CRAFTY BOBA — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I was so excited to visit Royal Boba as part of Hot Chicken Week '21. The weekly specials, Hot Hawaiian & Hot Chicken Musubi plates, seemed so unique and a really fun way to close out a great Hot Chicken Week. Royal Boba also came with great recommendations and pretty solid reviews across the board, so it seemed like a fun place to try. However, if I could give zero stars I would. I truly hope my experience was an isolated one.

While my experience was less than desirable, I will say the young woman working the front counter was extremely nice and did a phenomenal job. She was very knowledgeable and extremely sweet. She also did a good job handling how busy they were.

When we made our order she forewarned us that the wait was a bit long due to the special. I told her that wasn't an issue at all. We planned for it to be busy as it had been at nearly every other participating restaurant we visited. It just comes with the territory and we were completely fine waiting. In fact, we planned on visiting a couple of shops in the area in the event there was a wait. So we order, the employee tells us the wait (30-40 minutes), we receive our drinks first and then head out to kill some time.

Fast forward 35 minutes later. We come back to the restaurant ready to wait for a little bit. My first clue something was wrong should have been what the employee said when I walked in. "Oh, I'll let the kitchen know you're back in the building." I just brushed this off thinking they probably just needed to know who to bring the food to.

After the initial 40 minutes I was told about passed, I was still fine. I saw a couple of people who ordered before me get their food and go, a good sign. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later and I saw two groups of people who were behind me in the initial line get there food that I suspected something was off.

I waited another 10 minutes (we're an hour and 10 minutes in now) before I walked up to the counter to ask for a status update. The employee told me they would check. She comes back out and says it'll be about another 10-20 minutes. Well 15 minutes later, after twice the estimated time, the food finally came out. Though I cannot confirm, it seems like my food wasn't started until I came back. Nowhere and at no time was there any indication I had to be in the building for my food to be made. Why would that even be a thing? Especially with the abundance of takeout orders being created. But I can't find another logical reason to explain why I had to wait twice the estimated time and was skipped over.

Unfortunately, while creative and unique, the food was not worth the wait. The chicken katsu was extremely dry and lacked any real flavor. It was truly surprising and disappointing considering this was a hot chicken dish. The seaweed wrap for the musubi was atrocious. It tasted almost like it was past the expiration date. The macaroni salad was the only saving grace. It really had that traditional Hawaiian sweetness while being delicate and creamy.

Once again, I hope my visit was an isolated one and I hope others had a wonderful experience. I champion for local restaurants and always want to give fair reviews. Unfortunately Royal Boba will not be a place I...

As someone who comes from NYC (in and around Flushing and China town) and makes my own bubble tea, the tea here is just ok. I am writing this review mainly for constructive criticism so that Royal Boba can ultimately be successful moving forward since we need good Boba in Nashville (and eventually shaved ice creameries as well). Had both the Taro and Classic Royal tea with bubbles. The good: the Boba has great chewy consistency and perfectly sweetened. The bad: Off the bat, the Taro flavor is not the classic flavor you hope and expect. Both of teas had way too much of a floral hint to it—perhaps using too much rose water. Additionally, the Taro texture was extremely gritty/chalky vs smooth and velvety like one would hope and expect. The texture was the most off-putting aspect truthfully, which a quality Boba place should never have—it gives the impression that you use cheap powder to make the drinks. I would suggest using a different brand altogether to get the classic color, texture and flavor right. For the Classic Royal, the tea flavor was really watered down and not strong enough (tea needs to be brewed longer and with higher potency)...and again, way too much floral rose flavor. I’ll be more than happy to update my review if any of these changes are made. Best...

Highly recommend Yin Yang Tea!!! I come here very often (even though there are two other boba places closer to me in distance) and have never had a bad experience. The quality of the drinks are always consistent, and the staff are wonderful! They are always so warm and friendly, and seem genuinely happy to help and take pride in their job. They also have a ton of knowledge and will help steer you in the right direction when you don’t know what you want. The (many) milk teas that I have tried have all been very good, and it’s easy to customize not only your toppings, but the sweetness level, amount of ice, etc. They also have a great selection of bases too, so if you are someone that prefers oat or almond or soy milk, they have lots of options! It’s also always very clean, even the restrooms, and the staff are consistently cleaning whenever I’ve been there during slow times. They have a loyalty program as well so you can earn free drinks, which is always nice! I strongly recommend yin Yang tea to anyone looking for a great boba place in the west...