Gong Cha @ 1604 & Redland — Restaurant in San Antonio

They have some fake reviews, click on the profile of some of these 5 stars and you will see they have reviewed only the other stores, each time claiming or hinting at the fact it’s supposedly their first time. Lol idk how owners think ppl aren’t gonna catch on to stuff like this. It takes one click to view someone’s profile and see their other reviews. Best be careful messing with fake reviews especially when they tie into advertising; can spark up some fraud charges rly fast when you don’t know federal regulations around advertising/ sponsorship programs… Also your actions could get Google in trouble if they find out and take no action, especially when google has partnerships and paid services with many companies to use googles services for marketing and you’re using fraudulent tools/tactics to essentially take money from other businesses nearby; by inflating your reviews. Hmm maybe I should look into this more spread the word to nearby businesses that work with google for marketing services and tell them to reach out to their contact.*After owner responded here is an example of 2 profiles that have reviewed them and 1 also claimed it’s their first time, and they had so many questions lmao how is it your first time when you already reviewed this franchise more than once??? Inflating views in return for paid services is not non sense I’ve been around internet marketing before the YouTube boom the twitch boom and all that, there are a lot of new regulations and rules you gotta follow now since those booms and if you knowingly are allowing fake reviews you can be punished by the FTC so maybe learn about the non...

(EDIT: They post FAKE 5 STAR REVIEWS) First time here and I won’t be back. I got a strawberry milk tea (medium/smallest size) $6.77 after tax. The tapioca/boba pearls are WAY TOO sweet. The first one I bit into made me gag and I wanted to spit it out, but they didn’t have napkins on the tables and there was no bag in the trash bin, so I quickly chewed and made sure to not get anymore up my straw. The chunks of fake “strawberry” don’t taste like strawberry and I tried to avoid those as well. And the milk is powdered btw (I know because I asked the cashier). A strawberry milk tea is my usual/fav kind to get at any boba place and is my unit of measure for quality flavoring. This place is way too sugary, priced high for drink size, and there’s only maybe four tables in that giant, barren shop. They were also playing country music? Odd. I chugged my drink to not waste my money or inconvenience the staff for a refund, and left ASAP.

Edit: Lol. The owner’s replies on here are wild. Very unprofessional. They’re posting fake 5 star reviews because they got 4 reviews (all 5 stars) IN THE LAST HOUR during the time that they also responded to my review, and they all address each of the critiques I had mentioned in my review. If you click on the profiles of the “customers” that left the four latest reviews (from 7/3/23), you can see they have left glowing reviews on each Gong cha tea location in San Antonio. And that’s all those accounts have reviewed. For the record, I love country music, but I don’t think it suits the vibe of the shop, hence why I mentioned it. If you’re going to own a business, learn how to take and respond...

For a positive start, I have consistently enjoyed the lychee slush with mango pearls, and it always smells clean and good here, like a quality hotel. To the lesser side of things, the organization of everything feels rather empty and passionless, striking as minimalistic yet bleak. It's not a terrible wait time for your items, but you shouldn't come here in a rush for a drink.

By far the most detestable things about this place is the overall atmosphere or "vibe" it gives off. The last time I went here, the speakers were blasting these terrible brostep pop song remixes and other things that did not at all sell to the idea of a humble hangout spot. It was loud enough to the point that I was struggling to communicate with my family while we sat down. If the store owners or workers could read this and if you have the ability to change the music, I would highly suggest some ambient or even new age music, and to have it not be so loud so that other human beings can fill the small gap in the atmospheric volume.

Lastly I should mention that I have unfortunately not had the tea or other items from this place yet, so I can't speak to the quality of the boba or tea, etc., so the worth of my review is up to you. I have had the bubble waffles, which are consistently killer as well. To a certain extent I can say the boba is wonderful. Overall I would suggest giving this...