Natsumi

I remember when the Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) was partnering with Natsumi to promote the froyo place and the AFFD events. That’s actually how I found out about this place.
To be completely honest, the only good thing about this place was the staff. The frozen yogurt wasn’t notably good, and if I remember correctly, they only had 2 flavors — which compared to places like Yogurtland and Pinkberry… well yeah, it’s a joke.
Add 6 – 8 types of toppings (which isn’t a lot nowadays), an interesting odor that hits you in the face as you walk in, and a somewhat obscure location that is surrounded mostly by a demographic that doesn’t love froyo (the bars/​clubs dwelling night owls), and you’ve got a recipe «For Lease.»

Oh Dearest Natsumi,
I drove by your place on Henderson and saw a «For Lease» sign in your window. Vanished without a trace. No phone call? No note? Not even an email?
I am heartbroken. How can you treat me this way?
I guess… without you… I must move on… find another source to satisfy my cravings…
Cruel, cruel mistress.

Taking other’s advice, I stayed away from the yogurt and focused on the gelato, which served as my lunch today.
I sampled sea salt caramel, black sesame, and red velvet. The last two were good indeed, but I couldn’t see myself enjoying more than a couple of spoonfuls. I think my parents would really enjoy the black sesame though. I wanted to sample more, but I didn’t want to be too greedy. So I decided on the regular cup with sea salt caramel, roasted almond, and café au lait. Sea salt caramel was good but got too salty after I was halfway done with it. Café au lait didn’t offer anything special from other coffee flavors I’ve tried. But roasted almond was wonderful. It had actual pieces of roasted almonds in it which surprised me.
I think I’d want to go back and try their other flavors if I’m in the neighborhood. Decent price too. I think Paciugo’s is at least a dollar more expensive. I was very happy that they had a good sized parking lot. No parking troubles here. Hooray!

Really great red velvet cake gelato. I had no idea such a flavor existed. Wonderfully delicious. The reason this isn’t a 5-​star review is the server scooped the stuff in such a way that gelato was immediately dripping down the sides of the cup and continued to do so until I could gobble it up as I was driving. Also, don’t go here if you’re looking for yogurt. Only 2 flavors.

In an area that is getting pretty trendy, Natsumi seems like a trendy neighborhood spot that hasn’t worked out all of its kinks. The space is small and you can sit outside if you’d like. Inside there are few odd things that just look old or out of place, which takes away from the mod décor. Despite this, the service is really great and always helpful and cheerful.
This place is mainly gelato — that is what you’ll find in the glass case in a rotating array of flavors. I love their creativity and variety. You can find things like sea salt caramel, double chocolate, lime, and fun Asian flavors. You pick your size, and I found the smallest to be super cheap and plenty enough for a refreshing snack in the evening. I’d skip the fro-​yo, because there’s a ba-​jillion fro-​yo places around with a lot of flavors and toppings, and in contrast to the gelato, Natsumi’s fro-​yo options are limited.
Glad to have this place nearby! On the other hand, it’s not as slick and fancy as Pinkberry or I Heart Yogurt.

Well, I guess I’m backing up Tricia S and Jordan M here; I went there for froyo and was disappointed. I tried sample spoons of the black sesame and sea salt caramel gelato (the former quite good, the latter excellent), but I’m all about the froyo, and it’s clearly an afterthought here. I didn’t try the mango, but I did get a cup of «vanilla», although there wasn’t much vanilla flavor in it. Still, it has a taste that appealed, so it wasn’t a complete disaster,
Bottom line: If you’re looking for gelato with unusual flavors, consider this a 4 or 5 star review. If you’re looking for froyo, believe me, I’m being generous giving it 3.

The gelato is quite tasty, but the frozen yogurt (which was what enticed me in the first place) is really not so good.
I really wanted to like this place. I’m a big fan of the froyo craze. I love that this place is an independent Dallas business as opposed to a national chain. And, I like that they use organic ingredients.
Unfortunately, the frozen yogurt wasn’t very good. Luckily, I sampled it before ordering it. Before even tasting it, I could see that the texture was a bit gritty. And my taste confirmed what I’d already seen; it wasn’t nearly as smooth as it should have been. The actual flavor (I always order original tart froyo) was disappointing too.
The gelato, on the other hand, had great flavor. I got the sea salt caramel, and it was delicious. My wife ordered the mango, and she really enjoyed hers too. They also had lots of very original flavors, like Guiness, chai tea, and black sesame. Most of my gelato was nice and creamy (actually much creamier than most gelato I’ve had at other places), but there were a couple spots that tasted almost like they had thawed and re-​frozen.
Although the gelato was tasty, it’s froyo I really want, and there’s isn’t so good. Next time, I’ll probably go back to Red Mango or Pinkberry.

