Café Zaiya

Review is for green tea frappé only since that was the only thing I got here & it was merely OK. It tasted a little water down. They have a great assortment of Japanese baked goods & such though I’m gluten-​free so that doesn’t work for me. As ZenFoodster E. mentioned, not the nicest or cleanest but a good grab & go place if you’re in the mood for some Japanese pastries/​goods.

I’ve been waiting to try this place because I have been dying to try their green tea soft serve. They have a credit card minimum of $ 10 which has sadly kept me away when I’ve been in the neighborhood but last night I MADE SURE I was ready to buy with cash.
The green tea soft serve is creamy and delicious. For $ 4.63 (including tax) you can get a pretty decent sized ice cream cone. Flavorful, light, and totally creamy this is definitely a fun after work treat!

This is a great takeout spot to get Asian pastries, drinks, and pre made meals. They always have pre made meals that normally come with rice and a protein that you can grab quickly and pay less than $ 10 for. They also have a nice assortment of pastries to choose from if you need to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Occasionally I’ll get their bubble tea. It tastes like your typical bubble tea. They make every tea fresh to order. So you don’t have to worry about getting old tea. My favorite thing here is their soft serve ice cream. They have the best green tea ice cream! They also serve sesame ice cream or you can mix the two. The soft serve is what keeps me coming back to this place. This is a must try if you’re in the Bryant Park area. There’s nothing better than eating some ice cream and getting your tan on at Bryant Park on a nice sunny day!

So many food options here!
I ordered the black sesame and green tea ice cream, and it was AMAZING! It’s a must try. I also had their rice balls which was really tasty as well. They had a couple of tables, and was definitely more spacious compared to the other location.
Highly recommend coming here.

This is such a great place. Good variety of take out dishes (sushi, sandwiches, baked goods, Japanese dishes) that you can buy and eat near the library or Bryant Park when the weather is nice.
One of my favorites things is the green tea and black sesame soft serve. So yummy!!!

The food and bread is probably around three stars. We had the beef bowl, katsu don bowl, onigiri, and cinnamon bread sandwich. All was sub-​par compared to Japan obviously but passable for NYC Midtown. It’s also pretty pricey, which is unfortunate.
What bumped this place up to 4 stars is the soft serve. The green tea and black sesame swirl soft serve is delicious and huge and worth it!

5 stars for the green tea/​black sesame soft serve, 2 stars for the spicy tuna thing I also got.
Seriously though, I’m in love with their soft serve and crave it all the time. Thankfully I have found some sort of self control, or I would be here every day. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and savory and is pretty reasonably priced.
On the other hand, the spicy tuna rice triangle (sure, that’s what I’ll call it) was not good. The ratio of rice to tuna was WAY off and I couldn’t even taste the seafood. Definitely a waste of money, but not horrible enough to warrant a bad review. Photos below.

Pretty decent place for some Japanese snacks. I have not had anything from their hot kitchen, but the Japanese breads and the ice cream are good. I really like their soft serve ice cream. It’s offered in green tea, black sesame, or a swirl of the two. The black sesame could be a bit more intense, but I understand it needs to appeal to all. The swirl is perfect since you never get sick of any one flavor. You get a large portion for the $ 3.95 price.
I also like their breads and am quite fond of their mochi doughnut. Since it’s a Japanese bakery, you know the items will not be too sweet. The bread and pastries are delicate, tasty, and just sweet enough to be satisfying.
Café Zaiya has become a staple whenever I’m in the area. I love being able to eat black sesame ice cream in Bryant Park.

Super excited to come here, as this was the only green tea soft serve I could find for the city!
A rather confusing set up, as there is a separate cash register for each side of the store. I purchased the green tea soft serve, two spicy tuna onigiri and a tuna onigiri. Free tea ice cream was quite tasteless, and not very creamy. The spicy tuna onigiri also was very lacking in taste, with very little filling on the inside. The tuna tasted like it was canned.

I needed a snack before dinner, so I ended up at Café Zaiya, which was a block away from my hotel.
Food:
I purchased a salmon, spicy shrimp, and spicy salmon onigiri. Additionally, I ordered a black sesame and green tea soft serve.
The onigiri was good. I loved the black sesame and green tea soft serve; it would be good on a cold or hot day!
Sides Notes
Ambiance:
It’s a small place with some seating.
Service:
The cashier was friendly.
Overall:
This place is a great pit stop! Definitely try the soft serve!

