TL;DR: 9/10, great service, decent value, tasty drinks. Assessment in 1 visit.
EDIT: We returned and took a closer look at the menu boards; it appears that the sweetness options were listed, I just overlooked them. My mistake. We got the Vanilla Chai Tea Latte (which really does taste like graham crackers) with tapioca pearls and the Passion Dew (very refreshing) with mango star jellies.
Boba Tonka Bubble Tea is the type of place that I wish existed while I was living in the area. With a decent selection of toppings and drinks, it's definitely a place that I recommend stopping in at if you have any appreciation for boba tea or are looking to try it out for the first time.
The shop had a nice, relatively simple aesthetic. It was clean and seemingly well maintained. There was a pleasant aroma, I think it was from the bobas but I was unsure; it smelled like what I associate with boba shops. The menu was a little difficult to see until standing at the counter to order, but this was heavily influenced by the Covid restrictions at the time of writing. Bathroom seemed quite well maintained and clean, which is always a big plus to me.
The item selection was fairly straight forward. It seemed that there was a nice balance of drink selection and topping varieties. I settled for the Boba Tonka Signature Milk Tea with tapioca pearls while my wife went with monthly special White Dragon with Cherry Blossom crystal bobas. Both with medium sweetness as it was our first visit to this shop. Ultimately, the tapioca was very well done; they had a subtle sweetness that did not overshadow the milk tea. The pearls were also nice and chewy, but not falling apart or tough despite being in an iced drink. Medium sweetness for the signature milk tea was just right for me, but preferences here may vary. We felt that the medium sweetness for the White Dragon was a bit too sweet, but overall made for a nice summer drink with the Cherry Blossom crystal boba. There were some pastry items that looked appetizing, however, we did not partake during our visit.
The service was quite nice as well. I did not catch the name of the person at the register, but they offered a sample of the crystal boba without our asking for it, which made it seem like they were being quite attentive. Some of the drinks on the menu had a "Tastes Like" section which made some of the less descriptive drinks, the signature drink being one of them, a little easier to approach.
There were a few things that stood out to me. The biggest is that the signature milk tea was not just a "basic" milk tea. The board described it as tasting similar to chocolate, and that is an apt description; a nice departure from a signature milk tea that just tastes like a milk tea. Also, I have not encountered any place with "crystal boba" prior to coming here. They had a nice texture between that of tapioca boba and jellies.
Price-wise, it was by no means cheap, but also not expensive. Drink ranged from $4 to $6 depending on size, flavor, and toppings, so not unexpected of a boba shop. Toppings didn't cost too much either. I think most drink combinations with 1 topping came to a bit more than $5.
I think it would have been nice if they had an illustration showing what type of options are allowed for a drink; the menu mentioned medium sweetness, but did not clarify what sweetness levels were available. I also think that there could be more clarity on the drinks coming out. My drink came out a little before the drink that was ordered before me, so it caused a little bit of confusion when retrieving the drinks; admittedly a minor nit-pick, but it definitely would help with anyone who was deaf or otherwise unable to hear the drink being called.
Ultimately, we are planning on returning as it was a fairly good experience for us. We are looking forward to trying some of the pastries as well as fine tuning our drink...
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