I really like the silly names that they have at this tea shop. I like when places are kind of silly like that and they become creative. I got the period pad and I'm actually kind of thankful they didn't make the drinks look unappetizing, even though some of the names are a bit off-putting. Plus, Boba is super affordable there, and they have a great variety of fruit teas. I also like how this place puts kind of like a fortune at the bottom of your drink like a fortune cookie. read more

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Always a good staple bubble tea shop. And this place makes some really good Japanese go to meals. Service is always quick. And I like the new design on the windows outside, and I love the seating inside as well! read more

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Grab a quick lunch (rice balls) yesterday around 1pm with my husband. -Rice balls- 1 small chicken Yaya 1 small eel 1 small pork belly with kimchi 1 large Japanese The pork belly with kimchi was spicier than expected. Lots of tender yummy pork but only 1 piece of kimchi. The Japanese is really delicious! It has imitation crabmeat, seaweed, and egg. Yum! I adore the YaYa glass cups. Very cute and sturdy. read more

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Quick service. Everything came out pretty quick too! So the service here is pretty good! The tea is just okay, kinda watery, same for the boba, nothing special kinda bland. But I'm curious to try their assam milk tea to see if it's different. The food though??!?? Fire 11/10 I wanna come back here just for the food. I got two of the spam onigiri-I wish I would've gotten the large ones or just more in general they were so yummy. Super easy to eat too since the instructions were on the bottom. My parents also really enjoyed the yakisoba read more

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Loved going here. But I usually get the boyfriend drink, and i noticed some red stuff in my drink! What is this? read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Growing up I always came to Yaya's after high school to get a drink and a rice ball. But years later the sparkle is kind of fading for me. The selection of products is amazing and the shop is cute but the quality of the products definitely ranges depending on who's working. If it's the owner behind the counter, you know it's gonna be good but if it's a young kid, most likely it will be thrown together without care. The exterior of the shop could also use a makeover to make it more inviting to new customers. I do come here once in a while but there are other options in the area and I hope my review can prevent competitors hurting the business. read more

This place used to be good, when it first opened. Now the quality of the foods and drink is TERRIBLE. Like, why is there a bug in my drink? If you want Yayas's, go somewhere else. I heard the Manhattan one is much better than this one. Absolutely disgusted by this, if I could 0/5 from me. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Boyfriend White Tea w a bug - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Placed a rather large order this weekend for a kids birthday and although the wait time was slightly longer than expected, the riceballs and drinks were all really good. I am not surprised by the crowds in front on yayas but Saturday was also nicer weather so there were a lot more people than expected who were placing orders or waiting to pick up their orders. Yayas is a fan favorite in our household and we typically order japanese, yaya chicken, shrimp tempura and occasional the spicy crawfish riceballs. The riceballs were all decently sized and not stuffed with extra rice as fillers for less ingredients inside. We order the boyfriend and second chance drinks in quantities of 10 with different toppings. Both kids and adults really enjoyed this snack during the party. read more

I've been coming to this spot for bubble tea or rice balls for years. The service is good, quick and the food is consistently good! My favorite rice ball is the Japanese one. read more

I LOVEEEE THIS PLACEEE been going here since I was 13.. im 18 now ! And the old man is very kind to all his customers and the rest of the workers they make it seem like a nice cafe that you can relax as you will at home they aren't very known tho .. so go check them out their food is so yummy read more

This adorable tea shop also offers a wide variety of trinkets, toys, and of course, beverages and onigiri! We got a wide variety of plant-based onigiri flavors: vegan citrus spare rib, gong bao, and vegan ginger chicken! The vegan ginger chicken was my personal favorite. Everyone working there is very sweet and efficient with taking orders. This place is best for takeout orders, so I would find a place to sit down and eat ahead of time. read more

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I didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight. I placed an order on Grubhub for a couple of riceballs. When I picked up my order, they were warm. I highly recommend ordering ahead before going there. When I went, there were a couple of people waiting for their orders. There was no social distancing. I'm glad I was able to pick up and go. read more

