Boba Bar Teahouse & Eatery

Wanted to give this place a try since I was next door at Hoagies Steak Out. Walking in; very clean. The cashier welcomed us, my friend and I ordered a milk tea. I ordered Honey Milk tea with grass jelly. Toppings are .50 cents each. So I am mainly giving it a 3 star review because it wasn’t the best milk tea I ever had. It was overly too sweet for my likings. I can see myself catching a migraine if I were to drink half the cup. I don’t think I would come back, and parking is hideous. On the bright side, everyone was friendly.

Located right next to La Vics and Iguanas and across from SJSU so it’s convenient for students to come and grab a quick drink. However it can be inconvenient for those who don’t live downtown or on campus. The area/​streets often get busy so it gets hard to find parking.
Boba Bar is homey since its location is inside a vintage house. There are limited seats due to college students coming to and from school so sometimes you can’t sit and chill. The workers are really nice and the cashier was really helpful when we asked for recommendations. They also provided samples for us to try since we had a hard time deciding on something.
My friend went with the peach tea and i went with the strawberry mint. The drinks were alright. A bit watered down. Nothing too special and it runs on the more pricier side compared to other boba places. Save yourself the money and go somewhere else but if your a college student looking for a quick boba fix then this place will suffice.

Awesome place to grab some boba if you’re in the area! The store is very quaint and provides a good environment for nearby SJSU students to get some work done. They have free wi-​fi, tables, a little porch outside, and awesome drinks. If I had to get work done, this would be a pretty good spot. Oh! They also have a house cat. Cat therapy when you need a break from working? Check.
I haven’t tried any of their little food items on the menu, so this review is solely for their drinks. I’ve tried their house milk tea and their jasmine milk tea. These are my typical drinks I order at boba places that I’ve never been to — my safe choices when trying to judge a new boba spot. Happy to say that both these drinks surpassed my expectations! I love their tea flavor, and it definitely stands out in their drink. The workers are also really nice and can adjust your drinks for you if you want more tea, more milk, etc.
Their prices are amazing for their drinks compared to other boba places in San Jose. Definitely geared towards students but even with the lower prices, quality is still comparable to some of my go-​to boba spots.

The first time I went here I ordered the lychee milk tea with boba and mango jelly– best boba I’ve ever had (but I also haven’t been to many boba places)
The second time I tried a different flavor combo– mango milk tea with lychee jelly and boba. I definitely enjoyed my first option way better, the lychee jelly was surprisingly a little bitter, but the mango milk tea was pretty good.
The service is so nice and friendly and quick! Will definitely come here in the future.

This place is amazing. I’ve been to so many places, had many types of orange chicken and I have to say, this place has one of the best orange chicken I have ever had. The boba is great as well!
If you’re visiting San Jose and looking for a place to just chill and relax, this is def. The place!

My friend and I come here often to grab the bowls. We usually get the orange chicken bowl and popcorn chicken. The popcorn chicken can be good but I prefer to eat the ones at either quickly’s or amor. Its not always consistent and was terrible the first time I tried it. I do get tired of eating their bowls because I eat it so often.
Their spam musubi is great though and I suggest you get 2 – 3 of those if you aren’t feeling their bowls.
I usually just go for their basic milk teas since I’m not really into fruity drinks. I have tried their fruity drinks and they aren’t bad. Their milk tea can be watery at times. They do have wifi so my friends and I sometimes study here.
Their is also a friendly cat that lives around boba bar and we love paying him/​her a visit. S (he) does catch mice and really loves to sit on my lap when I don’t want her/​him to. So if you are allergic, I suggest you sit inside.

Boba Bar Teahouse & Eatery definitely was a domicile in the past. stairs/​steps prove this.
setup: a few tables for eat-​in, ordering counter at front. black board menu easier to read than printed menu (bigger letters)
menu: teas, boba, salads, appetitzers, bowls, snacks…
drink: honey black tea (3) good sized, less sugar, little ice
–honey, tea faint. suspicon proved accurate as most flavoring is in the sugar.
–cashier reiterated willingness to make drink right if i wasn’t satisfied. assured him tea’s ok.
–didn’t see pure tea offered, just mixed ones, teas definitely sugarized.
drips:
–probably no return, dislke steps
–have difficulty walking without tripping on level surfaces so steps another challenge.
weak knees… no reflection on business.

Came here craving some popcorn chicken. Should of went to Tap X. The chicken was dry, not spicy, and missing the famous Thai basil spicy peppery flavor. The Jasmine milk tea was decent, thank god. Service was great and the fake cat was amusing. My sucky food streak continues…
Update: The cat was actually real. I thought it was fake because it didn’t move at all and stayed in the same place.

Although the food is good, it’s kind of pricey. I tried the Nutella milk tea but there wasn’t any tea flavor, and not much Nutella flavor either; it kind of just tasted like chocolate milk to me. It’s a small place to occasionally get snacks and hang out but there are other options to get while in downtown.

