Boba Guys Union Square — Restaurant in San Francisco

Boba Guys is a super popular Boba Tea place in Union Square that always has a long line outside. A couple of days ago I found that it had a relatively small line so I decided to give it a try. The marketing people at Boba Guys seem to have come up with a simple menu that covers a couple of options for basic milk teas, green tea, Thai tea, coffee and a horchata of all things thrown in, all of which you can get in hot or cold. For milk you have options for both dairy (Straus organic milk) and non-dairy (almond, soy and oat milk) and for toppings you can get boba, almond, grass or aloe jelly, chia seeds and egg pudding (50c each). Sweetness can be customized to your liking (100%, 50%, 25% or 0%). It seems to cross all boxes as far as options are concerned.

I decided to get the large Jasmine Milk Tea ($4.75) and added boba for another 50c and went with Soy Milk and 50% sweetness. I think I could pay by card but I'm not sure. Service was fast and I had my drink in less than 5 minutes (there was hardly anyone else around so they were not too busy). Let's come to the drink. The simple description would be "weak". I could not get any Jasmine flavor/taste. It seemed like regular back tea. The 50% sweetness at Boba Guys left my drink a little too bland for my taste (I like my Milk Tea's a little on the sweet side) which means their default level should be fine for me (but a little too much for most). The boba was ordinary and lacked the chewy mouth feel of good quality boba. Overall, I was not very impressed with this drink.

My take is this place is a smart marketing concoction. It has a catchy name and logo. A menu that tries to be simple yet appeal to a large cross section of people and price points that all converge around the $6 mark (with toppings). What they have not done is focused on the quality of the product which in my opinion is lacking. i-Tea and Pleantea both of which are within 10 minutes of Boba Guys provide much better quality at a slightly lower price. My first choice would be i-Tea followed by Plentea and then Boba Guys when wanting boba Milk tea in the...

I visited Boba Guys once three years ago in New York, and I swear over had dreams about it since. It was heavenly.

This time around, it was still great! But not the same experience. First, they have a very strict ordering system. I didn't realize it until I walked up, but you have to place a pick-up order through their website or Doordash. Luckily (not!) for me, I had exactly 1% battery on my phone. And my brother's? His phone been dead for a few hours already. It felt like Mission Impossible. The two of us were on a race against time to browse through the menu, select a drink, and place the order for the right location. It wasn't too hard to pick the drink - their Strawberry Matcha Latte has been on my mind for the past THREE years!

First thing that I noted was that the matcha was legit. It's very easy to distinguish cheap matcha from authentic matcha. This one had a very rich and unique flavor. It was slightly bitter but the strawberry purée jumped in to balance the drink perfectly.

The drink was good. But was it REALLY $8 good? Maybe not.

A few days later, I came and wanted to switch things up. Brown Sugar Hojicha Latte sounded intriguing. Sadly, it was just a regular old brown sugar milk tea. Except even blander. It almost just tasted like sweet milk. That being said, I would not recommend this drink.

At the end of the day, I'm still glad I came here because its novelty experience for a Texan like me! This drink won't be popping into my dreams anymore, but I'll still pay Boba Guys a visit any time I...

I ordered and really enjoyed their signature drink Strawberry Matcha Latte. It’s a layered drink that consists of Organic premium-grade matcha, your choice of milk and their housemade strawberry puree. I added their boba to my drink. It is always delicious. You get small pieces of strawberry in the jam, which makes it taste very fresh and tasty. The matcha itself earthy and sweet, but subtle. You can choose from a variety of milks like organic whole milk, oat milk, coconut milk and almond milk. I usually get their organic whole milk. I really love their boba. It’s perfectly chewy, slightly sweet and always tastes fresh. I have never had a bad experience with their boba, and I’ve been coming to this location for a few years now.

This location is small and cozy. Space to enjoy your drinks and food is limited. They offer delivery through third-parties, and you can order ahead for pickup. It’s located right next to Liquor & Deli on Union Square. There’s a parking garage right across the street, which you would have to pay for. Paid parking on the street is very limited. There is no free parking around or near this location. Staff is friendly, helpful and prompt. There are times that line is out the door, but they usually knock it out fairly quick. I have yet to try their Korean Banana Milk drink, but I hear...