think it's all that special (maybe I just haven't had the right ones - tried the vegan roll and the garden roll). What I really, really love is the Soba Salad: Soba noodles topped with various seasonal vegetables (daikon, turnip, cucumber, atsuage tofu, carrots, etc) tossed w/ sesame-oil vinaigrette dressing w/ toasted pine nuts & strawberries; $6.00. It's not enough food if you're really hungry, but combined with other dishes it'll do yo' tummy good. Also tried & true: Cha-Ya Nabe: Nappa cabbage, spinach, red onion, carrots, mushrooms, kabocha, broccoli, cauliflower, lotus root, zucchini, snap peas, snow peas, silver noodles, & tofu in sukiyaki broth; $8.25. Are you drooling yet? read more

Wow. I am one of the most picky eaters on the planet (on certain days) and known to my friends as the food snob. I had high expectations after reading the reviews on this site. We waited 45 minutes to be seated at the counter. This place is tiny. I was a bit worried that the food was not being made by Japanese chefs as this is a Japanese restaurant, but the food came out wonderful. My litmus test for a Japanese restaurant is their miso soup...it was like liquid crack. Ok...I am exaggerating, but it was good! We had the soba salad, cha-ya rolls, and a few other items. Big flavors! Delicious. And I am no vegetarian. read more

It took me 3 years in my stay at Berkeley to find out about this vegan Japanese restaurant! I was so surprised, but very glad that I learned about it sooner than later. There is usually a wait to get seated at cha-ya. While you're waiting to be seated, take a look at the neighboring flower shop or bead shop. The wait isn't usually long, though. (Note: you can always phone in your order for take out. I used to do that to save tip-money and there's no wait line when you take-out). Their dishes are very flavorful and it's all vegan. I usually try to order filling foods, so I like to order a soba bowl and split a sushi plate with my companion. I love the fact that I can drink the miso soup without having to worry about what dashi they use to flavor it. Also, the cucumber salad is sooooo delicious! I've tried out a couple of dishes, but I love the soba bowls the best. It's very filling. Desert-wise, I like the one with bananas. One dish that I don't like is the cha-ya nabe (sukiyaki) (because it really tastes like meat! bleech!) Whenever I used to go out (which would be quite rare), I would always want to eat at cha-ya. I don't think they are too expensive as a restaurant. A lot of people do, though. It's been about 3 years since I haven't eaten at cha-ya, and I do miss the restaurant. I don't there there is any vegan japanese restaurants other than cha-ya in the bay area. Good thing is that they have a cha-ya in SF, so maybe I can take 2 hours out of my life to travel there and sit down to have a nice bowl of soba. yum read more

The lines are long but the veggie sushi is creative and delicious. I have to say, though, that I went once by myself and had dinner at the sushi bar, and it was like I had stumbled into a cult. Every conversation I could overhear was about how removing some item from a diet, or adding some supplement, had changed someone's life. It was kind of creepy. read more

Japanese food without fish sauce or at least something fish-based? Yeah buddy, you better believe it -- and it's awesome. Cha-ya makes good food. Filling vegetarian sushi rolls and awesomely creative tofu and vegetable dishes. Everything visually looks awesome and the price is good too. Expect to wait, even if you're only two people, during peak hours. But if you've got a Cha-ya craving and you want it satisfied ASAP -- here's a tip: order take-out and you'll be chowin' down in no time. read more

The food wasn't bad by any means, but I'm not sure I'd pay almost $10 for a bowl of soba noodles with like 3 pieces of carrots, 4 or 5 pieces of broccoli and 2 pieces of cauliflower. I got Soba noodles in vegetarian curry, and the noodles really soaked up the curry taste so that was delicious, but other than that, I could have made a tastier meal at home that night at 1/3 of the price! The overall experience was very pleasant. The entire place smelled like fried tempura the whole time, and I LOVED IT. For once, I was okay with leaving a restaurant with an open kitchen because I got to smell tempura on myself the entire night after I left. haha I think I should have tried their special appetizers instead. Maybe I will take my vegetarian friend here some time to try the appetizers. Thinking about the tempura smell makes me want to add a fourth star, but nah.. Maybe the score will go up when I try the appetizers. read more

