I would probably give 3.5 stars if possible. Better then a 3, but not quite a 4. Ambiance: Lacking. They could really spruce things up to make it a more special dining experience. Food: Good, but small portions for prices. Vegan Roll: Very tasty, but small for a "special" roll. Tempura Roll: Excellent but rolled so large it was hard to eat. Spring Rolls: Delicious! I don't normally like spring rolls to be deep friend, but these were great. Potstickers: Decent, but nothing special. Sake: We got the organic, cold sake made in Berkeley and it was AMAZING! Hope we can find somewhere to buy it! Service: Fine, nothing wrong with it, but we also got there right at opening at 5pm so were the 2nd table seated. I probably wouldn't make a point to come back here, but it was fine. Just nothing too exciting or special, except the fact that it's all vegan which is a treat for us! read more

I discovered this 3 weeks ago, and I've been back twice now. I really enjoyed the portobello mushroom tempura with tofu, broccoli greens and edamame. I also enjoyed the Tofu on broth and the sea marine vegetable salad. The cooks and servers are Japanese, and the cuisine is inspired by Zen cooking - truly a delight. I recommend this place! And I'll be back to try the other dishes! read more

Cha-Ya - Tempura Portobello Mushroom stuffed with Tofu, comes with Broccoli greens and Edamame - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Elegant presentation but not very filling! I eat vegetarian quite a bit, so it's not like I'm one of those people who needs a giant slab of meat to feel satisfied, but if I'm paying $15 for a lunch, I don't want to leave hungry. read more

When I first walked in to this place, my first thought was, "This isn't where I want to eat lunch." But after a quick glance at the menu and discussing the restaurant's background with the hostess, I realized I stumbled upon a veritable gem. Cha-Ya prides itself on continuing the ancient art of Japanese plant-based cooking. That is to say, the entire menu is vegan/vegetarian. And not only that... each dish seems to have its own history and purpose, seeped in Japanese tradition. I impatiently anticipate returning to Cha-Ya and exploring the rest of their menu. read more

I love when I can look at a menu and am able to eat whatever the hell I please. I could hardly choose a meal, because everything looked soooooo yum. I came here with a friend, and while we were seated quickly and ordered quickly, the food took for-EV-er. She got her deep fried tofu and vegetables in not too long, but my sushi bowl (which should not have taken as long as it did considering it was a bowl of rice with vegetables on top) took half an hour at least, and then wasn't all that delicious. I mean, it was good, but it wasn't the best. The waitress wouldn't look at us. She knew my food wasn't there, but wouldn't respond when I asked her about it. So yeah. Good but not incredible. But vegan Japanese is so hard to find I'll take it. read more

In answer to the "last meal on earth" portion of my yelp profile i wrote "cha-ya roll". Not only did I write that, I also meant it. I do not want to share my cha-ya rolls with anyone, not even those that I love most in this world. Every time I go to Cha-Ya I follow basic logic: at least one cha-ya roll per person. Using this simple equation helps to ease the competition over the cha-ya roll. If this control is not in place, fights about the cha-ya roll will arise. If you need to eat immediately, this is not the place for you. There is almost always a wait list for tables. I've had to wait at least 5 minutes for a table whenever I've gone, except that one sweet time for lunch. That day, there were two counter seats just waiting. Oh yeah, about lunch, you can't use credit cards for lunch, only dinner. The takeout is really good and they give you all the little sauces with little labels so you know which sauce complements each item. The miso soup is delightful and totally vegan. You get soup and seaweed salad with the combination dinner. If you're celebrating a special occasion you should tell them. I've seen some adorable birthday moments at Cha-Ya. read more

