So good. Pho ga was amazing. Dessert was the bestest. read more

Yaya Cafe - Vietnamese Near Me - Austin, Texas

The fact that i am recounting this after this incident happening over 3 months ago should tell you something. Terrible experience on so many levels. Doesn't even deserve one star. The food was way too salty to even eat. The server brought out my entree before my wife's and I finished it long before the server even realized that she still had not received hers. My wife had to go to the counter to check and see if they had forgotten. Instead of accommodating us, they told us that the chef had already started on it and would be done in a few which turned out to another 15 minutes. After another lengthy wait, we finally got them to pack it up so we could take it home instead. If you want decent pho or viet food, don't waste your time and money on this place. Portions are small, not that tasty, and bad service. What's the point? read more

Pricey banh mi, but they're worth it. I got lemongrass tofu, my husband got chicken. The tofu was amazing. After finishing the last bite of my sandwich, I could have easily eaten another. My husband tried the tofu and wished he'd ordered it instead of meat. The tofu was fried but not crispy and tossed in an amazing sauce, the chicken was seasoned well but I don't remember anything else because the tofu was so good that I immediately forgot about that bite of chicken. If I could take a bath in that tofu, I would. It's a dollar or two more than I usually pay for banh mi, but I'm willing to make an exception and come back again and again read more

Yaya Cafe - Lemongrass tofu banh mi. Just order it, don't ask questions. - Vietnamese Near Me - Austin, Texas

See all

Tried the Pho and Banh Mi baguettes, both of which are very good. Their iced coffee is awesome too. read more

I really enjoyed my lunch here yesterday. In case you have a hard time finding the location, as I did, it's in a small strip mall right next to the Starbucks at the corner of 38th and Guadalupe - on the southwest corner. The owner was there, and very attentive to our needs, even with his waitstaff present. This might have been partially due to their age - they looked like high school kids who were still being trained (although they were conscientious and did their best). Regardless, he was polite without being pushy. My husband and I split the bo luc lac over rice (shaken beef), the rare steak pho, the tofu spring rolls (because I was craving tofu!), and the mango green tea shaved ice. I was pleasantly impressed with the peanut sauce that accompanied the spring rolls - they had a depth of flavor I haven't tasted in any other peanut sauce in Austin. Everything was seasoned really nicely - not too heavy on any one flavor (or bland, for that matter). Truly appreciate a place that does simple foods well! read more

The staff is friendly. I would eat the pho any day. I always get it to go, they pack it well and it is good. The bhan mi sandwiches are poor. The bread is hard and the ingredients tastless. This is bad college kid food. Stick to the pho! :) read more

One of my favorite spots in town! The vermicelli bowls are always refreshing with excellently grilled meats, & I adore their egg rolls. Plus getting to interact with Singh & the staff is always a delight read more

I've definitely had better vietnamese food where the portions were bigger and the noodles/meat plentiful. This place just reminds me as a "gourmet" restaurant but I wasn't too impressed. The staff are friendly and great. I had the vermicelli noodles with chicken and wish there was more chicken. The shaved ice however states that the small size feeds 1-2 people, that's definitely not true. It fed 5 of us. I just wish they offered more than just one topping for the small size. The server drenched it with condense milk. I can't say that the shaved ice here is the best, but the portion size is great. read more

I can't speak for the shaved ice, but I would say it's too overpriced. I would pay that for milk shaved ice not regular ones that I can get for $2.5 in Dallas. For pho, the quality is really alright. Pho Saigon is much better. I guess you pay for the atmosphere and the nice seating, which is not a primary concern of mine when it comes to Asian food. I value the actual food much more. On our recent trip, we asked for meat balls instead of rare steak for our pho. He charged us extra without telling us. We ordered it on the phone so we inquired about the extra charge when we picked up the orders. He gave us this elaborate explanation about how there's more meatballs in there than the combo so there's an extra charge even after we said we were fine with the charge. Imagine our disappointment when there's only 2.5 meatballs in there when we came home! He would of being better off not explaining. We basically spent $10 on mediocre pho and got lied to. Not okay! read more

