Yogo Berry

Note: My first visit to this place was on June 1, 2008. The place closed sometime in the fall of 2008. Before the Yogurt Spot, Yogurt Planet, tart, and all the other yogurt places, this was the place. A pioneer. RIP…
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I’ve never really been fond of frozen yogurt, primarily because of my experiences with TCBY. I love the tartness and almost sour-​like quality of good yogurt. When it comes to frozen yogurt, I’ve never found a place that makes it that tart. Most frozen yogurts I’ve tried are too sweet for my taste. I usually wind up wishing that I’d gotten regular ice-​cream instead. I especially love the mango lassi that you can order at most Indian restaurants (technically not a frozen yogurt, but it is a yogurt product — and very tart and sour!).
While on my way to Dominican Joe’s for coffee one early evening, I noticed this brightly-​colored façade of one of the shops that populate the little plaza at the intersection of Riverside and SoCo. It’s a frozen yogurt shop called Yogoberry. Yogoberry is tucked in the middle of the plaza, behind the Wells Fargo Bank. It shares the same plaza as Dominican Joe’s, Freebirds Burritos, and the offices of Sweet Leaf Tea.
So, I went in and gave it a try. To my delight, it tasted like yogurt, with all the tartness! The concept for the store is DIY — you serve yourself however much amount of yogurt you’d like, and then give it to the cashier if you want any fruit or other add-​ons added. Then you put it on the scale, and the price is determined by weight. Yogoberry charges $ 0.58/ounce. Since I don’t like to add anything to mine, and I usually get just the small cup, I mostly pay around $ 2.00 or less. NB: It can get expensive if you decided to add on the fresh fruit and other toppings they offer.
I have tried all three of their flavors: strawberry, plain, and green tea. They only have two out at a time, and for the last few times I’ve been, green tea and plain have been the ones offered. I like them all equally, though I do like the plain slightly best. I like my frozen yogurt unadulterated.

Visted Yogoberry this afternoon. I am very open to trying all new places and try to have an open mind. I’v been to pinkberry and am very fond of froze yogurt, this was NOT on the mark for me. The greeg tea tasted nothing like green tea and the plain tasted too tangy. I understand there is not much addd suger but whatever they are doing here is not as good as the froyo in other states.
The self serve option is very misleading. A small with (frozen) strawberry was 3.80, not worth it in my book.

The yogurt is lovely, like REAL yogurt! There are a good selection of toppings. My 4-​year-​old friend Eli LOVED it (full disclosure — he drowned the yogurt in chocolate sauce.) The prices seem fair and I like that I can vary my portion depending on the day.
That said, this place hurts my heart every time I walk to Dominican Joe’s. There’s never anyone there! They haven’t marketed to my building next door at all! Why god why!!!

It’s a trend and it’s sweeping the nation … and I like it.
«Healthy» frozen yogurt means that it’s got waaaay less sugar and it tastes tangy. If you’re looking for super-​sweet then this is not the way to go but if in your everyday non-​dessert life you are willing to eat plain yogurt or you are interested in a a new dessert experience then you might like this.
I *really* like that they offer mochi as a topping. You’ve got to be careful about the serve yourself aspect of this dining experience because if you fill your yogurt container too much, you might just end up emptying your wallet. (I saw a new yogoberry customer end up paying $ 7 for her yogurt concoction) Funny — they don’t let you serve yourself with the toppings!
The inside of the store feels like you are in a glittery trapper-​keeper or a pencil box owned by a japanese girl. The top 10 reasons to eat yogoberry (as posted on the wall) focus intensely on how it helps your lower gi tract — I find this amusing as a sales pitch because I usually don’t choose dessert based on the fact that it promotes the health of the colon.
Try it — you might like it. And if you don’t, at least you can say you tried.

