Yoma

I’ve never been disappointed with my meal here. All of the salads I’ve tried are really good — fresh with a nice balance of different flavors and textures. If you haven’t had chickpea tofu before, I would highly recommend it. It is smoother and has a different texture than typical soy tofu, and it offers a nice change of pace.
For the vegan and vegetarian folks out there — I would definitely suggest checking out this place. It’s easy to skip over it, since they serve meat in the midst of three strictly vegan establishments on Allston’s «vegan alley.» Even so, they have a wide variety of vegan/​vegetarian items, many of which are unique and unparalleled — you won’t find this kind of food anywhere else in Boston.

I loved both of the dishes we ordered. One veggie and one meat. The Rainbow 21 was particularly awesome. My wife doesn’t even like spicy food and gobbled hers down– cause it was delicious. The chi tea was also fantastic.
Street parking, but a kinda small restaurant.

Awesome. Food as always. Rainbow 21
Tea salad and spice mountain are a must have. Their spicy Mandalay is good too but it’s very spicy. If you can’t handle spice avoid this. They have a separate vegetarian menu. All the above dishes were ordered to be vegetarian

This is a unique little place that most people who even live in Allston have never tried. Burmese food. Burma (or Myanmar), is between India and Vietnam/​Cambodia/​Thailand. So it has some similarities to those.
But the TEA SALAD. You’ve never tried this before in your life. It’s not the normal salad with tons of leafy greens. It’s a compact little thing, with chopped nuts, tomatoes, and other delightfully interesting textured things, topped with their famous Burmese tea leaves. I believe these tea leaves are pickled. TRY IT!
Their standard entrée fare of chicken&potato or beef&potato is hearty: meat and potatoes over a bed of rice, in curry. Very comforting and warm. You can’t go wrong with this combo.
I recommend getting a side of bread, plata. Similar to Indian naan, but more buttery!
The only downside is that the portions are small. You’ll be hungry, so you should order a few dishes.

Food was tasty but very small portions even for a girl who doesn’t eat much. This is with ordering an appetizer to split among a table of four and an entrée per person. My food was delicious but very spicy. I felt they could have been a bit more generous refilling the water especially given that there were not too many other customers. Small restaurant was nothing fancy in terms of decorations or ambiance. I would recommend if you are looking to eat some yummy food that you haven’t tried before but be ready to order a few more dishes or you will be leaving hungry.

Definitely try the Spice Mountain — an incredibly crisp samosa in a spiced broth with fresh veggies). Their chickpea tofu is equally excellent and melt-​in-​your-​mouth good!
I’m not sure if it’s mainly a takeout staple or what but we were the only table there at 6:30pm on a Saturday. Strange.

I’m a little perplexed by the ultra high ratings. I had a very average experience.
Portions were small. I ordered a rice entrée and I was still hungry after (and I don’t have a big appetite). It also took forever to get the food; if we didn’t bring wine we would have been so bored (btw, it’s BYO! They have like a $ 2 cork fee for wine, and $.50/​can beer). Service was slow (there was one waitress for the entire restaurant).
The flavors of the food was okay. I ordered the okra beef and there were five small pieces of meat. Very scanty meat provided. Also, the dish was supposed to be spicy and there was no spice whatsoever.
The credit card was digital, so the waitress is looking at you while you add the tip, which is also uncomfortable.

Restaurant itself is a quaint little hideaway, run by friendly folks who are patient and can recommend a few good items to try. I liked the tea leaf salad for its texture more so than its taste (lots of crunch to each bite!) It’s a bit different from the ones I’ve tried in California. Portions here are smaller and they use less garlic, but it’s the first Burmese place I’ve see here, so I’m a fan!
The pumpkin chicken with rice and golden chicken noodle were good, with a thin curry sauce to coat the noodles. So much flavor!
Warning: parking is non-​existent in this part of town. The restaurant is situated at the intersection of Scary and Scarier, especially since you’re trying to find street parking and still go with the flow of traffic. It took us 20 minutes of looping around to find a spot. There’s no paid private lots around the area either.

Authentic Burmese restaurant. Great Rangoon Tea. And they serve free plain rice with any entrée you order. I’d go back there any day. Plenty of options for both Non vegetarians and vegans.

I can’t find Burmese food as good anywhere else. Anything pumpkin of theirs is so delicious. And they have this side stuff that you sprinkle on rice that is so delicious… it’s salty, garlicky. Mmmm

One of the most amazing places for Asian (Burmese) food!
The first time I stopped by this place, the food was just spectacular! I’ve never had Burmese food before, and it was just amazing! The second time, it was just as great, and it’s become one of my favorite places to eat!
The location is great but place is not very noticeable. The ‘tea café’ sign makes it a bit confusing but it’s not only café, it’s a regular Asian food restaurant. The ambience is comfortable and simple which is great.
Food: highly recommend vegetarian samosas (blew my mind) and spiced mountain (has cut-​up samosa in it with several different vegetables, lots of flavor and textures).
I tried Happy Egg (contains bamboo shoots, tofu and egg), it was quite flavorful! Rainbow 23 is a great dish if you’re not sure what type of noodles you like as it has a combination of several different types. This dish is also quite interesting and unique.
Drinks: Ragoon tea, coconut juice all are amazing but very sweet.
Highly recommend this place!