I think it's a great place near campus for your dosage of pho or hot soup noodles. It's my favorite pho place near the UT campus. Their Texas sized shaved ice is SO goood. It can easily feed 8-10 people. I got the regular size last time and that was already difficult to share between 3 people. Get ready for a massive portion. Nice decor, TVs to watch the sport games, campus/sport like feel to the place. read more

First time last night; recommended by a good friend. Service was outstanding. A wonderful change of pace in the ever changing Austin, TX. Vegetable Pho was my entree, and same as the service, very nice. I recommend and look forward to my next visit. Cheers! read more

An OK place if you're looking to grab a quick bite. I liked my BBQ pork sandwich, but my boyfriend's pho was mediocre. Service was quick and friendly, and the sweet jasmine green tea I got was pretty darn good. Skip the egg rolls though--they're greasy and have a funky taste. But overall, decent little spot. I haven't tried the shaved ice, can't wait til it gets hot again so I can give it a go. read more

Great food, good price, really nice people at the counter and in the kitchen. This has a distinct and authentic French Vietnamese vibe and flavor. Also, vegetarian or vegans are going to love the Bon Mi with Tofu. My son loves the Bon Mi with chicken. This place has the BEST vegan Pho in town! The tofu spring rolls are excellent as well; maybe the best in Austin. I eat here three times a week. read more

This is one of the worst restaurants I have been to. Low quality food for a high price. I LOVE food and I could not finish the stuff they gave me. read more

Good pho, but I can't give this any better rating. I was there on a Friday afternoon about 3. Only two tables in the place and the service was next to nothing. And overpriced compared to similar Vietnamese restaurants.But what stinks is that there are no free refills on iced tea. That is just a crime in Austin, and enough to keep me away in the future. I'll go where my business is appreciated. read more

(please note: review is only for lemongrass tofu bahn mi & takeout) I really really wanted to like this place! It is so close to my house, and I haven't found a bahn mi anywhere up here other than Yaya. The restaurant is clean and feels like a chain, but maybe that is what they're going for. The gentleman behind the counter was busy with another customer when I walked in, but still very nice and took the time to say "hello" and to let me know he would be right with me. When his co-worker noticed he would be a while, he came out to take my order. I really appreciated that as many places would just let me wait there until the counter person was free. My order was made quickly, and I rushed home excited about my new found close to home bahn mi. Unfortunately, the bread was over-baked (it was almost too hard to even bite through!) and the tofu was flavorless and too soft. The veggies on the sandwich were not very flavorful, either. It was just a huge disappointment. I would much prefer to drive farther south to get a delicious bahn mi than to get something quick and close to home. In summary: great service, bad vegetarian bahn mi. read more

This spot has been open despite the dangerous freezing weather. The food is delicious, the staff is very kind, and being open has allowed us to have a warm meal despite not having power! Highly recommend. read more

After a heavy bout of drinking, the Vietnamese staple of bone broth and rice noodles sits very well. NOT while drinking, but the morning/afternoon after! YaYa... NoNo! Well.. actually, it was not completely awful. Just not quality pho. And I have had some good Pho, being from the Vietnamese-dense home of Arlington, TX. In fact, Man Vs. Food has graced the town that was once known for the likes of "most Taco-Bells per capita" in the US! Here, the very student-driven atmosphere gives off no real sense of nitty gritty Vietnamese noodle soups. I mean, even the name just gives off vibes of "authentic." My friends and I gave it a shot because it is not yet NBYOB--not bring your own bottle. The service was very unattentive; the prices were OK, not terribly low. The broth was VERY chicken-like in color and flavor. Pho needs to be dark and very heavy... but it looked as clear as Swanson's gets. Everything else was acceptable: the noodles and beef, I mean... but is not Pho about the liquid? I would not recommend YaYa to Ya. But, if you want to booze it up while having some of the best hangover food ever. read more

