Ya Ya’s Cafe & Bubble Tea

so sad, this place was closed before it’s closing time when we went, and we were SO excited to go. we tried again the next day, and the same thing, closed «/​

At first I was impressed. The lady was fast and gave me a free cookie. The prices were pretty good. I took my soup and sandwich back to my office for lunch. The bread of the turkey sandwich was a bit soggy, which wasn’t great and I ate about half before noticing that the lettuce was really wilted. Not a big deal, I thought. I opened the sandwich to pull it off and saw that the tomato was covered in mould. I had thought that the sandwich tasted funny, but I’d assumed it was just a sauce of some kind. Nope. Mould. So yeah, based on that I’d give this place a hard pass.

This place is NOT OPEN late on Saturday until 02:30 am! Please update its hour of operation. So other people won’t go all the way there and find out it’s closed — like what I just did! Thanks.

Subpar bubble tea that was overly sweet and mushy. We had taro and mango bubble tea and my family and I ended up throwing most of it away. My sister enjoyed her green honey tea though.

I was in downtown with my friend Tuesday and after lunch and walking around we decided to get bubble tea. This will be my second and her first. I googled the closest one to where we were standing and this place came up. It’s a small café and they sell sandwiches and soups also. There were two people ahead of us and we waited patiently while the one girl was working behind the counter. Finally the girl behind the counter was making the girl in front of us her bubble tea, another worker came to th front from the back. An older gentleman walked in and walked up to look at the counter. I think he was a regular because the second employee started talking to him and took his order knowing we were next! WTF??? I was about to walk out! Even if he’s a regular you don’t do that lady (I didn’t get her name but she wears glasses). The other girl took our order and I ordered the peach slushy with pearls and my friend ordered coconut ice milk with pearls. I really enjoyed my drink. It wasn’t real sweet like the first one I ever had. However the pearls were alittle overcooked. I don’t know if I’d go back because of how the second worker took the Reginald’s order before ours knowing we were next.

Ya Ya is an unsuspecting little spot that you pass and give no further notice to… and I secretly hope it stays that way so the lineups stay down and the locals can continue enjoying it in peace: P
Food and drinks are both very good. Have enjoyed snacks, meals, and drinks from here. It’s definitely a place to add to your to-​try list if you’ve not been before!

I was trying to find a bubble tea place near my hotel during my super busy conference schedule and I am so grateful for Unilocal.This place did not disappointment!
My coworker ordered the honeydew milk tea with tapioca while I tried the original milk tea with tapioca. We both loved our drinks. they were so refreshing and my original milk tea had a nice unique tea flavour. The drink is also icy so you may or may not like it– but the tea flavour was just amazing!
The bubble tea you order here is roughly $ 5 and the default size is a usual large size– such great value!
The owner/​worker there was super friendly and quick. The only thing was that day their machines were down so it was cash only and one other note is they do not open late.
Definitely a thumbs up!

I don’t know how this place has such high reviews! My friends and I stopped in on a whim on our way to Mean Poutine and ordered drinks. They had just opened, and the lady was a bit curt with us. Our drinks were insanely sweet and the boba was super gooey and gross. They were also expensive! Needless to say, none of us finished our drinks.
A group of construction workers walked in while we were waiting for drinks and tried to order food and the lady was a bit short with them as well and told them to have a seat until she was done making our drinks.
Note to self — do not get boba in Vancouver.

Solid breakfast sandwich and fantastic cappuccino. Sandwich could use a sauce of some kind, but that’s just a small complaint…

Patient & friendly, great service! She handled our unusual request super well. She sure knows how to mix her drinks! Amazing low price as well! :)))))

Excellent staff, atmosphere and food!
The bubble tea was great. the hospitality was amazing.
I had been intending to sign up to Unilocal and this place compelled me to do so on the spot!

Want to grab a quick bite to eat while you’re in the Robson Square/​Law Courts area? Don’t even think about popping into Waves or Starbucks. Ya ya’s is where it’s at. Everything there is fresh and so ludicrously delicious. I’ve never been a regular anywhere because I always want to try new things, but this place is the closest I’ve gotten to having a spot. I’m gonna miss this place when I move.

Following my 2-​star experience at Yaya’s Café, my colleagues convinced me to give it another try. This time I made sure I ordered over $ 5 so ensure that I wouldn’t be charged extra. Vicky (the owner of Yaya’s Café) APOLOGIZED for my previous experience. I ordered a soup and sandwich combo for $ 7. The clam chowder was delish! The turkey sandwich was okay. However, the icing on the cake was when Vicky gave me a free apple turnover which was over the top delicious. I appreciate that she recognized her unpleasant tone from my first experience and took ownership to correct it from happening again. I will definitely be coming back here — weekly!

