Céfiore

This place CLOSED!
I’m so sad because this was actually one of my must hits in Japantown, especially after a great meal of sushi at one of the small restaurants adorning the plaza. I came here last weekend and found the building empty and almost boarded up. I was very sad to see Cefiore go because I loved their yogurt, I loved their variety and the staff was extremely friendly.
I especially enjoyed their ample yogurt samples and their lychee yogurt specifically because instead of sweet like most places make it, it was more on the sour, tangy side. They also had so many different kinds of shakes and/​or drinks. I had their green tea blend with yogurt and it was soooo good!
I hope that they plan on establishing another one of these soon somewhere else in LA because I’m actually loving this place more than Pinkberry’s!

We originally went into here because we were hot and dehydrated from walking around Japantown. l. Wanted a cool place to sit and have some water. We had purchased a japanese tea set for my roommate who helped plan the proposal.
This place really tricked my fiancée. I told him I just wanted a small yogurt for us to share. He stood there in line and then saw on their tv screen that the price is about the same for a big one. Then he saw that maybe for $ 1 more, he can double size of it. I don’t remember the exact details, but as he moved along the line, he started to upgrade the order. By the time he brought it back to me… there we go. I had this enormous bowl of yogurt. The toppings were overflowing in which they had to use those mini cups to hold them. What can I say? It’s purchased so we had to eat it all. Very tasty! I absolutely love the fact that they didn’t cheat us on the topping! LOVE MOCHIs.
Random comment: I saw a kid sitting with some other kids (as the two moms were talking). The kid was telling his friend that he believes there are free refills on toppings. So he picked out all the sugars in hopes for more. They loved their m&ms! Of course, I know toppings are not free! But the kid was adorable… he went up to the server and asked politely if he could have some more m&m. The worker (didn’t even hesitate) happily poured a huge batch into his bowl. Maybe it’s just an sweet moment but I thought it was a great example of how the staff are towards their customer. It showed that it’s not a pure «I’LL CHARGE you for every little thing» sort of place.
Definitely would want to come back! Props to them for having good marketing. And props to us for being dehydrated so we could find this cute little place.
PS. I thought the whole time this was a mom and pop shop but it turns out it’s a chain?

Fantastic Outside Chairs!
~5 Star Chairs
I enjoy sitting on the outside chairs and tables to just hang. I also enjoy sitting on the chairs to wait for the older guy to call my name for shabu across the way. Often I get mochi and kick it here.
~Yogurt-​2 Stars
Yogurt is aight. No big woopdie doo. I would prefer getting real ice cream at Mikawaya.
Oh yeah. they have free wifi also.
Thanks for use of the chairs. you are AOK!

Yogurt 3 stars, it was nothing special but it was good.
Service 2 stars, I sure hate when people act like that hate their job and all the «horrible» things they have to do while performing it such as making a waffle, which leads me to…
Waffle 5 stars, this is totally the highlight of this place, the waffle yes I said it WAFFLE, not waffle cone although I would expect the Tards who work there to understand this is what we wanted even if we just say waffle cone and to not look at us with a look like we are stupid and say we don’t have that but to say «oh we actually make waffles that you can put your yogurt on if that is what you wanted» Complete with berries, condensed milk and so on as you desire.
Over all experience was good being with friends and enjoying late night dessert decadence but staff come on enjoy what you do even if it is just pooping out yogurt from a dispenser, these are tough times in this economy and be happy you have a job.

Hambaga, hambaga, cheezbaga, cheezbaga, cheeps, cheap… cheap. $ 2 bucks for a small that allows two flavors of froyo and two topings. Medium is $ 3 and a Large is $ 4.
What a deal… well a deal for quantity (they do give your more than Pinkberry). However, the quality/​taste is not as good as the summer flavors of Pinkberry. Quality of flavors: Pineapple, Original, Acaiberry, Green Tea (ugh) in that order.
I went to Pinkberry (shut up, yeah I know… It’s growing on me) had a small Passion Fruit (over 4 bucks) walked around, saw Cefiore and had another small for $ 2 with mochi and granola. The Cefiore froyo melts twice as fast and ends up being a milkshake after a bit.
Quality: 2 stars
Quantity/​Price: 4 stars
I usually go on quality so overall: 2.5
So if the economy is gettin’ you down, you’re low on funds, can gulp super fast, then this is the place for you. Good thing about this place you can sit outside and people watch — laughing at all the suckers waiting for that little Japanese guy walking around calling their names for the Shabu Shabu House. Another Unilocaler called this place «old school» — huh? How can having froyo being served to you be considered old school? Self-​serve just keeps cost down — that’s all.