Came to Austin to visit my cousin and a good girlfriend from college. My friend works around the area and my cousin and I were craving pho and banh mi. With the help of yelp, it led us to this place. The decor was on the trendy side, pretty cute to say the least. When I first saw the morning I was appauled by how expensive the banh mi and pho was. GOOD pho shouldn't be any more than about $6-7 and banh mi should definitely be no more than $3-4. That was a red flag for me. Me and my cousin ended up just getting an order of spring rolls and went to Tam Deli and Café for banh mi and pho instead. OVERALL: the spring rolls were OK. that should say something about the pho then.. read more

Good spring rolls though i am not used to carrots on it . Asked for fork and just got one but expected two forks. Got silverware woth food. Peanit sauce is too spicy but liked plum sauce instead. Shaved ice looked huge but had to pass on it. Thought they would automaticallt give spring rolls and silverware . Reasonable good quality food. read more

Yaya Cafe - Shaken beef - Vietnamese Near Me - Austin, Texas

See all

I was pretty excited to hear of a new Asian restaurant near my house especially one that has shaved ice but I have to say that I was very disappointed and unfortunately will not be going back. We originally went for shaved ice but realized that we were starving so my husband got the pho and I got the banh xeo. As far as the pho goes, it was extremely salty and you could tell the pieces of meat were cheap because it was chewy and tasteless. I guess I'm use to the banh xeo at Elizabeth's and couldn't even finish my soggy and bland Vietnamese pancake. We decided to not even get shaved ice here because it's not even real shaved ice like what they have at Coco's. It's more like a mixture of shaved ice and fro-yo but 10x more expensive. It was 15 bucks to get ice with 3 different types of fruit and 3 small scoops of ice-cream. Ridiculous! read more

Currently a bit obsessed with this place. Love the Tofu Bahn Mi (order without may if you want it vegan), Lemongrass Vermicelle Bowl, and Vegetarian Pho. If you're vegetarian, make sure you stress to them that you want VEGETARIAN BROTH! AND, the PHO is still likely to come sent with a fish sauce on the side. Ask for sweet chili sauce instead. The service is pretty lackluster, but the owner or main guy who is there all the time is very nice. read more

I love Yaya's, but that's probably because it is one of the better Vietnamese places close to the UT Campus. They always have pretty good service and the owner is really friendly. He usually comes around to say hi to his customers. The decor was nice and the restaurant is clean. I definitely recommend trying their shaved ice! The green tea ice cream is absolutely delicious and the fruit is usually pretty fresh. The food is decent. Don't have too high of expectations, otherwise you'll be disappointed. Their appetizers are a little pricey and and you don't get much. However, they're pretty good. Their banh mi and seafood noodle soup with wonton is great! Their vermicelli is okay. Their fish sauce could be better. I've had better pho, but the chicken pho here is pretty decent. I've been here many times and it's great if you're looking for somewhere close to campus, pretty delicious, and affordable. read more

Sometimes you just want something to make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside. When that warm & fuzzy feeling doesn't come from a significant other, I turn to pho. The vegetable pho is my go-to, always tasty & served fresh with broccoli, tofu, carrots, onions & the pho necessities: cilantro, bean sprouts, green onions & noodles. I'm not really into fatty/soft meat in my pho which is why I stick to the vegetable although I feel like the beef or pork really give it extra flavor. The fried veggie spring rolls are really really good, fresh & crunchy but don't taste like they've been sitting around for a while. Everytime I go, I want to try the banh-mi because the pics of them on Yelp look SO good but I end up with a bowl of pho (and leftovers). I need to venture away from my favs more often.... I guess. Anyway, I'm not saying that this is the best pho you'll ever had but it's tasty, served at a small, local joint with friendly owners & is cheap as hell! read more

best restaurant to go after a skate sesh. butterfly shrimp is amazing and pair the spring rolls with sweet chili sauce. the pho never disappoints and the staff is incredibly kind always read more

