Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

They have a new pricing system for all you can fill in a cup, topping included. The kiddie and small (2.49 and 3.99) respectively are awesome deals.
With the flavors and toppings available this is now quite a steal! I’ll be coming back more. The flavors have improved from previously; the strawberry Greek yogurt is actually really good.

The yogurt is really good but damn this place is expensive! I mean $ 8 for yogurt is just insane. I used to go there everyday until i realized how crazy expensive this place is! Although, they do have some nice flavors.
Also, the workers are either very nice or very bad. Its really a gamble. Some of them are really mad at you before you ask them anything, others are really nice and welcoming. Very bad management.

This location is inside a plaza with a Chipotle and Starbucks, offering many different flavors at .55 an oz. There no sugar free options, you can save a little money by getting a loyalty card which for every 10 dollars spent you can save 1 dollar.

It’s a pretty standard do it yourself fro yo joint but I’ve always found the staff to be friendly and the establishment clean. The flavors are good though it is kind of annoying having the workers get samples for you when there are a lot of customers.

Went today had some down time. The place is out of the way in Davis sq. Down a little courtyard. Some outdoor seating. Place was very clean and kept up. Got the chocolate yogurt with granola and crumbled kit-​kats. Price was good. Wish some of these yogurt places offered some ice cream choices.

I definitely like this place alot they have good froyo options but wish they had more topping options.
One cool thing about this place is the dividers they offer with the froyo cups. Its a good way to prevent froyos from mixing if youre not into that kinda thing.
One big drawback is the staff. Some people are nice some people are not, its a gamble. The manager? Offers you ‘trials’ but if you ask for too many he gets mad…? seriously? You have so many froyo options i cant determine the taste by looking at the machine. There’s this young woman with brunette hair that works there, shes rude — unprofessional and not friendly. Two definite skills needed for a froyo shop.

Good froyo, one of only two in the area. Too bright to sit and I more expensive than JP licks.

I was excited to see the variety of flavors here, only to be disappointed at the toppings bar. It’s pretty limited. They have only a few different types of fruit (no mango, boo) and are missing a lot of old standbys like mochi and brownie pieces. I think they’re trying to stick to less perishable items to keep costs down.
The toasted marshmallow flavor was tasty, but the raspberry flavor didn’t taste like anything but sugar (maybe because it was nonfat?).
I didn’t attempt to try more flavors since you have to make the lone staff member fetch them for you, which is a bit awkward. I know people can be unsanitary/​greedy with the sample cups, but as a law-​abiding frozen yogurt consumer, I didn’t like feeling like I was being policed.
Perhaps as a result of the sample rationing, it’s very clean in here, and there’s plenty of seating (including a couch, which was the site of some inspiring PDA while I was here, and a patio). I also liked the funky spoons. Still, I prefer iYo for the more consistent flavors and their hot fudge. Sorry, Orange Leaf!

Froyo was flavorful, not too sugary, and solid (not runny). A little strange they didn’t allow you to sample your own froyo. Interior is nice and clean and modern. Pretty standard froyo joint. Too cold to stay there to get work done, but nice that they had free wifi anyway.

The Metro Boston area defiantly does not have a shortage of frozen yogurt spots but in my humble opinion there are three different levels of quality. The first is the fancy schmancy chain that is a cross between an elite country club and a boutique bakery which is great if you fancy yourself a regular Victoria Beckham or Mr. Kanye West. If you’re going to venture into one of these spots you better have a firm understanding of what you want and keep the questions to a minimum you don’t want to stand out in the realm of the plastics. The second and complete opposite from the first seems almost like an afterthought. Serving yogurt that reminds you of something that may have been dug from the back of your grandmother’s freezer and topping offerings that look like someone raided the pantry scraping together what scraps can be found the day before a much needed grocery shop. A shop with all the glamor and warmth of a back woods gas station convenience store you find when you take an unfamiliar exit after driving fifteen minutes with the fuel light on, a place where Al Bundy would feel right at home while Peg fixes her makeup in the rearview and Kelly hits on the attendant. The third is for those of us that feel slightly more a kin to Nick Offerman or Jennifer Lawrence give us solid quality ingredients delicious vast assortment of toppings and a substantial variety of yogurt options. Orange Leaf falls right into this last category and right into a soft spot in my heart. It may not be my most favorite but it is damn close. A crew of employees that are fun and helpful, quick to offer samples as well as suggestions when they are solicited. In Davis Square I have never had an experience of slow service, empty topping containers or inoperable yogurt machines, you could eat here every day for a year and never have the exact combination twice. For this side of the city there isn’t any better that this fro-​yo fan has found.

