Boba Guys

Ever since the Boba guys in the mission closed this has been the one I go to. Its always clean and the drinks are always on point. I will always miss the food options but I will always choose this location to get my boba in the Japantown area

The drinks were made haphazardly, with no attention paid to requests such as no ice or less syrup. Also, the ingredient proportions were clearly off. The drinks we received were noticeably different from the same drinks prepared at the Palo Alto location.

I got an absolutely delicious lavender decaf black tea with oatmilk and no boba. My friend got a sweeter pink drink that was also really good. I feel like anything you get at this store will be pretty good. And the interior decor is great as well.

I love the boba drink so much that I keep visiting them very often. The staff is friendly too. My favourite being Korean banana Milk with bobas. They maintain 6ft distance and can order online too.

Ordered the Horchata bobba..terrible. I'd love to know whats he benefit to tip before hand when in the end your drink sucks. Worst Horchata boba I've ever had. Zero customer service. Ordered through a tablet and very limited options.

chanced upon this place & decided to give it a try. absolutely loved the strawberry rice milk! so yummy without being overly sweet.. the hojicha latte was not bad too with an earthy roasted taste. bro who had the strawberry matcha latte gulped it down in like, 5 mins 😅 added bobas to all our drinks too, chewy without being rubbery. thumbs up! ♡

Boba tea at the next level! From standard selective teas to more adventure specialty drinks like matcha and strawberries puree or dirty horchata (horchata +shots of espresso). Be prepared to wait 30 - 45 minutes as they take time to craft the drinks.

Go there about 10 minutes before they open because a line does form fast on the weekends. Weekdays probably not so long of a wait. I love all their classics and a must try is the strawberry matcha latte. The color is pretty too.

Stopped by for a quick drink and tried the strawberry matcha. The layers looked super pretty bright strawberry at the bottom, creamy milk in the middle, and that earthy green matcha on top. Flavor-wise, it's a nice balance: the fresh strawberry adds sweetness and tartness, while the matcha keeps things grounded and not overly sugary. Refreshing and fun to sip. The shop itself is clean and modern with a chill vibe, though it can get busy, so expect a short wait. Prices are a bit on the higher side compared to other boba spots, but you can tell they use quality ingredients. Overall, a solid spot for boba in San Carlos creative drinks, good flavors, and worth it if you're in the mood for something a little more elevated than your average tea shop.

My family loves the Boba tea at Boba Guys! Been to a few of their locations, and today we tried this one in San Carlos. We had our usual - the Strawberry Fields because my daughter loves it. It was good as always but felt a tad watered down today. Wish they put more milk than water/ice. Still, quite enjoyable. The ordering process is straightforward, the service was super quick, and the vibes are cozy and casual. Definitely recommend.

I tried their Strawberry Matcha Latte once and could not stop thinking about it so when I was craving it again, I decided to go on a quick boba run to get my fix. I usually get it with boba and the total comes out to around $7.50. Service has been great and my drink comes out within a few minutes. When I went, there was no line so we were in and out within 5 minutes.

Street parking, no public restroom. Either self order at kiosk or order at the counter. I had a decaf black milk tea (is decaf new?) with half sugar and boba. This could be confirmation bias, but it definitely taste a little different than classic black ahah but definitely does the job if you are trying to limit caffeine intake. As always, never leave boba guys disappointed =]

Overall, It was a good experience. I got an iced matcha with almond milk and boba. It wasn't incredibly sweet (which I appreciated), yet it didn't have much flavor--period. The staff was very kind and my order came out within five minutes, which was a plus. The space felt very clean too. Would come back if I was craving a classic boba beverage!

Was driving through San Carlos so I decided to order a Korean Banana Milk drink online for pick up. Order was ready by the time I arrived and I was able to easily grab and go. Taste was pretty in line with other Boba Guys I've been to, though the fresh banana taste was definitely more prevalent this time. For some reason, the drink did feel a bit grainy compared to other times I've had it, but it didn't make me dislike it.

I have come to this location a couple of times, and a few days ago, I tried one of their seasonal drinks! I ordered the Mango Sticky Rice. I love the mango sticky rice dessert at Thai restaurants, so I thought I'd give the drink a try. It was super delicious and refreshing with the mango puree and the purple sticky rice! It definitely reminded me of the Thai dessert. Wish they would have this year round; it was so good! Definitely recommend this drink! Service wasn't bad. We ordered our drinks at the kiosk and got our drinks in 10 min. They also sell Boba Guys merchandise there, and other baked goods and snacks from other vendors. There are a few tables and chairs to sit at.

