BOBO Drinks

I’ve been here a couple times, and their boba is relatively mediocre. On an absolute scale, it’s smooth, well-​blended, and not tannic. However, in comparison with the fierce and continually-​increasing competition within a one-​mile radius, they could up their game.
They are a little on the sweet side, although I notice they now also do the 25÷50÷75÷100 sweetness gradients. Their 25% is Sharetea’s 50%.
I’ve had some of their food, and that’s mediocre as well. I get their food out of convenience.
What they do offer that most of the other boba places don’t offer is space to watch the game and to work/​study. It’s a really comfortable setting to get in the zone with the great background music. Not too quiet, not too loud, and never crowded. They are also one of the only places around campus that offers ice cream toast.

This review is long over due. Excited when this place open because i’m always down to try new boba places.
Service: They were very efficient and I like that they bring the drinks/​food to your table.
Ambiance: Clean layout and tons of chairs to sit. Bright colors too.
Food: I came with 4 other people so we each got different drinks. I tried the regular milk tea here since i’m not too adventurous with new places and my friends got the more fruity drinks. Overall we all like what we got and thought it was cute that it came in glass bottles. We also ordered the beignets which came out really quickly and filled us up even with just one. They were just average though.
3 stars since it wasn’t anything that stood out compared to other boba places in the area.

Great Taro Milk tea.
Flavorless fried chicken bites. They didn’t offer to season it or make it spicy or allow you to do it yourself like many other similar businesses.

My dank. That’s what they sell here. Aka dank drinks and food.
I always come here to study, it’s a nice place with big tables and good lighting. Their Pandora has a good taste in music too.
By now I know or at least recognize everybody that works here. They’re all pretty coo and are always nice and welcoming. Idk what else to say … uhm oh they have this fun toast box challenge. I lost and now my picture is on the wall of shame lookin like a fat ass

The chicken curry coconut rice and the gloden mountain noodle are really on point. They are $ 9.95 for single and $ 11.95 for a combo, which comes with a milk tea and an appetizer (salad OR samosa). You can adjust the sugar level of the drinks. The lady there is super nice that she introduced the special food to us and very GOOD service. I’m pretty sure that i’ll be back again!

3.5 stars.
Oh Bobo. I was so looking forward to the beignets! When I found this place on Unilocal I scrolled through the reviews and read a few times about them running out of beignets. WHY?! This place is more than just a boba tea/​dessert place. They offer full meals so I’m assuming it’s a fully functioning kitchen. How do you run out of beignets more than once?! Gah!
I used the eat24 feature on the Unilocal app ordering through there as we were driving down university ave on the way to the shop. Pretty convenient.
We ordered the black milk tea and special happy heart tea. Black milk tea was really different, in a good way. I’m not sure what type of black tea they use but it was very fragrant and almost a licorice taste again in a good way. Never had anything like it. The happy heart was fruity and very good as well. Maybe if we’re in the area we will stop by again but we were just disappointed bc we drove into Berkeley just for the drinks and dessert and no dessert. Major bummer.

I consider myself a boba expert taster and so far, I haven’t been impressed with the drinks here. The drinks are by no means awful, but when surrounded by countless better tasting and better quality competitors (Asha, Sharetea), it kind of puts them at the bottom of my list. The drink size is a bit small for the price you pay, and I’ve found that they tend to be watered down or much too saturated with syrup.
This place is much more than just a boba joint though. It sells snacks, desserts, and meals. I’ve tried the fried appetizer platter that comes with a little bit of everything (mozzarella, calamari, veggie, tofu). It came with a tangy sweet and sour sauce. It all tasted okay, but could have done with more seasoning.
This place has a cute, vibrant décor and all their items are presented well. The drinks come in mason jars and the desserts are decorated with many colors and designs. I haven’t tried the brick toast here, but many people do rave about it. There are lots of seats indoors and it makes for a great little hang-​out area when catching up with friends. The location is great, within a few blocks of Bart and the campus, but I still prefer other boba and snack places.