Came here because I've been craving shaved ice so my boyfriend and I decided to check it out. We both had the Pork and Shrimp Sizzling Crepe. It's as big as a pan, but it's folded with bean sprouts, pork, shrimp and lettuce. Our Crepes was filled with bean sprouts, I mean completely covered with a whole lot of bean sprouts which was unnecessary, because it pretty much dominated the pork and shrimps. For about 9 bucks, I expected a little bit more. Service is key to me. Here, it sucked. When my boyfriend and I first walked in, we received our menu and was automatically asked what we wanted to drink. I haven't even looked at the menu yet to see what I wanted since I wanted to try new things. Less than a minute later, he comes back and asks if we're ready to order. I can't read through an entire menu in less than a minute if this is my first time. He just constantly came by the table to see if we were ready to order 4 times total in 5 minutes. After our order came out, we didn't see him again for the rest of the evening. Although I wanted to order the shaved ice and a smoothie and waited to see if he would come back to even check up on our table or to ask if everything was good and okay. The server took too long that I decided I didn't want it anymore, but my boyfriend ended up walking towards the counter and ordering it for me. Food is A-okay. Service is horrible. read more

I'm happy there is finally a pretty decent Vietnamese restaurant close to campus! I can call myself a regular here. But the reason why I gave it a 3 star is the inconsistency of their food. When anybody thinks of Viet food, the first thing come to mind is probably Pho. But the pho here is a bit disappointing comparing to other places closer to Chinatown. HOWEVER, their egg noodle soup is SOOO good. This is probably the reason that keeps me coming back time after time. Their shaved Ice here has been the talk of the town in recent days. But I'm not a big fan of it. Indeed the Texas Size is very amusing, but the fruits aren't that fresh and the ice is not powdery. It is good if you are craving it since it is one of the only places that offers this kind of shaved ice in town. But if you are from houston, this is no juice box. All in all, YaYa is a good place to grab a quick bite to eat if you are craving vietnamese food and don't feel like driving far away. There is free wifi and lots of tv, great place for studying and watching games. read more

Got a small shaved ice....just amazing. Definitely big enough for two people. The fresh fruit complemented with the ice cream and condensed milk (not too sweet). I had saved this review and we already went back! This time we got the fruit dust, which I think is just plum powder like they have in asian countries. I am addicted!!!!!!!! read more

I live down the street and wanted a nearby alternative to the pho places further down the drag. Service is good with everyone being personable and attentive. I was surprised to see banh xeo on the menu so immediately ordered that. It was pretty good and the portion was big. Their banh mi is also good but small. They don't use the fluffy French bread however. It is a bit overpriced but worth it for an occasional stop-by. The booths are comfy and it's not typically crowded so studying is possible there, despite the top 40's music playing. read more

We had dinner here last night. We ordered Mi soup and Banh Xeo. The Mi soup broth was decent, but they really gave small portions of the BarBQ pork meat and wonton. The wonton was stuffed with about 1/2 a cough drop size of meat. Very disappointing. The Banh Xeo on the other hand was better. It had shrimp and pork meat. The shell batter was better than other places. Overall, we will return but not anytime soon. read more

This place is A-OK. It's in the old Texadelphia location and it looks like they may have kept some of those old decorations. I've ordered the lemongrass pork w/rice and the pho. It was good, but a little pricier than some other Vietnamese places. I've been here twice. The first time, they were a bit slow in service, probably since it's fluctuates between no one being there and being swamped. The guy who brought us our food only gave us a fork, no spoon, no knife. Then he disappeared and I had to cut my food up with the side of my fork- I do this at home, but at a restaurant? Kinda weird. The next time I went, we had a really nice server chick that was quick, friendly, gave me proper utensils, and actually came back to check on us. (thanks!) read more

The pho here is really good. I can understand why some people might not like it though. The pho tastes very fresh and doesn't taste like it is heavy with grease and MSG. However, for some reason some people like that feeling and may be disappointed? I really liked it though. And the shaved ice here is good! It's definitely a refreshing desert. We ordered the small and had strawberry ice cream with mango and berries and it was delicious. Oh, and I split both of these (the pho and shaved ice) with another friend. The portions are a little large read more

