Papamingo

I was a second year, when this place first opened. My friends and I were super excited to have a «pinkberry» within walking distance (Pinkberry wasn’t around until my fourth year).
The quality and taste is a solid 3 star. I always judge a froyo place by its plain tart, b/​c that’s the staple. Throughout my remaining 2 years at Cal, the place never really had people inside, so it was a little awkward to hanguto unless you have a big party.
I think if Papamingo was on Telegraph Ave, it would attract more patrons, but sadly it is tucked away in a hidden spot from new students, visitors, and tourists.

I haven’t been here in awhile so I’m sure it’s changed quite a bit. I liked how tart all their flavors were-​pomegranate, original, and blueberry. I also liked their strawberry-​it wasn’t too sweet. I felt that the servers were pretty skimpy on the toppings for how much it cost. Employees were always friendly. I’d have to give it two stars just because I think the portions were small for the price and I didn’t like how they converted to a self-​service yogurt shop. In all fairness, they probably didn’t have much choice when Yogurtland came to town.

This is the first frozen yogurt place I ever went to back in the days. This place opened sometime in 2007 – 2008 I believe after I graduated from Berkeley. I thought the name was quite cute.
I never knew the hype of frozen yogurt really until all those famous places like Pinkberry and Yogurtland opened up a year later in NorCal.
From what I remember, the plain tart was pretty good and I always topped it off with strawberries and mangos. The place is bright and clean. Lately though, the place seems pretty dead. I know there’s a change in management and all those other bigger chain froyo places that have opened up in the Berkeley campus area.
If you are lazy, and live right across the street in those university apartments, this is your place to go to!

I actually really like this place!
Every time I’ve passed it, it seemed pretty empty, but I really don’t understand why. They have a pretty good amount of flavors, and they’re self serve. They’ve got a good amount of toppings, and they’ve got lids! I always am a little wary about all the frozen yogurt places where the toppings containers are just open, but try to ignore it. But this place actually keeps a lid on all their toppings!
The yogurt’s not too watery or icy. It’s nice and smooth. I really like the pomegranate and vanilla flavors.
The employee on duty when I went in was really kind. She gave us a good amount of sample cups. We got to try almost every flavor.
Looking forward to the next time I go!

I loveee Papamingo.
The owner Kristine (sp?) is amazingly warm and welcoming and so much fun to talk to. I came here yesterday for the simple task of eating my favorite plain tart flavor (which I must say is absolutely delicious. It’s tart enough to know that there’s live cultures inside good for digestion and to know that it’s yogurt you’re eating, not ice cream, but also it’s not so sweet that you’re choking on sugar… it’s the perfect plain tart in my opinion) and mooch off of their wi-​fi (which I must say is superb, amazingly fast connection) and coincidently met one of the owners and had a many houred conversation with her =) She’s soo friendly and nice.
Plus, the fruit toppings here are really nice. The layout of the store is really simple, with bright pops of color to bring the happy thoughts out from dreary days that may be common in the Bay area from so much fog sometimes. There is nice seating that’s friendly for holding little socials, and quiet enough to just sit here and study… or people watch ;) I love Papamingo =) Of course I’ll visit.
PS: @ 30 cents/oz…amazinggg!

I was in the area for work and decided to stop by for a cup of yogurt after a long day. The service was great and I absolutely loved their yogurt! They also have a great variety of toppings. Moderately priced and located close to the UC Berkeley campus. If you need something to brighten up your day, stop by here! Loved it and will definitely be back soon.

I was really hoping for the place to be good, but the emptiness of the place did warn me. The fro-​yo was a bit bland. I was excited after reading the reviews about the flavored mochi bits, but they were disgusting. Not worth putting on top of my fro-​yo!
The employee was nice though. It was funny how he responded to one of my questions:
Me: How long is the store open?
Him: Till whenever. Depends on how many people come in. Sometimes, 10. Sometimes 12. Whenever.
I think it’s a bit strange there’s no official closing, but I guess that’s cool?

I really like this place. Their selection though less than Yogurtland is good enough for me. I still like the peach but from my last experience I really loved the tart strawberry mixed with strawberry mochi. Talk about cute and delicious.
Stand out feature: great customer service @ only 30 cents per ounce.