Was looking forward to this place, since I'd seen so many people going in and out of the restaurant, but it was only okay. We came here for Sunday lunch and ordered several dishes off the menu that didn't really wow anyone. Good dish: 1. Agedashi Tofu - nicely fried, with a great sauce with little bits seaweed and sprouts. Although I would order this during every visit, it only comes with 4 pieces of tofu. Not-bad dishes: 1. Cha-Ya Delight - one of our party members is very health conscious, so we ordered this veggie dish served with brown rice. There was a good variety of veggies and it had several small pieces of seaweed in it, and it seemed like the brown rice was seasoned slightly. This was a light, healthy, not-too-salty dish that I might consider ordering again. 2. Yasai Noodle Soup - all in all, a pretty standard udon soup. We opted for udon, since it's heartier and if good quality, usually doesn't disappoint. There was a nice soup seasoning that added more flavor. Not a bad dish, and I'm curious to try the Curry version. Not so awesome dishes: 1. Senroppen Salad - much too sour. The ingredients were fresh and nice, but the sauce was much too overpowering in its acidity. Not what I expected in an appetizer and probably wouldn't order again. I didn't like the fact that they don't serve complimentary hot tea. Also, our server didn't even write down one of our orders, which we eventually voided. This place was okay for some light, healthy veggies, but it did not wow me at all. I'd probably still go to a regular Japanese restaurant, if given a choice next time. read more

I am not vegetarian, I don't particularly love vegetarian or vegan food, but I don't particularly LOVE meat either. I came here because a good friend is vegetarian and since he accommodated me the past couple of times, it was time for me to let him choose. We ordered the Vegan roll, Cha-Ya roll, Hangetsu and Dengaku. From my point of view, the Hangetsu was the best dish because of the kiwi sauce. Other than that, I know I probably won't ever come here again. Sorry Cha-ya, you are only great for someone who is on a strict vegetarian diet. read more

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I've been coming to Cha-Ya now for well over two years and I consistently have a positive experience with the food. The service tends to be a bit slow and not so friendly, and they are cash only, which is annoying to me, as I don't typically carry cash. They do have an ATM in the restaurant, but I tend to not use it (or ATM's in general, as I'm not a fan of being charged bank/ATM fees). The Vege Tofu Curry noodle soup (w/ buckwheat soba) is my favorite, along with the veggie gyoza and avocado rolls. I could honestly eat most of what's on the menu and be satisfied. Food is always fresh! Jasmine tea was also yummy (and enough to share between two people). ...what else? Bathrooms were nice and clean, as I recall. Sometimes the restaurant can be a bit drafty if you sit by the glass windows/doors, but overall, worth it every time. read more

The overall taste of the food here is bland. Everything sort of has a lettuce-boiled-in-water thinness to it. The perfect word to describe it is 淡, if you can read Chinese. I suppose that's to be expected from a vegetarian Japanese restaurant. The ingredients are decent quality and service is fine, so I would still say it's worth a try if you're ok with that style of food. It's just not my cup of tea. read more

Because I am a vegetarian, I was excited to try a sushi spot that offers so many vegetarian/vegan options. We waited for about 20-30 mins to be seated. Our food was so bland!!! I don't understand the hype around this place. If you enjoy flavorful sushi, this place probably isn't for you. If you just want a lot of mediocre vegetarian/vegan options, this place is good! read more

Vegan sushi? Another annoying, crunchy, PC, holier-than-thou, Berkeley mock up, I was sure. I tried my hardest not to like this place, but I have to admit, at first sight and first bite, I was bowled over. Crisp tempura, veggie nigiri, stuffed egglpant, and tofu with the most mouth watering dressing on top. I am going there for dinner again, tonight. The only downside is the wait. About 30-40 minutes, which should say something about the food, which, YES, is worth the wait. Luckily, living in Berkeley, we just got it to go and enjoyed at home. read more

