Honestly extremely underrated at Columbia. The sushi is so fresh the rice is always soft and not hard like the store bought ones. One time near closing time she gave me two for the price of one. The frozen yogurt is HUGE with so many topping options. I had the gyu don and honestly wow so much meat and rice. Love that they accept dining dollars too
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
joia
Cafe East is my FAVORITE place to go for a snack and study session. They are so speedy and always have the freshest sushi. Their froyo is SO good too. Egg tart is the best! Vanilla matcha is also so good. So clean too, just the AC is way too cold and you need to bring 3 layers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
LULU•_•
The acai bowl was rly good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Summer Brown
The sushi is always so fresh and yummy !
Snizhana Lytvynova
really good bubble tea and nice people working! prob the best food place on campus
御坂天鸾
Best gyudon I’ve ever had! Matcha ice cream is delicious as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Arthur Trusov
Cafe East is hands down the best dining option on Columbia’s campus. The menu features a variety of well-prepared dishes like sushi, teriyaki chicken, and other classic East Asian options. What really sets it apart is its surprisingly good boba tea—something you wouldn’t typically expect from a campus cafe. The tea is brewed just right—whether you go for classic milk tea or one of their fruit teas, the flavors are fresh and well-balanced, never too sweet or watered down. The boba itself has a perfect chewy texture that complements the drinks without overpowering them. It’s honestly the kind of quality you’d expect from a specialty boba shop, not a campus cafe. As for the sushi, it’s decent, especially considering the price—$10 for a roll is a great deal for a quick bite between classes. It’s nothing gourmet, but it gets the job done when you’re craving sushi on a budget. But if you’re stopping by Cafe East, the boba tea is the real highlight.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
叶晨丰
Nice atmosphere and interior to lounge at! Also located conveniently at the lerner center. Came here for the boba since we were here for a pre college program at Columbia. Very good boba and not too sweet! Grandiloquent and stupendous menu.
I must say though… business must be very lucrative over here since the boba cost us around $8 (after tax). The cashier was also a bit audacious and impatient with us. The hours are also irregular since they don’t always open on schedule.
Vegetarian options: Only a thing or two that’s vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Piggly Wiggly
I recommend this beef Don. Great for lunch.
Brittany Wang
got a vanilla matcha latte with no ice. did not realize it came with boba, the menu was definitely not very clear on that. the drink itself was good! not too sweet and the boba was chewy. i had to wait a bit for someone to take my order.
I've been getting the banana berry smoothie here for years without strawberry because I am allergic to strawberry. They became annoyed when I requested no strawberry, and told me that changes are not allowed and I needed to choose something else from the menu. I don't understand why they changed their policy after all these years and would love to go back to the days when they were happy to accommodate my allergy.
Harrison Gerson
Nice spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Xiao Meow
I recommend this beef Don. Great for lunch.
Ben Fu
epic place with top secret menu and good froyos but I dare not speak Chinese because my Chinese is terrible. If I make a mistake, I will switch back to English?
Navjot Singh
I don’t know who needs this but you really need to try Salted Caramel Hojicha with Boba. It’s the best boba I’ve had! This place is pretty expensive though.
Honestly extremely underrated at Columbia. The sushi is so fresh the rice is always soft and not hard like the store bought ones. One time near closing time she gave me two for the price of one. The frozen yogurt is HUGE with so many topping options. I had the gyu don and honestly wow so much meat and rice. Love that they accept dining dollars too
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Cafe East is my FAVORITE place to go for a snack and study session. They are so speedy and always have the freshest sushi. Their froyo is SO good too. Egg tart is the best! Vanilla matcha is also so good. So clean too, just the AC is way too cold and you need to bring 3 layers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The acai bowl was rly good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The sushi is always so fresh and yummy !
really good bubble tea and nice people working! prob the best food place on campus
Best gyudon I’ve ever had! Matcha ice cream is delicious as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cafe East is hands down the best dining option on Columbia’s campus. The menu features a variety of well-prepared dishes like sushi, teriyaki chicken, and other classic East Asian options. What really sets it apart is its surprisingly good boba tea—something you wouldn’t typically expect from a campus cafe.
The tea is brewed just right—whether you go for classic milk tea or one of their fruit teas, the flavors are fresh and well-balanced, never too sweet or watered down. The boba itself has a perfect chewy texture that complements the drinks without overpowering them. It’s honestly the kind of quality you’d expect from a specialty boba shop, not a campus cafe. As for the sushi, it’s decent, especially considering the price—$10 for a roll is a great deal for a quick bite between classes. It’s nothing gourmet, but it gets the job done when you’re craving sushi on a budget. But if you’re stopping by Cafe East, the boba tea is the real highlight.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Nice atmosphere and interior to lounge at! Also located conveniently at the lerner center. Came here for the boba since we were here for a pre college program at Columbia. Very good boba and not too sweet! Grandiloquent and stupendous menu.
I must say though… business must be very lucrative over here since the boba cost us around $8 (after tax). The cashier was also a bit audacious and impatient with us. The hours are also irregular since they don’t always open on schedule.
Vegetarian options: Only a thing or two that’s vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
I recommend this beef Don. Great for lunch.
got a vanilla matcha latte with no ice. did not realize it came with boba, the menu was definitely not very clear on that. the drink itself was good! not too sweet and the boba was chewy. i had to wait a bit for someone to take my order.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
I've been getting the banana berry smoothie here for years without strawberry because I am allergic to strawberry. They became annoyed when I requested no strawberry, and told me that changes are not allowed and I needed to choose something else from the menu. I don't understand why they changed their policy after all these years and would love to go back to the days when they were happy to accommodate my allergy.
Nice spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I recommend this beef Don. Great for lunch.
epic place with top secret menu and good froyos but I dare not speak Chinese because my Chinese is terrible. If I make a mistake, I will switch back to English?
I don’t know who needs this but you really need to try Salted Caramel Hojicha with Boba. It’s the best boba I’ve had! This place is pretty expensive though.
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