2 flavors + 2 toppings for $ 2 = must try
i had the pineapple tart + acaiberry with kiwi and strawberry. i think the original flavor is still the best out of all of these

nummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy­yyyyyyyyyy!!!
What’s crazy berry?
red mango? tutti fruiti…
all I know is cefiore is the best!!!

After eating at Ochoron (spicy ramen in Weller Court), I was in the mood for a cool down dessert. My mom and I had the 2 small froyo with one topping for $ 5 and we were pleased with the taste. I ordered the acaiberry and my mom had the original flavor. It was slightly «icy» compared to Yogurtland but the taste was refreshing.
The girl behind the counter was pleasant and provided samples for us. She also threw me a few extra mochi balls with my fresh blueberries.

THE ABSOLUTE WORST CUSTOMER «SERVICE» (DISSERVICE?) IN LOS ANGELES – AN INSULT TO HUMANITY AND ETHICS.
Walked into this location at about 2:00 P.M. on Monday, March ⁰⁹⁄₂₀₀₉. Needed to use the restroom prior to ordering. Young girl at the counter…
«Restroom is for customers ONLY!»
I explained that I was going to use the restroom before ordering… she stands there behind the counter staring at me. I told her that her attitude really wasn’t ethical or appropriate and abruptly left – spending my money at PICCOMOLO – along with the party of FOUR I was with – who were debating where to get yogurt at the time I popped in to this skunk pit.
It is also obvious that I am not some skid row bum who is attempting to shack up in your filthy bathroom. I am a human being attempting to get comfortable before glancing over your selection. You, Cefiore should hang your head in shame. Then walk swiftly off the plank into the Great Pacific and directly into the jaws of a 21 foot Great White’s Mouth.
SO – if you own this place – consider yourself a true failure. You have employees who are ruining your name, business – and this will ripple on – because everybody I know will forever hear about the inhumane procedures allowed to take place within these walls.

They don’t have the pomegranate flavor anymore. I was about to give them 2 stars, until I decided to try the golden cherry. I usually hate cherry flavor because it reminds me of cough syrup, thank you Dimetapp and every other cough syrup out there that decided it was a good idea to flavor your disgusting cough syrup, thus tainting the flavor forever. Good thing I never had grape cough syrup, life would be quite bleak if I hated grapes and things flavored grape.
Digressed, sorry.
BUT! Golden cherry flavor. It tastes more like blood orange, and I love how blood oranges taste. I can barely taste the cherry and the yogurt itself is a little more creamy than pinkberry yogurt (which is not yogurty at all).
The flavor is delicious, I hope they keep it and bring back the pomegranate. I finished a small without any flavors in less than a minute. Annihilation.

Umm, ummm, gorgeous fresh fruit, nut, mochi, coconut toppings! The yogurt is best hands down, not to overpowering, just the right flavor and consistency.
Clean hangout right smack in the middle of J-​town for great people watching.

Hmm. I haven’t been swept up in this recent trend of frozen yogurt. Didn’t we have this with Penguins in the 80s? Cmon. Its frozen yogurt. I’m not flipping my wig over this or Pinkberry. I’ve had just as good frozen yogurt from across the street at the coffee shop I go to (sure less toppings).
I wasn’t completely impressed with the toppings, the flavors, or the yogurt. It was just ok. Did I enjoy the treat after lunch? yes I did. would I repeat? of course. But I won’t proclaim it the godsend of all things. I can say the same thing of Pinkberry’s.
I do give kudos to them tho. The mochi balls were very interesting.
p. s. free wifi.

