First of, amazing service--very kind and generous. This place is born out of the passion of Abdullah. So when you go, ask for the man and he will walk you through these legendary recipes. My personal recs are the traditional treats like the maamoul, knaafe, the swirly spinach feta thing, and the Yemeni tea. Finally, you're supporting a real deal mom & pop shop presenting you all with food from a beloved marginalized peoples. You should be HONORED to even eat from this place. It is WE who are blessed to even have access to a wholesome place like this. read more

What a great find, this little jewel box of a cafe has the most delicious treats. You are fed samples until you say no more...let me buy something. They make up the nicest gift boxes too. read more

Somerville has a jewel called Yafa Bakery and Café. Every bite of every sample carries layers of flavors and a history. Yafa embodies the generosity and craft of Palestine, and all the sublime spices and tastes that span across the Mediterranean, the Aegean, and the Gulf. Cinnamon, cardamom, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, dates, honey, chocolate - whatever you crave, they have an exquisitely detailed dessert that will satisfy your taste buds. I took a sip of the chai karak and had to close my eyes to contain the memories of my childhood that it resurrected. I will need to go back to get a taste of more baked goods like the manaqeesh, the rolls, and the labneh. In the meantime, al-Quds, and Yafa, are in my heart. read more

Excellent food and service! Try the hummus, orange juice and chai! I also love their Palma cookies

Don't leave reviews often but had to for this excellent bakery! The people working behind the counter were so kind and generously handing out samples to the customers (the ginger lemonade was excellent.) I got the dark chocolate chocolatine and the chai, the chai here is excellent especially if you like a traditional masala chai. Wish I was in town longer to try more pastries from here! read more

We have a list of new bakeries to try in 2023 and Yafa happened to be the first one on our stop. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted warmly with chai sample. If you are expecting Starbucks type of chai, this is not it. The chai was delicious, perfectly spiced with the right amount of sweetness. The shop attendee was very helpful in recommending things that we might enjoy. We ended up getting Kunafah Cream, Qairawan, and cheese stuffed bread. Everything was tasty, the sweet treats were not too sweet, which I enjoyed. They also had an assortment of dates, which I would definitely try on my next visit. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for something different from your usual dessert rotation. read more

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Wonderful place and everything we tried and took home was delicious. The owner is very generous and was explaining about every thing we chose. it's nice to sit and have a cup of coffee as well. Will do that next time. Highly recommend this place and will go back again soon. read more

After months of sampling bakeries and cafes I am so excited to have found Yafa bakery. The creativity in their pastries, sweet and savory, leaves everyone else in the dust. Absolutely delightful creations that satisfy the nostalgia for middle eastern delicacies, but takes it in interesting artful directions as it summons French, Italian and Tunisian influences. Neat and bright place to sit, enjoy a coffee or a tea. Easy to love and easy to talk about and share the excitement with others. read more

no lie I think about this place every other day. sometimes I'm grateful I dont live in Boston because I would thru my money like crazy here. My partner and I have come about 3-4 times when I visited alone and the man who is always behind the counter has the sweetest smile and is so kind to us. He let us have a few samples the second time we came and they make the best chai like it feels like a warm hug. Whenever I'm in the city I look forward to getting a warm drink and a to-go box full of qairawans to last me a week. I'm a huge sweet tooth and a vegan and I am always so satisfied when I come here. The place is a bit small and usually full but that's because it really is such a wonderful place and everyone who I bring wholeheartedly agrees. The space is beautiful and welcoming and the treats are full of soul and love. I only wish I could order boxes of pastries across the east coast every month when I get cravings :~) read more

This is the best cafe and bakery in the Cambridge/Somerville area! The food is authentic Palestinian food, they have a great variety of baked goods and treats and the drinks are amazing!! I am so happy there is finally good Arabic food in Cambridge, as someone who is Palestinian I can say this food reminds me of the food back home. Everything is done exceptionally and the owner is also so nice. The space is really beautiful too and filled with unique artwork. I will be coming back here again and again! read more

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Wonderful addition to the bakery options around here. First visit and felt like I was on a trip to an exotic land. Beautifully crafted sweet plus savory delicacies were on display. Tried their spinach roll, chocolate croissant, the cookie thing with the striped top and coconut edge. Don't remember the names of other things we tried, (but will learn them next time, which will be soon!). Also had an expresso (excellent), a lemonade with ginger and fresh mint, plus the chai tea. We dined in the cafe in the late afternoon and it was very peaceful and pleasant. With holidays coming Yafa offers an exciting new option for getting some special treats to bring to your celebrations. read more

Great selection of Mediterranean pastries and breads. But the real reason to visit is the helpful owner, who generously doles out sample drinks and treats. We went twice -- and both times he enthusiastically described what he had on display that day. Note: They have a few tables, but most people get takeout. read more

Attentive service and delicious, beautiful mouth-watering treats. This bakery has a place in my heart.

