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    Cha To Gelato Zen

    4.6 (179 reviews)
    ModerateGelato, Japanese
    Closed 2:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

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    CHA TO GELATO ZEN ATMOSPHERE

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    Dan A.

    Only the second visit to the tea and gelato bar by day, cocktail bar by night, establishment that is Cha to Gelato Zen. Dining area is small with 4 tables and bench seating as well as chairs. Counter seats six. Pay at the POS above the gelato display case. There is metered street parking, but being on Kapahulu Avenue...parking can be rough. This afternoon I dined in at the counter because it was hot outside, it must've been higher than 81 defrees F. I requested a double gelato - Matcha and Kinako, which came wiith brown sugar syrup. Excellent. Initial visit, I had a takeaway Soda Float: their June special. It was a white tea with white peach gelato...though it seemed more like a sorbet, but what do I know.... and yuzu syrup. You can customize your own soda float. July's gelato flavor is lychee. Hours are from 200p till 1100p, closed on Wednesdays. Actually, their hours are more differentiated than that, e.g., Fridays and Saturdays are open from 200p till midnight. After dark bar hours start at 600p. Staff is very courteous. Female employee was being trained...she was super busy today.

    Sarah S.

    Love this cute classy cafe with its authentic Japanese dessert and tea selection unlike anywhere else I've been to in Hawaii. They have an interesting selection of Japanese flavored gelato including miso, black sesame, Kinako, azuki and green tea of course. There was a Yuzu ginger gelato which is more of a sorbet too. You can get traditional accompaniments like shiratama (mochi) and azuki (beans) . I only wish they had more non dairy options for us lactose intolerants. My friend got a Matcha latte which she really liked. Another friend got Kinako gelato with mochi topped with chocolate sauce that paired perfectly! I would take Lactaid to eat this! Teas: -Kabusecha kara which had a bitter umami profile . It started out nice and mellow and turned bitter at the end. Love how they give you the percentage of caffeine. -The Kansaku was a nice mild tea that our server Nana explained must be served at a lower temperature to allow the hand rolled leaves to steep properly . So if you like piping hot tea, don't choose this. -They also have traditional whisked matcha if you want an extra boost of caffeine and antioxidants! Potent! Everything is beautifully served in hand crafted ceramic dishes and presented on wooden boards with a simple flower. You feel like you're in a cozy cafe in Japan. They are open till 10:00 on weekdays and till midnight on weekends Thursday - Saturday . Love that you can find a late night place to drink good quality tea, but they can add alcohol if you want too! Nana and Kai were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful servers. The owner was next door at his other business, the very popular Andria Ibushi so we did not get to meet him. Next time!

    Elizabeth L.

    Cute Japanese cafe in Kapahulu! They have a few seats with a minimum order of one item per person if you were to dine inside, and they have a bench outside. - They have a variety of gelato flavors, and I personally like their miso (which is almost like a nutty toffee ice cream) and their hojicha chocolate. They do samples for the gelato if you're indecisive! - I also tried their strawberry mochi, which is plain mochi with white bean paste and strawberry puree. The sauce is delicious and the mochi is dense. - Some friends tried their cocktails, which was heavy on the tea. If you're sensitive to caffeine I wouldn't recommend it though!

    Tara L.

    4 stars only because parking is kinda terrible, especially on busy weekends love the diagrams about the different teas and flavors. really helps you choose the best tea for what youre feeling. fun gelato flavors, but i was boring and picked a normie one (azuki) lol combo is totally worth it, tea + monaka with gelato mochi balls & azuki def a relaxing spot, though not many seats on some nights they have a bartender so you can get match cocktails. unfortunately the night we went, they didnt have that worker =( will have to try again

    Tea-making process
    Larene U.

    New flavor Strawberry White Chocolate and Hojicha Chocolate gelato was delicious. All of their gelato options are great because I tried all of it. LOL It's no secret that I love this place and my friends also love it too. It's our fave place to hangout and chill. Noticed that at night closer to closing time they get flooded with people - do keep that in mind when coming here. Was lucky to snag a seat at the counter but it was packed! Please be patient with the help as well because most of the time it is just them trying to handle the huge barrage of people waiting in line as well as dine-in customers. Great experience nonetheless.

    Jenny L.

