Reviews of Cafe Zaiya (Bakery)

Benjamin Spinola

Nice hidden Japanese bakery on the 2nd floor of Kinokuniya. Good lunch boxes and good bread. Great view of Bryant Park.

Christina Marie Joubert Kardooni

I am one of those strange humans who only eats soft serve - is that a type? I digress. Since I do not have any deep dedication to cold desserts, I can honestly say: I CANNOT WAIT TO EAT THIS AGAIN IN THE SUMMER! I've had all of the flavors of soft serve and will willingly hustle through midtown just to get this. I've also tried some food items of the savory variety - well priced and tasty! The staff can be a little disengaged/distracted/unfriendly and the place itself looks like a giant school cafeteria, but these factors are so easy to bypass when you finally get to hold that soft serve cone (see my photo).

Eduardo Ramirez

Warning: "C" rating by the health department (see picture). Don't feel comfortable buying something here, specially since the Cafe is in a second floor inside a bookstore. (How many violations are in here?)

Cory Bond

Its a fine cafe. The place is small and seating can be limited but they offer good bubble tea and Japanese treats.

K Risa

(Translated by Google) Japanese sweets and jellies that were modest in sweetness were delicious. Matcha latte was not sweet at all because it didn't ask for additional sugar. (Original) 甘さ控え目の日本のケーキやゼリーが美味しかったです。抹茶ラテも追加の砂糖を頼まなかったので全然甘くありませんでした。

Sarah Sayavong

A great cafe on the top floor of the Kinokuniya bookstore! Pay for your books and goods at the downstairs cashier, and then come up here to grab a bite to eat or drink while reading. I really like the Japanese baked goods and sandwiches they have. There are also set meals you can buy and microwave on site, if you need something more substantial. The boxed cookies near the cafe cash register are also a great quick gift, if you need something small for a friend. There's also no credit minimum, which is great for those of us who don't carry cash!

Ayumi Kubo

Good Japanese bakery inside Kinokuniya. Nice view of Bryant Park, and tasty breads and bento.

Viktor Bek

Daily fresh, reasonable price and if you stop by around noon: curry is still warm. Hot buns are a delight on cold day, pastry and deserts are delivered daily fresh and there's never a long line to wait for service or a register and always enough sitting space unlike many other establishments in the area.

Lan Wong

Very nice Japanese bakery inside of the 2nd floor of kinomuniya. They have a great view of Bryant Park, and tasty bento lunch boxes!

Emily Chu

Located on the second level of a Japanese bookstore, this venue offers a more limited selection (and no cooked foods station) than the store a few blocks away on 41st street, but still has a decent selection of cakes/cafe items. The best deal here is the an donut (red bean filled pastry) for $1.50.

Jin Wang

The cafe closed earlier than its stated time.

M K

Standard cafe with Japanese food and snacks as well as desserts

Agnes Terada

Went there to grab some food - $2.75 for a Mentaiko Onigiri which had some pink caviar looking and NOT Mentaiko. It was like eating plain white rice with Nori. AVOID at all cost. Their chicken sandwich was good.

Sherrie Shawy

Nice book and coffee shop

Wendy T

Hands down this is my favorite Japanese cafe to get their green tea frap. They make it to perfection! They also have a good variety of small eats - and sandwich / bread options. Downstairs is a bookstore and they also have a basement that sell Japanese goods / stationary items. Fun place to chill for a while when you're bored or want a snack!

Raymond Vagell

Love the food. Meticulously wrapped to retain freshness and lots of varities. Onigiri and bento boxes are delicious. Great varitiety of Japanese pastries. I had the chicken sandwich box, which consists two of each sandwiches: Egg salad, chicken katsu, and chicken salad. The matcha tiramisu is delicious. Be aware that the chocolate colored cup is actually plastic and not an actual chocolate cup. I made that mistake trying to bite into it haha.

Allena Kanyuk

Pricey, but not much worse than the rest of Manhattan. Quote delicious food also.

Amanda Weiss

Really interesting Japanese pastries and lunch boxes in this bakery with a view of Bryant Park.

John Hsieh

Cafe Zaiya is the small cafe found on the second floor of Kinokuniya NYC. It's a great little shop that serves up some most of the items that can be found in Japan's convenience stores like onigiri, bento boxes, and low-grade sushi. There are microwaves available to heat up bento boxes. Cafe Zaiya has one of my favorite place to sit during the winter months: the bench seats along the Eastern windows provides an excellent view of the skate rink at Bryant Park. The bench seats are great for people watching in the warm climate-controlled area with your hot drinks from Cafe Zaiya. Prices are very reasonable, but the cafe area is quite small, so finding a seat may be difficult. Beware that you will have to finish all food and drink items before leaving the cafe area as Kinokuniya has a no food or drink policy (like most typical bookstores).

PandaDomo NYC

A very conveniently placed Cafe Zaiya on the 2nd floor of Kinokunya, this Zaiya location is one of the smallest I've seen but the view is great! After picking up and warming up a bento, sandwich, or bread, I like to sit at the counter in front of the window that looks out to Bryant Park. A lot of the seats are taken by high schoolers but when they are supposedly in school it's a nice place to have lunch. Everything is the same as a full Zaiya location but I do feel like the selection is a lot smaller for obvious reasons.

Jason Grant

Hidden gem inside Kinokuniya. Great snacks.

Jennifer Edhomeriegue

This location is located in the Kinokuniya bookstore on the second floor & not too far away from their main location. Has a beautiful view of Bryant Park across the street while you're eating if you choose to dine in. This place is a little cramped given the space allotted, but it manages to have a little bit of everything that's great with its main location. Particularly the pastries. Their chocolate cake is moist and manages to find the right balance of chocolate and sweet in each bite.

alex Sanchez

I used to work in the City and i used to eat here for lunch. Now that i moved to Ohio, and came back to visit on September 2018 the food still great. Totally recommend it.

Amy Xiao

Hidden Japanese bakery inside of the Kinokuniya book store. There is a beautiful view of Bryant Park from the 2nd floor, and the food is yummy!