CHEAPEST SELF SERVE IN BERKELEY
30 cent /​ounce
you heard right…
THEY’VE CHANGED THE SYSTEM
NOW SELF SERVE!!!
now, they also have:
–more than 4 flavors of frozen yogurt
–more than 1 flavor of mochi bits
–more chairs & stools
Papamingo is smart and Papamingo remains my favorite tart frozen yogurt joint.

Maybe I am spoiled by all the great south bay korean froyo places, but the froyo here is watery, too soft and not that great in terms of flavors.
note: this is cheaper at $.30/​oz compared to $.38 @ Tartini and $.32 @ Yogurtland…
We only got a few spoonfuls because we need to use the restroom here. definitely not that popular of a hangout place it seems.

Sunday, 4:40PM.
Interesting name for a yo-​yo place, eh? I like the bright colors, seems modern.
Yogurt was disappointing though! Even though I side with un-​tarted fro-​yo, the ones here were lagging behind Harmony, Yo-​Pa, and Yogurt Land.
I had the green tea fro-​yo; it was all tart, not enough substance (nearly all liquid).
The staff here was friendly though!
Final Call:
Papamingo faces stiff comp in a war zone of frozen yogurt in Berkeley. One lifeline used, second chance awaits.

Please do not enter
A sad moment in froyo time
Pricey and
A major disappointment
Meh. Dislike the $ 3 froyo taste
Inside seems dead and unclean
N is for needs to improve
Gosh, and what does their name mean?
Oh, why did I even bother coming?

Papamingo? What kind of name is that, if this place didn’t have a Frozen Yogurt sign outside i wouldn’t have even known what this place was serving. I usually don’t like to hate on a spot too hard for trying, but this place was weaksauce.
Everything about the place I wasn’t feeling. 1pm in the afternoon no open sign on, when i walked in they just mopped the floor so all i could smell was pinesol. That really ruined my froyo taste. The guy that works here was really slow. Everything didn’t look fresh at all. And for a low budget spot like this, the froyo was way over priced. I paid $ 4.00 dollars for a small original with some really old wrinkly blueberries. The blueberries were so old even the blueberries they sell at the .99 cents store looked more fresh. And the original tart flavor was lacking flavor, it tasted like bland sour milk if that made any sense. This place really reminds me of that nasty froyo spot in Hayward, zuckersuss. Pure filth.
Well that will be my first and last time trying out this weaksauce spot.
2 Stars for papamingo in Berkeley

After walking around Telegraph Avenue my friend and I decided we were in the mood for some Fro-​yo. Somehow we stumbled upon Papamingos and decided to check it out. The place is small, clean and kitschy. A great place to grab fro-​yo. I wasn’t really expecting much because it was Asian owned. Boy was I wrong!
They had 3 flavors pomegranate, plain, and green tea. I decided on the pomegranate with fresh pomegranates as my topping. The guy behind the counter was very generous with the toppings. My friend got green tea with blueberries and almonds. My friend tipped a dollar because she couldn’t believe how generous he was with the toppings.
The pomegranate fro-​yo was tart, yet had hints of sweetness. Delightfully refreshing! The toppings looked extra fresh straight from the market.
Papamingos was a delightfully refreshing way to end our day trip in Berkeley. Highly recommended!!!

It’s not pinkberry but it’s good.
Need I say more?

Like others have said, this place is not cheap. I went here A LOT my senior year because that’s when they gave out buy 1 get 1 free coupons to the students (and that made it all worth it).
I’ve had quite a few places to compare this place to: Pinkberry, Red Mango, Ryno’s, Michelle’s Sweets, Yogurt Harmony, Yogurtland, IceBee…
In terms of quality of yogurt, Papamingo’s has a good standing chance against my other top favorites: Pinkberry and Red Mango. I’d have to try them all within the same period of time to figure out which is best. Nothing that I’ve tried up in Northern California besides Papamingo’s has yogurt to my liking. Fruit quality is also good but not always the best.
I do have one major complaint besides the price: THE FREAKING OWNER. I am positive it’s this Asian dude with glasses who is the owner, and every time I walk into that place I give a disgusted look to my friends that I take there because he is STINGY AS HELL. At least when you’re picking out fruit to put on top, don’t make it LOOK like you’re being stingy!!! (The only thing that keeps bringing me back is because I can’t find another place nearby that has decent tasting yogurt.)