I am really surprised at the low ratings here.
Not to sound like my nose is pointed up when I say this — but folks — this is *almost* as good as NYC and LA Pinkberry. I suspect this place is still «undiscovered» in Austin.
Known for it’s fresh, tart, addictive flavor, and fresh ingredients (my favorite: strawberry, blueberry, kiwi, and lots of fruity pebbles), Pinkberry is a hugely popular phenomenon on the coasts.
Two knocks against it — the yogurt is self-​served (a huge mistake in my opinion, if for no other reason than the perception that the product is not of a quality enough that requires human intervention), AND, the ingredients appear to have been pre-​frozen.
The real Pinkberry chain uses only fresh ingredients and the people behind the counter serve it.
We went in there tonight (Wedesday, 8:30pm) and not a soul was in there, before, during, or after our visit.
That’s a shame — because this is almost as good as the real thing.

I’ve never really had a thing for frozen yogurt and I still don’t think I do.
My friend and I came in hopes of relieving ourselves of a horrible heat sensation known as Texas Summer — *dies* I was expecting something along the lines of TCBY but it works a bit differently.
It’s self-​serve frozen yogurt that comes in only two flavors –Green Tea (doesn’t taste like green tea) and Plain (you should go with this flavor). I would recommend sampling both first if you aren’t sure what to get. They sell buy the oz. (58 cents/​oz,) so fill your yogurt cup to your heart’s content. You can get as many toppings as you want although they don’t offer as many toppings as other frozen treat places.
One topping you should try is the Mochi — white sweet chewy balls of goodness. They go well with any of the fruits. Please note, this frozen yogurt tastes more like real yogurt in frozen form. It’s not super sweet and has more of a tart aftertaste.
The interior of the store is painted in vibrant colors and has IKEA-​esque furniture to compliment the look and feel. When you first walk in, there is a uh… rock garden (lol, not sure why because it sorta offsets the rest of the atmosphere). Free WiFi here if you check your email religiously.
I think I’d rather have Amy’s Ice Cream but check it out if you if you feel like branching out in the realm of cold desserts!

I think my taste buds and wallet have been spoiled by the $ 1 IKEA frozen yogurt cones. Is it possible that what I have come to know as frozen yogurt is not, in fact «froyo»?
I expected something sweet and dessert like, not tangy, sour and sharp.
I was a bit put off by the interior of the shop, I know the rock gardens in the middle should be all Zen, or whatever, but the lack of music combined with the bright colors left me uncomfortable and ready to go after I created my $ 3.81 concoction.
I also wondered why they trusted me to self-​serve my own yogurt, and me own oreos, but if I wanted chocolate chips I have to ask the attendant?
I think this yogurt may be an acquired taste, so I’ll probably give it a second shot, but I was not impressed with this go-​round.

I’ve heard raves about Pinkberry, but have yet to experience the sweet tang of it myself, so YogoBerry was great to me! It’s really refreshing compared to that sweet, sticky ice cream, and the fresh fruit really makes it feel like a healthy snack. I was pretty careful with the self serve aspect and only created a $ 3.50 cup when I went, so it didn’t seem too expensive.. . And then I had to go back the next day.. . And I think I’ll go at least once more before I leave town. But I am going to New York next week, so if I try pinkberry, yogoberry might be ruined for me. Oi!

I’d never been here before, but saw it in the Chronicle so I decided to check it out.
When one of the workers came out from the back while my boyfriend and I looked around confused, she just stared at us for a while before saying «have you never been here before?» Anyway, besides rude service, the yogurt was awful.
The only comparable place I can think of is The Golden Spoon in Las Vegas that has a ton more flavors for less price and it’s delicious. The vanilla was the weirdest flavor I’ve tasted in a while and that was with toppings.
It’s incredibly pricey too, going off the weight of what you buy.
I’d just opt for the calories and hit up Amy’s…

The yogurt was really good, but a bit on the pricey side. There’s no real way to estimate how much you’re going to end up paying unless you have some sixth sense that lets you eyeball the weight of yogurt. The girl working there was friendly and answered all my random questions about the place. If they weren’t in such an pedestrian-​unfriendly, invisible location behind the bank, they’d probably be doing better, but it’s definitely worth stopping by.

I thought the plain yogurt was good and I like the idea of fresh fruit and fun toppings (like fruity pebbles, cap ‘n’ crunch and gummy bears). i think it’s a great place to check out, especially to escape the texas heat.

