Cancel

Open app

Search

Yaya Tea Newark

4.1 (79 reviews)
Closed • 10:30 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

Order Yaya Tea Newark Takeout or Delivery

Yaya Tea Newark Photos

YAYA TEA NEWARK ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?

You might also consider

More like Yaya Tea Newark

Recommended Reviews - Yaya Tea Newark

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Gloria L.

Yaya's will always be so nostalgic for me because I always had it when I was younger!! I ordered the Japanese onigiri, shrimp tempura onigiri and a lychee tree. Was deff full after but if you were to come here starving, you would not be satisfied. The cashier was very nice and my order came out quick. The tables were clean and there's a lot of cute decor inside There is parking available on side streets

Nate L.

Having yayas was a step into the past as I remembered going to the original Chinatown location in highschool (11 years ago) every weekend. Great service and the store had a very young vibe. Would definitely come here for a quick bite. Came to Yaya's after craving onigiri and bubble tea. Its a cute shop situated in a college neighborhood which means parking could be hard to find when school is in session. Ordered the following onigiri rated from best to worst 1) yaya chicken- packed with flavor and sauce. Chicken was salty but it paired perfectly with the rice and seaweed 2)shrimp tempura- very crispy with very large shrimp. Recommend pairing this with spicy mayo 3) spicy crawfish- looked like a paste which could be a turn off for people that rely heavily on texture or the ones that eat with their eyes first. Very flavorful though 4) Japanese- I remember this rice ball being a lot better than what I experienced today. It was a bit dry and bland but packed with ingredients. Would definitely recommend getting spicy mayo for this. 5) takoyaki- I had high hopes for this one as it was the most unique onigiri but it didn't meet my expectations. The takoyaki was very creamy but lacked the umami flavor and there was very little filling. I think a large takoyaki onigiri only had one takoyaki cut into 2 pieces? Drink: Small Boyfriend with Lychee Jelly.

Nehal A.

One of the rare boba store in NKIT/Rutgers Newark campus. This a bright and colorful store, offering drinks, teas, appetizers, rice balls and noodles dishes. Being my first visit here, got the mango strawberry drink with bubbles. It was refreshing, not too sweet. Many different variety of other fruit flavors are also available to try. Got the takoyaki and chicken rice ball from food menu. Takoyaki was decent, it was little extra fried for my taste. Comes in 7-8 pieces, good size to share. I liked the chicken rice ball more than takoyaki. Rice was fresh and soft. The chicken stuffed in had a good taste too. Overall I had a positive first experience. I am delighted to have found this place next to my work. Will be stopping by more often for lunch and drinks.

It looks dark inside when you're looking in from the outside
Constance A.

On the Fourth of July, I was craving bubble tea. Luckily Yaya Tea was open. First time here at this location. Parking was easy. There is meter parking on Central Ave. Once inside, I ordered a large taro milk tea. The boba would have been extra charge. My drink was made quickly since it was empty inside. I got the narrow straw since I didn't have any toppings added to my drink. Unfortunately the straw could not puncture the top of the drink. It ended up breaking. The taro itself was good. Nothing spectacular about it but good enough. The price was reasonable. 5.95 ($6.34 after tax). Typical price you would pay at other bubble tea places in north Jersey. The staff were not memorable. One took my order and one made it.

Aaron Z.

I got a shrimp tempora with crab and spicy crawfish. I paid extra for spicy mayo and there wasnt as much as i would like but it was okay. The shrimp tempora one was dry but the spicy crawfish was really good. Flavors were good but could've been better. This is My First time trying onigiri so I'm not sure what the ratio is supposed to be but over all it was good and I would recommend people come here to try.

"we belong teagether" on the wall
Jeannette L.

Four of us stopped at Yaya yesterday after visiting Branch Brook Park for the cherry blossoms. After a few hours of walking the park, a sweet milk tea and onigiri were definitely on the brain. I've been meaning to check out Yaya Tea Newark by NJIT for the longest time. We found street parking on Central. It was about 30 minutes before closing on a Saturday afternoon, and the place was busy with customers. Place was abuzz. There were placing orders and people picking up mobile orders. I ordered a small taro milk tea and a spam rice ball. My dude got a thai milk tea large and spring rolls. Boba in the drinks was the right amount of chewy, spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce hit the spot, and the spam rice ball was amazing. Btw, if you get the rice ball, ask for spicy sauce inside -- so good! There's also a great selection of shelved snacks by the ordering register. In line, I kept going back and forth in my head, "Should I pick up that bag of Calbee chips or those matcha Kit Kats? Hmm..." There's also merch - hoodies, plushes, and stickers :) If you are in the area, check it out. If you are short on time and don't have time to wait, do a mobile order and pick up. Recommended!