Pros: -fresh, veggies in their food (ordered the vegi-tofu curry udon soup, all the veggies were tender but not mushy) -clean environment -unique entrees and desserts (my friend really liked their ice cream w/ pineapple chunks and azuki/green tea sauces) Cons: -pricey (it's just 'satisfying' for $20/person) -waaaay too busy for such a small place which led to: -really long wait times even on a Monday night (extra forty-five minutes of waiting for the food, waiting for drinks, waiting for check, etc, etc) -service (no smile, didn't bother refilling our drinks, waitress handed us the check after nearly 20 min wait, didn't even ask if we wanted dessert) -ambiance (it does have a very yuppie, white-people feel to it. took a quick look around at the crowd and we were pretty much the only asians there) overall, the food ain't bad... but it's not something i think i'll ever get cravings for. i won't be going back b/c of the prices and the crowd. i really like vegetables but honestly don't think it's worth it to anyone who enjoys sushi with seafood. Edit: I DO get cravings. Came back various times with friends. The wait is still horrendous sometimes, but the food is always of good quality, vegetables fresh as can be and flavorful. Add one star. read more

Having vegi-tendencies (I do eat fish), this was a good place for me but it's so TINY. Plus, I feel like I needed more food or something at the end. I haven't gone in a while so maybe I should change my thinking, but it wasn't the most memorable experience for me since everything was indeed fresh, but not the most tasty in the world. I don't know, but I feel like there are some restaurants that have the ability to make food healthy and delicious at the same time. I didn't get the full force of that magic at Cha-ya. I will give it a SOLID 3.75 stars though. Update: I give the senroppon salad a FIVE stars though!! read more

Wasn't disappointed in the food, but the server's are grumpy. Also seemed put out by having to write separate checks. read more

I am not a vegetarian per se, but I like to try vegetarian restaurants. This restaurant apparently only serves vegan dishes. I ordered the Kinoko Udon- Mushroom Medley and it was delicious. I am a huge fan of mushrooms as it is my favorite vegetable. The vegetarian roll was very unappetizing. It was bland and I could hardly digest it. The wait is usually long and its one of the most cramped restaurants I've ever eaten at. The restaurant ambiance does not live up to the prices they charge. read more

really really great food, a little more pricey then Id care for (for what you get) but tastey. I still go here despite the price and its constant (ly good). try the wild veggie soup udon. read more

Truly fantastic vegetarian food. Excellent tofu, great noodle soups, and fun rolls. Extremely clean seating area and bathrooms. The real treat is when you get to sit by the window seat near the kitchen. They keep the windows open so you can enjoy the sunny outdoors as well as peep into what the chefs are bringing out. read more

Vegetarian food and Japanese food usually don't go hand in hand, but this place does it and does it well, even for a non-vegetarian like me. I always leave here with a satisfied tummy. The dinners are more pricy, but the lunch-sets are great! If you come with a friend, suggest ordering 4 difference items from the lunch sets and share. The variety is great. Love the salads, cha-ya roll and star-light roll. The soba salad is beautiful as well as tasty! The takusui (mini hotpot soup with lots of veggies, gyoza, clear noodles, tofu) is wonderful on a cold day. Explore the menu and I'm sure you'll find something worth going back for. read more

Oh I wanted this place to be good sooo badly! But unfortunately it fell a bit short. I was happy to finally have some more vegetarian option. I thought they tried to be creative with the option like the filled eggplant, the Dengaku (didn't get to try this one) or the Sukiyaki. Yet the taste of our meal was uninspiring. Most of my meal besides the miso lacked flavor (which was actually one of the best misos I've had!). I just heated up some left overs and actually had to add my own spices to give it a taste. The rest of my crew agreed on their meals as well. Which then leads me to the cost. A veggie roll, that cost $10-$15?? And it didn't even taste amazing. no thanks! If anyone wants to buy me a meal, then I'll be cool with going back and trying new things, but probably wont be spending that kind of money there again. On a side note-2 out of our 4 meals came out wrong. its veggie rolls and soup...not difficult read more

A vegan sushi place, is like heaven for a vegetarian like me. But wasnt really impressed, food didnt taste fresh! :( Miso soup was decent.

