Chobani Soho: Greek Yogurt Café Starts New Trend in NYC

August 3, 2012

It was inevitable, we suppose, after the Great Frozen Yogurt Invasion of the late-aughts sort of fizzled out (remember when it seemed like a Pinkberry, or a Red Mango, or any number of imitators–Berrywild, anyone? Yolato?–was popping up on every corner?), that the secret world yogurt cabal* would seek a new delivery system for their tangy treat.  

Enter, the Greeks. Namely: Fage, Oikos, and, especially, the most popular Greek-style yogurt in America, Chobani. And not only has Greek yogurt taken over the dairy aisle at your supermarket, this summer two new NOT-frozen yogurt cafes opened in New York City, the first in Midtown East, called Yogurt Culture Company, operated (discreetly, uncredited) by category behemoth Dannon, and to which we have not yet visited; and, just a few days ago, the Chobani Soho yogurt cafe, which we were almost embarrassingly excited about, high expectations which were actually exceeded during a visit the other evening. Because man-oh-man is this stuff good.   Not to mention, Emerald Green residents are a mere four subway stops awayy on the C and E trains from Chobani SoHo!.

Located on the always-bustling corner of Prince and West Broadway, Chobani Soho’s yogurt cafe offers plenty of pre-packaged containers of the stuff in all of your favorite varieties (nice for the dashing-somewhere, grab-n-go crowd, and each is only $1.25), but the real draw here is the Chobani Soho menu of nine different Yogurt Creations, which are made to order by the "yogurt masters" in the back. High-quality, thoughtfully-curated toppings? Combined with rich, refreshing, delivered-daily Chobani yogurt, served in a handsome glass dish (even if you get yours to-go! just reuse, recycle, or return to the store for a 25 cent discount on your next order…), in flavors fruity, sweet, and/or savory? Each selling for less than a scoop of ice cream? Chobani SoHo is going to be larger than any frozen yogurt place in NYC.       

Everything on the Chobani SoHo menu appeals, including the Fig and Walnut, the Peanut Butter and Jelly, and, in the savory-snack department, the one with olive oil, salt and pepper, and pita chips. We, however, were in full dessert mode when we stopped in at the Chobani ‘s yogurt café the other evening, and so went straight for the Pistachio and Chocolate creation, which features dark chocolate flakes from Tcho Chocolate in San Francisco (68% cacao), plenty of Turkish pistachios, orange segments, mint, and drizzles of clover honey. So delicious. Equally delicious was the Blueberry and Power combo, packed with fruit, walnuts, crunchy chia seeds, hemp seeds, and, to keep things sweet, light agave nectar. The next time you're in this part of town, we highly recommend treating yourself.   

Where to Find the Chobani SoHo Greek Yogurt Cafe

The Chobani SoHo yogurt cafe is located on the corner of Prince Street and West Broadway, and is open every day from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The place is nicely designed but small; there are some benches outside, and a short stand-up counter inside, but this is not a sobre mesa sort of space. Oh and another cool thing: the counter staff use iPhones to take your order, which gets communicated instantly to the yogurt masters in the back, and also allows them to freely move around the store helping people. Very efficient and friendly. For more information and a complete Chobani Yogurt Soho Cafe menu, please see the store's website, here. *not a real thing

Posted in Downtown, NYC Dining | Tagged chobani • chobani greek yogurt • Chobani soho • chobani yogurt • frozen yogurt in nyc • frozen yogurt places in nyc • greek yogurt chobani • yogurt cafe • yogurt chobani • yogurt culture company