So the li’l one and I were out and about in the city of Los Angeles the other day and we found ourselves hanging out in Little Tokyo. It was a bit too early for froyo, but I don’t think she cared.
This is actually the second Cefiore location I’ve visited (the first being in Buena Park) and I’m glad I stopped by this one. It’s a lot nicer and more tastefully decorated on the inside. The froyo here seems tastier, of higher quality, and comes in a better selection than that other one attached to a gas station in Buena Park. I prefer the scenery of Little Tokyo.
Our order of green tea froyo w/​strawberries was tasty and came in a pretty sizable serving. This stuff is rich, creamy, smooth, and not icy at all. I almost couldn’t finish it all (we had to save room for lunch). Anyway, Cefiore is a-​okay in my book. I just wish this one was closer. Damned gas prices…

It was so good! :D I got green tea with strawberries, blueberries, and fruity pebbles (hooray for fruit, haha. for the most part). I think it’s nestled in Japantown somewhere, across the street from Pinkberry. :O (I wonder why frozen yogurt shops like to open next to each other all the time?)
–1 for the price (it’s more expensive than other places I’ve been to)

I never thought I would ever give any of the Cefiore stores one star… But I just did, sucka!
I LOVE Acaiberry frozen yogurt, but I DETEST the FILTHY RESTROOM. Having frequented Cefiore in Monterey Park and Rowland Heights, I automatically assumed that all Cefiore stores would have clean restrooms. It’s CEFIORE after all, right? It’s supposed to be cute, hip, and clean, right? Well, not at the Little Tokyo location! There are pee stains and poop stains on the toilet seat. The toilet paper roll was not placed inside the container… It was placed on the handicap grab bar next to the toilet seat. The paper towel roll was not put inside the container either. It was placed on top of the container…
The mochi they had at the moment was stuck together in one big piece. The other pieces were scattered outside the container… The worker scooped them back into the container, and wanted to give me the mochi that was stuck together in one big piece. She looked at me and asked if it was ok with me. I was still in shock. I nodded unconsciously. Wrong move again. I should have asked for a different topping! How filthy can this location get?

Oh! Where shall I begin?
The girl at the counter was so friendly. I just stepped in and said that I needed a moment because it was my first time and she offered up generous samples right away. (Unlike the peach house where I received half a sample cup of yogurt. It’s not gold people.)
I immediately fell in love with the Acai yogurt even though I most often reach for plain. Acai is a Brazillian blueberry. How sexy is that?
One order comes with three toppings! I thought that was great but the pricing is on par with Red Mango and others. I only wanted mochi and mango so I doubled up on the mango! Yippee!
They are making their way up to San Francisco and I can’t wait!

Way better than Pinkberry’s! First off, they have more variety of flavors to choose from: plain, green tea, raspberry-​pomegranate and the new flavor acai which is packed with anti-​oxidants and so is supposed to be healthy for you.
For toppings, I had the red bean paste which Pinkberry doesn’t have, as well as strawberries and mango with the green tea yogurt. It was a satisyfing dessert after my dinner. The décor at this locale was modern chic and they were jammin some upbeat techno music which made the atmosphere lively! I can’t wait to come back again since they don’t have any Cefiores in the southbay at this time and it’s cool to people watch through the large glass windows or stroll around the plaza.

If you happen to look my profile and my find me attractive and possibly you were thinking about stalking me, you will find me here most of the time. Whenever I am at the Japanese Village Plaza I go for my Triple Crown of comfort food, cream puff pastries and cefiore yogurt. Warning, if you are stalking me here, I don’t look anything like the pictures because great places like cefiore is making me fatter. Oh it’s non fat? Sure it is… and all girls like a guy with a sense of humor…
Anyways, I usually just purchase a small Original with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in it. Simple… just 4.75…and I usually buy for myself because I don’t want my dates going over 100 pounds so I just get them bottled water somewhere else or if I’m feeling extra generous I’ll get them Tea.
Other than the yogurt, there’s the Snow Ice, Smoothies and Tea. It’s all good stuff. Is it better than what else is out there? I don’t know. Depends on your taste. But I do like it because of the tartness, anything too sweet just seems too fake… like people. But seriously, i like tart.
So I’m usually here during the weekdays after eating lunch at the other fine establishments in the Plaza. Is this stuff trendy? Yes it is… so Baaaah, I’m a sheep.
UPDATE: One of the Asian guys who works there is one the nicest people I have ever met. Just great customer service, polite, prompt; he does his job right and makes the experience pleasant. That always goes a long way.