Fantastic, interesting fresh Asian flavors and excellent service
My brother and I went for dinner and ordered the mango chicken salad, a side of the Bala Chong (spicy and crispy mixture of chili, garlic, onion and beans) the Mandalay Plata (crispy bread with potato and chickpea sauce to dip in) to share
The mango chicken salad was extremely fresh and had a nice garlicky taste from the sauce. We mixed the Bala Chong in which gave it some extra kick and crunchiness. The Mandalay Plata was also delicious, the bread had a perfect texture and heat and the sauce was rich and tasty
I ordered the Pumpkin Chicken for my main at the suggestion of our waitress and it was fantastic. The pumpkin was meaty and tender and the tomato sauce was excellent. I threw in some hot chili paste to mix it all together and give it some additional heat
This place is a little more expensive than some of the Asian food you’ll find in Allston but I have never had flavors like that in the US before. The service was also fantastic. Our waters were filled constantly and our waitress gave us great suggestions

This place came very highly recommended but unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it myself.
I tried the Rainbow 23 dish. It came cold, it tasted like leftovers. It hardly had any chicken in it. It was bland at best. This is not worth the $ 10.95. This was supposed to be «spicy» l, not even close.
I also tried the Garlic Chicken Noodle. Again nothing to write home about. It was a tad better than Rainbow 23 though which was the only silver lining. This also is not worth the $ 10.45.
I tried the Balachong «large». This thing cost me $ 5.50 for something that should really cost like a buck at most. It is basically fried urad dal mixture for those who know Indian snacks.
The chicken dumplings were pretty good.
The ambience wasn’t great. It felt constricted.

I was recently introduced to this place. Right away I was drawn to their salads. I tried the spicy chicken mango salad the first time I came here and it did not disappoint me. It was spicy enough to taste but not so spicy that my mouth was on fire. It was light and the portion was just right. Their food is incredibly affordable. I found myself craving their food and here I am again. Back for more!

Wow! I’ve never had Burmese food and after trying it I will definitely be coming back! What an experience! It’s a mix between Thai and Indian food. So good!
My friend and I got eggplant tofu and coconut pumpkin shrimp. At first, since it was take out, I didn’t think it would be enough food, but I was wrong! It was light and filling, without feeling bloated or stuffed! We also had the Mandalay Plata which wish incredible!
Two thumbs up!

We were in Boston for the weekend and the first thing I did was look up for Burmese restaurants. We love Burmese food but haven’t been able to spot one in Chicago. We walked a bit from Harvard square to get to this place. The long walk was totally worth it. The place is tiny and nothing fancy. But we had an amazing vegetarian dinner. Definitely don’t miss the tea salad. The simple noodles was the best noodle dish I’ve tasted — spicy and flavorful. Plus it’s a BYOB. Must visit if you’re in Boston!

This is my first time to a burmese restaurants so not much to compare by. Let me first start by saying they have some really unique items on the menu that I have never seen in my life, the combinations of ingredients used in their dishes and unlike any asian cuisine I had. Seems like the central feature of burmese dishes is mixing of vegetable, nuts, dried beans, tea leafs to make some sort of salad. I got the tea salad (burmese pickled tea, sesame seeds, peanut, crispy peas & garlic, tomato, lettuce) because I felt it was a main burmese dishes. The ingredients were fresh and the salad was refreshing, but not being a big fan of salads, I find it hard to enjoy this dish, especially with the combination including peanuts and crispy peas, I didn’t feel it was a very good mixture.
I also had Dried shrimp BalaChong (Mixtures of dried shrimp, shallot, garlic, and chili), which was extremely salty and surprisingly spicy. Also, I’m not sure how much oil was in the BalaChong but the whole thing seem fried.
In addition, I tried some Garlic Chicken Noodle. The broth was yellow and creamy and the noodles was standard, seems to be a nourishing dish to recover from sickness.
Though I am not the biggest fan of burmese food after this experience, something tells me this restaurant is a haven for vegans and vegetarians due to their unique ingredients and dishes offered.

