The Alley Fairfax — Restaurant in Fairfax

I visited "The Alley" twice, hoping for a great experience, but both visits left me disappointed.

The first time, about a month after the place opened, I was excited to see they offered a soy milk substitute, as I'm allergic to milk and can't enjoy boba milk tea elsewhere. Unfortunately, they were out of soy milk, which was understandable since it was the end of the day. I ordered a mango fruit tea instead, but while waiting, the staff informed me multiple times they were out of certain ingredients and had to substitute others. While I appreciated their effort to notify me, it was frustrating to deal with so many issues for one drink. When I finally received it, the drink was just okay.

I decided to give the place another try a week ago. This time, my friends and I entered to some odd, judgmental looks from the staff, which was off-putting. The menu displayed on their large TV screens only showed five drink options, so I asked about a green milk tea with soy milk. After a quiet, awkward discussion between staff members, I was told it couldn't be substituted due to the "green milk," which seemed unusual since that’s typically just green tea and milk elsewhere. I asked for their recommendation, and they suggested a brown sugar milk tea with soy milk, which I ordered.

The drink was a huge letdown. It wasn’t sweet at all, and the soy milk tasted spoiled—something I recognized immediately after years of drinking soy milk. For a brand with multiple locations and a modern, sleek aesthetic, the experience didn’t meet expectations. I won’t be returning...

I had a very frustrating experience with this boba store yesterday. The website and Clover ordering system clearly show a delivery option, but in reality, only in-store pickup is available. This is extremely misleading and confusing for customers. If delivery isn’t supported, why is it shown at all? It creates a poor user experience and leads to avoidable mistakes.

I accidentally placed an order thinking it would be delivered, only to find out afterward that I had to pick it up. When I called the store to explain and ask for a refund, the staff refused to help and told me to reach out to Clover instead!!! Clover’s customer service is unhelpful and unresponsive, making the entire process a headache.

After wasting a lot of time trying to reach Clover with no success, I called the store again — and suddenly they said they could do the refund after all. What the heck? Why didn’t they just help me from the beginning??? This was a terrible customer service experience that could’ve easily been avoided if the staff were more helpful and informed!!!

To make things worse, there are no delivery options via Uber Eats or DoorDash, which are commonly available at other boba tea stores. I honestly don’t understand why this store lacks such basic conveniences!!!

I hope the management seriously looks into fixing the ordering system and improves customer support. Until then, I will be ordering from other stores that make it easier and clearer...

Every 5-star shaming negative reviews need to stop invalidating other people’s experiences. Oh, and this is also coming from someone who worked in the food industry for six years and worked at a boba shop for three years. So get off your high horse, stop simping, and stop telling people to be “patient or don’t go out ” and to “grow up.” Just because you didn’t have a negative experience doesn’t make anyone else’s experience and opinion less important/valid than yours. Do you want a high-five or something?

Now here’s my review:

Came here four times now and the first two visits were disappointing only because I waited an hour for my drinks. Second time they messed up my drink but I already left to drink it at home.

But I’m giving a 4-star because I went today and saw more improvement in the work flow and the drink quality was better than last time.

Last two weeks they had about seven workers who couldn’t produce drinks in time and kept messing up. They also did not have the best customer service, except one girl. Today I believe I saw three managers/owners and one worker who I did not see last time. They were working brilliantly and I got my drinks on time and they tasted BETTER than the last few times I came here.

Not sure if they decided to let go of the inexperienced high schoolers , but the owners are carrying...