Tea Bestea & The Loop Cake — Restaurant in Gainesville

I was visiting from out of town with my boyfriend to see my sister. I planned to go to visit some springs here with them and hopefully find somewhere with decent ramen and maybe even a good Thai tea. After thoroughly researching my options in the area I came across Bestea. After reading some of the other reviews I decided to drive an hour to check it out after our long day of adventuring. It was so beyond worth it in every way. After I took the first bite I immediately felt sadness in my heart that there is no Bestea in my hometown. I have not had a worthwhile bowl of ramen in two years. My sister and I got the tonkotsu ramen. The texture of the noodles was as perfect as perfect can get. The broth itself was extremely flavorful and I couldn’t help but drink as much of it as I could, broth that good should never be wasted. The pork belly itself was perfectly cooked, not soggy like a lot of the places I have previously tried and was as equally flavorful as the broth. And they had actual ramen eggs made the proper way , they were marinated obviously with love and so so so worth the add on to my bowl. My boyfriend got the Shoyu ramen which is like a spicy version of the tonkatsu. He was so ecstatic to finally get a spicy bowl of ramen that also was delicious in every way. We each got teas, they were all as up to par as the ramen and a perfect compliment to the meal as a whole. I could go on about this place all day but please , do yourself a favor and just don’t consider any other place in Gainesville to get ramen. This is THE ONE. Thank you so much Bestea for being 100% worth the drive. I will absolutely be back as soon as I can. Long live...

To start off I really wanted to like this place and support local businesses but was very disappointing with my visit. I went to this restaurant for their grand-opening BOGO boba tea deal but wasn't very impressed. The place itself is located in a pretty good location and had an overall nice aesthetic and was clean/well-kept. My issue is the quality of the teas and the customer service.

The cashier didn't seem to know what he was doing and the manager had to come over several times to teach him how to use the computer and correct orders.

My sister and I only ordered one tea each yet our wait time was approaching 45 minutes. I clearly saw people who came in after us receive their teas before we did. There wasn't even a line or that many people in the restaurant so no obvious explanation for the wait. I'm not sure if it's their policy to serve dine-in customers first but that's what it looked like so be prepared if you're ordering anything to-go.

When I actually got my tea it tasted very watery and bland. The bobas were kinda gummy as if they were sitting out for a long time. My sister ordered hers with no ice yet they still put in ice. At that point we decided to just leave as we didn't want to wait any longer to see if they could fix our order.

I can't speak for how the food is but just based off customer service alone I think I'll stick with TeaStori from now on if I'm getting Boba teas. I understand they might be working out their kinks as a new restaurant which is why I'm adding an extra star but overall would not...

I was so excited to visit this place because I love boba, but unfortunately, I had a terrible experience with Bestea. I asked the cashier about vegan options, but she was unfriendly, dismissive, and unhelpful. I inquired about the Taro tea when another employee came and told me there was no dairy in the taro boba tea. But I had doubts, so I asked to see the ingredient list. The reluctance in her response made me feel like I was a burden. She finally agreed to show me the list and I saw it contained milk derivatives. I have a dairy allergy, so this was a serious issue. Not once did either of the employees apologize for their negligence in lying about nondairy ingredients, or for failing to do their due diligence in checking the ingredients thoroughly. Additionally, I had ordered vegetable gyozas. The gyozas tasted mediocre at best, and it seemed like they had been fried after being frozen, so I asked for chili oil. The employee begrudgingly agreed but then, a few moments later, decided to charge me for it (arbitrarily). Notably, this chili oil is given for free at most similar establishments. Not only was I being charged for an item that is usually given for free, but this item was not listed as an item on the menu that was subject to charge. (Florida law requires restaurants to clearly state in their menus or advertisements the items that are subject to charges. §877.06) By the end of this experience, I felt unwelcome as a vegan and as someone with a dairy allergy. I will not be returning to this discriminatory...