A wait even on Tuesday night at 845. Plan accordingly if you have a large party or want you food NOW! Wholesome food and tasty creations. Pleasantly surprised by the "sushi" selections. Was told that the SF one does not give as generous portions. Will investigate and report back. read more

I've been here several times since Boyfriend and I have been together (one of our first dates was at the SF location--it was cute because he didn't know what to do w/ himself because it was the first exclusively-vegetarian restaurant he'd ever been to since he started being vegetarian back in the late '90s). This is my favorite of the two, and here's why (in no particular order); -Atmosphere feels cozier. If you've read the SF reviews, some people think that location feels a little sterile. I'm one of those people. Plus you get seats outside while you wait...because this place is smaller than the SF location (I did say "cozier"). -Parking in Berkeley CAN be as horrendous as parking in SF. HOWEVER, we've never had to park in another neighborhood in order to eat at this place. (We also never have had to park in another neighborhood for the SF location, but we might as well have because we spend at least 15mins finding parking, and that's ONLY because Boyfriend has awesome parking karma.) -They have different specials here. No fava beans in SF. -For some reason service feels more urgent here than in SF. -This one accepts cc's. SF location does NOT!!! As for the food, I dock this place 1 star away from perfection because there are way too many tempura'd items, so I get a false sense of full when I order these items. Once upon a time I used to be able to eat twice what I could eat now (aka first visit back in SF), and I could barely finish what I ate...and I had one of the combo meals that had all deep-fried stuff. I'm all for deep-fried (hello country-fried anything!), but geez...(having a hard time articulating the frustration here). Favorite items: soba sushi (so easy to make at home, too, but why didn't I think of it sooner?!), whatever that adzuki red bean paste warm dessert thingy is Meat notes: Boyfriend made his friends eat here for his b-day one year, and they handled it very well. Then again, we made them try the soba sushi. Best part--none of them were hungry thereafter (or at least they did a great job lying). If anything, advertise to them that this place will give them a good colon cleanse. I wouldn't recommend forcing a hardcore carnivore to eat here unless...well, if you can convince a hardcore meat-eater to eat here, all power to you! =) read more

The only all vegan Japanese restaurant/sushi bar. An absolute favorite. Make sure you show up early, maybe 5 to 10 minutes before they open, cause if not you'll be waiting for a while to get a table. I love Asian cuisine and especially Japanese/Thai and sushi. Its a shame that Thai vegan places kind of dominate the vegan market as far as restaurants go, and most of them serve the same or similar options that dont really stand out. there is one place in SF i love though..... Anyway, i have ordered a variety of things and never been disappointed. they have great service, a polite (although quiet) staff, and fantastic prices, especially for some of the dinner combinations. Ive always been tempted to get the cha ya roll (an entire sushi roll battered and fried, but i worry about my health being that ive gotten skinny for the first time in my life. go here with a friend, ora girl on a date, or maybe bring a coworker to discuss business over great cruelty free Japanese food. All in all, fantastic. my only gripe is i wish there was more seating options. read more

Ever want to convince someone vegetarian food is tasty? Suggest Cha-Ya. It's sort of pricey, a meal for two can cost up to $60 dollars, but it makes a great place for a special birthday treat or celebration. I took my vegan friend there for her college graduation and I was hooked. Atmosphere, eh not so romantic, but very thoughtful when considering your love one's dietary needs. Plus Cha-ya has menu that you, your dinning partner and your taste buds will appreciate. Three cheers for Cha-Ya! Oh, and five stars. read more

I cannot tell how happy I am that I found this place! Vegetarian and Japanese - Best place ever! I love sushi and I'm a vegetarian .. This is probably the only place where I dont have to be worried about a stray raw fish showing up in my sushi! :D Apart from this factor, the food by itself is really good. I tried the cha - ya rolls, vegetable garden roll (it really looked like a garden), the miso soup (the best ever!) And the cucumber roll. We also tried a tofu starter whose name i cannot remember!The cha ya roll was the best among them all.. it comes with a special sauce that really adds flavor to the sushi. I absolutely love this place and am going to come back over and over again! (FYI ..I have to drive 40 miles for this) Also, this place is CASH ONLY. read more