    Food: My first time didn't had a great impression because the matcha latte I ordered barely tasted any matcha and it was very watery. My second time was better because I ordered their gelato dessert instead. I got the matcha anmitsu that comes with 2 gelato flavors of your choice, 4 pieces of mochi, red bean paste, 2 pieces of strawberries, jelly, brown sugar syrup, and whip cream. We got the hojicha chocolate and kinako gelato. The hojicha chocolate flavor was so good, it was very strong and rich at the same time. The chocolate part came from the chocolate chunks and not necessarily blended with the hojicha. The kinako was a bit on the lighter nuttier side. Service: Very friendly and helpful. They gave us samples to try! Atmosphere: reminded me of the matcha places in Japan. Very nice decor of the matcha bowls and bar seating. Love the wood decor. It is a bit hot inside, wish the AC was stronger. Note: if you're dining in, each person has to order at least one item.

    Shannon K.

    Everything we had was sooooo good. The Strawberry Matcha and Hojicha was perfect. Not too sweet and so balanced. The gelato that both my sister and I had was delicious. I can't wait to come back to try more. The seating and atmosphere is perfect to meet up with friends and have a conversation over desserts. The staff was so friendly and helpful when I had questions about the different tea choices. The only down is parking is a challenge as most businesses in this area.

    Mabelle T.

    This place is pure magic. An incredible respite place to escape from the busyness of the day. Visiting Cha to Gelato Zen was such a breath of fresh quality air :) The place is so inviting, calming, the perfect place to either chill out and catch up or just in general make time to take a moment out of the wild town chaos. Parking might be the most chaotic part about this place but finding nearby street parking is your best bet. Would absolutely recommend visiting once during the day and placing a reservation through dm on Tea Bar Zen for the night to experience the high quality food and service.

    Anmitsu with matcha and strawberry white chocolate ice cream.   It comes with strawberry, an, matcha jelly, mochi, and whipped cream.
    Kylie T.

    Met up with a bunch of friends here over the weekend. We all ordered separately and it's a nice small space that you can easily chat and converse as it's homey and quiet. They ask that each customer order only one dish per person (not including drink) as they have only a few workers and to ensure good experience for all customers. The location is the only thing I can say sort of sucks, located off kapahulu about a block and a half away from Safeway there's not that many places to park or walk from. I'd suggest coming down here with a small group of people in one vehicle or taking a nice stroll. The husband and I were still on our fast (no soft drinks, no matcha, coffee, etc). So we opted to get dessert instead.... I know weird since we came to a matcha cafe but this was where everyone wanted to go! The Anmitsu is a feast for the eyes! So yummy and generous in portion for the price. My husband and I loved it but just had to have our own portions.

    Chocolate gelato and strawberry matcha
    Nicole B.

    The aesthetic of this place is very cute. Located on kapahulu, there is mostly street parking. When I walked in I was greeted by the owner and she was very nice and showed me some gelato flavors! So many to choose from so I asked her favorite and one of them was chocolate. Delicious! Got the strawberry matcha with oat milk & it was flavorful. Will definitely be back soon!

    matcha latte & hojicha ice cream w/ mochi
    Kayla D.

    ~ Dare I say, THE BEST ICE CREAM & Matcha ~ I've had all the viral matchas on this island and theirs holds first place! LOOK AT THE COLOR. It was super earthy and smooth. ALSO OMG their hojicha ice cream?! It was so yummy. I've never had ice cream like THAT before. Besides it being super creamy, it holds so much flavor once it hits your taste buds. We were jet lag and indecisive but the service was really sweet and patience with us!

    Matcha latte & Amazake and matcha gelato
    Rosie P.

    Best matcha spot on the island for the best matcha and tea experience!! The matcha latte was perfect, there were also options to add vanilla sweetener if you like your matcha on the sweeter side. As for my gelato, the amazake gelato was my favorite. It was sweet yet mellow. I can't describe the taste but you should definitely try it and you'll understand me after. The staffs make the drinks for you right at the bar and they were very friendly and goes out of their way to explain each kind of matcha and tea leaves they have to make you feel satisfied.

    Charlene H.

    In our now oversaturated matcha market on Oahu, Cha to Gelato is my favorite place to go for matcha. I've been going ever since they opened. And though the shop has been through a few iterations, the employees have always been kind and consistent with their drinks and gelatos. It reminds me of places in Japan--you can narrow down your matcha by flavor profile and they truly focus on the quality and craftsmanship of their drinks. It's a perfect spot for tea lovers (like me ‍) though might not be ideal for large groups or people who are looking for what I call "dessert matcha" (with all the creams and extra flavors like ube/oreo/etc.)

    Excellent Japanese Gelato and loveliest people!

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    Ask the Community - Cha To Gelato Zen

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