"I’m so glad to have another go-to bakery in the neighborhood.

The pastry case has a wide variety, with a bunch of sweet and savory options. I can’t think of a single time I’ve ever gotten a disappointing pastry from here. My personal favorites are the shakshuka bun and the baklava bun. Both are decent sized buns, which makes it easy to share a few bites with friends. My sister also got a strawberry matcha which she loved.

To me, the prices are reflective of the quality of baked goods this place has and I appreciate how transparent their front of house staff is about their service fee. I’m happy to pay it since, given the quality of food, service and atmosphere, I would’ve been tipping 20% anyway!"

Cameron Marter

"In many ways, Cafe Yaya resembles its sister restaurant Galit: inviting ambiance & service, good but not great food, and an unfortunately high price tag

The pastry selection is impressive for a cafe, featuring a variety of buns, twists, cakes, and laminations - both savory and sweet. The quality is inconsistent: their shakshuka bun, baklava bun, and strawberry cheesecake challah all felt stodgy and a little dry, though the former two were better after being heated for a few seconds. Their cardamom kouign amann and date cake w/ rose icing have good flavor profiles but are both far too sweet and slightly miss the mark texturally - the kouign amann was too dense while the date cake fell apart on my brief walk home. The one real standout was the apple galette - beautifully flaky, tender pastry surrounding a nice apple compote

Still, none of the pastries are bad - the bigger issue is that they aren’t worth the post-service fee price. I generally don’t mind an autogratuity for meal service, though I prefer to have the fee baked into the list price. Cafe Yaya’s practice of charging a 24% surcharge even for takeout pastry orders feels difficult to stomach, however, especially after the pastries don’t blow you away. There’s some good in what this cafe’s doing, but it’s hard to justify a return visit to spend $50+ on 5-6 decent pastries"

Amy T.

"Finally made it here to try their breakfast items/pastries. Going on a weekday is the move considering how busy it can get on the weekends. We tried several different pastries and all were unique and delicious. My particular favorites were the shakshuka bun and chocolate croissant. But the others were great as well. And the interior/vibe is great, especially on a sunny slow morning."

Mike Goldberg