Yafa is such a magical, delightful bakery! My friend and I were walking by the other night and accidentally walked in after Yafa had closed. It smelled incredible inside! The owner greeted us warmly and offered for us to try two of the bites. A rose/pistachio knafeh dessert and an almond dessert. Both were perfect. They had an array of beautiful bites that incorporated dates and nuts in different ways. Everything looked fresh, bright, tasty, and very aesthetic. I highly recommend anyone to visit Yafa! read more

* The food both looks and tastes great, and the items are all novel and distinct from mainstream bakery items. Each of the sweets is like a little art piece, thoughtfully shaped and decorated. * Good prices, especially for the quality they are offering. * Excellent customer service. Very friendly and generous. * The atmosphere of the bakery itself is unique and cultured. I had one of their chocolates topped with nuts, dried fruit, and some spices. The flavor combinations were so new and fantastic, I highly recommend these. Otherwise, I had a chai and a Kanafah cream, both very flavorful, well-balanced, and delicious. You can really tell how much thought and pride went into designing and making all the food here. It's a must-visit if you are in the area. I think they have only been open for a year or so, but once they are a little more established, I think the place will be bustling. read more

Fantastic place! Everything we tried was delicious! We had lunch with humus, shakshuka, and incredibly wonderful sumits- Turkish sesame bagels. We also got a gift box of sweets to bring to our friends for dinner and everyone was so impressed by the delicious and jewel-like cookies. And the owner was the most generous and welcoming, giving us tastes of everything. Such an exciting and unique addition to Boston's culinary scene. read more

Amazing chai, amazing savory bread, amazing sweets, and wonderful people. What more can you ask for? My biggest problem is trying not to go everyday! read more

As others have said, Yafa is beautiful--the baked goods, yes, but also the generosity, kindness and feeling of welcome you will find there. I'm so glad I finally stopped in. What a delight! read more

Beautiful pastries, with very high quality ingredients. The pistachios are divine. Highly recommend.

Awesome bakery serving delicious sweet and savory pastries, chai, and coffee. Beautiful presentation and friendly staff who are more than happy to answer any questions and provide suggestions (and samples!). We are lucky to have Yafa in Somerville. read more

I was really excited to try this cafe upon my most recent visit to Boston! There aren't a lot of super authentic seeming Israeli bakeries in the area, and this one really stands out. The location is great, pretty close to the Porter T stop. There isn't a ton of seating (just 3 small indoor tables) but luckily it wasn't crowded so it wasn't a problem. The space is small but decorated very nicely and thoughtfully, with lots of nods to the Middle East. The owner(?) was incredibly kind and welcoming. He explained everything in depth and offered a very generous amount of samples before I had officially ordered anything. It was really nice to be able to try those items, and not a lot of places offer samples these days. I ended up ordering a double chocolate croissant-like pastry, as well as a couple filled dates and other assorted cookies. Everything is decorated beautifully and is so aesthetically pleasing. Items are not cheap, though, so keep that in mind. It adds up fast! Overall, I will admit that-at least in my opinion-everything I ordered ended up looking better than it tasted (which I really hate to say because they were so nice and I wanted to love everything). But with that said, I would still go back and try other items (esp once they start offering baklava, which he told me would probably be in September)! read more

Yafa Bakery & Cafe - Kunafeh - Bakeries Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Very charming small cafe with delightful and satisfying items that make me feel like I am on vacation in a different part of the world! The owner is very friendly, and the samples of drinks and cookies he offered to various customers were greatly appreciated. It's not cheap - prices on par with a place like Tatte, but the quality is better and the places feels lot more special. The lemona giner drink was refreshing. The Yafa chai was very food - it tastes like actual chai as opposed to the watery version you'd find in other cafes. Tried a number of their cookies - almond date, almond, coconut - and they were all very good. One could really taste the different ingredients that went into making the cookies. The tastes were complex and sophisticated. The chococlate croissant and moroccan bread were great as well. read more

Very authentic Palestinian bakery! We had a great experience, they were very hospitable, served as Middle Eastern tea the moment we stepped in, we had the cheese and zaatar fatayer and they were absolutely delicious, the drinks we had (tea and lemonada) were very tasty, and we ended it with having some sweets and taking more to go, the sweets are super delicious and authentic! Highly recommend this place for a Palestinian, Middle Eastern experience, everyone who works there is super friendly, and the owner was very welcoming, will definitely come back! read more

Such a cute bakery! The service was speedy and the loved the baked goods and chai! You should check it out.