Yogurt bottle (period pad fruit tea with tapioca)
Adrienne M.

Since I had to head to NJIT for my vaccine, I checked for foodie places in the area and luckily Yaya is right across the street! I placed my order for pick up through the website which was quick and easy. Since I visited on a Sunday afternoon it was a bit busy as there was a line for pickup and ordering. I went in to pick up my order 20 minutes after ordering and had to wait an additional 20 minutes after that. I also visited on a Friday morning and was still waiting quite a while. I think next time I will order in person and see if that is quicker. Also, since I ordered actual food that probably added on the time as well. There isn't much parking in the area so you'll get lucky if you snag a spot. I think it mainly caters to NJIT students as it is right on their campus. What a sweet place to have while going to college! I've tried the shrimp rice ball, better life fruit tea (Strawberry, Lychee, and Pineapple Green Tea with lychee jelly), and the period pad fruit tea (Peach, Mango and Strawberry White Tea with tapioca). The teas were pretty good; I love the options they have as well as how you can customize it with less/more sugar, choose less/more ice, different jellies and if you want it in a regular boba cup or a yogurt bottle. The yogurt bottle is $5 and you can bring it back for a refill (about $3+) which is cool! The shop is super cute, I can tell it was the spot to be at especially when they open back up their indoor seating. They have cute sayings and pictures on the wall as well as different snacks and Yaya swag to choose from. Will be back for my future rice ball and boba fixes!

Make your own tea
Sherene N.

Can you say ADDICTING?? Wow. I've had Yaya Tea 8 times in a single month. I am addicted and so is my family. We love Boba tea and even more so tea itself. I love the option to make your own flavors, very unique. I favor black tea and oolong and love the ability to add in my own flavors, my own bobas, control the sweetness levels and ice portion. We've even tried their little sushi triangles which are super cute, easy to eat and pretty good. Their shrimp gyoza is a definite favorite for me. This place has long term ability in my opinion. As a tea and boba lover I say Yaya tea I'd taking over and I'm here for it!!

Diondra B.

Always love coming to this place party because ever since my trip to Japan I've been addicted to onigiris (rice ball) I've been here a few times and typically get the shrimp tempura rice vall or sometimes the salmon rice ball and add tempura shrimp its so good. This time I got the shrimp tempura rice ball and the hulk fruit tea which is green apple green tea. They just added pressed drinks too so I got a few fresh pressed juice shots

Lychee Tree
Amber H.

Came in today to get blue blood tea, i always order online and pay venmo in store. I love how fast my order is made when i order online while I'm walking there. Workers are really nice.

Half of it is ice even tho I asked for less ice

Half of the tea was just ice. And I asked for less off. It was super watered down. I had to wait for 30 minutes for a black milk tea

Yaya Shrimp (L) RB
Shrabuny J.

The onigiri here is absolutely disgusting. I'm just appalled they would think to serve a bunch of fishy mush to their customer. Let me preface by saying, I have been to their other locations in NYC where the onigiri were fresh and delicious. I thought this would be the same experience... NO. The rice cooked to the point where it looks like mashed potatoes ? And the shrimp was extremely fish, I threw the rest out. What a waste of money and food. I've never had shrimp tempura that was fishy, which made me think the food is not fresh at this location. If you're looking to buy onigiri here, look elsewhere... it's disgusting here. Looking at the picture makes me gag. Unacceptable.

Takoyaki (S) RB

See all

Photo of Liz F.
0
12
28

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 9
Thanks 1
Love this 8
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

6 years ago

Helpful 19
Thanks 1
Love this 23
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 8
Thanks 1
Love this 9
Oh no 1

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 4
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 1
Love this 4
Oh no 1

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

3 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Love their boba milk tea which is not too sweet. Perfect flavor for me, lots of choice.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Areesha A.
160
21
92

6 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Dominik D.
319
5950
11114

4 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Sue S.
1348
992
1405

4 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 2
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 31
Thanks 0
Love this 26
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

Page 1 of 2

Yaya Tea Newark Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Yaya Tea Newark

Is there street parking nearby?

There's street parking around the corner on Central Ave, both free and metered spots.

Does Yaya tea have vegan food and drink options? If so, what are they? Are the tapioca pearls vegan?

