Boba Lab — Restaurant in Santa Monica

As a boba lover in DTSM, it gets quite difficult. The closest boba place to me is that place in the corner of the Promenade. One would not even notice it's there unless you have keen sense of boba smelling. So when Boba Lab opened almost two years ago, you just get my excitement. I used to come in almost everyday after work, until I've noticed my clothes are becoming tighter.

The menu was a lot smaller then but when I came in a few days ago, they had a lot more options. They even have some small meals and snacks like waffles and popcorn chicken. I've only had their waffle before. Not the biggest fan.

But their boba is on my top 10. I really like that they now have some healthier alternatives to cream and that they have flavored boba including strawberry and hazelnut bobas. I usually just get their jasmine milk tea and hazelnut boba. Yep, it's bomb dot com.

They're partnered with Five Stars so make sure to take advantage of that. Some points will get you...

Checked out Boba Lab on a Saturday afternoon. It was a quiet time, which was great because it meant I didn’t feel guilty peppering the cashier with questions about the difference between the ‘cream’ drinks and ‘marble’ drinks (seems the difference is just that former is blended together and the latter isn’t). We got the marble ube and natural taro cream. Both were truly delicious and tasted real (rather than like artificial flavoring). They let us use our reusable cups, which was great. Before they realized we had straws, they went to give us a couple and I was pleased to see they were compostable and wrapped in paper - no plastic!

My only complaint was that the boba to drink ratio was a bit off. We both finished all of the boba in our drinks before the drink itself, which never really happens when we get boba other places.

Would definitely return. Would perhaps just request...

I have been coming here for a while, and I noticed that the quality of the food and service has severely decreased. I ordered online and waited around 30 minutes for my order of french fries. When I opened the box I was ASTONISHED. The fries looked bland, dry, and cold, but that did not even compare to the shock I experienced in my first bite. Half of the fries were raw! None of them were crispy or golden, although they were fried. The sriracha mayo was severely watered down and made the experience much worse. I cannot believe it took 30 minutes to make these. The workers work slow and the place was packed with people waiting. The service used to be much better, alongside the food quality. I am extremely dissatisfied with my order and doubt I will return to this establishment. I suggest you save your money or find another boba place in your...