ZERO& Newbury Street — Restaurant in Boston

I have been here several times since the grand opening and have tried almost every drink on the menu. It was a combination of the interesting flavors and rewards system that kept me coming back. LPT: cold drinks come with a scratch-off code for a random reward, so be sure to claim those or pass them on!

The line went out the door during the first few weeks (and sometimes still on weekends), but the bottleneck was mostly people ordering as opposed to the making of the drinks since the drinks come out relatively quickly. There is also a screen with live updates, which I wish more places would have.

Drinks that I've tried: Matcha Tornado: My favorite! It is hard to find good matcha in Boston, but the matcha flavor in this drink really shines. The oreo also complements rather than clashes with the matcha. Peach Oolong: I wouldn't order this otherwise since I prefer milk drinks, but I got to try this as part of the grand opening BOGO promotion. It was soothing on a cold day but quite sugary, so I recommend reducing the sugar level. Coconut Zero: They don't seem to be serving this in an actual coconut anymore, so just a heads up if you were planning to get it for that reason. It tastes just as the name implies, similar to the coconut drink that you can find at Asian supermarkets that comes in the plastic cup with the blue lettering. It isn't very sweet and is refreshing with the coconut and ice chunks. Coco Mango: This tastes like mango pomelo sago, so you'll like this drink if you like sago. The coconut flavor isn't very strong, though, and the sweetness probably depends on whether or not mangoes are in season. Thai Me Up: This is my third favorite and was sold out a lot in the beginning. I prefer it hot rather than cold. The Thai tea flavor is strong and doesn't taste powdery, which is usually the downfall of Thai tea drinks. Like the Matcha Tornado, the oreo is a nice touch. Creme Brulee Milk: Wasn't a fan of this as it just tasted like a cup of milk (no creme brulee flavor). They also rushed this drink when I ordered, so it wasn't sealed properly, and the cup was wet and sticky. Ube Taro: My second favorite and was also sold out a lot. I've only tried it hot, but I enjoyed the purple yam chunks. Coco Presso: The coffee was quite strong, and I didn't taste any of the coconut. I wouldn't get this drink again, but I'm not a big coffee drinker, so take this review with a grain of salt.

I have yet to try the pastries, but they smell really good freshly baked.

Things to improve: You can only use your rewards when you order through the app, but app-ordering isn't always available and seems to shut down randomly. Hot drinks don't come with reward codes. More iPads for ordering would help...

A trendy new boba place I found out about on social media. It was crowded as I expected, with a bit of a wait, but the system they had seemed quite efficient, and the drinks and cakes were well worth it. I got the Two Grapeful, and the people I was with got the Baby Peach and Passion Lemonade. I was kind of childishly delighted the Two Grapeful actually came with grapes on a skewer, because I thought that was just a promo picture thing lmao. Definitely appreciated it!

Anyway, the drinks were great; we got the low sugar option and I loved how unsweet they were. Often times a lot of places' low sugar options still taste sickly sweet to me (which makes me suppose the 100% must just be pure syrup). Here, the fresh taste of the fruit was first and foremost. I loved my Two Grapeful but I think I actually liked the Baby Peach more; the peach pulp texture and taste was so strong you could seriously believe there was a whole peach in there. With low sugar the Passion Lemonade was too sour for the guy who got it, but as someone who likes sour flavors I thought it was nice.

We also got 3 of the cakes; the tiramisu, ube taro, and sea salt Oreo. The packaging was delightfully cute of course, and all of them were super good! Very light and airy, even with flavors one would expect to be heavy. I liked them all, but my favorite ended up the ube taro, which was a bit of a surprise since I didn't think I was a fan of taro. It gave the cake a lovely subtle flavor and the slightest touch of gritty texture to otherwise contrast the softness, and of course the purple color was super aesthetic!

All in all, ZERO& is a winner and I hope they stay around for a while! A bit pricey maybe, but fair for the high quality and Newbury Street location. They definitely aren't all hype. I'd like to go back and try more of their cakes (I live in hope that they'll introduce the rose lychee cake from their San Francisco location) and of course other kinds of drinks. I'm curious about their milk-based drinks like the Matcha Tornado, though I definitely feel that the fruity drinks are where they...

As one of Newbury Street's most sought-after boba destinations at the moment, Zero has carved a unique niche since its grand opening last year. Instead of traditional brown sugar milk teas, they serve an array of visually stunning and creatively crafted fruit-infused teas, so the buzz is well-founded.

Recalling the initial frenzy, my first visit involved a half-hour wait. My order included an assortment of Hanabi mini box cakes and the much-touted Coconut Zero. The presentation of the Coconut Zero deviated from expectations – it was not served in an actual coconut shell as advertised, and my choice of zero sugar resulted in a concoction more akin to coconut water with pudding, of which I could only manage half. The Hanabi cakes, while visually appealing, fell short in freshness, likely due to being imported from California; the cake bread at the bottom was somewhat mushy.

On a subsequent visit, I got the Coco Mango and the Croque Monsieur Croissant. The sandwich was solid, though I much prefer the version from Tatte. The Coco Mango, with its standard sugar level, redeemed my previous experience, offering an enjoyable fusion of creamy mango and coconut.

If the waits aren’t too long, this would probably my go-to spot for drinks when I’m on Newbury. They do offer the convenience of text message updates for orders, which allows you to step away from the store instead of standing around. If you want to avoid the wait, I recommend coming in on the weekdays as it offers a much more...