Yama Cafe has been on my list of places to try for too long. They’re a cafe that specializes in Japanese baked goods. You’ll find them close(ish) to Koko Japanese Restaurant. Hours. Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. We dropped in on a Sunday afternoon (around 1:00pm) and it was packed. Service is friendly and sweet in typical Japanese fashion.
If you are ever looking for cafes to satisfy your matcha crave, Yama Cafe would be the go-to place. Formerly known as Basho Cafe, Yama Cafe is a cozy Japanese cafe, which retained almost the same menu and atmosphere from before. It serves breakfast and lunch sets, afternoon sweets, and a large selection of beverages. And more importantly, they are ALL gluten-free and made in-house.
位於溫哥華喜士定東街上的人氣日本家庭式咖啡屋Basho Café於2016年尾忽然停業，讓許多擁護者感到十分可惜。幸好Basho Café休業不久就由該店的前顧員及廚師Yama接手重開，所以新店用上了新老闆名字作為招牌。雖說是間新店但在營運、室內傢具裝飾以至餐點款式上基本與舊店沒有太大變動，甚至連營運時間也是同樣具有性格，每天只做到下午四時休息，不設晚市。步進新店依舊保留著同樣溫馨和舒適的感覺，服務仍然十分親和，牆壁上掛上同樣手寫的黑板餐牌。餐廳以先繳費後用餐的形式運作，在櫃檯落單付款後就找位置坐，服務生會將餐點送來，而飲用水就要自助啦！我點了一份$5元的傳統日式早餐，價錢很平宜但十分精緻，材料簡單健康好吃，值得推薦。店家還有一款比這早餐更便宜的$4午餐，我非常好奇亦想下次來試
Morning Set $5.00 (週一至週五11am前供應) ~ 早餐設有西式和日式兩款可供選擇，傳統日式早餐，包括日式飯團、漬物、湯品和生果，而西式早餐則包括自製多士、烚雞蛋、湯品和生果
Yama Cafe is located on Hastings near Victoria Drive. We were here last year when it was called “Basho”. It seems to look exactly the same, also run by Japanese staff. Other food blogs have indicated that there was a change in ownership. Yama is a small cozy coffee shop with tables, a counter by the window and also a small sofa on one corner. They have their menu on a chalkboard up on the wall:
Yama Café is a quaint stop in an unassuming location. With a homely atmosphere reminiscent of old time Japanese tea Cafés, it is a must go for anyone looking for a relaxed setting to enjoy a hot beverage and a delicious in store baked dessert.
Staff were friendly, greeting and saying goodbye together to every guest. The Café was very clean and the decor cute yet subtle. Service was very quick, and our drinks and food delivered right to our table.
I will definitely be returning when in the area again.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
We got to this cafe around 11:30am or so. There was not a lot of customers. We could pick our seats and table randomly. We spent some time to look at the menu and decided what we wanted.
We ordered a cup of matcha latte, a cup of chai latte and a very pork belly teri combo. It took a while for the chef to cook the food. It was worth the wait though! We got the latte first. The matcha latte could be unsweetened or sweetened. We chose the unsweetened but it was so good! We were sure the sweetened one must be good! The chai latte was very unique and had some cinnamon flavour but it was not too strong to cover the latte. Excellent! And their cups were having a Japanese style with their special design.
The very pork belly teri combo was with rice, some salad, miso soup, some sour veggies as appetizers and a mini dessert. Oh my Goodness!!! The presentation was very pretty! We could definitely tell that the chef spent time and effort to cook the food and presented it on the dishes. It was unbelievable delicious! The pork belly was very tendered that it melt in our mouth right away. The sauce that went with the pork belly and rice was very unique that we had never tried anywhere else. The veggies, soup and everything were so good that we literally wanted to eat more and more. We could choose a mini dessert, so we had picked a small chocolate cupcake. It was not just a normal mini cupcake. It was crispy outside and chewy inside. It was so good and delicious.
The Japanese servers were very friendly and polite. We had al those compliments about this cafe especially the food. I could eat it every day!!
This cafe is right on East Hastings. You can find street parking.
We love to come back here in the near future!! 😊
Excellent service and delicious lunch sets. Cozy cafe with a family-owned warmness. Matcha lattes were beautiful and served in traditional Japanese matcha cups, not too strong. Lunch sets were a perfect portion. If you are super hungry or like large portions, this wouldn't be the place for you. Baked goodies on display are tiny and expensive but it is worth the price. Their special moffin (= mochi n muffin mix) has a chewy tapioca texture to it.
I'll definitely come back to try more of their baked goodies and to order another lunch set.
Yama Cafe has taken over Basho Cafe a few months ago. Everyone was so sad that Basho closed their doors, but Yama has kept the essence of Basho and put his spin on the menu. I came here with a few foodie friends to check out the space and have a treat. They serve up drinks, rice bowls, salad bowls, bread, and soup.
We were sad to see Basho Cafe close, but Yama is open on Saturdays which helps a lot. An employee took over when the Basho owner retired again.
Delightful simple cheerful meals and sweets are served here. All around tasty meals that are just right portion sizes. Drinks are very good too
Would be perfect if they sold afternoon tea sets.
One-liner: Tasty coffee and financiers like the old cafe, but the famous mochi cupcakes are now a mere shell of their former glory
Highlight: Latte
Price per person: $6-$15
Would I go back? Not for the moffins.
Check out my blog post for the full review!
When I heard yama was finally open I was super excited. When I arrived and purchased their moffin matcha and brownie it was a huge disappointment. The moffin did not taste like how it used to be - no taste and too moist. The matcha brownie just didn't taste good. I noticed the prizes has gone up a bit. On the plus side I do enjoy their new sweets items and the tuna tataki. I would come back for their new sweets only.
Yama Cafe inherits its ambiance and menu from Basho Cafe.
You can enjoy Japanese taste here.
Try Macha Latte Unsweetened and sweets made from rice flour.
Bitter macha and sweet wagashi(Japanese sweets) combination is very traditional.
Don't worry Macha Latte is not bitter, yet It comes in a traditional Macha bowl.
You can also enjoy coffee and tea varieties and breakfast and lunch menu/sets.
*****
Drinks $3-$5
Baked Sweets $1-$3
Breakfast $8, bread, soup, salad
Lunch $10-$14, main, rice or salad, optional soup, veg, mini sweets set +$4.5
If you were saddened by the news of Basho Cafe closing, there is now a reason to celebrate. Yama Cafe opened a week ago in the same location (2007 East Hastings) as Basho Cafe. And it looks like Yama has retained essentially the same menu and atmosphere as its predecessor. After learning about Yama’s opening through social media, I ventured to their cafe to see how this new cafe fared.
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