You Want the Nana’s Green Tea Parfait. Skip the Food

Planning a trip to Seattle? Put Nana’s Green Tea on your cafe hopping list, but for the matcha ice cream parfaits, not the food.

Here’s what to get (and what to leave alone) and how to plan your trip to one of the top Japanese matcha cafes in the world.

What to order at Nana’s Green Tea

I’ve been to several locations (Kyoto, Tokyo, New York City and Seattle) and I’m never disappointed by the ice cream. 

Ever.

So, trust me and get anything here as long as it has ice cream…

Like the Matcha Mochi Parfait, $12.50 USD (my go-to Nana’s Green Tea order!)

I rarely say this, but the long lines are absolutely worth it for any of the parfaits, whether hojicha, matcha or black sesame.

After missing out on the special Sakura Strawberry Matcha Parfait, I chose the classic Matcha Mochi Parfait.

It comes with, starting at the bottom of the cup:

• Matcha Pudding
• Vanilla soft serve
• Corn flakes
• Matcha ice cream, mochi and red bean paste all in one layer
• Whipped cream
• Syrup throughout

The main difference between this one and the Warabimochi Parfait is that instead of the standard rounded mochi pieces, there are larger mochi cubes coated with roasted soybean powder and topped with the kuromitsu dark sugar syrup.

Or the Iced Hojicha Soft Serve Latte (or any drink with soft serve), $7.25 USD for a small size

This is actually my favorite menu item.

As much as a I love the parfaits, I don’t always have the stomach space for them.

The soft serve lattes (they contain a swirl of vanilla ice cream in the center) are an excellent choice if you want ice cream but don’t want to risk feeling stuffed after finishing a parfait.

You can get either a matcha, hojicha (roasted green tea), black sesame or red bean latte with the vanilla soft serve but I’ve only seen the hojicha and red bean ones available in Japan.

The closest item to this in the U.S. would be the Hojicha Float with Mochi ($8.50 USD for a small size) but it has a scoop of ice cream instead.

Matcha Cream Cheese Pound Cake, $4 USD

I’m surprised by how good this is and I wish I had bought extra to put in my freezer.

The Matcha Cream Cheese Poundcake tasted better than the Sakura Roll Cake.

It wasn’t too dense and had the right balance of cream cheese and matcha flavors.

I haven’t seen a pound cake option on the menu at other cafes, so I wonder if this and several other baked goods are specific to the Seattle location.

Save your money at Nana’s Green Tea and avoid these

Tonkatsu Sandwich, $13.50 USD

I know it’s not ice cream, but I was still looking forward to this sandwich.

Regardless if it’s sliced and laid on top of curry, in a sandwich or next to a bed of rice, tonkatsu is one of the best things you can order at a Japanese restaurant or cafe.

But not here.

Katsu is a relatively thin and tender meat cutlet that’s breaded and fried.

Tonkatsu means it’s pork and chicken is another option for katsu.

But this tonkatsu sandwich needs a lot of work.

There wasn’t much flavor. At all.

The pork was tough.

There’s more lettuce than anything else but not enough sauce.

And I’m pretty sure it was on regular (American) white bread instead of the cloud-like super soft Japanese milk bread.

Restaurant & cafe owners, suggestions on how to make a better tonkatsu sandwich

• Use half the amount of lettuce (or is it cabbage?) and season it!
• Ensure that the pork is tender
• Include way more sauce. Consider serving sauce on the side
• Absolutely use milk bread
• Add kewpie mayo

Sakura Roll Cake, $8.50 USD

One of the big advantages of Japanese desserts, especially compared to American desserts, is that they usually aren’t too sweet.

This is accurate for the special edition Sakura Roll Cake, but what’s also accurate is that the roll cake lacked flavor.

The layer of mochi surrounding the cherry blossom (sakura) whipped cream was unexpected. And not what I wanted.

On top of that, it was $8.50 USD when the other roll cakes are only $6.25 USD.

Since this is a limited edition item, I don’t know if I’ll be able to try it again. If I get the chance, then I’ll pair it with the sakura parfait.

How about the desserts in the display case?

Even more exciting than outdoor seating is the large display case of desserts near the register.

Bring a group of loved ones so that you can sample everything in one sitting.

Or treat yourself to a dessert buffet.

Green tea, hojicha and limited-edition sakura desserts with prices (USD):

Green tea

• Gateau Chocolate Cake, $6.50
• Cheesecake, $7.25
• Tiramisu, $7
• Cream Puff, $6.25
• Muffin, $4

Hojicha

• Roll Cake, $6.25
• Muffin, $4

Sakura

• Roll Cake, $8.50
• Daifuku, $6

What else is on the Seattle menu?

Aside from matcha parfaits and other desserts, you can get chicken or pork curry, Japanese tea and more.

Photos of the Seattle location

Out of all the locations I’ve visited, this one is my favorite.

It’s open and bright, although the New York City location is larger and has more seating.

There’s seating both indoors and outside.

And because I care about the environment, I’ll point out, like many food establishments in the Pacific Northwest, they compost leftover food!

If not from Nana’s Green Tea, where should you get your lattes, then?

The Misugaru drink from Jin Jin Matcha, that features Korean misugaru powder which is a mix of my personal faves like red bean and yam, is what I plan to order again the next time I’m in town.

The newest location is in downtown Seattle while the downtown Tacoma store celebrated its 3rd year of business in April.

While you’re in Seattle, stop by this cozy bookstore

Books for foodies & kitchen inspo at Book Larder