Tea Garden — Restaurant in McAllen

UPDATE*4/15/22 Whoever made my Banh mi today……….it was the best Banh I had from tea garden!! It had a lot of pate and Mayo, just how I like it. The taro boba was good as usual. Come here for the best banh mi in the RGV. Really the only restaurant in the RGV that serves Vietnamese Banh mi!

UPDATE** 11/7/20 today I was craving the cold cut special banh mi (sandwich) and boba tea. So I caved in and ordered tea garden again. I was hoping the bread was improved and it was! The bread was a little thinner not as densed. It was crispy and I didn’t have to toast it. There was significantly a good amount of pate and bo (butter/mayo). Which is my favorite. I forgot to ask for extra pate and bo, but it wasn’t needed. I also ordered the matcha green tea with red bean boba, it was delicious! Just a tad too sweet. Will come back for banh mi!

Today was the third time I had garden. The first time we ate here when they had just opened. The pho was okay, not too bad and the banh mi bread was stale and dry, but the contents was good. So today we ordered banh mi and pho. When I saw how light and clear the broth was that was a red flag to me. The broth today was tasteless and lacked that beef bone flavor. I’m Vietnamese and grew up on this staple and I make my own as well, so I know what a good pho broth is. I know lots of restaurants take shortcuts, but if that’s the case I wouldn’t eat here again. I Was very disappointed in the broth today. I want to assume they used the beef pho concentrate in the tub and if that’s the case y’all need to make good quality broth. Even the beef caldo soups i have at mexican restaurants has more beefy flavors. The banh mi bread again was dry and stale. I know they make their own bread, but it needs so adjustments to get that soft flaky outside and inside. We all been making bread and we all know it’s takes time go perfect. At least the egg rolls was decent. There are other restaurants in the area that has better pho, so there is competition. If y’all want to stand out I suggest working on that pho broth and...

Horrible! I ordered the Korean corn dog (whatever that is - don’t even know what the hype is about). Ordered 2 for my kids that are in dance class. Had to be early because I was told it’s until supply last. Anyhow, I ordered 2 to go. I was given both corn dogs in one paper container - exposed. I clarified at counter that it’s to go - I was told that’s how it is served - exposed so the corn dog won’t get soggy. No lid or cover or anything. No bag to put it in. I asked for sauce to go - they pointed the squeeze bottle in front of me. I asked for container since my order is to go - I was told THEY DON’T HAVE ANY. I asked how do they expect me to put sauce on top of corn dog, order is to go, it defeats their purpose of serving it exposed if they’re saying that so the corn dog won’t get soggy. I was directed to ask lady in front taking orders who gave me a small container, when I asked for the lid - of course THEY DON’T HAVE ANY! I asked for a plastic bag to put my order in - of course THEY DON’T HAVE ANY! I asked for another paper thing where they put the corn dog - they can’t because they don’t have enough! I told them I ordered two to go - again, I was directed to the lady in the front taking orders (I’m assuming she’s the owner?). When I asked her, she said that’s how it comes - 2 corn dogs in one container. Really?!!!! I asked her so if she wants me to cancel the order and replace it with 2 orders of 1 corn dog each - just to get an extra measly paper container?!!! OMG!!! This place is horrible!!! And people - they charge 4% for every credit card transaction!!!! Of course they prefer cash orders maybe so it doesn’t have to be reported to IRS as income and won’t have to be taxed! I don’t even know what’s the hype about this place! Granted they may serve good food or that boba thing but there are other places that serve same food and boba teas that are also good (maybe even better than theirs) and have definitely...

This place just didn’t feel welcoming for my family. I came in hoping to enjoy some boba together, but a few things made the experience disappointing. First, they don’t have highchairs, which makes it difficult for families with little ones. On top of that, every table was dirty when we arrived. I had to ask for ours to be cleaned, and even after a quick wipe, crumbs and food pieces were still left behind. I ended up cleaning it myself. When checking my receipt, I noticed I was charged extra for boba even though the menu clearly said the drink came “with boba.” When I asked about it, the staff just said, “That’s store policy,” which felt misleading. If it isn’t actually included, the menu should reflect that—it comes across as false advertising otherwise. Finally, I couldn’t help but notice that younger customers next to us received much friendlier service, while our table was mostly ignored. Between the lack of cleanliness, unclear pricing, and uneven customer service, we just grabbed our drinks and left. Sadly this was our first and most likely last time we go....

Thank you for your response. I just want to clarify that my brown sugar milk tea was $7, but I was also charged an additional fee for the boba. Since this drink is listed as one that must come with boba, I don’t understand why there was an extra charge. It feels misleading; customers end up paying more for a drink that already says boba is included, but then are charged extra because the drink requires boba. When I asked about it, the employee said it was store policy, which gave the impression of being unfair. I wanted to point this out because it could easily be seen as deceptive to customers, and I hope it can be corrected...