I love the concept. I wish there were more flavors, but I like the place for what it is.
I like the sour-​tartness of the yogurt. (I’ve never been to any of those other places as referred to in other reviews, so I have nothing to compare YoGo to). I like that you can have samples if you’ve never been in before. I hope to see more flavors in the future.
I actually like the serve yourself aspect. Hungrier? Add more. Too full from lunch? Give yourself less. The fruit, although I did not try it, looked fresh and it’s not swimming in that gross syrupy stuff.
While there aren’t tons of topping options, they are unique. From Pop Tarts and Fruity Pebbles to chocolate chips and Oreos. You can have a bit of this and a bit of that. It’s perfect for the indecisive types like me.
You pay by the ounce, so you can get a large container, fill it a small serving of ice cream and a medium serving of toppings and don’t have to worry about stuff spilling out the side.

After literally seven attempts to try this place, I FINALLY managed to catch them when they were open. I love both Pinkberry and Red Mango (the original Korean yogurt shop that Pinkberry ripped off). I was excited that somebody had opened a copycat shop in Austin.
I was let down hard.
The yogurt at Yogo Berry is just not up to snuff. It imitates the sweet/​sour flavor of the shops it copies, but it misses by about half a mile. While the originals both serve a delicious tangy, yogurty, dairy concoction (Red Mango sells actual yogurt, while Pinkberry sells a yogurt-​flavored dairy dessert), Yogo Berry sells an ice-​milk-​y, artificial lemon-​y mess – it is far too icy and not nearly as creamy as it should be. To top it off, they make you add the toppings yourself. The fruits didn’t look exactly fresh, and the lid to the «buffet» area was not clean. If a business is going to present their offerings in a self-​serve buffet style, I think they should make sure that the area is spotless and that the food is always perfectly fresh. Otherwise, I just think of the hundred dirty hands that might have reached into the food before me. Another weird thing that I have to mention is the sign they have posted that warns people about their product; they encourage you to ask for a sample BEFORE you pour yourself a soft-​serve yogurt, because THEY DON’T OFFER REFUNDS IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT. The fact that they felt the need to put up such a warning tells you something about the reaction they’ve had to their product.
I added a star because the shop is the only one of its kind currently open in Austin, and because it wasn’t TERRIBLE, only disappointing and unsatisfying. I really hope somebody opens a shop that actually manages to pull this concept off in an excellent way, because it can be so good when done correctly.

Austin, meet Trendy Concept.
«Trendy Concept, welcome!» says Austin. «Please modify yourself to be Austin’s cup of tea. If not, you will not survive.»
You may have heard of Pinkberry and other fancy frozen yogurt shops that have been springing up nationwide. Well, now our fair city has one of its own. My only worry is that it feels too much like an import to be readily embraced.
The frozen yogurt kicks TCBY’s butt and then some. The toppings are yummy as can be – lots of fresh fruits, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pine nuts), chocolate chips, granola, et cetera. You put toppings on your bowl yourself.
The atmosphere is nothing short of adorable. Sort of mish-​mashily adorable, but definitely cute. The counter with the topping bar is metallic holographic glitter, the tables and bulbous chairs look like something you’d find in a little café in Japan, and the plant-​and-​rock … thing in the middle of the place is unusual but kind of cool, too.
The cups are going to be kind of expensive. The small, which I had (for free, on the soft opening (11/​28/​07)!), was about the same size as a small cup anywhere else, and was $ 4.
For that price I’d rather have gelato that was pre-​flavored than mixing in a couple blueberries, raspberries and slivered almonds into a cup of (flavorful, tangy, milky and rich) yogurt.
The owner seemed really nice. He also seemed VERY nervous about his new place, which was empty when I walked in. He was eager to give out samples. He’s looking for people to work there, and I’m betting it’d be a good, easy job, as people do the toppings themselves.
You can come here and load on the chocolate chips, or you can enjoy it plain. Good either way, I bet!
Not sure when I’ll be back, considering the cost and how often I buy ice cream at all, but I recommend it!
I was craving this stuff for days, so I went back. Note on pricing: It’s by the tenth of an ounce — they round to 10 cents per tenth, so my 2.8 ounce treat, the perfect size (with lots of berries and almonds, again!) was $ 2.80.