Love Café Zaiya! This location by the library is like the «flagship» store when comparing it to the smaller, «express» style Café Zaiya inside the bookstore on 6^th ave. Everything about this place is convenient and affordable and offer items like: rice bowls, sushi, bento boxes, baked goods, and desserts. Great selection for a quick lunch or snack and I’ve always been able to walk out there with something good regardless of what time of day I go

I finally got to try the green tea and black sesame swirl. This was my fourth attempt because the past couple of times, the machine was broken or they had run out of the black sesame. It wasn’t that great but I would get it again I guess.
I also tried the salmon onigiri, which is $ 2.50 and had cooked salmon flakes inside. This was NOT good. I would not get this again. It barely had any salmon inside and there was flavor at all. Rice was a bit mushy and the seaweed felt old.
Unremarkable visit – the salmon onigiri wasn’t good and the ice cream was just okay. And it took 4 visits to finally get to try it

Must get the ice cream mix!!! The matcha and black sesame were perfect together. Not too sweet and they did not skimp on the flavor.
After having Beard Papa’s fresh cream puffs it’s tough to find another matcha green puff that compares. I wouldn’t order Café Zaiya’s cream puff again but the ice cream deserves 5 stars :)

Yum!!! I came here after hearing so much about their Green Tea and Black Sesame soft serve! I was in the area and decided to pop in for some! I got the mix and got it in a cup. It’s $ 3.95 before tax. The price is high for what you get, but I guess being in midtown, it’s okay I suppose… The black sesame taste was more flavorful and you could actually taste it. The green tea flavor was very light.
There were some reviews that said the center is hollow. I can confirm that that is true. I thought the reviews meant the part where the ice cream hits the cone is hollow, which would sort of make sense. It’s not. I got mine in a cup and the way the ice cream is swirled, it’s swirled in a circular motion and there is a big hollow center in the middle, with no ice cream. So it looks like you are getting a big cup of ice cream or a big cone, but you are not because the center is hollow! You are being cheated of a full cup of ice cream!
I don’t know if this is done on purpose or what, but I certainly hope not. That is why my review is 3 stars as opposed to 5.

I was pleasantly surprised by Café Zaiya, I did not expect much as I walk past the typical scaffolding that is everywhere in NYC. I felt that because of it’s location near schools and libraries that the food could not possibles be any good. I envision people eating 25 cent packs of noddles with saltine crackers.
Man was I wrong at least at the dessert counter. Over the last few days I got several desserts, Mont Blanc which is a chestnut mousse like dessert but looks like a fat long string curled up. A green tea and bean cake with candied chestnut and rolled chocolate on top. Green Tea & Black Sesame soft Ice Cream. and last was a Chiffon Cake with whipped cream and pieces of fruit,
All where fresh and better tasting than I expected. They were prices less than Paris Baguette or Tous Les Jours, but compatible too with less of a selection.

You get what you paid for and hope for more. Café Zaiya definitely provided more than what it has charged.
First of all, Zaiya was not fancy (though it is Japanese-​centric), hence you would not be able to find things like sashimi platter; however it does supply a variety of small bites or big meals, including dons, salad bowls, sandwiches or sweets. When I got there during early evening, lots of goods were sold out but I was still fortunate enough to get the last Chawan Mushi (egg custard with mushroom, shrimp, chicken, fish cake and crab stick), yay! Absolutely the bomb for less than 4 dollars!
Unlike lunch time, there was no line whatsoever. And you can self-​microwave the food. I did not try the matcha/​sesame ice cream which was on Instagram a million times (and it certainly is worth another visit), but everything points to the same direction — good deal at a favorable price.