Bad timing? Just not our day? Once we starting ordering (~4PM) it seemed like it was no this and no that. One order of chicken wings, small? Out. A large peach milk tea with boba? Out. Do you take AMEX? No.
We were able to actually order a few things which came out relatively fast:
Mango Milk Tea with Soy Milk & Boba: appreciate the soy milk option; flavor was good but the boba was over cooked to me
Arnold Palmer: same old, same old
Popcorn Chicken with Curry Ketchup: could be crispier
French Fries with Cheese: good, appreciated the cheese was layered in between the fries and not just on top
Willing to give it another shot, but that first experience was a bit annoying.

5 stars for the tea. Their strawberry mint is my holy grail tea, and I’ve had my share of milk tea from different places. HOWEVER, minus one star for the confusing and rather irritating pricing.
The first time I went my tea cost 3.75+.50 for boba making the grand total 4.25. I loved the tea so much that I came back the VERY NEXT DAY for seconds. I had a 10% discount from fivestars, and my drink ended up being more expensive than the day before. First they charged me 50 cents for wanting no ice. Fine, irritating, but fine. I had it happen to me once before at a different tea place, I just expected more from a more popular tea spot. They also charged me for tax. So my drink was 3.75+.50+.50+.49 totaling up to over 5 dollars. Even with my discount it was pricier than the day before. I would come back for the tea definitely, but would advise others to be wary of the weird pricing system.

Cons:
1. It was hard af to find parking, even though it was like 9 pm on a Thursday. We ended up parking like 2 blocks away and walking.
2. They were out of everything! I ordered a strawberry mint tea, but they were out of strawberry bits. Then I ordered the kimcheese fries but they were out of kimchi, so I just went with the popcorn chicken.
3. The popcorn chicken was SO SALTY omg lawd, the ranch was pretty good and very necessary to mask the sodium overload.
4. I ordered boba in my drink but didn’t receive any.
5. One server was nice (see the ONE pro), but the other girl needs a serious attitude adjustment. She just dropped the drink on the counter and walked away without even saying what the drink was.
Pros:
1. Since they were out of strawberry bits, the nice server offered to give us both the pineapple and mango bits for free.
I think the length difference between the pros and cons says enough about my experience here lol.

Visit date: August 15, 2015
What I ate: Orange tofu, jasmine soy milk tea
First time? Yes!
Ok, this place wins!
I had a perfectly brewed Jasmine soy milk tea with just a spoonful of boba balls — just what I asked for. Other places can’t seem to get that right. (I only want like five balls! Ha!). I also had orange tofu over rice — think orange chicken, but with tofu. It had a great breading — tempura like — and the sauce was a perfect blend of sweet and salt. This was a satisfying, comforting meal. If I lived closer I’d be addicted. Who am I kidding, I want some right now.
Fun art all around and metered street parking.

I’m not from this area but I’m a huge boba fan so after reading some reviews and checking out their menu I decided to give them a chance.
I ordered a Nutella milk tea with boba. The guy said the drink is normally pretty sweet so I asked for it less sweet. I thought the drink was alright, maybe next time I’ll get it regular sweet since it seemed a little watered down. I loved the boba, though! They were very nice and chewy on the inside– not mushy or over-​cooked (:
But the real star here is the Kim cheese fries. I got the plain one without meat add-​ons but it was SO DELICIOUS! I was so happy I ordered it! (: I think I’ll be back next time I visit NorCal~

This place is the cutest and I’ll definitely be back soon!
Drink: It was my first time here and I went with the jasmine milk tea (labeled as a «basic tea» :c but they’re right lmao) because I think it’s the best way to judge a place and I was not disappointed. The tea was brewed correctly so it was strong (surprising because jasmine tea is usually light in itself) and it wasn’t too sweet/​sweet at all! I opted for a drink without any toppings so take this review with a grain of salt if you add toppings.
I had a few sips of my sister’s strawberry mint with mango bits and it was sOoO good. If it wasn’t so cold (currently around the high 40s — low 50s as I’m typing this), I would go for this because I love fruit teas! This wasn’t sweet either, surprisingly. Everyone that’s written a review here about this drink is doing it for a reason, y’all.
Service: The server who helped us was very kind and attentive to our drinks (my sister asked about their sweetness and he said he would be happy to adjust it for us if it was too slanted to our preference).
Pricing: Unexpectedly low prices! I got a regular jasmine milk tea with no toppings and my sister got a strawberry mint tea with mango bits and it totaled to $ 7.07! I was surprised and grateful b/​c broke college student here.
General vibe: Cute/​simplistic designs all around the shop. Very spacious + they have a lot of tables for you to work at. FREE WIFI — password and network name is right by the cash register!
THERE’S A VERY CUTE PORCH CAT NAMED CARNE AND IT’S SO ADORABLE. HUMAN FRIENDLY. I LOVE IT.
Other: This place doesn’t validate parking. :^(

Came here for a thirst quencher and it was okay. I got the strawberry mint as recommended by the barrista as I love mojitos and thought it was just okay. The drink itself tasted artificial, and you could barely taste the mint. The strawberry bits were okay. Luckily, they weren’t out of season yet.
Overall, it was just okay.

