Yama Cafe

Excellent all around. Careful attention paid to all small details. Even poached eggs are Omega-3 ones slow cooked for ninety minutes.
Owner trained at culinary school in Japan.
Excellent matcha cafe latte.

Was looking for a Christmas cake for a holiday party and stumbled upon Yama Cafe! Was super easy to fill out their form online to inquire availability and they responded very promptly. I got the strawberry shortcake 7 inch for $45 plus tax. Pickup was so quick and easy. The decorations and attention to detail was incredible! Taste was delicious and not too sweet.

A nice little cafe that serves Japanese food and treats! They have great lunch sets and they also offer omakase meals at night if you book in advance. I highly recommend this because not only does Yama make your menu based on your request but you also get to have the cafe to yourself so it's such an intimate setting! I'm not impressed very often but I certainly was on my visit.

Here is the menu we enjoyed:

Cream cheese saikyo yaki, wagyu nigiri, squid and cucumber umeoroshiae, deep fried lotus root, satoimo kawariage, BC spot prawn sunomono

Smoked sashimi (toro, aburi shime sawara, salmon, squid, scallop)

Black code miso yaki

Yuzu shoyu mini ramen

Matcha Zenkai

The smoked sashimi was our favourite of the night because we never had smoked sashimi before and we loved that it was smoked right in front of us! How fun!

Delicious cake! Very local and authentic. Great service and parking available on the street.

Yama is an incredible cafe that serves Japanese food and cafe treats. However, a little known fact is that they also offer omakase meals at night! You have to book these in advance and they take all your preferences into account. The omakase is top-notch for a very reasonable price and feels exactly like what you would experience in Japan or at a high end omakase restaurant in Vancouver. Its a very unique experience as you are getting this upscale omakase experience in a small cozy family style cafe!

Tried this place after seeing a video about the café and my partner also loves going to cafes. It was a cozy place and was busy when we went for lunch. A bit on the messy side (we were seated at the back), but overall a nice little family run Japanese café.

We ordered the Pork Belly Bowl + lunch set and Tuna Tataki Bowl. The Pork Belly Bowl was quite flavourful (and more saucier) and my partner loved the Tuna Tataki Bowl she ordered. We also ordered the Matcha Cafe Latte which was delicious.

I wanted to like this cozy, little cafe on East Hastings. I've heard lots of positive reviews and passed by various times, but never stopped by until recently. It's worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood, but I won't be returning anytime soon.

The takeout order:
- Hot Houjicha Tea Fog: to-go cup is on the smaller side and wished it had a stronger tea flavor.
- Iced Royal Milk Tea: good, but not outstanding.

Tip: For iced tea-based drinks, be prepared to wait 5 to 10 mins for the barista to brew the tea, cool and then serve it.

Nice little Japanese cafe with a homey feel with lots of vegan options.

They're only open for lunch (Tue-Sat: 9am-3pm), so I stopped in for lunch one day and ordered their vegan bowl ($13) with 8-grain rice ($1), and added a small miso soup ($2), and a couple of mini-"muffins" since they are all vegan ($1 each; I got azuki [red bean] and black sesame). They brought my food out in about 10 minutes.

The presentation is very colourful and aesthetically pleasing, with creative items on there. You get all sorts of interesting stuff in there, though what's listed on their website didn't exactly match what I got. One of the nicest things in there was the bok choy covered in this interesting black dressing (black sesame maybe?). Everything works harmoniously and feels pretty healthy (not oily or anything). Reasonable portion, though I could've done with a little more substance.

The mini-muffins were both really tasty: not too sweet, with nice texture.

Overall, I really liked the food and will likely return. Recommended. Good spot for healthy Japanese eats.

Yama Cafe is phenomenal! The place is small, they're not open for long hours, but you definitely have to give them a chance. Their mochi muffins were awesome coffee snacks, and their matcha cafe latte was incredibly yummy. Tuna tataki bowl was also really good though perhaps not as outstanding as their cafe fares.

Overall, it is maybe slightly pricier but it's worth what you pay for. Their kitchen was also incredibly accommodating at my last-minute request to prepare half my order as takeout. 5 stars and will definitely be back!

Came here for a quick lunch! The place is small (~5 tables) so you might need to wait a little. The kitchen is run by 2 people, so the food also took some time to come out. You can add $10 to your meal to get the lunch set which comes with a soup (miso or mushroom for +$2), veggies, and a small dessert (moffin - mochi+muffin). I had the special which was toro tataki bowl and it was very tasty! My partner had the pork belly bowl and it melted in my mouth! Pork was soo tender and well flavoured. Basic bowl comed with white rice but you can do half rice half salad for +$2 or all salad :) Only street parking available.