When I was in elementary school, my mother insisted on packing me the most Asian of lunches: I’m talking thousand year egg congee in Tupperware, pork fried rice, and, horror of horrors, leftover chives dumplings. I was a bit jealous of my friends’ baloney sandwiches on Wonder bread (until I actually stole a bite when one wasn’t looking and realized how much tastier my own food was) and fruit roll-​ups (these I couldn’t get enough of).
I guess I’m (very poorly) attempting to draw a parallel between yesterday’s baloney sandwiches and today’s chopped salads — sometimes I get an insufferable craving for Asian comfort foods. Woorijip is too far away, and I’m sad to say that I can’t stomach overly greasy Chinese food for lunch, especially if I need to be super productive for the rest of the day. Café Zaiya hits the sweet spot: sure, you have the massive chicken katsu curry platters, but most of their stuff is well-​portioned and mildly healthy. I’ll take it!
The options here are quite bountiful:
— Green tea and black sesame soft serve
— Bento boxes
— Hot food in the back and along the right side of the wall as you walk in
— Western-​style sandwiches (egg salad, BLT, whitefish, chicken cutlet)
— Sushi (everything looked fresh)
— Onigiri (spicy tuna, salmon, shrimp tempura)
— Cold desserts (mousse, puddings)
— Baked goods (did I pick up and put down a box of cookies three times? Yes, I did. I have no shame.)
My cold veggie udon with poached egg hit the spot, but was a little small for $ 9 (necessitating a second lunch). I’ll pick up something more filling next time.
If you’re coming during peak hours and want to grab a seat, best to come with a buddy so one of you can grab a table while the other grabs food. On sunny summer days, the steps of Bryant Park are right next door.

I was here for lunch. I ordered food from the Hot counter. The food was good. I really liked the chicken wings. The portions were not that great and it was certainly not worth the price. Overall an OK experience !
The place becomes crowded during the lunch hour.

You’re coming here for the ice cream. At least that’s why I was here. They have a soft serve ice cream machine that is cranking out two great flavors: Green Tea and Black Sesame. Naturally, I got the swirl. Obviously beautiful because of their contrast, both flavors are fantastic. Really, really delicious. The best part? This towering cone is only $ 3.95! It sounds ridiculous (or not really), but I could’ve gone for another one.
Unfortunately, there was no time or room for food, but I did grab something to go. A bento box packed with three sandwiches: Chicken Katsu, Egg Salad, and Tuna Salad. We ate it the next day and it was all kinds of delicious; even cold!
I would love to explore the other food options and definitely get my hands on that delicious ice cream cone again, so this is one of the rare spots I would revisit!

A friend of mine introduced me to this place a few years back. Once I started working down the street, I frequently wander here for lunch whenever I can’t decide on a place to go. They have a wide selection of delicious dishes from sushi, rice balls, udon noodles, rice bowls, pastries, and more! I usually get the beef rice bowl since I am such a fan of the one served in Edgewater’s famous Japanese spot, Mitsuwa.
Don’t even get me started on the green tea/​black sesame mix cone… It’s a dreeeeam! I’d say 8 out of 10 times, the cone is shaped to perfection that it’s almost hard to take that first bite since it is such a masterpiece. Once you’re done with that snap or Instagram pic, you’ll find yourself stuck in a trance and finished with the whole thing. Go here for a quick lunch and great afternoon treat!

Tried their cream puff and soft pudding the other day, and this morning their Apple coffee caramel cake.
The soft pudding is actually better than the matcha one. Rich creamy egg taste with coffee (or maybe burnt caramel) sauce at the bottom. Cream puff was okay. It has a lot of custard cream in it.
The apple coffee caramel cake is yummy. Rich coffee flavor, which is what I want, and two pieces of caramelized sour apple on top. The cake is more like a mousse cake.
If you go for the cake set (all day Mon to Fri), you get discount on the coffee or tea with purchase of any cake or creampuff. So I got a small coffee for just $ 1. Percent

It’s Friday, and what’s a good way to make the day go faster? Ice Cream!
What is a good way to get noticed in Manhattan? Eating ice cream while strolling down 5^th Ave in 30 degree weather!
Was craving the black sesame and green tea soft serve ice cream for the longest time. You have to order it at the check out line. The ice cream machine is behind the cashiers.
Admittedly, the black sesame flavor isn’t as flavorful as the one from Mitsuwa, but it was still good. It is more on the creamy side. I didn’t taste the green tea flavor as the black sesame flavor overpowered it. I love how they always manage to swirl the ice cream so tall into the cone!