As everyone else has already said, great food, small location. A best bet is to go for lunch, which has a smaller (slightly cheaper menu) and usually no line. My favorites: Goma Ae (the miso sauce is wonderful), the cha-ya delight, which is both healthy and tastes good, and the agadashi tofu (cha-ya certainly knows how to fry things) read more

Great selection of tasty dishes. Would not have thought that vegan food could be so good and filling. Small place though so there can be a wait. A meal here will also give you a nice BM the next day. read more

Cha-Ya was great. We showed up and somehow immediately got seated at the bar. It was perfect, since I enjoy looking into the kitchen to watch the chef at work. I read somewhere that the head chef at Cha-Ya is certified in Japan to cut and serve the deadly blowfish. Since he is now the head of a vegetarian sushi restaurant, there must be a good story there. Actually, I've concocted a story all about it, and since it came to me in my sleep, it must be fairly accurate. However, to protect the reputation of all the characters involved, I can only tell it in person. The place was full the whole time we were there and people kept coming in. We ordered all kinds of food off the menu. We had 3 kinds of sushi rolls, inari and some noodle soup filled with some delicious veggies. Everything was excellent. Just typing about this place is making me hungry. read more

I would have given this joint 4 stars had I not burned the roof of my mouth on the first bite of my pot sticker. The food was delicious and there is much to be said for being able to utilize vegetables in a way in which meat or fish is not missed. Also of note is the beautiful presentation that comes with each dish. Part of the appeal was that this establishment occupied such a small space. My wife and I sat at the bar where we had a view of the staff preparing numerous tempura dishes. The waitress could have been more polite and the server did not need to yell "excuse me!" every time she approached a party with their order. However, the spotless bathroom more than made up for this. read more

LOVE the food at cha-ya. yum yum vegan goodness!! the soups are tasty, the udon noodle are chewy goodness, and with so many veggies heaped into my bowl how can i help not to smile? i do wish the inside was a little bigger as i get a little claustrophobic when it is full (and it can take some time to get seated). read more

The kanji characters for cha-ya mean teahouse, which is something I don't understand b/c we were never served tea at this restaurant. Instead we were served miso soup and salad as a precursor to our meal. The miso was a standout with its sharp flavors--a much better rendition than the watery miso soup I've had at other Japanese restaurants. The salad was mediocre--it contained interesting ingredients like fried soybeans and vermicelli noodles but the uninspired dressing brought it down a few notches. Now for the meal: we were two diners and each ordered a combo plate of sushi and a la carte items. Each plate averaged $18 w/o tax. The presentation was beautiful--artfully arranged and letting the natural colors of the vegetables stand out. The cha-ya roll and eggplant and mushroom nigiri were my favorite. They were a testament to how fresh produce need little else to help with its flavor. The tofu custard wasn't a custard at all, but firm tofu stuffed with a variety of root vegetables and friend in a tempura batter. Interesting concept and presentation, but taste was so-so (the sauce could use more flavor). Another good dish was the tempura-friend portobello mushrooms layered with tofu and served with kiwi sauce. Now that's an interesting combination of flavors and textures. Overall I'd go back and try more on Cha-Ya's extensive menu. read more

What a fantastic place! I came here with three friends on a Saturday night and we each got 2 items. There was such a wide variety of awesomeness, and each dish really unique and really good. Not a single thing we ordered was disappointing. It's certainly not just another boring sushi place where the entire menu is mundane and predictable. I really enjoyed the Cha-Ya rolls, and my friend couldn't stop raving about the summer green roll, though I didn't try it myself. Haven't been to the other locations, but this one is pretty small, so expect to wait a bit and don't come with groups larger than 3 or 4. read more

Cha-Ya was one of my all-time favorite restaurants. I first started going there when they first opened and no one knew about it. That lasted for a few months, then you had to wait on the sidewalk for a half hour to get a seat at the bar! It really was exceptional. When I first went there, there was an old man doing all the cooking. Everything was not only incredibly delicious, but the plating was superb. Somewhere along the line, the master chef was replaced with less experienced people... but the food was still pretty darn good. Not exactly to the pinnacle flavors that the master chef reached, but 90-95% of the way there. Now they have some Latinos doing the cooking, who I suspect have never been to Japan... or culinary school. The food is still good, but not exceptional. Perhaps because of my high expectations my disappointment seemed worse than it would have if I first ate there. What I found most annoying was the "chef" that was working in front of me at the bar, despite the sign on their wall that bans the use of cell phones, was talking on his bluetooth the entire time that my friend were eating there. It was obvious to me that the food was suffering because this guy was talking on his phone, talking about non-sense rather than paying attention to the food he was preparing. Hopefully the master chef will return and fire that guy. I regretfully can only give Cha-Ya three stars. I'll try it again in 6 months or so, hopefully I can give them five at that time. I miss the old Cha-Ya. read more