So delicious!
I feel like you can find good boba anywhere but it’s hard to find a drink place that makes stellar fruity flavored teas! Some places overdo it with the syrups and artificial fruit jellies, so I really appreciated the fresh flavor of the drinks here.
I ordered a peach mint Arnold Palmer as recommended by the girl at the counter and I added lychee jelly, mango bits, and strawberry bits. The price was around $ 5 (standard) but the flavor was amazing! As I mentioned, they use fresh and real fruit as well as actual mint leaves to flavor the drinks as opposed to artificial flavoring. I will always appreciate the extra effort to make a quality product rather than taking shortcuts, and boba bar is definitely does that. I’m sure they probably use some kind of artificial flavoring but the drink did not have any sickly sweet taste that usually comes with those whatsoever.
I also liked that they offered Arnold Palmers and lemonades! It’s not common that I find that at a boba place. They get an extra point for creativity. Their selection is pretty big with a bunch of different flavors to choose from.
I’m already planning the next time I’ll have time to drop by and I can’t wait to try more yummy drinks!

Came by for a Thai Iced Tea the other day and it was decent. It was creamy and the pearls were chewy.
They offer 5 stars rewards program where 15 points get you a free drink… problem was that Five Stars was down again… at least the 2 or 3^rd time in the past year… …so much for redeeming my 25% off promo that ends in 10 days… :/​
…at least they do accept credit cards and they’re right by SJSU.

Conveniently located next to San Jose state if you are a student! If you aren’t a student, then this location can be quite unconvenient because it’s right next to campus, so this street/​area is often busy. Parking is scarce and it’s only metered street parking. Honestly, the location is what kept me from coming, but I found myself wandering around this area trying to pass traffic, so I decided it was time to go in. Just like many of the surrounding businesses, the feel of the Boba Bar is homey. There are a limited amount of seats inside and outside, which can easily be filled by college students coming to and from school. The workers were really nice and the cashier was really helpful and patient.
I went with the Peach Mint Arnold Palmer (half green tea & half lemonade). Geez, if I knew the amazing things that were about to enter my mouth, I would have asked for a large. Tea. Ugh. If you’re not a fan of pulp, this isn’t for you, however I’m all about that pulp, so I loved it. The mint made this peachy drink have an icey after taste without being too overpoweringly minty. That day, the honey boba was probably the best honey boba I’ve had and judging from other people’s reviews, I definitely came on a good day. Perfectly soft, just the right amount of chewiness, and sweet. A couple other days, the honey boba wasn’t sweet at all, but still had the same soft texture. I also tried their strawberry mint and peach ginger. They were both a little too sweet, so I would opt for less sweet next time. The peach mint Arnold Palmer would still be my go to!
They also have a variety of light bites and bowls. Their creasian bowl is orange chicken, broccoli, and rice. Pretty good for the price, it’s a step up from Panda Express imo because it’s not heart attackingly smothered in too much diabetes sauce. Just the right amount.

I wanted to see if there was any bubble tea places around me and it took me to this place. I decided to give it a try and check it out myself since it has an above average rating on Unilocal.I drove there and parked on the street (watch out for bikers). There wasn’t any parking near this tea house so I had to park semi-​far.
I was actually impressed at the external appearance of this teahouse. It seemed very homey. It looks like a house but the whole place is just in one room. The place itself was pretty small; maybe it could fit 15 people max. It was well-​maintained and organized. The employee that greeted me was friendly and helped me out with what to get.
Mango tea was the choice of drink that I ordered. I figured that I should try theirs since I fell in love with the mango tea from this other teahouse in Berkley. I also ordered the braised pork belly rice bowl.
Mango tea: ³⁄₅ — I didn’t like it that much and it had a weird after taste. It tasted more sour than sweet to me so I’m not ordering this here again ever since I found the perfect mango tea.
Braised pork belly rice bowl: ⁴⁄₅ — I was really hungry and the employee suggested that I get this and boy he was right. The serving was huge and didn’t get to finish it. This bowl reminded me of this Filipino dish called adobo so if you’ve had that before, it tasted exactly like it.
Would I come back here? Maybe. There’s so many other teahouses out there that it’s hard to stay loyal to just one. Would I recommend this to a friend? Since this is the closest teahouse to where I live, I would only go here with a friend if we don’t feel like going somewhere farther.