Saw so many pictures of the black sesame and green tea mix soft serve, and it’s so tall! Was around the area so decided to grab this even though it was cold today. The soft serve was $ 4.30.
Right after I took a picture of my ice cream, it fell into the garbage can… Thankfully the workers was really nice and gave me another free of charge.
I barely taste the green tea in the mix, but the black sesame was full of flavor! The middle is actually empty, but they definitely do give a lot in quantity.

A convenient little Japanese café with a selection of hot food, baked goods, snacks, and sweets. I imagine it gets busy around lunchtime during the weekdays. I’ve only ever visited on weekends when it is usually dead in this neighborhood.
Like many others, I really like the Matcha & Black Sesame Soft Serve. I’m sure you can get matcha and/​or black sesame ice cream elsewhere, but it tastes so good here. It is very smooth, creamy, and mildly sweet. The black sesame has a very slight gritty texture, almost like peanut butter, but that is to be expected of black sesame. It tastes great even on a cold winter day.
It costs about $ 4, but that’s actually not bad these days. Once you take into consideration how much comes in one serving and compare it to the cost of ice cream in most NYC dessert places, $ 4 is almost a bargain.
I’ve also tried the Shrimp Tempura ($ 2.50) Spicy Salmon ($ 2.25) Onigiri. Both are pretty good. You have to eat straight to the center to get to the shrimp tempura. The spicy salmon is nice and savory, and not overly salty like a lot of salmon onigiris out there. Pretty good snacks that travel well, because the packaging keeps the seaweed separate from the rice, so it stays dry and crunchy.
The annoying thing is there is a $ 5 minimum to pay with card. Yet another place that forces me to hit the ATM.
If I were around during the weekdays, I would be enticed to try this place for an inexpensive lunch.

Located right next to work and since discovered I’ve become addicted! So much to eat here, but I just can’t stay away from the Shrimp & Salmon Onigiri! Omg! Must go for this! At $ 2.25 these are a steal for real! I’ve also tried the Chicken Sandwhich and although it looked great, I wasn’t a fan. I’m yet to try their beef bowl and green tea soft serve! Can’t wait to go back!

I come here often specifically for one thing. The green tea and black sesame soft serve ice cream. I don’t think you can get it anywhere else in NYC. If you know another place, please do tell me. They have adequate seating inside. Even in the cold weather I would stop in to grab a soft serve because you can sit inside the warm cozy shop and enjoy it. With tax it’s currently ($ 4.30), which is not bad. You get a decent serving. I believe this is the only Café Zaiya that has it, because I was at another location and they didn’t have it. They have Japanese food like sushi, rice balls, pastries, bread, and pretty much the whole shebang for a great price. Those who live or work in the area are really lucky to have this place. I envy you.

For just under $ 4 you can get a super creamy and milky green tea, black sesame, or half and half swirl combination in either an ice cream cone or a cup. Totally worth the calories. The café is not extremely spacious and most items may be better to go, but grab a table quick if you want to enjoy the food items right away. There are several buns, pastries, desserts, and hot food items… some more interesting than others. Will be back for the ice cream for sure!

Their signature green tea and sesame ice cream was good but not amazing. I have had better green tea/​sesame ice cream.

Great asian deli to grab both premade bento boxes, or order some hot food for lunch. While a hot lunch is preferable on a cold winter’s day, the bento boxes looked especially tasty, and would be what I’d opt for next time.
This time I had the shredded salmon and salmon eggs over rice. While it was pretty good, I was actually expecting some grilled salmon, not the dried shredded stuff. I wouldn’t repeat the salmon, good but other better looking options await.

Stopped by here to pick up a few goodies after seeing this place on Unilocal:-) Like everywhere in New York, I accidentally walked past it without noticing. Glad I stopped by.:-)
The staff is super friendly. The treats were really good too. I made sure to try the green tea ice cream, since I’ve never had green tea soft serve before. It was delicious! I’ll be sure to stop by this place again if I’m ever back in NY. I forgot that they had black sesame, bummed that I forgot to tell them swirl!-_–

This is the best soba I’ve had in the midtown area.
Essen and Sarah’s taste like salt water compared to this broth. It’s so flavorful and the dish itself is filling.
I highly recommend adding a poached egg or two.
The service is fast and efficient since they give you a number. They come out from behind the counter to find you so look around at the desserts while you wait!