Worst crêpe I’ve ever had in my life. I hear their boba drinks are good, so I’ll give them another shot. But Just the fact that they make people pay money for these atrocities makes me suspicious!
The plate as a whole was aesthetically pleasing but the Christmas colored sauces on top tasted very strange, the crêpe itself was dry and stiff like cardboard with very little flavor, and the fillings were sparse.
Don’t bother ordering a crêpe from here. Crepes a-​go-​go is right around the corner and you will hate yourself when you walk out the doors of this place and see how much greener the grass could have been.

I got an email a couple of days ago about their new addition of Burmese dishes; they look quite good on the pictures, so I decided to give it a try today.
I ordered the Curry Chicken with Coconut Rice combo, along with salad and appetizers. The best one-​word summary for this dish is «average.» It wasn’t bad, but definitely not delighting enough for me to crave for it.
The chicken was a bit too dry for my taste. In the curry bowl, the pulled chicken tasted better than big chunks since they were easier to chew and swallow with rice. The sauce had plenty of flavors but none of them stood out. In fact, it didn’t taste like curry sometimes. It felt like your average Trader Joe’s curry sauce.
The appetizers (baked samosas) were surprisingly spicy — nothing I can’t handle but might be too spicy for those with more sensitive palates.
Overall, the meal was by no means bad tasting. Although for ~$ 13 after tax, I could have given myself a better treat.

Came here late night out of interest! Great spot, parking was near BART on the street.
First off, great menu. Great choices and great selection.
Very comfortable place to hang out, watch TV.
The staff was super friendly.
Price was about right for portion.
We also had crepes and Beignets with ice cream.
Stamp card too!

The atmosphere is excellent for a comfortable and relaxing experience. They encourage you to stay a while with a fun selection of board games. They also have ample outlets for personal laptop and device plug-​in just in case you want to read/​watch something while sipping your yummy tea or eating your cheese sticks.
I was once helped by the owner and she was extremely engaging. She greeted me with genuine kindness and asked me for some feedback. She even said that people had given them feedback about the drinks being a bit sweet and that they now changed how they brew their tea. I love owners who hear out their customers.
They use Fivestar which is an electronic punch card of sorts. You get points toward discounts and other fun offers. (Sharetea has this feature too).
I’ve only ever had their milk tea and regular brewed tea. It’s all delicious.
Their cheese sticks and little chicken bites are also yummy. If you’re going to indulge in fried food, might as well make sure the experience is a delicious one.
I’ve spent at least two nights just chilling here with friends. I highly recommend the tea for good taste and the atmosphere for hanging with friends or by yourself.

This isn’t the best boba in Berkeley (ShareTea does it way better), but the overall ambience and atmosphere here really bump it up a notch.
— Drinks: Boba is too sweet for my liking; even after specifying that I wanted them not to spike my insulin levels, I found the result a little too syrup-​y. They do, however, serve boba in mason jars if you are seated inside, which is a nice Berkeley touch. You can also purchase the mason jars for just $ 1.
— Food: The popcorn chicken is pretty mediocre, but the toast boxes are pretty delightful! The mint chip toast box was a delightful dessert to split among friends. The crepes are also not particularly memorable, but they get the job done in terms of a late-​night snack. I also appreciate that they have both sweet and savory crepes.
— Atmosphere: Lots of colorful tables, well-​thought-​out and crafted menu, and located in the heart of Downtown Berkeley. Great place to hang out and split some guilty pleasure treats.
While Bobo is not a place I’d frequent for boba itself, I do think it’s a solid spot to meet up with friends and split a toast box. There aren’t many places that combine boba, savory crepes /​sandwiches, salads, and dessert; I’d probably be back to try more of their food items.

Jasmine milk tea tastes like… Jasmine! Some of the best bubble tea we’ve had — not over sweet and much more home made tasting than what you might find elsewhere.
Food was simple and tasty (had the tea leaf salad, would have liked more tea leaf)
This place gets bumped from a four star to a five star on the incredibly friendly folks running the place. Cannot think of a happier place for a casual lunch.