I much prefer gelato to ice cream but sometimes I’ve found that gelato in N. America can border on way too sweet compared to what I’ve had in Italy. Well Natsumi does not make that mistake. You actually taste the flavour of the gelato instead of being overpowerd by sugar first. It is the only place I’ve found plain, mascarpone gelato outside of Rome!
Service was great (okay so there were only two other people there) but the girl behind the counter so nicely allowed me and my friend to sample numerous flavours before narrowing it down to our favourite two, without any scowls or impatient foot-​tapping.
The place has a very clean and cool look to it. I will most definitely be back to try out more flavours.
It’s on Henderson so if you’re trying to go during happy hour or a weekend night parking may be difficult.

Cute little place. Usually quit when I visit.
they use organic milk and make the yogurt there.
The staff is sweet and helpful.
I usually get the no flavor yogurt with a fruit topping. It’s a healthy desert.

They have thai tea, green tea, carrot cake, and black sesame gelato, just to name a few.
It’s a long drive but everytime I come to Natsumi my taste buds wants to explode with joy. It’s very small but the interior is cutely decorated and they’re gracious with samples. It’s in a hip location that is, unfortunately, very far from me so I can only come here every once in a while. I guess Paciugo will have to do for now…

I stopped in for a nice after dinner dessert.
I got the oreo gelato and the mint choc. chip. Both were great. The companion got a cinnamon gelato (excellent!).
I’ll be back for the cinnamon for sure and then try the yogurt w/​mixin’s.
Gelato seemed to be a little better than Pacguigo w/​a better mix of flavors.

I like gelato more than fro-​yo, while the wifey likes fro-​yo more than gelato. Conundrum you ask? Not so at Natsumi!
I got the cookies and cream gelato, while wifey got the plain tart fro-​yo. The gelato had an overwhelming taste of Oreo cookies, and I love Oreos, so of course it was good! The wifey reports the fro-​yo was creamy and tart and delicious.
The store has a cool vibe and is also in a cool neighborhood, so it’s an overall great experience. Thanks Natsumi, we both can be happy at one place when we go out for frozen treats! Two thumbs up! *cheezy smile*

Even though I’ve hit Natsumi countless times, I keep wanting to think Natsumi is a fro-​yo joint when in reality the bling in their belt buckle is their fantastic selection of gelato.
Each time I go, I tell myself «this will be the day I get their fro-​yo,» but after a not so innocent look up and down the gleaming gelato display I relapse to the gelato. Hey, I’m just a man! While you do have your Paciugo’s out there, Natsumi provides more Asian infused flavors and other fun varieties that are hard to find elsewhere.
Plus, Natsumi is centrally located so you can easily walk from one of the countless eateries and bars on Henderson to this modern gelateria outpost, which is a nice bonus for us pedestrians. Service is very friendly and the décor is refreshingly modern. One of these days, I will try their fro-​yo…

I knew I would raise my ratings for this place.
After a few more visits, I am officially in love. Their gelatos are amazing, especially the more savory ones like Green Tea, Sesame, Toasted Almond, and Sea Salt Caramel. Cold, icey greatness…
Also, I went yesterday and got there ACE in the Heart smoothie and it was incredible. Thinking of going back today…

I’m typically more of a frozen yogurt fan over gelato, but we decided to try this place out today. The place is easy to find and very clean. I like the simple décor and layout of the place. Selection of flavors was good, and I was happy to see that they had toasted almond. I’m a big fan of almond flavored items, and this did not disappoint me at all.
I’ll be back whenever I’m close to this side of town and craving a sweet treat.

Hmm yeah this place is pretty darn good. I’m not a sweets person, so I can’t really be THAT into gelato. My favorite gelato joint is Paciugo (a chain, boo, get over it) and Natsumi comes close. I feel like they didn’t have as many choices, but they did have some interesting Asian inspired flavors like Red Bean, Taro, and Green and Thai Tea. Not bad, but none of us ended up getting any of those flavors. lol. I went for Lemon Chiffon and the «Mystery» flavor. They were having some kind of contest where if you could guess the mystery flavor, you’d win like some VIP pass to an AAFD event — big whoop. My wife ended up guessing correctly (she’s a Top Chef) and won! Wheeee My gelato was yummy. Lemon Chiffon was tart, but very creamy and sweet. The «mystery» flavor turned out to be marscapone. It was pretty good!
I’m not entirely sure how much my small cup cost because Fran L. generously decided to treat us =) Thanks pal!