Came here mostly for ice cream but also because my friend was craving noodles and this place had affordable options for an expensive, tourist-​central area. Unfortunately, the «kitchen,» where the real food (udon, curry, etc) is, was closed (picture shows when it’s open). However, the bakery/​cold food items were still available! These included sushi, onigiri (rice balls), cold sandwiches, bento boxes, seaweed salad, and other pastries.
I got a salmon rice ball and it was decent. There wasn’t much salmon but I can’t complain since it was $ 2.45 with tax while other places sell it for $ 3+
For the ice cream that I came for, I was not disappointed!!! Although it was not the prettiest (the staff member making it even apologized saying this), IT WAS DELICIOUS. I’m not a fan of anything green tea or matcha (unless it’s the actual green tea; the flavored things are too artificial for me) but the mix with black sesame was actually really good (and at a price of $ 4.30 with tax!!). I was pleasantly surprised and I’m proud to say that this is the only place I can tolerate something that is green tea flavored.
A few of my friends got sushi and they liked it although it was a bit pricey for what they got (ranges from $ 8-​$ 13). My friends also got ice cream so my picture was saved! THE COFFEE HERE IS «SEATTLES BEST COFFEE» BUT IT IS NOT GOOD DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON IT.
ANOTHER THING IS that the staff are SO NICE! you can probably stay here for the entire day and they won’t kick you out. I stayed at this café talking to a few of my friends for about 3 hours after we finished eating there and they were totally fine with it!
tl;dr: go here for good, inexpensive food and for great soft serve ice cream but if you want coffee, you’re better off going to one of the many Starbucks nearby

I always find myself ending up buying lunch here just because it’s super conveniently right across the street of my office and it’s reasonably priced for lunch in the city.
I like their sushi rolls but I’m a frequent buyer of their combo lunch special ($ 7.25) (+50 cents for brown rice). Rice/​Noodle + 2 sides + vegetables. Warm, good, and super filling.
Their onigiri is okay. Too much rice in my opinion but hey, it is very very filling (obv cuz of the rice ha). I also am amused every time unwrapping the plastic wrapper.
The long lines at check out always move very quickly. Good spot for a quick, warm, well priced lunch! Credit cards — $ 5 minimum. (I’ll take that over Sunrise mart which is a $ 10 min).
Damn, I gotta try that soft serve doe.

I used to come here and get some of the breads, but I was here a few days ago and they never seem to have much of a selection in the late afternoon. They had a few onigiris left sitting around. Although I do prefer the ones at Café Zaiya to Sunrise Mart, I just don’t like buying food that’s been sitting around all day. So we left and went to Sunrise to get some hot food instead.

Perhaps I got lucky and came during a good time, because there was no crowd at all, and the place was actually quite empty, only a few people here and there. I stopped by before a concert, so roughly around 6pm, a long time after the peak lunch hours.
Definitely get the soft serve ice cream and don’t leave out the black sesame flavor! Originally, I came for the green tea ice cream because who doesn’t love a matcha soft serve or just matcha anything? Personally, I don’t think the sesame was overpowering the green tea, but it definitely did outshine it. The green tea ice cream was smooth, but it was lacking a strong flavor impact. The black sesame on the other hand was absolutely amazing. I loved how smooth the texture was, it wasn’t grainy at all, and the taste of the black sesame was perfect – not too rich, but strong enough that the taste lingers in your mouth for a while. I’ve had the black sesame ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in Chinatown, and it was too grainy for me since the sesame seeds weren’t completely blended in and had a coarser consistency.

I feel like it is almost like a little hidden gem, as it is never overly crowded (or maybe I just avoid rush hours). It is pretty spacious in the inside, and towards you right is the dessert section, offering Parisienne sweets. The other side on the left, they offer sandwiches, bento box, and other food items. In the middle between the 2 sections, they have bread and other baked goods on the metal shelf.
There are plenty seating including counter seats, and there are condiments, coffee and hot water for tea, by the entrance door. Nice and bright with lots of windows, and enough room to walk around the tables and chairs.
I have only tried the sweets from café Zaiya, and they are all very good. Light, not overly sweet and high quality desserts are perfect for your afternoon sugar cravings. Read my full review of this café and food on my blog, foodlovergirl.