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Overall Rating: 5/5 Food: It's super fulfilling for your cravings! I was craving for it the other day and went with my grandpa and bought two yaya chicken rice ball and one shrimp tempura. It was a bit salty but honestly it does the job! It can be confusing trying to assemble the rice ball but you'll get the hang of it, just follow the directions! :) I also got a matcha latte with pop lychee (I know weird combo) but it was good! It was the perfect amount of sugar. Ambience: It's decently lit and has a very calming environment but unfortunately with Covid there is no dining in Price: Rice balls range from $2.74-$5 ish depending on what filling and size you get! Drinks are also around $5-6 as well. Service: Ordered takeout and it was super quick. They were super nice about it too. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - three bags of tea and a cup of yogurt - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I had two of those nigiri rice balls and a warm bubble tea. It was exactly what I needed. Delicious and relatively quick. The people at the counter were very nice and explained a couple things I wasn't sure about. I've been wanting to go back but haven't found the time. It's a very nice, simple, tasty spot in the madness of 86th Street. read more

Vegan onigiri is so good. My favorite is the ginger chicken paired with a brown sugar milk tea.

We asked for updates on our order quite a few times. I noticed all the costumers who ordered after us had already left. 35 minutes after we placed our order, I decided to ask about our order status again. That was when they told us they did not have pork belly. One of the rice balls we ordered was with pork belly and kimchi. I decided to replace it with another smoked sausage rice ball. Another issue was the food label. We also got 2 shrimp tempura rice balls but requested for one to have crab meat. They had switched around the food labels. The one without crab meat was labeled with the '+ crab meat' sticker. The one with crab meat was not labeled. This food label neglect can lead to serious health complications for someone who may have allergies to crab meat or seafood. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Cute neighborhood spot with a variety of drinks. You can't go wrong with their recommended list. I got the "Second Chance" with Mixed fruit jelly. It is a mix of Strawberry and Peach White Tea. It is sooo refreshing and I love the fruit jellies. Without adjusting sugar level, it is still not too sweet. They always make it quick and the person handling the register is always so polite and efficient. I regularly get their onigiri rice balls and they are sooo delicious. Great on the go food that is pretty filling. I always get the Yaya Special or the Shrimp Tempura. Delicious and great price. Highly recommend this spot to try. They seem to have taken away the indoor seating although there used to be. Maybe they'll bring it back one day. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I love yaya! And was excited when they started to expand. I love ordering their riceballs and usually order a few at a time. Due to always ordering more than needed (well ... is that the case though? Never too much) But anyways, there are other food options but I, personally, haven't been able to give them a try since I go a little overboard, as mentioned. I actually rarely get their bbt, not cause it's not good but I just don't drink a lot of BBT in general. When you over online, it usually gives you an Est but usually when you go in store to pick up. It's a lot faster and all ready, which I love! I recently tried their vegan spare rib riceballs and it was really good. I wouldn't even know that it was vegan. Love that it's made fresh, you know it is when you pick them up and they are warm. Deff great for a snack or lunch! read more

Best local spot for all the brooklyn folks. For all kids who grew up in the Bensonhurst- Dyker Heights-Bay Ridge area, this is a very well known spot for their onigiri and drinks. The drinks selection are unlimited and you can even customize your own if you want. The boyfriend drink is a popular in case it's your first time here! & don't forget the Japanese onigiri read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This always hits the spot. Super wide variety of drinks; fruit teas are their most popular. I personally think all of their teas taste the same ( like juice ) but it's great for kids+ teens. I often come for the rice balls; my absolute favorite is the spicy crawfish, but the yaya chicken is also a must-try. Currently only doing take out d/t covid, but they also accept orders through seamless/grubhub. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Chicken Rice Ball, Spicy Crawfish Rice Ball, Seaweed Salad - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I have been going there for years and i always prefer this one over the one on Grand St. I gave it 3 stars because i want to echo what another reviewer has said about the price of everything been creeping up every year while the ingredients are getting less. I ordered the cooked salmon and spicy garlic the other day and there were so much rice but the ingredients are missing. Also lacks flavor and vinegar in the rice. I'm not sure if this is an isolated incident but that is disappointing because i want to support small businesses like them. Otherwise service is still good and prompt. I understand why raising price is needed but please don't reduce the ingredients. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Cooked Salmon Rice Ball. It looks miserable. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I got the yaya chicken and salmon rice balls. I really liked it but the salmon one was a bit dry (expected) but the yaya chicken was amazing. It was super filling, first time trying onigiri because I've always seen it in anime and I've always wanted to try one and thanks to this place I have. Cant wait to visit again! :) Update: Visited again and tried spicy crawfish I think it's my favorite one, all though it wasn't really spicy, you could use your own toppings but personally I liked it either way. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

