Teaspoon El Camino — Restaurant in Santa Clara

Popped in for a quick Vietnamese coffee...which kind of turns out to be the only issue I had here.

It wasn't busy and I was greeted with a smile and my order was taken immediately. Great! Before I could even begin to look for a spot to sit down, my order was ready! Huh? Now, in our rush-a-day world, most people would prolly be delighted to have such a fast turnaround: come in, order, get their little drink and jet out to the car and drive off. Which is fine...but for me, personally, it meant, for my $7 plus tip, I was getting a coffee drink that was already brewed and mixed at some unknowable point in the past.

I suppose I could have asked when the coffee was brewed, but what are they gonna tell me and what would it accomplish? What I know is that it was brewed and mixed before I even stepped through the door, therefore, in my mind, it's not fresh.

Like I started off this review with, people are busy and in a rush - but quality matters and quality can take time. Maybe ask the customer if they would care to wait a few minutes for a fresh brew. If they can wait, great - happy customer. If they're not interested in waiting, they can take the pre-brewed, pre-mixed version and be happy they got it so fast.

This is a nice little shop, it's clean and the staff seems friendly...

Service: The cashier was nice and patience. She has some great recommendations. She was also the same person who made our drink. She was actually pretty quick about it.

Drinks: Liquid gold is the best drink here. It has a great balance of tea and honey. 50% sweet is just perfect. It doesn't look like the picture, but it sure taste amazing.

Pina Colada taste like a pina colada drink without the alcohol. Now I have no need to go to the bars and lounges to get this drink. It's on the sweet end. Just to give you a heads up.

Mango Fun Time taste like a mango smoothie. It is sweet. Normal sweet is good.

Osmanthus Oolong Tea is amazing. It has a good after taste to it.

Lychee Black Tea with Lychee jelly. Set the sweetness at 75% for the perfect blend.

Rose petal oolong tea is a great combination. Its subtle and refreshing.

Ambience: It's very empty inside. A few seats inside. No seats outside. They could add 3 or 4 more tables and chairs. There are really no wall decorations besides a giant spoon and a few display. Very white inside. They play soothing music, which can't be heard because so many people are talking. The trash was kind of full. Wish they would empty...

💗 I love their tea and this was my first place to try popping boba ! They have teas, coffee, speciality blends like Red Bull mixes, seasonal specials, smoothies plus desserts! 💗 Reasonable rates and amazing boba tea. The place is so aesthetically decorated and cute and the staff are super friendly. Love how I have the option to adjust the ice level 🧊 and the sugar content ! 📝 Their teas don’t usually come with added topping, so make sure you add yours. ✨ Normal bobas - 🧡My husband tried the Black Sugar Assam the first time and it was pretty decent. 💚 Today we tried the matcha Royal and I’m in loveeeeeee! I would definitely 💯 recommend this to anyone who wants to try something new and the matcha didn’t taste bitter at all which was surprising ! 😍 Fruit teas - 💚 The first time I tried the lychee popping boba with the grasshopper drink! Love love loved it. ❤️‍🩹 🤍 The second time I tried the passion fruit drink with passion fruit popping boba. This popping boba tasted slightly rotten 😔 However, the staff were nice enough to switch the boba and fix my drink with lychee jelly when I went back and I appreciate it 💕

✨ I’ll definitely be back for...