I love Japan, I love their people, their culture, their work ethic and especially their food. I have been to Japan three times and it is one of my favorite countries. So after hearing there was a Japanese shop in the city that sells Japanese breads, soft served ice cream and food, I got super excited. After visiting the shop, I felt like I visited a bodega painted Japanese.
The food:
Mix Green tea and Black Sesame Ice Cream– This was the item I saw everywhere and was the main reason I wanted to check this place out. The ice cream was so freakin cold! It was like insta brain freeze with every bite cold lol The mix was pretty good but I didn’t like the texture of the green tea, I felt the green tea was on the grainy side and could have been smoother. If you are willing to go to Jersey, Mitsuwa has the better ice cream and it’s cheaper.
Black Sesame Ice Cream– I liked the Black Sesame solo, better. I enjoyed the flavor but I felt it could have been creamier and the flavor was kinda too one note and I couldn’t ‘t finish it, they also gave a lot of Black Sesame. I say skip the mix and just do straight up Black Sesame. Mitsuwa has the better Black Sesame as well.
White Fish Sandwich– Whitefish, mayo, cheese, lettuce, tartar sauce. This sandwich was pretty good, it’s a quick bite kind of food. Honestly, I think it kinda felt like the Filet-​O-​Fish but with lettuce. I think that was the main reason why I liked it, hey I’m Asian, the Filet-​O-​Fish is near and dear to me lol *peace sign* Also, you should get it heated.
Tempura Udon Combo with Mini Beef Bowl– I was pretty disappointed with the Udon and Beef Bowl. I thought the Udon tasted exactly like what you would get from the supermarket, from the broth to the noodle just with added fried tempura pieces. The tempura was OK, but I really hate when they just drop it on top of the broth since the tempura gets super soggy. The Mini Beef bowl feels like something you would feed young kids after they get home from school. It’s so pedestrian and boring and I thought it was too sweet. I did like the pickled ginger since it helped cut some of the sweetness.

What’s for lunch? This is probably the toughest question you will ask during a work day — at least for me! I always want something healthy but tasty or inexpensive but with decent quality. Café Zaiya has the answers!
This location of Café Zaiya is more spacious with room to browse around. It is always a busy scene during lunch hours. They have Japanese baked goods, sushi, udon, rice balls, and bento boxes. I usually opt in for their bento boxes. It is just enough food so I won’t go back to work with food coma. Variety of foods give it a fresh feel every time! My favorite bento box includes the Salmon Teriyaki with brown rice, side of seaweed, a shumai, a piece of fried pork, and pickles.

MEDIOCRE BLACK SESAME /​GREEN TEA SOFT SERVE
I had seen so many pictures of this beloved green tea & black sesame soft serve on a cone that I HAD to try it. I was so disappointed. They give you more than enough ice cream in a cone for $ 3.50. The soft serve is missing the creamy texture and therefore makes the flavor very dull. I have had much better green tea and black sesame flavors at Sundaes & Cones, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, and Morgenstern’s.
If you want that soft serve icy consistency, you may like it, but the flavors were just not there. The black sesame overpowered the green tea and made my mouth dry.
I also had onigiri and a pork bun, and both were mediocre. However, for both of these it cost $ 5.50.
The café itself has ample seating, separate from the udon/​noodles/​made-​to-​order station, pre-​made sandwich/​roll refrigerator section, and dessert & drinks section. This is an average New York café that provides a lot of different Japanese offerings at a cheap price, compromising interior décor and ambiance.

Delicate, clean place and authentic Japanese breads. I liked their almond thins so much! As for the famous matcha green tea and black sesame swirl soft serve… well they are not too sweet and pretty legit. But I prefer the ones from Matcha Love that was once in SD’s Mitsuwa… well, Zaiya’s is still very good, especially for those who don’t like stronger sweets.
Will come back whenever I was on 41^th street!

The black sesame and green tea ice cream was motivation enough to make a visit.
Café Zaiya is a small Japanese pastry/​ready-​to-​go meal shop is tucked away near Bryant park. They have everything from the heavenly mochi doughnuts with amazing texture (and you can even get them chocolate dipped!) and various green tea based pastries are rare finds. There are also a ton of bendo boxes, donburi, curry in convenient to-​go boxes. The hot meal section wasn’t open yet when I went in the morning but I did get a taste of the famed soft serve black sesame ice cream. The flavor was properly strong and satisfactorily tasty!
In close proximity of Bryant park also means the heavenly pastries can be enjoyed in the beautiful park.