Cha-Ya was one of the first restaurants I went to after moving back to the Bay Area when I thought upon finishing my dinner how very, very lucky I was to be living in the East Bay. The food is simply amazing and is prepared right in front of you with meticulous care and love. Cha-Ya is definitely a Berkeley gem. That said, I've found that over the last six years the menu hasn't changed hardly at all, which may be just as well. My experience is that it doesn't always pay to go experimenting, so I usually stick to the same four or five dishes. The refreshing soba salad is the perfect, healthful dish for a hot summer day, and the avocado tempura roll is not to be missed! For a blustery winter evening I always opt for the Dobin Mushi, a mushroom soup that comes in small portions but is packed with a lot of taste. The place is always packed so don't expect to be waited upon hand and foot when you go. There's usually a line and yes, you have to sign up on the list if there are people waiting and no, it's not ok to come in and loudly pester the very busy staff about when you can get a table. Relax, it's worth the wait. read more

1. I'm not vegan. I'm not even vegetarian. 2. I generally don't like Japanese food. BUT I like Cha-Ya. I'll eat a meal there and afterwards feel somehow so *clean* and *light*, I could run a mile! read more

Between the four of us, we ordered a couple of their salads, 3 entrees, 2 noodle bowls, and a few sushi rolls, so we all got to try a good portion of their menu. The food wasn't bad, but the portions are pretty small (except for their noodle soup bowls) and some of the things we ordered are nothing that your average home cook couldn't throw together at home. Also, nearly everything on their menu is pretty overpriced. The prices for their veggie sushi, for example, rival those at other sushi places where you're paying for actual fresh fish, not just rice and cucumber rolled in nori. Overall, not bad if you're looking to snack on a lot of small, healthy, vegetarian dishes, but definitely NOT the best place to go if you're looking for a big, hearty meal (or reasonable prices). A note on service: maybe we were just there on an off night, but the service was next to non-existent. The 4 of us were the ONLY people there, yet our waitresses would disappear for 20-30 minutes at a time. At the end of our meal, we eventually got tired of waiting and actually had to go poking our heads into the kitchen to find someone to bring us our bill. read more

My boyfriend and I were just walking around the neighborhood and trying to find something to eat. We just happened to be passing by this cute little place and decided to give it a try. HAHA, we didn't know it's all vegetarian until we sat down and got the menu. It actually took us quite a while to reazlize...wait, wth?! LOL! But guess what? I loved it! I got the mushroom udon and the bf got the tempura udon. I didn't taste his but according to hm, it's pretty good. Mine was absolutely delish, considering there's no meat in it! I'm still reluctant to try veggie sushi tho..dunno how that'll taste. read more

Yummy Vegan Japanese food goodness. I always order their udon which is very flavorful, tasty, and piping hot! No seafood but all the veggies are so good! They always have good suggestions for you if you don't know what you feel like eating. I work across the street so I order in the restaurant and its usually ready in 5-10 minutes for take out. Does not take credit card, must have cash on hand! read more

This place is pretty good. I mean there are a lot of boba places downtown and this one is not exceptional comparably but it's worth a try if you wanna they them all. The peach tea was good the taronado I thought was pretty good too but my girlfriend didnt like it so much. read more

The food was good but one important thing this place is CASH only!! So make sure you carry cash.