I ordered the regular black milk tea with boba. The softness of the boba and strength of tea were both great.

All of YOUR (boba guys) customers who YOU direct to Starbucks to go relieve YOUR boba drinks do a walk of shame in front of the next door Starbucks staff. I bought extra 4 dollars of something at Starbucks even though I did not need it, but I did it to be a responsible and respectful person to Starbucks staff. They are watching your customers relieve Boba Guys drinks rent free at Starbucks, the bathroom that YOU do not have to clean. YOU should pay Starbucks staff for cleaning up YOUR mess. There is no restroom to the public at Boba Guys. I get rent is expensive in the bay area, but this particular boba shop has enough space to put a restroom for the public so there is no excuse. I asked the staff where the restroom is and they said "you can go to the Starbucks restroom".. This is honestly rude to your customers and the worst treatment to the Starbucks staff. They could be getting worse pay than Boba Guys staff. And Boba Guys staff say: oh yeah you can give us money and you can go relieve yourself in the Starbucks bathroom so the Starbucks staff can clean up even more germs. This is not ok. Also, it is required for anyone going to use Starbucks restrooms to pay for something there. This sucks for your customers, but I understand because Starbucks staff should not have to clean up after Boba Guys customers. The Starbucks staff is too nice bc they let Boba Guys customers use their restroom even tho they are not their customer. Also the customer service was wayyy better and they do not charge over $8 for a drink. There really is no excuse to not have restrooms at Boba Guys because they have the most expensive boba drinks anyway. I don't even remember the taste of my Boba Guys drink that day bc it was not that special. What about caring for women's wellness. Where do women get to pump for their babies? Where can parents go to clean up diapers which I bet most of the times it is the woman's job to take care of the children. What about the women who have bad urin infections bc they cannot relieve themselves without paying extra for Starbucks. This is not female friendly, there is no universal design and it is not healthy. No wonder it is called "Boba Guys" because they don't care about women. I really want to put my rating as negative 5.

I never been there. I was there 2 weeks ago, saturday afternoon, kind of quiet which is good. No line. Ordered my thai tea, pretty good taste. But nothing special like other people mentioned. Just a "regular tea shop". Not much seating inside for this location. Drink come out very fast, that is good.

My drink was made pretty standard to other Boba Guys locations--which is always really solid. However, I will say that the wait is pretty long compared to other locations. My friend ordered right before me and got their order pretty quick. More than 10-15 minutes later, we got our order.

Andrew and team make the best quality boba teas anywhere. They only use the finest ingredients which sets Boba Guys above the rest!

You know, as a boba enjoyer, it did take me QUITE some time to try out the Boba Guys. To be fair this is the first time that I didn't see the line super fisted out the door and during a surprising time when it was still open. I ordered online so that I can pick up my order when I got there. I think they were short staffed since it took a bit over 10 minutes to pick up my drink from the time estimate, but no biggie. Kinda sucked though that most of the cute merchandise was already sold out and so were the more popular drinks and snacks (cookies, etc.). This also included a large chunk of their seasonal menu unfortunately and this was just around lunch time too, so maybe it's a stock shortage overall. Oh well. We got the: 1) Classic Black Tea: -We got this 0% sweet with coconut milk substitute. -It was a bit more watered down than I would have liked and I'm assuming its either the coconut milk sub or the tea standing alone but it was a bit too sour for my taste, in terms of how milk teas go. 2) Black Sugar Hojicha Latte: -I got this with their Kuromitsu boba. It definitely has a strong black sugar taste to it and the consistency of the boba was alright, a bit softer than what I would prefer. -Decent roasted taste and before mixing it's very aesthetically pleasing. -Nothing too drastically different from other hojicha drinks that I've had in the past. 3) Red Velvet White Rabbit Candy Cookie: -I had to remind the cashier to bring this out, but they're ready made and it's one of the few special cookies that were still in stock. -You can't really taste the White Rabbit candy but it's overall a nice red velvet cookie. -I like the sweetened, crunchy sugary edges and it's nice for pictures since it comes with the White Rabbit candy wrapper. It's neat that their straws are compostable. Overall not bad but not a boba place that I'd line up for or explicitly seek out.