Absolutely incredible! I haven't been to a bakery this good since I was in Paris! Good luck to you both. Such a welcoming host. Michelle read more

Stopped by after some errands and got an apple cinnamon snail to-go. Briefly heated it up in the oven a few hours later and it was DELICIOUS. Prices are very reasonable. While I was there, I was offered lots of samples which were all also delicious (especially liked the biscotti and chai tea)!! Highly recommend if you're in the area. read more

Great new Middle Eastern bakery near Porter Square. Many things were new to me which is why I bought a random assortment of goodies to try. The pistachio filled dates were great as well as the coconut Palma cookies and the pistachio/Nutella Valencia cookies. The baklava was also pretty tasty. Staff was super friendly and helpful as I tried to narrow down my choices. Can't wait to try more things next time. read more

All the stars in the universe! I was in yesterday mid-day, and the staff could not have been nicer or more generous (they overwhelmed me with free samples!). Everything was absolutely gorgeous and delicious. Favorites included the pistachio baklava, almond cookie, and kunafa (cheese and cream-filled pastry). Also, the pastries were packaged beautifully. Cannot recommend highly enough! read more

My wife and I took a walk here and were so glad we did. The fresh store-made lemonade was excellent and perfectly refreshing for a hot day. We loaded up on several different baked goods with a range of flavors: chocolate, coconut, pistachio, orange and all were great. The two guys working there were so friendly and patient, taking the time to explain all the different options. They also provided samples, which of course encouraged us to buy more! :) Very reasonable prices. We bought five cookies and one large pastry and had a large drink and came away spending just over $20 which, considering the quality, freshness, and uniqueness of the goods, was great value. Heard they're going to expand the selections even further with sandwiches and breads, which we'll be excited to try. Glad it's in the neighborhood and hope it'll be here for a long time to come! read more

seriously incredible bakery with the MOST kind staff. A must-visit for anyone in the area. The owner is incredibly kind and generous with his time and pastry selection-- made from his mother's own recipes. thank you Yafa! read more

The place has great food but the people working there are what make it even better. The owner is so kind and helpful and made my day! Be sure to check it out read more

Absolutely love this place! It has been a favorite for me and my family since we discovered it a couple of months ago. My personal favorite is the "Palma" cookie. Their chai is excellent too. Service is exceptional! read more

I went to this place twice! This is a tiny place with three tiny tables where people will bump in to you while you are standing at the counter making an order because there's no space .First time I came here is when they opened,I bought a little variety of the pastries they had and a large mint lemonade ..and the total was 77 dollars..I was shocked since I didn't buy much but thought maybe the taste of the sweets would compensate for that but unfortunately I was so disappointed ! I got so much better quality from other places that cost so much less! The second and last time I tried this place was yesterday,I just wanted to get the mint lemonade and nothing else since I just had lunch in the restaurant across the street and I didn't remember any thing that I bought from here the first time that was outstanding ! I ordered the large size lemonade and was given a medium( large wasn't this cup size when I ordered the first time),This time the price was 7,50..the cashier looked directly at me when he said it as if he was expecting me to say something or object! I believe they might have people who probably say something when they realize a medium lemonade will cost them nearly 8 dollars and probably would walk out !I am not that kind!! I will simply just not come back ! I also have no idea about the free samples that people are talking about since I was never offered any both times !If you want to come here please lower your expectations and pay attention to the prices and proceed with caution because you will be shocked at the time of payment!Also the size of their pastries are the tiniest I have ever seen around! read more

So good! Everything is absolutely delicious. The staff is lovely. A bit pricey but worth every penny.

Amazing chai and coffee, also yummy spinach pastry and delightful hummus! Great service too! Definitely will be coming back

Excellent bakery with great Palestinian and western baked goods. Very positive vibe and great hospitality.

Absolutely exceeded my expectations. I had heard Yafa was great, and I found it to be truly wonderful. The staff goes above and beyond, and the treats were not only beautiful, but also delectable. Do yourself a favor and stop by, you will not be disappointed. read more

Ambiance is important. I first visited this low-key little shop on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon, figuring that a table would be available at the off-hour. It was. But the place soon filled up with a crowd of happy regulars: men, women, and children. Everyone in good spirits and chatting away as they loaded up with breads and pastries, which were still for sale despite the mainly cleared-out cases. Obviously a community meeting spot. It was fun to watch the kids' wide-eyed inspection of the fancier little goodies. And their elders' indulgent purchases. My pastry choice was basic, pricey, and soon consumed. Next time I may sample one of the interesting beverages. I did come by a few weeks later and purchased a pricey jar of Yafa seed mix to sprinkle on my avocado & toast breakfasts at home. Worth every penny; and presented in a little glass mason jar that makes me think of grandma and her home-canning rituals of long ago. read more

Delicious pastries and very nice people. A Sommerville gem! The chai is spicy and thick.

this place is wonderful! very nice pastries, delicious and very interesting tea and chai, and an extremely friendly guy who gave us tea samples. really nice way to start the morning. Recommend! read more