A small hole in the wall Japanese vegan restaurant with delicious, subtly flavored food. I like the flavorful buckwheat and veggie salad and the Japanese vegan sushi bowl. One of my favorites in the entire Bay Area and quite minimalist and understated. read more

The food is really fantastic, wholesome, and reasonably priced. Yes, it's crowded. But it's just one of those things, you know... you go to the places that your mood can handle. Which is cool as long as you know to expect a teeny place with lots of people waiting to get in. read more

Cha-ya is really amazing. Their taki-sui clay pot with it's salty broth glass noodles and dumplings blows my mind. everything else is also good. especially the desert. Like the chocolate mouse cake and icecream with red bean sauce and pinapple. oh happy time. The only downside is that it is really small and you will likely have to wait for quite a long time for a table. Big group? bigger wait. Also they can't split checks so one person has to pick up the whole tab. I hate people paying my way so it's usually me picking up the tab. In the end none of this effects my review because the food makes it all worthwhile! read more

My wife and I saw the long lines and thought this would be a good place. When I sat down and saw the menu, I realized it was a vegetarian restaurant. I didn't know if the was any food on the menu that wouldn't make me yak. We ordered ramen, agedashi tofu, and a sushi roll of avocado, asparagus, spinach, and mushrooms. Everything was delicious, tasting like their meat-counterparts yet distinctly vegetarian. I felt clean and satisfied. Monks who swore off meat must be awesome cooks. Cha-Ya gets five stars (from a base of three) because it was my first vegetarian meal, and very delicious. I want to try everything on their menu. I could be a vegetarian if I could eat like this everyday. read more

Nice restaurant. It has variety and it's own specialties, it's vegan, sushi, and japanese style food!! (Soo exciting!) Everything generally is quite pleasing. I gave it 4 stars because.. The food is "just right!", but not "perfect"; almost all foods have a stronger flavor (stronger sour-salty, but they include every flavor). The waitress gives nice service but felt a little stoic. The restaurant is small and receives the just enough of sun. The portions are also "just right" to make you full, but not too full; usually I like to enjoy smaller portions of foods I enjoy. It was nice. read more

Some of the best vegetarian food i've had. Tasty tasty tasty and the fried items don't make me feel worse after eating them. Eating in is a challenge because its definitely cramped but you can also take out. Pricey so its always a treat when i am able to afford it. read more

Cha-ya is a wonderful little nook of good food. They have a wide variety of vegan sushis, soups, a few lovely salads, and many more dishes. I've eaten here probably 30 times now and haven't ever regretted it, though I haven't liked every single thing I've tried, I can say that it was at least quality food. They also have a few very nice tea blends. I have taken "meat 'n potatoes" guys there before and had them very much enjoy themselves. The place is small. There are only 5 small 2/3 person tables and 1 4/5 person table, as well as a bar with about 10 seats. Unless you're really creative you'll never get a group of 6 or more there at the same table. -- Update 2017 -- I still go to Cha-ya fairly regularly 7 years later. The food quality is still excellent. They took over the space next door from the small flower shop that used to be there, so they have significantly more seating now. The food is somewhat pricier than it used to be, which is unsurprising given the high rent district they're in. The higher costs have made this more of a special occasion place for me. Over the years I have recommended Cha-ya to a wide variety of people. I have been told that "meat and potatoes" types have been thoroughly delighted by this vegan Japanese food that they never imagined existed. read more

My favorite restaurant! My husband who is not vegetarian (like myself) also loves it because: -the tempura udon is light and fluffy and not at all greasy -the hosomaki combo is a great deal -the avocado maki always has perfect avocado -goma-ae is to die for -agadashi tofu is unparalleled and not at all slimy -cheep -very fast -kid friendly read more

The food was pretty and delicious. Two people had dinner, plus an appetizer and a dessert for $36. I was not a huge fan of the chocolate cake dessert. I wish I had gotten one of their Japanese desserts instead. Also, CASH ONLY. I had to use their ATM machine, which charged $2.50. A sit-down restaurant in a city, on a Main Street in 2014 should accept cards. Otherwise great place. read more

Cha-Ya - It looks empty, but there were lots of people there earlier. - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

We love this place. We are not necessarily vegetarians, but the menu is huge and everything is tasty and we always feel very satisfied when we eat here. Remember to bring cash. Tonight we had some avocado rolls, buckwheat soba, pot stickers, and tempura. Washed it down with the best green tea. Too full to consider dessert. Service has always been friendly and prompt. read more