Dream Tea House — Restaurant in Central Core

Terrible first and only experience. I entered this location last week in the early evening and there were about 8 others in the restaurant. I told them it was my first time there. My daughter and I ordered two bubble tea and also some fries. We were told to sit down and they would bring us our fries. We sat down in a booth only to discover they’re really uncomfortable since the back goes up at a 90 degree angle and the bench is made for people with short legs. Ha ha so we moved to a table which was great. So after ten minutes and still not receiving our fries I inquired at the counter and was told again they will bring them to our table. Okay no big deal. After 15 more minutes I go up again and I am told that they gave my fries to whoever is sitting in the booth. She then asks if I moved tables. And I said yes after less than 20 seconds of sitting at the booth since as I described, it was uncomfortable. Well apparently even with only 8 people there they cannot distinguish a mother/daughter from two young men and had given our fries to them. Unbelievable. And I was made to think it was my fault for moving. Well I had mentioned it was my first time there so maybe it is worth mentioning to people that they watch you sit down, make a note of your table and then ignore you from then on. Of course I insisted on a refund and got it, but it was quite frustrating as I had obviously not intended on wasting a lot of time and disappointing my daughter. Oh well, as I left I had a laugh with the young men who I now realized had long ago eaten the fries and they were flabbergasted and said sorry but had thought the fries were on the house when they brought them over! Oh and “best” of all was I had tipped them since you prepay everything including the tip, and of course was only refunded the base price of the fries. Whatever. Lesson learned. So my advice- go somewhere else or get your bubble tea and leave. Ha ha or just sit at a table and you probably won’t have any...

Poor customer service of a few trips aside, the drinks and food are typically good. The menu includes ample sharing options and there is lots of seating for small groups. Things to note: only cash and debit are accepted and remember to register your vehicle if parking in the lot (if there is a hockey game on, parking can be scarce as the lot is shared with other restaurants). Additionally, I would not recommend going during weekend evenings and making customizations to drink orders.

Edit: Over the past few months, I'm happy to say that I've had many good experiences here, which I think justifies a change to my original review. Previously, I was disappointed in the amount of errors and the less than ideal customer service that my sisters and I had been receiving fairly frequently.

Since then there have been upgrades such as a buzzer system to let you know when your order is ready and individually wrapped straws for take out. They are also on Skip the Dishes which is a great option to have. More importantly, I have noticed generally better interactions with the staff and accuracy of orders. Even more importantly, the salt and pepper chicken wings are still one of my favorites...

I'm not sure what the problem is at this location. I love this business' bubble tea. Probably some of the best in the city. However, this location has been nothing but terrible. I'm not sure if it's the owner's lack of due diligence in who they hire, or just the complete apathy from the staff, but I've never been happy at this location. They rarely can do my drink order without messing up one or the other (I order two at a time because I go with my partner), they always have an issue with the machinery or the kitchen, and I have had to wait on my food for a literal hour for my green onion cakes in the past. No, not because it's busy, but because they came out after ten minutes, were placed on the counter in front of the two workers who were making drinks, and the workers turned out to be literally moving it around to get it out of the way, instead of giving it to the only customers in the store. I couldn't believe it. That was the last straw to encourage me to write a much needed review. Go to any other location in the city, and you will love...