We went the family style route and ordered many dishes to share. The tea salad featured Burmese pickled tea, sesame seeds, peanuts, crispy peas, garlic, tomato and iceberg lettuce.
On the Unilocal photos, the salad was shown with the different ingredients portioned out on its own section of the plate to be mixed by the guests. I was a bit disappointed that our tea salad had already been mixed for us in the kitchen.
The roasted chicken mango salad was very similar to a staple dish in Thai and Cambodian cuisine. The big difference is that the chicken was roasted instead of boiled or steamed which added a crispy texture to the salad.
The spicy shrimp salad was not spicy at all and also reminded me a of a Thai/​Cambodian dish. The only thing missing was the Thai red basil and lemon grass to make it the same.
We split 3 different noodles dishes among the 7 of us. The Garlic chicken noodle was the best of the 3, we actually wanted to order another one. It was a bit heavy on the black pepper but boasted the most flavor. The dish shared the same roasted chicken from the mango salad.
The other two noodles were a bit tricky. The simple chicken noodle item was described on the menu as steam wheat noodles, roasted chicken, cucumber, potato, onion, tofu, peanut, garlic, cilantro, scallion and tamarind sauce. The dish was bland and I couldn’t taste any of the tamarind sauce. It reminded me of lo mein from a Chinese restaurant sans the oil and heavy soy sauce.
The Rainbow 23 noodle dish on the menu looked intriguing. The dish was a combination of four types of steamed noodles, roasted chicken, mango, cucumber, onion, potato, tofu, peanut, garlic, cilantro, scallion, and tamarind sauce (aka an Asian «Kitchen sink» dish) Although I was really excited to try it, there was too much going on in my mouth and it left me overwhelmed.
I do love peanuts in my noodle dishes but I prefer them crushed not whole roasted. It’s a bit harder to eat and all most of the salad and noodle dishes had peanuts.
The rice plates on the menu were non descriptive with the exception of what the meat, seafood or vegetables were. We had no idea how it was going to be prepared and if we were getting a curry, stew or stir fry.
The «Happy Shrimp» had steamed shrimp, bamboo and potato and was like a curry dish. It was the best out of the three rice dishes.
Although no one was fighting over the tofu and eggplant, the portion was really small. There were only 5 pieces of tofu and 3 chunks of eggplants. It was also like a curry stir fry dish.
The chicken squash dish was like a curry chicken stew. It was alright.
We ordered a delicious side of shrimp balachong. The spicy and crispy bits were reminiscent of a Cambodian/​Thai «Bok Trey» rural dish made with dried fish, salt, sugar, garlic, msg and smashed with a mortar and pestle eaten with white rice.
We topped off our rice dishes and noodles with the spicy shrimp balachong it added a crispy texture and bursts of flavors. We liekd it so much that we got another of it to eat at the restaurant and some of us even bought some to go to eat with plain rice or rice porridge.
The total came to about $ 150.00 for:
2 Mandalay plata bread with sauce
1 plata bread
2 steamed Shrimp Dumpling
2 Shrimp BalaChong side
1 tea salad
1 spicy shrimp salad
1 chicken mango salad
Garlic chicken noodle
Simple Chicken noodle
Rainbow 23 noodle
Chicken and squash rice dish
Happy Shrimp rice dish
Tofu and eggplant rice dish
Extra white rice
To see food pics, check out

This place is so good. It’s BYOB, which is totally key if you’re trying to save money on your booze bills, which you KNOW I am.
I first had Burmese food out in a swanky little joint in Berkeley, CA, and where Yoma has a long way to go before it reaches that point, however Yoma manages to completely quench my cravings for Burmese. I often go after work, and I am never disappointed.
If you’re new to Burmese, you HAVE to get the Tea Salad. It’s the best. thing. ever. I’m also pretty partial to all of the noodle dishes. Last night i tried the Tofu Curry. Actually you can’t go wrong with this menu. It’s so freaking good. Go here. Eat here. love it. Drink whatever you want (beer/wine!!)…no corking fee!!!
just do it.

Let me start by giving my review some context. I enjoy eating a simple, healthy diet. For me, it’s nice to eat out once in a while, but nothing beats a down-​to-​earth, home-​cooked meal that just hits the spot. So, being in the Boston area for a conference for a few days and having all my meals catered or served at a restaurant, I was really starting to feel sick. My body was simply begging me to go home and detox from all the rich foods that I had eaten over the last couple of days. It had gotten to the point where my body was pretending that it wasn’t hungry at all, even though I hadn’t eaten for hours. So, the last thing I wanted to do on my final night in Boston was to eat out at another restaurant.
But, boy, did this restaurant impress me.
Maybe it’s because the food served here resembled the food I had growing up, but there was something about the way the food was prepared that made it simultaneously simple and irresistibly delicious. I ordered the Royal Noodle dish (NanJeeThoh) — the noodle dishes, by the way, are the way to go – and upon taking one bite, my appetite changed from «no more, thank you» to «more, please!» The people in my dinner party also exclaimed at how good their food was, and as a result, we couldn’t help but try each other’s dishes.
The service was both friendly and FAST on all fronts: ordering, food arriving, and paying the bill. And the restaurant owners didn’t pressure us to leave upon closing time.
Vegetarians will be happy to know that there is a vegetarian-​specific menu made available upon request. And being full-​fledged, it won’t disappoint.
Oh, and did I mention that the food is super cheap? Win.
Some things to watch out for that could possibly cause irritation: There’s only one toilet (for ALL patrons) and there is a $ 10 minimum to use a credit card. They will also try to limit you from using more than 2 credit cards on a single bill.
All in all, though, I have to give this place credit for not only being a gem in the rough (literally, given its physical location) but for also drastically shifting my mealtime attitude. I’m not surprised it won one of Boston Globe’s «Best of the New» honors, even if it was in 2008.