Cons
1. They had no boba around 3 pm and no plans to make more even though they wouldn’t close until midnight.
2. No soap in the bathroom.
3. Declined to close the window above the door even though it was cold.
4. The tea just weren’t very good.
Pros
1. They let us hang out there for a few hours without giving us a hard time.

The food specials are the best if you like Burmese food with a hint of hanging out with board games and TV in the background. Order the tea leaf salad with a samosa; there’s a bonus your meal includes a milk tea. If you are a milk tea critic then come prepare to have a «Quickly» experience when it comes to some of there milk tea.

The place is nice a spacious for those who want to sit there and study. There’s a good amount of seats. Came her when it was kind of slow on a Sunday evening. We ordered the Happy Heart Jar, Very Berry Jar, and the Sweet Pom Pom jar (all without their special jars). When it came out, we noticed that the drinks were leaking from the sides of the dome lid. We were in a rush so didn’t notice until we were out the door. When we finally looked at it, the lid was really loose and spinning around the cup. We lost a good amount of our drink from the leaking and we really attempted to hold the drinks really still. Another thing was that the drinks hardly had ice, which I didn’t mind too much since that meant I got more drink out of it. But there wasn’t enough fruit bits in it comparing it to the one I’ve had in SJ. The lack of fruit bits made the drink look really boring. But overall, the drink still tasted good. I’d come back, but they just need better lids and a good portion of fruits in their drinks.

Their drinks are okay, but I really keep coming back for the food and service.
Food:
The sampler is a great deal — less than $ 5 for popcorn chicken, fish & lobster balls, and mozzarella sticks.
& definitely check in for the offer! You get a free milk tea with the purchase of an entrée.
I’ve tried the stir fry pasta and loved it! It’s stir fried spaghetti noodles with beef, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and it’s sooo good. $ 8 for food + milk tea is a steal!
Drinks:
I’ve tried Sweet Pom & Very Berry which are pretty good but the drinks are pretty pricy for a small jar.
The hot teas are pretty good as well, and the cups are bigger lol.
Overall, it’s a pretty chill place to hangout and grub!

Powdered milk in the thai milk tea gave me the bubblies. The floating white chunks also weren’t very aesthetically appealing. The popcorn chicken was fried too darkly for some reason.
Only upside is there’s usually plenty of seating with outlets and wi-​fi.

BOBO Drinks has okay boba — it’s good, but it’s not the best boba in Berkeley. I ordered the passion fruit green tea with boba, and the drink had a slight sweetness and tanginess from the passion fruit and I could taste the green tea in the drink as well as small pieces of passion fruit dispersed in the drink. The boba was a little too chewy and the shape of the tapioca balls was inconsistent; I felt like some were bigger than others. The restaurant also had plenty of food options, which I would be interested to try whenever I come back again. In terms of the space, BOBO Drinks has plenty of space to sit down and eat as well as study. Overall, BOBO Drinks is not bad — it’s not on my list of places to come back to when I’m in Berkeley, but if I was near it I wouldn’t mind trying it again.

The boba tasted stale and the honey milk tea was not up to par. Expected much higher quality from Berkeley given that I’ve had my fair share of meh boba being from the Midwest!
Would not recommend unless it’s a «boba now or die» type of situation.

Ok, I’m not even sure why I keep coming back to Bobo, even though I don’t like their drinks.
Their drinks in general, especially their specialty jars, are way too sweet in my opinion, and they taste very artificial. They’re also pretty pricy for the quality you get.
I’ve tried the toastbox before, and the toast was just really dry and bland. (I thought the toast was going to be like the brick toasts served at most Taiwanese places, but it was just plain bread). The ice cream was just average, and nothing too special.
My friends have attempted the toastbox challenge, and watching them eat it was very entertaining and inspirational.
If you complete the toastbox challenge, then you will get a free toastbox the next time you go and get your picture on the hall of fame, and BOBO drinks will give a homeless person a drink for free.
As for the interior, this place is drab and doesn’t feel very clean, and I also have trouble connecting to their internet.
I guess why I’ve been coming back is because it’s nearby, and it’s a place where people can chill. (There are other better places to go, but this place is usually not full…)

Pretty amazing meal for under 10 dollars, yo. I had the beef noodles that came with a free jasmine tea (it might have been for an extra dollar, I forget). There was unexpected flavor, not just grease. The beef was perfectly marinated — I think I detected sesame oil?
Their berry drink is just okay. Its basically berries in slightly sugared water. My meal was still
, though.
Oh, I mentioned my mom likes Dan Truong — the Vietnamese singer who inspired this chain– and they threw in a free DVD. I love my peoples.