I'm sick. Not the cute small cough sick, but the laying in bed shaking from fever with various fluids going in and out of you while your cat stares at you hoping you don't die before he gets his wet food sick. The adding shots of apple cider vinegar to everything sick. I felt good enough to get out of bed but super hungry and searched yelp for chicken pho. The nearest to me was YaYa's. I placed an order at 7:30, pulled up at 7:46 with my medicine waiting on me. Issued a meek thank you and drove back home. The broth is a little salty, but that could be my taste buds not used to much in the way of food right now. It was on the thin side, but well spiced. The pho accoutrements were fresh- bean sprouts, lime, jalapeno, herbs, rice noodles. I ordered the large but should have sized down. I'm stuffed, but in the happy way. Quick, tasty, and priced well. read more

Went here with a friend for lunch and was not disappointed. Wonderful vegetarian pho. Very tasty broth, fresh vegetables, and a side of sprouts, Thai basil, and jalapeños. The spring rolls were also wonderful and fresh. But the peanut sauce to dip them in...amazing! Friendly people there and well worth the visit. read more

The Pho was pretty good, but smaller than I expected for the price. The waiter (owner?) was very pleasant and attentive at first, but I did have to wave him down to refill our waters. They don't bring you a check, you have to go up to the register. That's not an issue, but they don't tell you. The ban mi was disappointing. The bread was tasty, but there's not much else. Very light on all the other ingredients and there was no jalapeño at all. After a couple bites, I dissected the sandwich and confirmed it was jalapeño free. If I lived nearby, I'd probably go back now and again for Pho (not the ban mi), but I drive by 3 or 4 places just as good with lower prices. read more

I ordered the lemongrass chicken and rice vermicelli with a jasmine green milk bubble tea. My boyfriend ordered the spring roll and pork vermicelli. Service: Excellent. They had enough people to serve everyone quickly, effectively and kindly. I wasn't treated like an idiot after I asked about getting tapioca balls, even though it was clearly on the menu. They were happy to have our business, despite being busy, and we were happy to be there. Beverage: For comparison, I don't like Coco's bubble tea. I prefer more emphasis on the tea ingredient. I would come back to YaYa for their milk tea. It was straight up milk and tea and enough ice and tapioca. Food: I'm not into vietnamese, so I can't judge it by comparison. The chicken was a little crispier than I prefer, but I really liked the noodles and sauce. The ingredients were fresh and the to-go box was filled in a stylin' way. I will come back here. read more

Came here during lunch on a Saturday with my girlfriend. Got the banh mi and the vermicelli. The food was good and filling. The owner was the best part of the restaurant. He was really friendly and enthusiastic. The shaved ice was the worst part. They give you a huge bowl of shaved ice with condensed milk and fruit. We ordered mango. The mango was far from ripe and there was way too much shaved ice for a desert. All in all, a great Viet restaurant. read more

Good food. But mother of God! It took them 20 minutes to get our food out. They got it wrong - twice. Everybody else who came in after us got their food before we did. Which wouldn't be a big deal if they'd tried to make up for it, but they didn't seem overly concerned about it and we didn't get any kind of discount on our atrociously late food. But good food. I had the chicken pho. No, wait. That's not mine. The #13? No, that's not it either. I guess I'll wait another 5 minutes. read more

The food was bland. The server/cook was extremely rude both times he came to drop off food. It was also over priced. The manager was nice but not nice enough to forgive the troll's attitude that ran our food. Visit another spot. read more

I am Vietnamese, probably have had hundreds of bowls of pho, mostly in DFW area. Came for the pho, and this is 3/5 stars for sure. Service is quick. Pho is decent, got the Pho Tai (#13) and knew that I would have to ration my meat from the start. Probably 4 oz of meat. Noodle portion is average, I was only 75% full after finishing the whole bowl, which probably shouldn't happen. For $10.15, I'd say there are better values in Austin where you get either more food or better food, such as Tan My. read more