My mom was craving some crawfish onigiri yesterday so we stopped by to pick it up. I usually order the same thing, but wanted to try something new this time. I ordered the small squid (fried) onigiri and was quite disappointed while eating it. It was rather dry because it was mostly rice and only consisted of ONE squid ball. There was only sauce around the squid ball, which is a tiny portion of the whole onigiri. Honestly, I think it should be called squid ball onigiri instead. When the menu said fried squid, I was expecting some savory fried calamari or squid tentacles, so it was disappointing. The flavor itself wasn't bad, but it felt like there wasn't enough flavor throughout the onigiri. Maybe I'll just stick to my crawfish onigiri next time. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Squid (fried) onigiri - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

A had the Yaya Chicken a few times from this location and another one in Bklyn. They were good. Last time i had was in Nov 2023 at this location. I bought 3 of the chicken on a weekend. It was close to noon. I started eating one and then got to the point that it had a weird bad taste. I spit out the rest. Tasted like it was spoiled. It went bad. But the other parts were fine. My mom ate the 2nd one. She didnt finish it and threw it away. A couple hours later, i had a bad stomachache. Had a diarrhea. The 3rd one, i ate it next day and that was fine. They should really check on their products. Mightve left out in the open. read more

Been going to this place for years, as prices have been slowly creeping up ingredients in their rice balls have been disappearing. Imagine grabbing a Spam Rice Ball, in their pictures it has a bunch of chopped up Spam with sauce. In reality its a thin cut sad looking piece of meat. Same goes with their other rice balls. What I saw in this place when this first opened has long been gone, it may be Brooklyn's only spot for rice balls but its not a place worth visiting anymore. Shrimp Tempura was okay though. Last Visit: Ordered 2x Japanese, 2 Spicy Crawfish, 1 Spam, 1 Shrimp Tempura read more

Onigiri aka rice balls are the bomb here!! They have a bunch of flavors like salmon, shrimp tempura, yaya chicken, crab meat, seaweed etc. They have two sizes for their rice ball, a small and a large. I usually go for a small because they are a good snack. They're also wrapped in this cute rice ball wrapping paper where you just peel the middle part and rip off the two sides. They are also known for their fruit drinks! My favorite is their boyfriend drink and first love drink. The menu for their drinks is massive but they usually highlight their most popular ones. Definitely come try and get that tea and rice ball! They also have other snacks too like spring rolls but I always get their rice balls. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Boyfriend White Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Ordered their onigiris few times for pick up. I like almost all of their choices but the Yaya shrimp (shrimp tempura and seaweed salad) and the takoyaki ones are my all time favorite. I always get the small ones as I feel like the large ones come with a lot of rice and the filling to rice ratio isn't for me. The small onigiris are pretty filling for me but choosing which ones to get is the hard part. read more

Came here after work on a Friday around 8. I ordered 5 rice balls and a chicken soba. 3 Japanese and 2 yaya chicken. The cashier was very nice and quick with the service. The Japanese rice ball included crab stick, seaweed and egg. There was a good portion of the seaweed and crab sticks but for the egg there was only one small slice of egg white. Kind of hoped there was more than one slice... I usually order from here and they usually make it with 3-4 slices but I guess yesterday was different. The yaya chicken rice ball included chicken and seaweed. The yaya chicken rice ball was very flavorful but not as much chicken as the previous times I have ordered. There was more sauce this time. The chicken soba was basically ramen noodle lol. It had the same sauce as the yaya chicken. It was okay. Would not order it again. Not worth it.... Even though the portion was not the same like I previously had it, I really like yaya rice ball. In love their snacks section! read more

I used to go to Yaya on a monthly (read: weekly) basis in high school but there isn't one local to me now so I fell out of that habit. So, when Japan village opened up with an onigiri shop near me I gave that a try. Unfortunately the Japan Village onigiri shop isn't up to competing with the high standards that Yaya has set, so I'm back here! We ordered something like $50 of rice balls and enjoyed every bit of it. read more