Todays experience was a 5/5 star. The girl who made my drink was super nice, and we were talking about my tattoos while she made my drink. I meant to ask for her name, but another customer came in. Her genuine kindness made my drink taste better today. Boba guys is a hit or miss for me. Sometimes my drink tastes bitter. But for the most part it's pretty good. I don't like that they usually tell me to order off the machine. Like they're too busy to help me. It's on the pricey side. I didn't realize it was $7.50 for my strawberry matcha latte

Mmmm. Boba Guys. Good quality boba tea. Consistently serving great drinks and amazing service. Been a fan for years but this location was conveniently across the street from the parking lot, so we stop by for to go drinks before heading back to our car. If you're new to Boba Guys... they are well known for their matcha lattes. My personal favorite is the strawberry matcha. Seasonal specials are also good - the black sesame latte. The Ube latte, thai tea, & HK milk tea are also on our rotation. For those that want something light and refreshing, fruit frescas are the way to go. Price point is reasonable. Give it a try!

So excited a milk tea place in San Carlos. Been to the one in Palo Alto. Good location. Ordered Hong Kong milk tea and was just OK. My wife ordered Rose milk tea and said it was plain. Will try again with some other items on the menu. Rating is a work in progress. Will come back.

This review is not indicative of Boba guys in general just the drink that I got today. Fortunately I decided to try something new on the seasonal menu. The mango sticky rice. And theory it sounded delicious. However it did not meet the mark that it intended to be. Overall, the drink tasted just like sweet milk and nothing else. It came with manual purée, but it did not taste like much after mixing. I enjoyed the rice part of the drink, however others may not. The rice itself was enjoyable. Let it be a less to myself to stray from the original menu. In the future, I will stick to the basics and what I know that is enjoyable and solid at the Boba guys. I recommend the spot and will be back however, I do not recommend a specific mango sticky rice drink. It would be better if it tasted like mango and a little bit less sweet.

Found this gross thing coming up the straw from my hibiscus tea. A piece of twisty plastic in the shape of a chicken bone? I won't be back.

I raced down the street to get to Boba guys for their dirty horchata , I got there at 7:54 and a rude employee was taking the sign in and said, "We're closed," and walked away. I said, "But I have 6 min.!" and he made some lame excuse. They're always packing up early there. Also, the ambiance is terrible and it feels dirty. There used to be a line out the door and now there's nobody in line.

I had my first boba there, the Strawberry fields . They suggested it to me because it was my first time. IT WAS DISGUSTING !!! Bad for boba. The restaurant was clean, but there was some dirtiness. The servers were nice though. But, the Ube cookie is really good. It has the right amount of dryness and moisture, and makes your tongue purple for fun!

A Bay Area boba icon! While not my go-to, I do find myself coming back to Boba Guys if I'm in the area because of their interesting drink combinations. I recommend ordering online for pick up, but if you walk in, you can either order at the register or at an iPad kiosk. The black sugar hojicha latte and black sesame, which are the two I get the most, are the most reliable. For the pandan caramel matcha, I wish the sugar level could be adjusted because it was too sweet, even after thoroughly mixing. The Hong Kong milk tea tasted a bit watery and not creamy enough. The lychee oolong has unfortunately been sold out the past few times I've visited, but I've been eyeing it for a while now. The boba texture is inconsistent though. One day, it'll be pretty good and bouncy, and another day, it'll be hard. Overall, I appreciate their creativity, but the execution is more like a 3.5/5.

Awful customer service and zero friendliness here. "Candy" (not sure if that's her real name) was extremely unprofessional, disrespectful and snarky to me after some confusion about an order (confusion on their side). I give up on this location. They've never been friendly and today just solidified that. Find somewhere else where you'll be treated properly.

Depending on day of the week, this spot in San Carlos can get pretty busy. Today was a gem with only one customer in front of us. Grab a drink while meandering through the amazing shops on Laurel. Boba Guys puts out consistent and flavorful drinks showing their mastery. Our staples are the refreshing Strawberry Jasmine and Hibiscus - double boba of course! Bonus, joined the loyalty program and got 25% off my order.

This location is on San Carlos' Laurel Street, which is right up along El Camino Real and the closest thing I think they have to a downtown. Can't park on Laurel Street itself or even drive on it as it's mostly blocked off for outdoor dining, but there's a lot of surrounding street parking and a garage on their northern end that you can get into from Walnut or San Carlos Avenue. Boba Guys is a San Francisco boba chain (with merch and everything) that's known for incorporating really unique, nostalgic flavors you're unlikely to see in other boba shops. They have chains up and down the Bay Area, including this one. I thought that since this was in a quieter area, they wouldn't be as busy and crowded as other locations, but we just happened to come during the Sunday Farmer's Market (chockful of local arts, crafts, and baked goods) which is also up along Laurel Street. Its proximity to the San Carlos Caltrain Station (and right across the El Camino) is super convenient and I definitely have the mind to stop here the next time I get a day pass to go up to SF. Overall, it was great exploring this part of San Carlos and looking around their Farmer's Market with a drink from Boba Guys. My favorite remains their strawberry matcha latte, as they use a jam that isn't overly cloying or sweet (like it should be in a sandwich). Would recommend.