This place is standard, nothing special. They have a good variety of flavors, but they’re not always the right consistency — one of them came out as straight up liquid. I also think it’s really annoying when froyo places don’t give you your own sample cups — do the employees like being asked countless times to get samples?
There’s a very limited selection of fresh fruit toppings, but they’ve got everything else (mochi, various candies, etc).
They have cool spoons.

Now that pink berry is gone, this is the only option for froyo in Davis square. (Iyo café is terrible. Their froyo melts once it’s in your cup and tastes syrupy sweet.) Orange leaf is pretty standard. I just wonder why they make the employees hand you samples when this is a self-​serve joint. Cheapskate management must be trying to discourage people from taking too many samples but … it just makes the experience a little awkward and inconvenient for the customer. Makes no sense.
Their topping selection also only had three kinds of fruit: blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry. I prefer chocolatey toppings myself, but their fruit selection is really lacking.

Four stars because as another reviewer noted, the yogurt itself at this shop is very creamy and luscious. It reminds me of Yo Cream brand, which is sold by all the better fro-​yo shops in the Pacific Northwest. I also really liked their version of original tangy flavor.
Minus one star for no chocolate flavor, except for sugar-​free and a brownie flavor that just isn’t the same. Also the toppings are quite limited, and I wasn’t thrilled with the condition of the fruit. I also found it odd that they have to give you samples, rather than you being able to pull them yourself. The worker was very friendly and helpful about it, but it seems kind of cheap.
Overall, though, I liked it, and the prices were reasonable.

Always delicious
Plenty of seating inside and out
Is it really truly nonfat frozen yogurt?
I’ll definitely stop in again

I’ve been officially living outside Somerville for less than a year and there are three fro yo establishments already??? Guess I got out just in time…
This is a chain… right? I’ve seen it in other places like… Newburyport. It’s all white inside. I mean the walls, chairs, counters, etc. Maybe I mean that in another way too. Ok, I’m getting cheeky.
It’s good fro yo. They have good toppings. It’s not outrageously expensive. I like it better than JP Licks.

Orange leaf is the trashy step sister to IYO. Same basic idea, self serve yogurt in a multitude of delicious favors with a self-​serve topping. And it doesn’t hurt that the yogurt is pretty darn tasty. I also love that employees are always quick to offer (multiple) samples. The atmosphere isn’t conducive to sitting and hanging out — it’s obnoxiously bright and usually filled with screaming children who spend more time smashing the yogurt into the floor rather than the cup. But honestly, I don’t really mind all that. Usually I just get my yogurt and walk home, since the 15 minute walk obviously cancels out the calories in the yogurt + toppings, right? RIGHT!
Ok, so here’s my problem — tonight I went in and was really disgusted to see a woman in line, HOLDING HER DOG. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that one should hold their dog while walking through an open buffet of food. And you know what was even worse? Several employees saw and said NOTHING.
So that’s why I’m giving two stars — the yogurt is great and cheap, but If I’m going where some of my food is out in the open, I want to trust that my it’s not going to potentially be mixed with dog hair. Not cool, orange leaf. Not cool.

Maybe I’m too used to Berryline at this point, but I found this frozen yogurt cloyingly sweet. The flavors were all pretty delicious, but I felt sick after eating my (relatively) small portion.
That being said, I thought the price was right and if you LOVE desserts, I think you’ll love this place.