Hi Luz... yes we have 3 rice balls listed under Vegan, they are Citrus Spare Rib, Ginger Chicken, & Gong Bao w Seaweed. In addition, the Plain, Plum, and Spring Roll rice balls are vegan as well. The latter is offered as an appetizer also. All… 

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

You might also consider

The Yard - Newark - Black Joy (Watermelon) Salad

The Yard - Newark

4.6(243 reviews)
0.7 mi
•$$

This is my first time visiting Newark and I only ate one real restaurant meal, and I 100% picked…read morethe BEST place! We lucked up on parking and found a spot on the street right in from of the restaurant. It's not a large space but cozy from the moment you walk in. The ENTIRE staff were friendly, attentive, and amusing! We had to wait just a few minutes for a table. The menus are so cute and all of our questions were answered. We loved that they raved about everything. We could not go wrong! Not many places I've been have a ground chicken patty burger option so I was excited to try it. They were out of sweet potato fries but the regular fries were delish! I love a homemade fry! I'm not a spicy fan so I had the sauce on the side and after tasting it, I loved it! I risked the spice (it's really not spicy) and added it to my sandwich. Perfection! To top it all off, the strawberry lemonade was just the right amount of everything: not tart, not too sweet. It was a little pricey for lemons are but I get it when you're squeezing lemons! Kai, the owner, was great! I love a black-owned business and what he has built is sure to be there for years to come. The entire staff were amazing. The food was so memorable. When I'm in Newark again it'll be the first place I go. I gotta come back and try the pound cake. They were sold out.

Great service the moment we walked through the doors! Kai (I hope I remembered that correctly) was…read moreamazing. The food was delicious. The Ginger Lemonade made me very very happy. It tasted like homemade lemonade with chunks of lemon - like the kind we'd made for the lemonade stand with lemons from the backyard. Perfect place to stop before a show at the performing arts center across the street. We walked through a beautiful park to get there. Highly recommend!!!! Give them all of your business!!!

Photos
The Yard - Newark - Jazz band during brunch.

Jazz band during brunch.

The Yard - Newark - Live Jazz Brunch every Sunday 12-3pm

Live Jazz Brunch every Sunday 12-3pm

The Yard - Newark - Oxtail Burger

See all

Oxtail Burger

Felina Steak - Meatballs

Felina Steak

3.8(26 reviews)
4.1 mi

Service was not the best. We were here in April and I'm just getting around to posting the review…read more The GM came over and apologized, they were still working out the kinks. He made us feel warm and welcomed. Upgraded my husband's port and bought us a round. The food was good. We should have gone back. After dinner we sat at the bar for a drink and loved the popcorn they serve.

My wife and I recently moved to South Orange, so last Friday, we were excited to try Felina Steak…read morefor the first time. We arrived at 6:35 p.m. and chose to sit on the Terrazza so we could enjoy the live band. Unfortunately, the service was incredibly slow from the start. It took about 15 minutes before our waitress came to take our drink order, and another 15 minutes before our drinks arrived. We were enjoying the music, so we didn't mind waiting at first. We understood that restaurants get busy and were happy to be patient. Our order wasn't anything complicated. We ordered a salad and a sandwich, which made the wait even more surprising. We had tickets to an 8:15 movie, so around 7:30 we started getting concerned that our food still hadn't arrived. Even then, we didn't complain. At 8:00 p.m., we simply flagged down our waitress, explained that we had to leave, and politely asked her to cancel the remainder of our order. She apologized, took my credit card, and said she would take care of it. While we were waiting, we saw at least two other tables cancel their orders and ask for their checks after experiencing similar delays. About an hour and a half after we had been seated, our food finally arrived, even though we had already canceled it. We told the servers we no longer wanted it. By then, another 15 minutes had passed since we had given the waitress our credit card, yet we still hadn't received our check. We finally walked over to the bar to ask what was going on. That's when we learned our waitress had been holding onto our check so she could add the food to it. We explained, again, that we had canceled the order before it was ever served and would not be paying for meals we never received. Instead of understanding why we were frustrated after waiting over 90 minutes, she responded with attitude, which was honestly the most disappointing part of the evening. The manager overheard the conversation, apologized for the delay, but that was the extent of it. No offer to comp our drinks or appetizer, no attempt to make up for the experience, and no acknowledgment that we had spent over an hour and a half at the restaurant and left without the meal we came for. During that entire time, we received one round of drinks and an appetizer. No one offered another round of drinks, or provided any meaningful updates about our food. I understand that restaurants have difficult nights, and if the only issue had been a long wait, I probably wouldn't be writing this review. What made this experience so disappointing was how it was handled. We were patient from the moment we sat down, and simply asked to cancel our order because we had another commitment. After all of that, being met with attitude for refusing to pay for food that arrived only after we had canceled it, and seeing no real effort from the restaurant to make things right left us feeling like our experience simply didn't matter. We were genuinely excited to find a new local restaurant after moving to South Orange. Instead, our first visit was so disappointing that it will also be our last.

Photos
Felina Steak - Interior

Interior

Felina Steak - Steak

Steak

Felina Steak - Cocktails

See all

Cocktails

Yaya Tea Newark - bubbletea - Updated October 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...