Their menu of the drinks is TOO extensive... I got dizzy reading it. SO many names for different fruit combos. They could just list out the fruits and let people choose which they want. I tried the princess and the ace of spades in a twin cup -- you get 2 flavors in this cup separated. No tea allowed in the twin cup though. The fruit drinks were too sweet for me, and I wasn't allowed to get reduced sugar because the girl said it would be impossible for the twin cups since it's less volume... I liked the brown sugar bubbles in my bf's tea though! Will have to come back to try their food. But won't get the drinks again. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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The middle-aged man behind the cash register was very nice and talkative. Funny too. My friend and I were very confused when we saw the menu because there was a vegetarian symbol next to the "Ginger Chicken" onigiri, along with several other "meat" options. Apparently, the vegetarian "meat" were made with tofu. Being a curious foodie, I got the ginger "chicken" onigiri. As long as you don't mind the taste of ginger, you'd LOVE this onigiri. And I couldn't even tell it was made with vegetarian meat! The pork belly with kimchi onigiri was also good, but it was a bit salty for me. I imagine it'd also taste better if they'd lightly brushed either the seaweed or the rice with sesame oil. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Sm. Ginger Chicken Rice Ball - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I came here for dinner on a Monday night. I've been to the location in Manhattan and liked their tea drinks. I've never had their food so decided to try it out. I ordered the Tokyo fried chicken over rice and a hot green tea. Service was very slow and I actually received the food before the tea. I had to ask for the tea since it was taking too long. For a fast casual cafe, it took way too long to receive my food and drink. The food was surprisingly tasty, the fried chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The chicken was topped with katsu sauce. The tea was hot, strong, and brewed well. I would come back if I'm in the area but wouldn't go out of my way to come here. However, there were better choices on 86th St. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Tokyo Fried Chicken - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I usually call in before ordering to eliminate wait time. My usual's here are the shrimp tempura roll and a sunrise drink. The shrimp tempura roll ($2.75) is a shrimp tempura wedged between rice and seaweed with some mayo. The sunrise drink ($2.50) is strawberry and mango with white tea, and they give you a free topping (I usually get lychee jelly). I've ordered the yaki soba several times but they've all been too salty. This is one of three locations YAYA has in New York now. Their original store was located in Chinatown and I have been going there since they've opened. Prices have definitely been raised, especially since they've franchised. Most complain that the quality has been inconsistent since they've expanded but I think the taste is still there. There are tables aligned against the wall and there was a sign with a seating limit, but I don't think they enforce it unless it gets too busy. There's also a credit card minimum of $10 so if you're planning on ordering just one or two items, bring cash! read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Small shrimp tempura rice roll and large lychee tree drink - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Yaya is known for their rice balls and special drinks. I have ordered rice balls here a few times recently and it has been a disappointment. It used to be my go to spot for quality rice balls, but that has changed recently. The drinks are still good, but the rice balls has been lacking. I always order the salmon rice ball, eel, and fried chicken with seaweed. Recently, the rice balls are just all rice, no stuffings inside. I understand that everything has gone up in price, and yayas price has been around the same, but they have decreased their quality on their food. A salmon rice ball barely has any salmon it, all rice. I ordered the crabmeat and seaweed salad rice all, a few strands of seaweed and barely a strand of crabmeat. A large eel rice ball is almost $7 but it barely has any eel in it. I've been just really disappointed in the quality of the rice balls, I don't recommend unless you're okay with just eating rice and seaweed. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Supposedly Yaya Crab Meat Rice Ball - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I love Yaya Tea but I will stick to the locations in Manhattan. This location is unsanitary and dismissive about correcting issues they make. read more

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Love this place! Usually always packed with middle or high schoolers but alas, their food and drinks are perfect for after school or work. It's location on 86th street means that parking is hard if not RARE to come by so keep that in mind. This place is pretty efficient and I've never waited very long and everyone is pretty nice. Overall, I recommend checking them out. Their flavors for bubble tea are delicious and expansive so you can try out a new combo any time you feel like changing things up. read more