Yay! I’m a fan … as the star ratings say.
I think this filled a much needed niche in Davis, and occupied that little walk through area I never seem to visit. The staff is friendly, the value is great and you they are not judgemental when you decide to try half a dozen favlors before buying.
As far as the iYo/​Orange Leaf debate: iYois the more upscale, more adult feeling, better ambience yogurt/​coffee/​waffle, but its also more expensive. Think of Orange Leaf as the go-​to cheap place for your do it yourself, fixins bar, froyo place. iYo is the before the movie, sit down, have a long conversation alternative to getting drinks at a bar, place.
Now you know how to choose… so try them both!

Orange Leaf is the second self-​serve frozen yogurt joint to open in Davis Square in the last year and is only a few hundred yards away from the popular iYo Café. But despite the rivalry, I strongly believe that they differ enough for them to both strive. Orange Leaf isn’t located on the street however so it’s a lot easier to miss. Instead it is nested near Starbucks and the Davis Street cobbler in that little pedestrian alleyway that connects the Elm Street to the public parking lots behind the square.
My first impressions walking in: the place is a bit whacky. Not in a bad way, it’s all part of their marketing and branding. There’s a lot of very bright colors including lime green walls, orange and white furniture. The thing definitely pops and it must be working since they have 200+ locations throughout nearly every state making them one of the biggest froyo franchises alongside Pinkberry. And while the décor doesn’t exactly appeal to me or invite me to hangout, I decided to brave that eyesore and get me some froyo.
The staff was there on hand to both greet us and offer samples — we obliged and tried a bunch including the seasonal gingerbread and the coconut. Both were pretty good and I decided to get some wedding cake flavored froyo alongside brownie batter and gingerbread. Just like most self-​serve spots, you pay by weight and I remember that it seemed and was more affordable than iYo at only 49¢ an ounce. I added a couple of their numerous toppings as well.
The yogurt was good. Some flavors shined more than others but all in all the selection was solid and both myself and my partner in crime were very happy. It also felt like a good value to us when we paid like I had stated above — it seemed like we got more bang for our buck than we had in the past when going to iYo Café for our froyo fix.
All in all, the place isn’t bad at all. It’s very clean, the staff is pretty nice and they rotate nearly 70 different flavors if froyo depending on the season. They have 12 on hand while I was there I think, if not 14.
Not bad at all, if you can get past the funky décor.

Was I a little disappointed when it was to be yet another chain had leased space in the finite universe of Davis Square? Maybe. Oh, it’s froyo? Come on in!
Unfamiliar with the brand, my initial reaction to the hyperneon interior and cartoony vibe almost scored an about-​face. Too too much, the oranges and greens — perhaps targeted towards the attention-​devoid rugrat demographic — are fingernails down a chalkboard to the average adult’s eyeballs. Wear shades; order yo.
Dude at the counter is in education mode, orating Self-​Serve Froyo for Dummies with a jovial and welcoming demeanor. Basics down (and noting the absence of White Chocolate Mousse) I angled for a taste of Pumpkin Pie. Nice spice, not too sweet — let’s do it. Blindly mixed the pie with its neighbor Oatmeal Cookie and topped that beeyotch with Cap’n Crunch and oatmeal. And maybe a mini chocolate covered pretzel or two, for posterity’s sake.
49¢ an ounce brought my serving to $ 3.50 and we were off the races. One bite led to Oatmeal Cookie regret — the cloying flavor overwhelmed its comPIEnion and shot pain straight to the deep recesses of my molars. Yowzas.
With a more adult atmosphere, coffee and tea on the brew taps, White Chocolate Mousse and, ahem, waffles, iYo is the clear winner for my future froyo cravings. That said, Orange Leaf has a decent product and is worth a fly-​by for a pie try.
Other notes: Tosca syrups and fresh whip among the toppings; loyalty card means $ 1 back for every $ 10 spent.