Pretty cool spot to chill or study. Their menu has a pretty big variety ranging from entrees, snacks, and desserts. Their milk tea is okay, but if it’s for-​here, they’re served in Mason jars, which are cool, but you can also get them to-​go in plastic cups.
They have Happy Hour daily from 2−5pm. I got the milk tea and popcorn chicken deal for $ 5.50+tax. Other reviews complain about the lack of meat, but my pieces were pretty meaty, though it could definitely do with more seasoning. They did give some sweet chili sauce, which helped with the blandness. Good portion.
Overall, cool place. Milk tea is okay. Lots of snacks and desserts.

See a «review» video I did here:
Review is only for GREEN TEA /​MINT CHIP TOAST BOXES & CALAMASI TEA.
Green Tea Toast Box
This was the first thing I EVER ordered here! I loved the concept of toast boxes because you get the warm crispy toast outside filled with ice cream inside. I loved everything about it EXCEPT the green tea ice cream which honestly should have been the star of the dessert. The green tea ice cream tasted very cheap, low quality and there wans’t even much green tea taste to it. It tasted more like some random flavor, possibly pistachio or avocado… This was when I knew that the next time I came, I’d order a different flavor and it’d probably be better.
Mint Chocolate Chip Toast Box
Boy was I right. A different flavor changed my entire experience. Loved EVERYTHING about it, even the ice cream. The mint chip didn’t taste super cheap or artificial and we got so many scoops. It paired so well with the super crispy toast. I loved everything about it!
Sweet Pom pom jar
Got it to try out since it’s one of their most popular. It definitly was fruity and refreshing but I just wasn’t a fan of the crazy amount of random jellies inside. I prefer to stick to just boba or one type of jelly inside rather than 3 – 4. Don’t think I’d order this again.
OVERALL, the toast boxes arent the BEST I’ve ever had in my life (those are in Taiwan) but they’re decent for being the ONLY toast boxes in berkeley. I’d probably come abck again if I have another grup of 3 – 4 friends who can share this with me. One toast box is plenty to feed a group of 4 – 5.

One of my new favorite places to study! I just discovered BOBO Drinks a few weeks ago and I am SO glad I found it while trying to find a nice place to study.
Their specialty is obviously boba, so I don’t think their food will be that great.
Drinks: I think their drinks are pretty good, but definitely on the sweeter side. Not to worry — you can ask for less sugar in your drink! Their boba is chewy and not too over/​undercooked.
Food: Again, I don’t think food is their strong suit so I expect it to be rather mediocre.
–Calamari: For about $ 5, you get a solid amount of fried calamari. It comes with a sweet and sour sauce. The calamari itself was a bit too chewy for my liking so I don’t recommend it.
–Toast: For $ 1.95, you can get a piece of toast with two toppings (options are chocolate, condensed milk, honey). It’s a small, sweet snack while studying.
This place isn’t usually very crowded so it’s a great place to sit and get work done. Service is great — the workers are extremely friendly and bring your food/​drink to you!
I’ll be coming back here pretty often and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice quiet place to get some work done (since Starbucks/​Peets are usually SUPER packed!).

