R&B Tea - Fremont — Restaurant in Fremont

I checked out R&B Tea - Fremont while on a bike ride along Fremont Blvd. The location is very convenient. There is free timed street parking as well as some parking in the rear of the storefront. There are also multiple locations along Artist Walk to park one’s bike, and the shop is only a short walk from nearby bus stops.

The store was clean and bright, music was playing, and there was ample seating for people to sit down and enjoy their food and drinks. There were also some games available for people to play (cards, Jenga, Connect4, etc). I could imagine this place being a really fun spot to meet up with friends, get some boba and snacks, and chill.

I used the self-service kiosk to order and pay. I ordered the spicy popcorn chicken (but with zero spiciness for me lol) and a Green Thai Tea. Both were excellent! The popcorn chicken was crisp and flavorful. I appreciated that it wasn’t mostly batter and that it wasn’t super oily or greasy. The Green Thai Tea was also very good—fresh and smooth. I only know a few places that offer this drink, so I’m glad to know there’s a place nearby to me that has it and that does it well.

I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the owner, Allen, who is looking forward to the store’s Grand Opening. He was very friendly and kind, and he really knows his stuff about tea. I’m looking forward to coming back to R&B Tea - Fremont soon!

Addendum: I revisited R&B recently several weeks after my first visit from which I wrote my review. I got the same drink. I’ll note that the boba’s texture is too soft for my preference and isn’t as chewy as I would like it. I hope this is something they’re working on while they’re still in the soft opening, because the quality of the drink itself...

Randomly came upon this boba place because other places were closed by that time. A couple friends and I went there to try it out. Horrible service, takes 25-30 just to get your drinks after ordering. Food was taking way too long and the kid making the drinks didn’t know what he was doing. Flustered, all over the place. On top of that, a doordash person came in waiting on an order, wasn’t ready yet so he went outside to wait in his car. He comes back in maybe 20 mins later and asks them for the order he was waiting on and they tell him that “somebody else already came to pick that up”. Which left confusion on the doordashers end. But actually, they gave it away to the wrong person but tried to act like someone else already came for the order. Again, it was the kid who was flustered and all over the place that tried to say someone else had picked it up, but in actuality he gave away the order to the wrong person. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOBA PLACE. Unless you have 30-45 mins to wait on drinks...

I got a House Coffee with Cream Cheese (and added coffee jelly), which was fantastic, but I was a bit surprised to see that it was canned (instead of a film plastic top). I appreciate that they do this, and reduce film plastic waste, but it made it nearly impossible to actually consume my drink though the narrow opening in the metal top.

I think you should show this in the product pictures so customers are informed, as well as give customers the option to not have a top attached. Considering "no ice" is $1 extra and the ice prevented me from getting the jelly (that I did pay extra for), I was a bit frustrated that I didn't know in advance how it would be served.

Overall, I enjoyed what I got (after ripping the top off), but it feels like the drink container choice doesn't...