Goldfish Tea

Won’t be back… came here to see a friend perform from New York and was astonished by the extremely rude employees. For a Saturday night, the place was packed with people to see said friend perform. People were happily enjoying the music and their drinks. One employee, not once, but about three times interrupted performance, unplugged equipment, and even played overhead music to try to tune out performer. It just amazes me that a place Of business that welcomes open mic nights, new talent, and great live music would have employees work for them with this type of attitude and terrible customer service. Unfortunately for them, they lost a lot of customers that night

Goldfish has a variety of teas, coffee and other beverages. As an avid tea drinker I love Goldfish’s black teas. The loose leaf jasmine tea is also pretty good here. You can have tea served in a traditional Asian teapot or a modern mug. Either way the drink prices are inexpensive compared to Starbucks.
The staff are knowledgeable about the teas and can recommend a flavor to your liking.
The establishment is cozy and has teak furniture for you to enjoy your tea in comfort. There is also a retail section that sells tea, tea pot sets, storage containers and cool drinkware. I purchased the coolest thermos with leather casing for only $ 21.
On Friday evenings there are live performances; poetry and musical acts. This is a relaxed atmosphere for date night.

Unfortunately, the service and poor attitude of the servers is why I won’t return. Ordered four smoothies and two were all ice and no flavor, I could tell by the appearance something was wrong and the rude girl informed me it was the purée as if I’m clueless. There was a musician playing and most of the crowd appeared to be there for him and yet the server unplugged his equipment and even turned on the intercom music. So rude, won’t be returning.

I give this place one star because of the service. My chai latte was average. I went to Goldfish tea to watch a friend play a concert. He packed the place with family and friends. A group of nice polite people just enjoying an acoustic show. Everyone bought a beverage and/​or pastry. Right from the get go the staff was rude and condescending. One particularly rude employee got mad at my mother for accidentally picking up the wrong drink and taking a sip. He reached by calling my mom out and throwing a spoon in anger instead of being understanding that it was an honest mistake (right drink but wrong size). This same staff member repeatedly came up to the amp and turned it down to the point we could not hear the vocals. He yelled at the musician in the middle of the show, which made for a very awkward situation (even though the musician handled it gracefully). He then pulled the plug on his amp in the middle of a song in an attempt to end the show early, even though it was more than an hour before closing. Everyone was in disbelief of how rude and unprofessional he was, especially considering every person there was a polite paying costumer. Lost my business based on this experience.

Lovely ambiance. Japanese bamboo curtains, nice couches and even some tables where you can cross your feet and sit down. They have some board games so its a nice place to hang out with friends. Or just pick up a book from their small collection and chill by yourself.
There is a really wide variety of teas to choose from. The staff here is very helpful in helping with selection. They not only make suggestions but also open up some boxes for you to smell the teas.
I had the matcha green tea latte. Not a fan. But my husband had the peppermint tea and it was very refreshing.

After getting boba ~5 times in the past couple months, I’ve really noticed the boba milk tea has gone downhill here. The boba isn’t well cooked (it clumps at the bottom of your cup), the milk tea is not overly sweetened — but it also just tastes like milk. Your flavor of choice isn’t apparent in the drink, and the tea seems nonexistent.
Still a great atmosphere to study or hang out, but please step up your boba tea making skills!

very cool place! I always wanna sit at those flat table things at the front but they’re usually occupied. a lot of the place is usually occupied, it’s very popular! it’s ok, I usually get my stuff to go. they do have fancy trays for you to sit down with a pot full of tea brewing with a timer, but I usually just get coffee or bubble tea. the fruity bubbles are so good. they’ve got some food, not a whole ton. I’ve gotten cookies or something here before, and they were good café food. I really just love the location. not a super clogged part of downtown, close to the aveda institute and some cool little shops and other nice food places. it’s the best area to walk around in when you’re just hanging out and enjoying a day in downtown. might as well do it with a tasty drink: v

New fun drink Thai bubble tea. The only thing that would make it better is on ice. Very yummy. Creamy and full of flavor.
I will get this again.
Other visits have included hot and iced teas. Prices slightly high.

Some of the best French press coffee! Hubby had the the bubble tea and it was pretty tasty!

Goldfish tea is one of the few tea houses in the royal oak area. I have been there a couple of times now and have been failed to be impressed by their teas. I have tried both their black and green teas with the same results. I have gotten their green mountain tea and added rose petals. The flavor seemed like any teabag green tea. This past time I got the lychee black tea. Honestly, it just tastes like a weak black tea with no flavor of lychee evident. The service is inconsistent and slow. They are also not very knowledgeable about their teas. The only good thing is their ambiance. They have many unique sitting areas, they serve the teas in cute cups with infusers and with a serving tray. Come for the ambiance, but definitely not for the tea or service.

great stuff, has decent bubble tea too! The place big with a lot of space to do some work. Relatively quiet compared to the nearby starbucks

Currently sitting here enjoying my second cup of milk tea with passion fruit jelly. Each alone as well as the combo, heavenly delicious.
How, the fucking ever. The old guy who manages the mic on Friday night is annoying as fuck. He shushes everyone up before introducing the next performer by awkwardly stared at you until your interesting conversation comes to an end.
Would have came back. Would have.