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Overall, this is quite the cute one stop place for tea, food, snacks and potential gifts! If you're a fan of tea tea like drinks (not the typical boba flavors) I recommend making a stop here. There is an extensive menu on the tea drinks alone and quite a broad selection for onigiri, small rice plates and appetizers. For the tea, I ordered the Aries which was a blend of jasmine with chrysanthemum with honey tea as a base. Absolutely refreshing and fragrant. The honey tea lends a bit of sweetness to the drink while the aroma of jasmine and chrysanthemum fills your senses up. For the onigiri, tried the spam, spicy crawfish and the takoyaki. If you order this, do make sure to read the instructions on the package on how to unravel it! The takoyaki was my least favorite since it lacked any real takoyaki taste to it. As for the crawfish, it was a little heavy on the mayo like sauce but it tasted decent. The spam onigiri was surprisingly the most yummy. The rice was flavored with some kind of broth and the spam wasn't too salty. Finally, the rice dish with Japanese curry, baked potato and shrimp tempura. Simple hearty meal that is definitely filling and good :) After your meal, I recommend checking out the store for various Asian snacks and teas. If you're looking for gift ideas, this place sells tea bottles, hoodies and other misc items. read more

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I've only been to this location of Yaya and it's great! It's a nice place to get a quick drink and snack. I've only tried the teas and onigiri. I really like the yogurt popping bubbles with the teas - they're a good choice if you don't want the regular tapioca balls. Yaya chicken onigiri was delicious and makes for a good meal. There was a good amount of chicken in it and it mixed well with the seaweed inside. I got this as a large and it was a good size... definitely worth the extra $2! I decided to try their new smoked salmon with massago onigiri. There was only one small piece of smoked salmon in it and one side had just a small amount of masago. There was seaweed with what tasted like some spicy mayo inside mixed in there. This one wasn't my favorite, but all others are delicious and fresh. read more

Yaya Tea Garden - Smoked Salmon Masago Onigiri - Bubble Tea Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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After raving about the rice balls at a Manhattan staple, Cafe Zaiya, for years it was finally brought to my attention that this neighborhood spot existed in Bensonhurst. My source told me that the rice balls were wayyyyy better here than anywhere else, so I had to do one thing - come here fast and check out the hype for myself! I swung by on a random Sunday afternoon and the shop was rather empty and pretty inconspicuous. There was nothing flashy about its appearance and, in fact, it looked more like a snack shop than a place that served ridiculously awesome rice balls and bubble tea. There was a huge variety of asian snacks on the left wall and a few tables and chairs on the right side. The menu hung right above the cashier and it consisted of drinks (hot/cold bubble tea), appetizers and, the ONLY thing I came here for, onigiri/rice balls. There was a huge selection of rice balls to choose from, about 19 from my count! Yes, 19! In addition, they served them in Small and Large sizes with some flavors costing more than others. I was told that the Japanese rice ball was one of their best so I had no choice but to go with a large version of it. In my head, for $4, it better have been LARGE and insanely good! It took about a few minutes for them to prep it. When I received it, it was very warm and smelled real fresh. It had the typical rice ball wrapping around it, which I ALWAYS screwed up when opening. It's like a puzzle for me. However, I was able to successfully get this one to open perfectly. I bit into the rice ball and the rice was SO SO soft and warm. The rice was very flavorful and I hadn't even gotten to the filling yet! There was tons of crab meat, seaweed and some egg inside. Everything was excellent about it! And best of all, it was filling for $4! Honestly, I couldn't eaten 2 because it was so good, but I was feeling the effects of how large it was. For $4, it was well worth it and it definitely trumped Cafe Zaiya's rice ball by a mile! Dare I say its the best rice ball I have ever had? Yes I do! read more

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One word: onigiri!! I was super excited for this place to open when I saw the signs beforehand. And yes, it is the same shop as the one in Chinatown! There was a super long line today, on its grand opening day but for today only, you get a free drink upgrade from a small to a large! My friends and I only waited about 10 minutes so it wasn't too bad, and once you get into the store there's AC. There's a whole wall full of Asians chips and snacks and 4 larger tables on the opposite side, enough to seat 5-6 people at each one. I got the 'First Love', a mango and peach white tea with the 'pop mango', and a cooked salmon onigiri/rice ball. My friend got the exact same, but my other friend got the 'I Love Yaya', a strawberry, passionfruit, and mango oolong tea, with 'star mango' and a Japanese rice ball (seaweed, crab, egg). We all agreed that our drinks weren't the best, but the rice balls were yummy!! I'd definitely recommend the Japanese onigiri, even though the salmon one was still good. The Japanese onigiri just had more flavor. Would definitely come back for the rice balls, and this will definitely be a cool spot post dinners/for a snack!!! read more

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