Yummy drinks and digital drink menu. Love that there flexibility/options with milk. Not a ton of seating but can always sit outside at one of the spots downtown. Service was quick as the digital kiosk was being used and the guy up front helped me.

Got an oolong milk tea at Boba Guys. It wasn't very good - the tea flavor was too subdued! Boba guys also has much less variety so compared to other tea places so it's a little disappointing!

I can now see why there is no line at Boba guys anymore. Several years ago there would always be a line of people wanting Boba drink here but we just experienced something terrible with regards to the quality. On the cup it states 'we take Boba and tea to the next level'... Seems a little false advertising in my opinion. The Boba was old/hard! Bought 4 drinks for $30. Never again will I purchase from here again!

Decided to try the Sapin Sapin drink. I am a fan of coconut, ube and jack fruit so why not? Unfortunately I could only taste jackfruit. I tastes like the syrup that comes in a jarred jackfruit. There were chunks of jackfruit that made the drink have an almost gritty taste. Id finish the drink but wouldn't order again. My boyfriend got the thai cold brew drink. The cold brew was a little over powering so if youre looking for something strong Id recommend. You get a hint of thai tea flavor.

Wide selection to choose from. Tea was well made to my specification. Welcoming people at front desk. Good service. It looked like a very popular place.They also allowed our group to hang out for a long time before they closed for the day : )

I've been wanting to try Boba Guys for the longest so we made a pit stop for some caffeine. We got there maybe around 11:30am and there was no line! I got the strawberry matcha with boba and my husband got the strawberry matcha with almond jelly. Waited about 5 minutes for our drinks and we were out of the door! BUT I saw they had a Halloween bucket out for display and was curious.....super surprised to see full sized Kit Kat bars! That made my day. Would come back! The drink itself was pretty good! A little sweeter than I normally prefer but I don't think there's any way to adjust the sweetness with the strawberry matcha. Boba was a nice chewy texture. I tried the almond jelly and that was pretty good on its own!

Some solid boba! Idk why I keep ordering funky specialty drinks and then kinda regret it haha but it's my fault I guess. I got some coffee mint one and kind of just tasted like plain cold brew with mint. The boba was delicious as always. Next time I'll for sure just order something normal and we'll see haha. Also, make sure to order from their little kiosk in the corner to skip the line. Drinks: 6/10 Service: 5/10 Vibes: 5/10 Value: 5/10

Special mention for the service here. The person let me try a little bit of one so that I could decide between two. You can't go wrong with blueberry corn or ube latte. The corn flavor was subtle (good or bad, depending on what you're looking for), and the cardamom and coconut milk in the ube latte were tasty. And they let me use the restroom even though it said it was for employees only (I asked if there were any public restrooms nearby, and they volunteered their bathroom, which I appreciated). Solid drinks that hit the spot, and great customer service!

These Boba Guys are smart and the crew know their stuff. I love iced tea, but not milky tea and I am neutral on boba.. The staff always steers me right in terms of cafeine, sweetness level etc. Today, for example,I tried the Straeberry Jasmine and even though the menu says that they can not adjust the sweetness level and I do not like super sweet, they added extra jasmine tea and less strawberry and it was perfect. My sister got her go - to black tea, unsweetened with oat milk. I adored mine, but the hibiscus mint 1/4 sweet is still my favorite. When I want an indulgent treat but don't want to splurge on desset, this is sooo sayifying. The staff is adorable and very professional!

Boba guys is okay. There's definitely better boba spots. The teas taste watered down. The drinks are still warm sometimes. That's why the drink is probably watered down because the ice melted. The boba is somewhat hard and not chewy.

I used to be a huge fan of Boba Guys and would come to this location all the time but lately I feel like the quality of the drinks have gone down. I always order a Jasmine Milk Tea with boba and I'm not sure if the recipe has changed but the drink has started tasting really watered down. Also not a fan that they don't give you an option to adjust the ice level on drinks when using online ordering. Considering the drinks are now almost $6/cup it makes me re-evaluate whether it's worth the price anymore. With so many boba options in the peninsula I think there are now others that are more worth it if you order classic tea drinks like me.