Great deal if you want a quick prepackaged asian/​japanese meal. My favorite is the Tofu Don. Great flavor and large enough to probably last me 2 meals. Their onigiri is alright — very standard (I can get better elsewhere). Sometimes I have problem peeling the plastic off, but that’s not really their fault.
The buffet bar (very limited) in the back is a good deal ($ 7.50) and that’s cheaper than most of the packaged bowls they have.
Overall very efficient check out and good if you want something quick and delicious to eat.

My favorite part of eating at this café would have to be the black sesame and green tea swirl ice cream. It reminded me of Matcha Love ice cream (the texture and flavors), but not as great.
The sushi, sandwiches and some of the dishes they had that were already prepared, packaged, (and refrigerated) were okay but not that great in taste.
The environment was not that appealing. The seats and tables can be limited and there was construction right outside the entrance when we were there. The bathroom was not well-​maintained and the dining area had a couple fruit flies. It is also confusing where we leave our trays after we are finished dining, since there were no locations by the trash areas. We ended up just leaving them on our table.
Overall, I would just come here for the ice cream since you can get cheaper and even better-​tasting good elsewhere, especially around that location.

You know that saying — «Jack of All Trades, Master of None»? Well that’s Café Zaiya in a nutshell. But what can you expect from a Korean-​Japanese place that tries to be a bakery/​soft serve ice cream/​sushi/​bento box/​sandwich/​ramen/​udon/​katsudon type of place with a Japanese owner that has an identity crisis.
Ever hear of a Mexican-​Puerto Rican place? Or an Italian-​Chinese place? (they both make pasta). Or a German-​Russian place? Or a Moroccan-​Ethiopian place? No. They don’t exist, cause if they did, they would suck. Well that’s the same as having a Korean-​Japanese place. They have similar underlying ingredients, but are very different culturally and gastronomically.
I ended up here cause I wanted sushi, but didn’t want to pay $ 23.50 for the combo at Hatsuhana, nor did I want cheap, imitation crab and synthetic California rolls from one of the many Korean-​owned delis in Midtown. So I went on Unilocal and chose this place cause it was the only 4-​star /​$$ rated place in the area. I read the reviews and even though the majority of positive reviews were for the soft serve ice cream, I went against my gut and came here. Big mistake. Why? Here’s why…
Sushi — terrible, salmon was extremely oily and flavorless, the rice was hard and crunchy (and I was not there late…12:20pm), and it just had an overall strange taste. Not like the fish was old or bad, but just something different which I can’t pinpoint — might have been the seaweed wrap they use, not sure. The tuna was an almost bright pink color and somewhat translucent, instead of that deep dark reddish-​purple color. I was starving and got it anyway against my judgement. And at $ 10.99 it seemed like a good deal… but as always, you get what you pay for with sushi, and in this case, terrible quality. Pass.
Katsudon– overly breaded and sauce was way too salty, with no sweet or tang to it. Pass.
Bento Box– downright terrible, that’s all you need to know. I think the actual box the food was in might have tasted better. Definite Pass.
Pastries– are ok, but nothing to write home about. Tried two of them and only ate half and threw the other half away as they had a chemical taste to them. Almost like when you make cake or cookies out of a box, loaded with preservatives and chemicals. Draw.
Overall, this place is bad. But, with NO good and affordable Japanese places within a 6-​block radius, people resort to coming here to get their Asian/​Japanese/​Korean fix. If you need to have sushi, pay up and go to Hatsuhana nearby (not the best in the city by any means, but light years better than here). If you’re in the mood for Korean, and can’t go to K-​town, then go to New York Kimchi on 48^th (not the best either, but better than this). And if you want Asian bakery items, go to Minamoto or Paris Baguette.
Don’t be a sheep and get herded in to Café Zaiya just cause everyone else is and cause you «see a bunch of Asian people in there so it must be good»…unless you absolutely need something that resembles Asian food and can’t wait to go somewhere better in a different neighborhood.
Just my two cents… and for the naysayers, yes, this Gaijin/​Laowai has been throughout Japan, Korea, China, Singapore & Malaysia, so I think I have a handle on good Asian food.