I used to have nothing to compare Papamingos to, but now I realize how «eh» the deal is here. The prices are way too high, as the owner is extremely stingy with how he gives out the yogurt and the toppings. If you compare it to a place like Yogurtland or any of the self-​serve places around, you’d understand why it’s such a poor deal.
I do think their plain tart is quite good though, and overall I thought it was a bit better than Yogurt Harmony… but really, neither of those compares to the self-​serve 30cents/​ounce…

Papamingo’s was our LAST stop for fro-​yo for the day. Thank goodness cuz I think I was all fro-​yoed out! The place is also pretty cheap
Original
SM $ 2.50
MD $ 3.50
LG $ 6.00
Single topping $ 0.95
three toppings $ 1.50
Toppings included strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, banana, peach, pineapple, kiwi, mango, almonds, walnut, coconut, granola, cap’n crunch, cocoa pebbles, chocolate sprinkles, MOCHii, and cookies and cream.
We were so tired of trying fro-​yo shops one after the other, they really didn’t wanna come here but since we parked across the street, we just came here.
We shared the SM with just mangoes. The owner was cutting up FRESH mangoes and didn’t give us any of the fresh ones… I asked for it too but I guess he didn’t hear me or just disliked me and didn’t wanna give me any =(
Flavor of the fro-​yo was just non existent. I didn’t like it at all. I guess you can say it’s a little tart and tangy and icy. Mango topping that was NOT just cut up was not sweet at all…
Service was super slow. I was waiting to order it and the girl behind the counter just wanted to continue and clean or do whatever she was doing before we even entered…

For Lent, I should have given up mentioning the words «frozen yogurt» in my conversations… it has officially gotten old… but eating it hasn’t! mm mm baby
Well regrettably I am not one of those people who are in the category of having tried Pinkberry yet (my hometown gives me a somewhat legit excuse until I can get my friends to fed ex me a cup *HINT GOOD FRIENDS OF MINE*)
so from that stance.
mmm definitely addicted to the flavor and less creamy consistency of the plain yogurt at this place… but why… is it … so expensive for a little cup o icy milk mixture??? They have a huge machine crankin’ that stuff out… why do they gotta be greedy? small plain + mango, strawberry, blueberry = $ 4. Credit card has $ 5 minimum… sadness. While I was eating one blueberry fell to the ground and rolled away… traumatic…
I feel like I’m paying for gelato… oy I’m going to start making my own frozen yogurt in my ice cream machine and setting up a little stand in front of my apt… then I, too can start making some nice cash money off of yogurt craving Berkeleyans + visitors.
but bonus+ points for being open the latest! Thought I’d end on a good note! :)

We just happened to walk by here since GB Style Engine Women’s Apparel store caught my attention.
Papamingo is a very cute, modern looking frozen yogurt place. They have regular Papamingo frozen yogurt that I didn’t try:
Small 5 oz $ 2.5
Medium 8 oz $ 3.5
Lg 13 oz $ 6
Papamingo Plus Green Tea
S $ 3.5
M $ 4.5
L $ 7.5
Papamingo + Pomegranate. I got a small sample and thought it was ok. sweet & tangy. I also got to try Blueberry which I thought was sweet & tangy.
S $ 3.5
M $ 4.5
L $ 7.5
Any single topping .95c
If you want 3 toppings $ 1.5
Papamingo yogurt ball $ 2.5. I think it’s a crème puff w/​frozen yogurt inside it, they didn’t have any so I can’t tell you what it’s like.
Green tea yogurt ball $ 3
Pomegranate yogurt ball $ 3
Papamingo Fresh Berry Smoothies $ 5.5 –Papamingo yogurt + 3 seasonal berries.
Fresh fruit smoothie $ 4.5-Papamingo + a single fruit
Papamingo Acai Smoothie $ 5 –Papamingo + Acai
Saw one unisex bathrooms I didn’t use, close to the entrance.