Sweet Memes Austin — Restaurant in Austin

The aesthetics are the biggest draw here. They're okay, just don't look too closely or you might be a little disillusioned with those for how they may not quite hold up on closer inspection.

Service is lackluster. We were literally the only people in there and were not greeted when entering and the one or two people who were there seemed very off-put to interact with us and answer our questions and resolve our issues. No smiling at all. I don't want to make it sound like anyone was rude, because they were not, but they gave far from what I would label as friendly or warm customer service.

The only way to order is a digital touch screen kiosk system, which in some ways is great because it allows customers to order exactly what they want, directly inputting their orders into the system, which helps prevent mistakes especially with complicated orders, but can also really dehumanize the process. Because of the mandatory kiosk system, there is no cash accepted at this business, which in my opinion is discriminatory and is always a huge red flag to me. The kiosk system also failed to print any of our requested receipts.

The drinks are just okay. They are fine when you are craving boba tea but it's nothing to go out of your way for, especially with the potentially inconvenient parking. The pearls were the chewy black kind, which while not uncommon happen to be my very least favorite; that's just down to my personal preference though, maybe those are your favorite type, in which case you are in luck here. We didn't order food, which certainly looks yummy from the menu pictures but I can't comment one way or the other on.

You have to ask the disinterested and not very outwardly friendly staff for cups of water, there is no water station, and the cups are absolutely tiny. This is Texas. The weather is hot. I'm going to need a decent amount of water. This gave off a super stingy vibe.

All the plastic cups and straws are expected to be thrown away, there is no recycling bin.

There is constant music playing too loudly. It's not enough to give you a headache but it's enough to be intrusive on a conversation. Background music is definitely nice in a cafe, but here it needs to be turned down a bit.

Overall, if you're nearby and in the mood for boba, it's a fine option if you want the 'gram-able aesthetics that aren't quite as impressive in person, if you aren't dehydrated from the heat and won't want more than tiny cups of water, and if you are fine with bland computerized service without a smile, no recycling, and a cashless register which blocks some people who don't have card payment options from service (they may have the option to pay with your phone, it seems like they would with the setup they have, but I honestly...

At first glance the decor and ambiance is cute…. But there are many reasons why I will NOT be coming back here: -the music is VERY loud and annoying. Remember that app called “Piano Tiles” ???? Well the music they play here sounds like a kid is playing a piano tiles song. If you’ve never played Piano Tiles, the music sounds like a generic, great value, royalty-free, childish piano “song” being played for some kind of children’s play. -The tables are dirty and it grosses me out that there’s openings in the sides of the glass tables where food crumbs and hair can fall into the flower displays inside tables. Makes you lose your appetite. -They also have this horrible system they use to alert people that their food/drink orders are ready. When your order is ready, this LOUD and absurdly DISRUPTIVE sound goes off throughout the restaurant and then a robotic prerecorded voice says “TAKE YOUR FOOD ORDER!!” or something like that in the loudest voice you’ve ever heard. This happens ANYTIME someone orders anything and it’s the most insane and annoying thing I’ve ever experienced. I thought I was being pranked or something I couldn’t believe anyone thought that was a good idea. -ordered a few different things while I was here to try out different things on the menu, and I have to say that their dirty brown sugar drink was the most disgusting thing I ever ever tried in my life. If you order this you will immediately regret it. I felt sick and had to throw it in the trash after forcing myself to drink half of it (I’m a very avid boba drinker, this is not the first time I’ve tried to is type of drink). -lastly, this place is kind of small, which is not a problem. My problem is with that fact that they have filled the entire restaurant with what feels like hundreds of chairs and tables. TOO MANY TABLES AND CHAIRS IN HERE. It makes it very difficult to walk around and just makes me feel like I’m in a elementary school cafeteria. There were a handful of people in there while I was in there, yet it still felt so cringe and empty because there was soooooo many empty chairs and tables not being used. -parking situation and location is VERY bad. I came here on purpose and researched ahead of time so I knew how to find it and where to park. I can’t imagine anyone coming here just right off the street because parking is not convenient and it’s in a weird spot. Not a great experience. This place had soooooooo much potential and I wanted to love it but it turned out to be...

Been coming here for just over a year and their drinks have been mostly great, especially the matcha which used to be really really good. Lately though, things have been kinda inconsistent. My recent matcha was basically just watery tea, totally different from the rich, creamy drink I’ve had before.

When I mentioned this to the staff, the guy with glasses looked at me like I was crazy. He went on about their “perfect ratio” and how the drink couldn’t possibly be different. But come on dude, I’ve literally watched you eyeball measurements before, and I know drinks can vary in thickness, sweetness, and strength due to other factors, and i’m sure you do too.

Obviously, when you’re making something like TEA!?, there’s going to be some kind of variation. Instead of lecturing me about their so-called perfect process, maybe they could just listen to what a customer is actually saying. I get that they probably deal with some unreasonable customers, but a little listening goes a long way. especially when you’re running a SMALL business that depends on customers.

They did refund my drink, which was professional, so I can’t be too mad. But if they want to get their customer base back up, they might want to take feedback a bit more seriously. From what I can see, people aren’t coming back for your “perfect ratios” as i haven’t seen your order ticket numbers hit the 100’s for quite a while.

-A...