This is an interesting match up that is about to happen.
With the prospect of another Pinkberry opening up across the street, this will be a throw down like no others in Little Tokyo!
CeFiore is another yogurt joint hoping to catch the craze that is going on in Southern California. Located in the Little Tokyo’s Village Plaza that are frequented by many of the visitors coming to Little Tokyo, this place will get the initial advantage of foot traffic.
When you enter the location, like many of Pinkberry and Kiwiberry joints, the place is in a cool white chic décor. It has a cosmopolitan look like the other two. What’s very interesting about this place I noticed was that the menu is displayed on several television monitors.
At first I was thinking it was so cool. Then I thought of the reason why the menu was display in a monitor. I noticed what the paranoia of copying each other’s menu and prices, if you try to take a picture of menu, you will have not get sharp images of the menu. Apparently they figured out that by displaying it on a monitor, there will be a lines going through the pictures as your camera will not be fast enough to focus and take an image.
Try that by using your digital camera on your computer screen and you’ll see what I mean. Unless you have a very good lens with a SLR.
With the paranoia aside, the place offered 4 different flavors. Besides the original flavor and Green Tea flavor, CeFiore also offer Blackberry and Raspberry flavor.
With the fruit toppings that is also diced added on, this makes it an all worth while tastings. There’s also other different non-​fruit toppings you can choose from.
I choose the blackberry flavor as it is was a little different from what I am having before. The blackberry flavor has a sweet taste to it, not sour or bitter. A little tangy sweet, but not tartness that I got from Pinkberry before. It’s a little bit more wet and creamy than Pinkberry’s yogurt, but it’s almost reminds me of gelato.
The pricings is not that bad. Almost comparable to what Pinkberry was charging. So when PB opens up very soon from across the street, it will be interesting where this will take them.
Unique as it is, they are calling themselves as an Italian Yogurt. We’ll see how far they will last. The good thing about this place is that they offering a «buy 9 get one free» card offer.

The spiky-​haired Asian youth seemed to be the appropriate server at this rather hip-​looking yogurt shop that specializes in «natural frozen Italian yogurt», i.e., the kind that is a bit more sour in taste than the faux-​soft creams you get anywhere else. It’s a trend started by a Korean company, and it seems to be catching on in SoCal.
Except for pops of hot pink and other random fluorescent colors, it’s a gleaming white space in the otherwise earthtone-​centric Japanese Village Plaza. Once you get up to the counter, you see a fairly sparse overhead menu of two yogurt flavors — plain and green tea — but on the counter, you see a plethora of toppings. The Asian twang to the place is clear when you see not only the green tea-​flavored yogurt oozing out of their machine but also the gloopy red bean sauce available for the choosing.
I tried the $ 2.75 «piccolo”-size green tea yogurt sprinkled with coconut flakes (an additional 75 cents). I liked it, though my preference is for a creamier, lactose-​on-​steroids flavor — big surprise! — and Fiore has a drier texture that makes the yogurt taste a bit stiff on the tongue. The coconut made it more interesting than it would have been unadorned. But honestly, ten minutes after I threw away the empty container, I forgot I had eaten anything. Now Jenny Craig certainly wouldn’t approve.
FROYO — 4 stars… healthy tasting, agreeable but not quite memorable
AMBIANCE — 4.5 stars… very clean and hip if that’s important to you
SERVICE — 4 stars… seemed generous enough with the coconut topping
TOTAL — 4 stars… give it a try since it is the latest thing… I just hope you don’t suffer from amnesia like I did.