Went to check out this place since it was their 1 yr anniversary and AFFD fundraiser.
I tried the mango which was really yummy and also the black sesame which is a close substitute for the mousse I love at Tei-​An.
Wifey and I got regular size and Preston got small for less than $ 10. We were all happy and had our own little serving. The owner and employees were nice and really patient since it can be hard to choose!
I will go back if I am craving something sweet!

Eh, this place is a’ight. I’m not sure why it’s decorated so fancy-​like, but it’s nice I guess. I was here in the mood for frozen yogurt because I’m not a big gelato person, so I was disappointed that they only ever have two flavors on any given day: the plain vanilla and a flavor of the day (she said they rotate between mango, pink guava, and green tea I think). They were okay but the guava was too sweet for me, and actually so was the plain. I really love the tartness of plain frozen yogurt and it just wasn’t there on this one. In fact I’m still not sure if it was plain or vanilla. I also tried several of the gelatti flavors before making my decision: avocado (which was pretty good), red velvet (also pretty good), roasted almond which is supposedly one of their more popular flavors (didn’t have a very distinct taste to me) and green tea/​bean in hopes that it tasted like the elusive green beans I love so much in bubble tea but can’t find anywhere in Dallas (it just tasted like green tea, no bean flavor). So all in all, if you like gelato I recommend this place, I just can never eat very much of it – I prefer frozen yogurt or sorbets.
Back to the yogurt, the smallest size they have is $ 2.50, and each topping is a DOLLAR. That’s a lot, but you can get three toppings for the price of two (I’m not sure if that also works if you want 5 toppings, maybe?) The toppings were pretty standard, mochi and various types of fruits, cereals, nuts, and candy. I’m not sure who just gets one topping, but multiple ones can add up pretty quickly. However, I will say that even their smallest size was way too much for me. It’s like a tall skinny cup that they make a little parfait in: they fill it partway with your yogurt, add in toppings, more yogurt, then top it with more toppings. So you get a lot for your money, but I’d rather just be able to buy less.
We sat at one of the high top tables to eat our yogurt and I almost fell out of my chair! Not because it was that good, but because I tried to lean back and realized the chair only had like 3 inches of a back on it. Be careful of that.

I just happen to drive by this place while i was having a craving for something sweet. I’m glad I stopped in!
This place is beautiful. It’s very clean, white… i liked it alot. I felt at home there and not scared of sticky floors or dirty tables.
I got the fro-​yo mix: pink guava and regular mix. I threw in mango (my fav) and strawberries. the mango and strawberries were so dang fresh! and i really liked that the guy layered fro-​yo, fruit, fro-​yo then fruit again so I had fruit in every little bit. those little things make the difference to me! The price was good and fair. I felt it was very fair considering how fresh the fruit was.
Next time I’m in the area, I will stop by and get some goodness at Natsumi. :)

I’m on a mission. A mission for sweet stuff. The good sweet stuff called fro-​yo. I’ve been a convert ever since the sweet and sour combination touched my tongue. Natsumi is the first place I ventured for my taste of Dallas Fro-​yo.
It’s hard to suck at Fro-​yo. I mean anything sweet and cold on a hot summer day is good in my book. I loved the bright, Clorox white seating area upon entering this little spot located in a shopping center off Henderson. It’s a good area to chill out with your friends while dipping into your gelato or fro-​yo.
Natsumi offers a ton of gelato flavors, but I was not there for gelato. I was there for the delicious fro-​yo. I wasn’t impressed with the toppings available. Sure they had strawberries, blueberries, cocoa flakes and fruity pebbles, but where were the captain crunch and blackberries? I was on the verge of crying over the lack of the latter until I tasted the pink guava flavor of fro-​yo. Dude, this was gewd.
I ended up getting a swirl of their original and pink guava sprinkled with blueberries. The fro-​yo wasn’t as gritty as I like it to be, but it was still pretty tasty. The blueberries were fat and plump and added a nice flavor with the yogurt. I suggest you give this combo a try when you visit. They offer different flavors depending on the day, so give them a call before your next visit.
All in all, this was a good experience. The staff is very attentive and the flavors were good. I’d like to see a few more mix-​ins offered, but they do have the basics. I still want to check out the other fro-​yo places in the hood, but I’m sure I’ll be back. Check it out for yourself.