I agree that this is not the best Bubble Tea that I’ve ever had, however, for what it is… it hit the spot and they did make it to my specifications of choice. The prices is reasonable and the customer service is awesome. I never tried their other stuff but on the BT front… it’s good. I had a shake before my movie this weekend = happy bubble tea.

Absolutely delightful!
I love any reason to go grab some bubble tea, and some breakfast or lunch! This is a cute little café, that has a nice variety of bubble tea and smoothies. During my visit, I had the Matcha Milk Tea with Boba. She offers them either shaken or blended with some ice.
I also had her Breakfast Sandwich which consisted of nice, thick cut bacon, egg, and cheese. DELISH!
Overall, a nice place to come when you are hungry. She also gave me a free cookie for waiting a tad bit longer. LET ME TELL YOU… That cookie was like heaven!

I lived in Vancouver for over a year while attending the Vancouver Film School and my apartment was upstairs from here. I ate here literally every morning and even twice some days! Vicky is an amazing person and always gave me a muffin for free when I got my morning coffee and sneaks free cookies and other things in your bag if you’re a regular! She runs a business how it should be: The customer comes first and she goes out of her way to make sure you’re happy.
The smoothies are to die for, the egg/​breakfast sandwiches are amazing, the soups and sandwiches made fresh daily, the blueberry muffins are out of this world and I’m drooling now writing this!
When I visit Van next, this is the first place on my list!

Stopped by in the morning of NYE and met the lovely owner, Vicky. It wasn’t too busy when I arrived, so I had the chance to chat with her a bit. She definitely seems like a very hard working person and really care about providing the best service to her customers.
I had the chocolate croissant and Taro milk tea. They were both delicious. If I visit Vancouver again, I’ll certainly stop by again to say «hi.» =)

I previously wrote a one star review based on one visit and I deleted the review because I thought it wasn’t fair to quickly give Yaya’s Café & Bubble Tea a poor rating.
The last visit I tried their bubble tea and it was the worst bubble tea I’ve ever had and it is hard to screw up tea. First I clearly asked for NO SUGAR and in fact it was so sickly sweet I threw it out. I ordered a soup and it tasted like it was a week old with bad ingredients. I also ordered a vegetarian sandwich and it was so awful I threw it away after one bite. It’s something that a 5 year old can easily assemble, and the bread is cheap bread and it tastes just like something from 7 – 11.
Also the girls who work there are rude and based on two visits two different girls working there seemed like they were doing me a favor. Gees.
Anyway, this time I had an egg sandwich and a scone. The egg sandwich was again 7 – 11 quality and I decided to give it to a homeless person. As for the blueberry scone, ditto.
So in conclusion I tried a little bit of everything from Yaya’s and did not enjoy anything. Will not return. Sorry!

First things first — I do not drink bubble tea. But hey, this is also a café, so bear with me! I’ve so far tried a strawberry smoothie, and get coffee here every other day now (working nearby!).
The lovely lady serving serves 49^th Parallel beans (bean snob that I am!), so I automatically award it a star. She brews it just right, and brings the milk and cream fresh out of the fridge. Now as some other people have mentioned in their reviews, the lady running the shop is very generous with her food — I have been gifted a muffin nearly every time I’ve been! I’m always amazed at her generosity, and this helps me get through the afternoon at work! Am torn about telling all my co workers, as she may run out of muffins fast: P
Not much room to sit indoors, as a side note, but there is seating outside.

If you’re looking for a small-​scale establishment with a big heart, then a visit to Ya-Ya’s Café & Bubble Tea is exactly what you need. Initially discovered after I was having a craving for bubble tea and asked Unilocal where I might find a popular spot for in in the downtown core, I was really surprised with how wonderful the café was once my partner and I sat down inside.
While we were there, we got into a discussion of just how bubble tea was made. My girlfriend was convinced that it was by some divine magic that tapioca pearls could be so delicious and so inquired with the owner. Rather than shrugging her off, the owner took her behind the counter and walked her through the process, from the wholesale bag to the boiling and sweetening. It was an appreciated indulgence into our curious minds!
Vicky runs Ya-Ya’s with a super-​friendly staff and works as hard as any independent business owner. It’s not easy to compete with a Starbucks shop around the corner, but the quality of the food and the friendliness of the service makes a visit to Ya-Ya’s the right choice for the downtown wanderer looking for a fresh change from the monotony of big-​business coffeehouses.
We’ve decided to make it part of our regular routine whenever we’re downtown or seeing a film at the Cinematheque. Pop in and ask for Vicky and introduce yourself. She’ll remember you the next time you’re in and really appreciate your business.
Thanks Vicky!