Expansive menu covering everything from the usual milk teas and smoothies to noodle soups, crepes, and viet desserts. While I do enjoy options, I’d rather they reduce their menu and focus on hitting their offerings out of the park.
Hot Taro Milk Tea (3.22) — A tad too creamy. It was good at first but I couldn’t finish it because I started feeling gross
Hot Viet Coffee — Pretty decent. Will probably keep you going longer than a regular cup of coffee.
They are known for their Special Flavored Tea Jars which are essentially teas w/​fruits in cutesy mason jars. I’m personally not a fan of those drinks bc I can’t help but feel like I’m drinking sugar water.
This place is pretty spacious, has wifi, and is rather far from campus so it’s a solid place to study if you want to avoid the crowds at the closer coffee shops.
THEY TAKE CARD!

No more Bobo for me.
Got the strawberry green tea w/​boba.
Yeah, it wasn’t great. The drink look like red kool aid with a lot of artificial red strawberry flavoring and no tea flavor. Strawberry flavoring was also kind of tart and watered down. Boba was also tasteless. Not a fan.
Purple Kow is the place to be for fresh fruit teas!

BOBO… the name sounds so enticing because it reminds you of BOGO or BOBA.
Colorful drinks in mason jars decorated with ample fruits is a relatively novel idea; we definitely need no more pretentious coffee shops utilizing mason jars as a way to justify exorbitant prices and hipster snobbery.
With the extensive menu (drinks, desserts, and real food), plenty of seating and free wifi, it’s not a bad place to hang out or get some work done. The colorful walls are probably designed to match the colorful drinks, but instead of the perky and modern vibe at Purple Kow, the dingy lighting kind of makes it look tacky. It didn’t help that the cushions were bright orange with a print like horrendous wallpaper.
I got the $ 3.22 coffee milk tea and asked for less sugar, but it turned out to be so creamy that it felt like drinking coffee creamer.
I’m sorry BOBO! But for some grab-​and-​go I prefer Sharetea (which is only ~$ 0.50 more), and for legit tea/​a study place/​real food I much prefer Asha (even though it’s much pricier, the spotlight lighting can get funky, and their real food pretty much consists of toast or toast with ice cream).
BOBO is halfway there, but halfway gone :/

So my friend invited me to BOBO Drinks along with two of her friends. We came here on a Wednesday around 6pm. It wasn’t busy at all and it was our first time here. They ordered everything thing on the appetizer menu that by the time we ordered our real food we were almost full. I can’t remember exactly what we got but feel free to take a look at the pics I uploaded.
I wasn’t too excited on wanting to eat but the food was alright. They were pretty fast on making our orders and bringing it to our table. I was excited for their drinks which we did try. I found it funny that in the photos the drinks served in the jar look huge but in reality they’re small. Sadly you can’t take the empty jar with the bobo logo after you’re done with your drink. You need to pay an extra dollar and it comes with a lid.
So many drinks to choose from that I don’t have a favorite. So far I’ve only tried their Sweet Pom Pom and Mando Madness. Both really good. Its a really nice place to meet with friends and have a good time.
One of my Unilocal friends works here. I’m surprised I recognized her right away lol.

I went here with a couple of friends on a Friday night. Surprisingly, it was not packed and there were plenty of seats and tables available. They also have Wi-​Fi too but it requires a password which they provide up front on the counter.
The menu of drinks they have is very similar to most Boba places. They have your typical milk teas and slushes but also have tropical fruit drinks which makes it a little different. They also serve some food which looks pretty pricey (about $ 7-​$ 8 range).
I didn’t order any food but I got the Taro Smoothie. For about $ 4.00, I was satisfied. It came with whipped cream and it wasn’t too sugary which I like. The service was also good as I didn’t have to wait too long for my drink.
I recommend checking this place out. They have great quality drinks and there’s plenty of tables for you and your friends!

My friend warned me against it but I decided to come in anyway cause I was craving dessert so badly. I only got one item which was not good but since there’s a lot of study space and free wifi, they get an extra star.
I got the mango shaved snow w/​mango mochi. For $ 9 it’s filling but ridiculously expensive for a very average/​below-​average product. The snow is not shaved thinly but in kind of thicker layers. The taste itself was ok but the mango mochi tasted like awful children’s candies.
Some of their other items looked better but steer clear of the shaved snow.