Not sure what’s up with the poor reviews, but every time I come here the people working are beyond nice. They go above and beyond to inform you of the benefits of the various teas, their recommendations, etc. The boba is really great, and I love their matcha shots. Yeah, it’s pricey but good tea always is. This café is a gem! Lots of comfy seating and outlets too.

I have been here twice: once for bubble tea and the other for regular tea. I love the concept, and the feel, but the tea is a bit overpriced. I do enjoy their selection and their teas are great. However, I have had more than enough bubble tea for a lifetime, but I wouldn’t get bubble tea here. It does not taste authentic and some flavor combinations are just plain weird. For bubble tea, you are better off driving over to Madison Heights and getting some bubble tea from QQ bakery. However, I do appreciate having a tea house in RO, and do anticipate going every once in a while. It does get crazy crowded at times and tables are hard to come by!

I caught on kind of late to the bubble tea phenomenon. My first one was only last summer. So I pleased to find I live so close to a tea establishment like Goldfish Tea.
The décor and atmosphere is super chill. Super relaxed, cozy seats, couch booths, table space and often live music. It feels like some place the beatles would have chilled out in the 70s, totally wrecked on lsd with sitars going in the background. The kind of place you just feel comfortable walking into, almost like you feel like you should take your shoes off.
The drinks here are totally refreshing. I like the frozen peach with mango bobas. So far though I’ve liked every combination I’ve tried.
The staff is super cool as well. All of them were quick to socialize with me while getting my drink ready.
Really cool place, maybe a bit too hip for my balance, but I still love it.

This place is amazing. !!!
I love their chai tea latte better than Starbucks or bean and leaf. The place is amazing, the ambience is fabulous. Love their custom teas too. The live performances in the evening are the best part!!!

I cant believe I’ve lived in RO for 3 years, and just checked this place out! I could never study or meet up with friends in a coffee shop before because of the loud noise from the espresso machine. However, there is NO espresso machine at Goldfish = more peaceful/​less noisy environment. Much bigger inside than it looks. Best of all you can get a pot of tea for $ 5 and it will last you 3 hours.

Such a cute lil tea place. The tea and cookies are fantastic, loved the concept. We had white tea infused with rose petals. Oh so refreshing and nice!
I really liked their seating. They have free wifi too. A cute place to hang out, finish those assignments or just catch up on some gossip with your sister (like yours truly).

You know those social experiments where they have everyone face the back of the elevator, and then see if people newly entering the elevator will follow suit, or if they would stand front-​facing, like a normal person? Inevitably, they find that most test subjects fold like origami under the pressure, bewildered but falling into line with the rest.
I totally get it now. I am a total back-​of-​the-​elevator-​starer. I saw giggly teens, serious book-​readers, and respectable grownups alike, all ordering bubble tea from this establishment with a diverse selection of loose teas… and I fell in line. I ordered a bubble tea. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some boba, but there is a time and place for these things. Places specialize in bubble tea… they don’t add it as an after-​thought.
So I’m rambling. What’s my point? Oh, yea. STAY AWAY FROM THE BUBBLE TEA. That is NOT what boba is supposed to taste like. How can something be soggy and hard at the same time? And the liquid? Ugh. Sickeningly sweet, with no flavors coming through. Don’t stare at the back of the elevator. Don’t fall off that cliff with the rest of the lemmings, vomiting boba on the way down.
Otherwise…what a lovely little spot. Great teas, ambience, and presentation. Even the open-​mics are at a pleasant decibel and not jarring. Love the Buddha/​opium beds.

What a great spot in Royal Oak that is full of random décor, interesting teacups and pots, and cool seating! I’m really excited I finally got to come here today. The cashier was very helpful when I admitted we had no idea what to order and only knew we liked herbal teas. He gave us a few to sniff and we ended up choosing the vanilla roobis. We were given a timer, a hot pot of loose leaf tea, two tea cups and a tray with slats in it. The tea was wonderful and we were able to get a little table to ourselves. There is a counter on the side that has different nozzles of waters at different brewing temperatures to refill your pot. I believe they serve individual teas, cold teas, tea drinks, and bubble tea along with small salads, soups, sandwiches and desserts. We ended up staying for two hours — just in time to get out of the nearby parking structure without having to pay for parking!