TOKUYAMATCHA & ONIGIRAZU BAR- E 6th St. — Restaurant in New York

Loved it! The onigirazu are like onigiri sandwiches and the selection is very extensive with lots of vegan options. They have both traditional/typical matcha drinks and unconventional tea drinks. I got: Veggie tofu nugget miso mayo onigirazu: Made vegan with the option to sub vegan miso and mayo. I loved the textures (the tofu nuggets were tender like chicken nuggets) and the umami flavours. It was served fresh and warm and held together surprisingly well as I was eating. It didn't look very big, but it was dense and more filling than it looked. HojiGen latte: Hojicha and genmaicha is such a good combination. The latte was pretty strong and the flavour was very pleasant. It seemed like good tea. They also did a good job with the texturization of the oat milk. The space is very cramped with standing room for only a few people. I was glad I checked the menu before visiting because I felt like I had to order and clear out as fast as possible - not because of anything the staff did though! The staff were very polite! Outside, there's one table and a few benches on the sidewalk if you want to eat there. You wait for your order outside and they call out your number through a speaker when it's ready. There were a few people who had ordered ahead of me, so it was a bit of a wait. I think it took around 5 minutes for the drink, and then another 10 minutes for the onigirazu. This was around 12:30...

I'm so disappointed. This wasn't a great experience. The store is very tiny; only 3 people can fit in at a time. There is not menu on the outside or paper ones for you to take to review what you want. There is only one mounted right in front of the register where they take your order. You then wait outside for them to call your name over the speaker to go inside where you have to lean over the new patrons in line to get your order.

I ordered a Chai latte with oat milk. It is $6.75 with an additional 80 cents for the oat milk. Not only was the cup half filled (picture included) but there was also a significant amount of ice. Absolutely not worth it and I was too uncomfortable to ask them why my clear cup of Chai was only half filled.

I ordered 2 onigiris. My friend and I each took a half of both flavors and came to the same conclusion that they were both good but the salmon avocado had spots in it where there was too much vinegar. I love vinegar but the bites stung my nose. We also ordered a topping of fried egg for the other and never received it!

I also had to remind them that I ordered a soda because they never gave it to me.

With the issues, I can't say this place is worth it which is sad because I was so excited to go. The only thing that I loved about this place was this place is that they have non-dairy milk options; oat, almond,...

cozy cafe parked on a sleepy street in Alphabet City.

looking for casual cafe a few blocks away from Tompkins? then Tokuyama Salon Cafe should be your destination. the cafe is quite small: only 2-3 tiny tables. the case is dimly lit and most of the space if dominated by the coffee bar where you order and a huge table of Japanese-centric eats as well as Western-styled bites like pastries, croissants, muffins, scones, etc. this is a very much a grab-and-go place for me.

the coffee? the drip (pre-brew) is solid. i wouldn't say good, nor bad just solid--hot coffee with the appropriate amount of caffeine. it's probably the blend/grind of coffee that, to me, feels more acidic than actually flavorful.

the espresso? very good to great. good strong coffee beans. strong aroma. prepared expertly.

there's punch card rewards card system. buy a certain amount get one free.

there's a variety of matcha drinks as well.

the Japanese-styled small plate items seem most appetizing to me and i'm likely to grab one of these in the future like the onigrazu (japanese rice sandwich stuffed with different ingredients like karaage or beef + ginger...and the matcha-baked items look interesting as an eat-on-the-go bite. yum

the staff? polite and kind.

drops mic cuz iknow what i'm...