TeaDo RVA — Restaurant in Richmond

If you know me, I love me some boba - did Teado come through?

Overall, I’d say that it did. A more accurate rating is 4.5 rounded up to a 5 - though the drinks were a bit too sweet for my taste, the friendly service, fresh ingredients, and tasty rice balls made up for it.

All the boxes were checked - the menu had a wide selection of flavors and fun combinations with intriguing names. Our server was pleasant and quick, and the all-important boba was cooked well.

We started with the “Juliet” - pomegranate, rose, and green tea - which was floral, fragrant and dreamy. The Tiger Milk Tea was good, but less memorable, and both drinks were too sugary for my taste - I will say, we didn’t realize the “Tiger” referred to extra stripes of brown sugar lining the cup. That one’s on us, but when in doubt, adjust sweetness levels!

We also tried the onigiri, which were much better than the last ones I reviewed in the area. In my limited experience, rice balls are generally not lose-your-mind-flavorful, but apparently can still be good, if a bit simple. These were accompanied by a spicy mayo-esque dipping sauce. Crispy nori, furikake seasoning, and a generous portion of salmon made for a satisfying combo. The shrimp tempura wasn’t soggy in the slightest, but was fresh and crisp, with a sweet, tender interior.

Was it my favorite boba I’ve ever had? Not yet. Was it quite good? Absolutely - and as the only change it needs to reach a five star rating is me ordering the right sweetness level, I think I’ll have to go back and test it...

The boba and food is amazing and deserving of all the high praise but what I along with many others absolutely love about TeaDo is like you may have read time and time again in these reviews is the atmosphere. It’s what differentiates TeaDo from the dozens of other boba shops in the city and even state. I’ve been to the TeaDo in Nova and have noticed that the atmosphere is consistently a priority for TeaDo. I’m unsure if this is done on purpose but it’s probably the sole reason why I prefer TeaDo. It having the best boba and food is just the cherry on top. I’ve been to the Kung Fu Tea’s and Kokee Tea’s and it feels like they want you to just get your boba and get the heck out of there. TeaDo is inviting with their seats, tables, music, and even board games. It’s almost like a “3rd place” for students and friend groups already in such a short amount of time since their grand opening. I don’t want to make this review long so I will just like to add that it would be nice if there was a way to incorporate a song request feature with a qr code or something. That’s all!...

The staff was very friendly and helpful. I came in with 3 children and that isn't easy. We don't do dairy and oat milk was offered to us. My children were offered games while they waited! The atmosphere is great, the restaurant and bathrooms are clean. This was a great experience. I look forward to returning and staying a while!

*I left the above review about a year ago and it's still true

Hello! My family and I LOVE TeaDo.

I came in last night and ordered a Tiger Milk Boba tea. What I got didn't look like a Tiger Milk, but I thought maybe the mix changed. TeaDo has a unique looking Tiger Milk Tea. There was a new young man working and he made me a Brown Sugar Tea, one of his coworkers asked if it was right and another one prompted him to finish it up and handed it to me.

I understand when there is a new employee mistakes happen, I just don't understand why his coworkers didn't...