Candy provided such amazing customer service to ensure the customers got their drinks made right and tasted good. Thank you for the help!!!

Boba Guys is hands down my favorite boba. Few other places even compare. Anytime I am anywhere near one, I have to go. I got one of my favorite drinks: the Strawberry Fields. It was fantastic. I also tried some of my husband's Horchacha, which I wished had a stronger cinnamon flavor. The only reason I can't give this one five stars is because the service wasn't good. We ordered well ahead of time and they didn't bother to start making our drink until well after we got there. We might as well have waited in line when we got there because we still waited 15 minutes for our drinks.

You know, I'm usually a fan of Boba Guys but I wasn't really feeling my jasmine green tea. Haven't gone in years and stopped in for the horchata and jasmine green tea. Walked out with two very milky drinks. My jasmine green tea looks like a cup of milk with boba at the bottom (see photo). It was likely a mistake in the making of it. Maybe I'll come back and try the classic milk tea, but in the meantime, going to Cha Express and Wanpo instead. They are consistently good.

As soon as you walk in, you see the self order machine! There a few different types of drinks from matcha, to coffee to traditional flavors. I ordered the Thai tea and it was good but the boba was pretty hard. I didn't see any option to customize my drink besides ice or no ice. Overall left feeling like it was bare bones and the flavor wasn't as rich or good as I expected.

Very good boba. Tea has a very robust flavor and works well with the milk. Good, clean location and friendly staff for the most part.

I really appreciate the fact that Bona guys has decaf boba and non dairy options. While most traditional boba places have non dairy creamer, hardly any have decaf. I'm somewhat uniquely sensitive to caffeine so Boba Guy's menu choices make it so I can still enjoy boba (and the actually boba pearls were well cooked and tasty.) However - the key to having these menu options is execution - I'm writing this review perched on the throne at home with a tummy ache because somewhere along the line, someone decided not to make either of my drinks with the requested oat milk. Now, I don't have a real allergy, there is no anaphylaxis or anything like that - I just can't digest it and get gastrointestinal issues from it... and I have those in spades thanks to this mistake. Also, I put in the order online from the sidewalk which is a convenient option except my friend ordered a drink in person 15 min after I ordered and I joked, "Wouldn't it be funny if your order came out first?" And... of course, to make the punchline - indeed his order came out first. Like I said, I appreciate the choices and would have loved to give a better review but this visit was Not Good.

I came in right after they opened on 4/6 before going to the farmers market. The young lady working was so kind and bright! They make teas very fast here :)

Boba Guys used to be great. Disappointing how downhill it has gone. I went in today, and there was only one person ahead of me. I waited 10 minutes for my drink because the three teenage employees moved at a snail's speed since they were too preoccupied laughing and talking to each other. The boba was hard and not made correctly. This used to be one of my favorite boba places. It has not been good for a while now. I only went because it is the closest boba place to my house. I would recommend going somewhere else. Hopefully, the owners will read the reviews and get their place in order because the quality has gone way down.

Ordered 8 drinks, tipped 20% they only put boba in one of the 8 drinks. I kind of feel like the point of a boba place is the boba.

Man this place went down fast. I used to come here regularly because Boba Guys (good quality boba) but went here yesterday and dang... The place looks beat down and floors are barely moped. Workers look half awake. Drinks were subpar . Boba was hard like it was left over from the day before. Most likely never coming back. Used to be amazing but no longer the case

I read a article recently saying that the boba had A TON of plastic in the drinks... I used to really like this place tho the drinks are pretty good if you don't care about your health at all. Its a pretty small place it's clean and doesn't really have any cons except the PLASTIC in the drinks but the service is nice but they are quiet and thats all I have to say about it. I recommend tea hut a block away.

I am very fond of Boba Guys! The strawberry matcha latte is a classic and will always be a winner for me. I recently tried the black sugar hojicha and had a sip of my partner's matcha w/boba and both were delicious as well. They are currently taking online orders only as far as I can tell. The process is super easy: go to their website, choose your location, choose your items, pay (they default to adding just a 10% tip and you can change it easily), and then you get an email/text when it's ready. On a quite Thursday afternoon, my order was ready within 5 minutes. There are currently limits to how much you can customize your drink depending on what you get. Some allow you to adjust the sweetness and others do not, and that's about all you can do besides add boba. I appreciate that many of the drinks come with non-dairy milk alternatives (oat milk for example) as the standard. Bonus points for providing sturdy paper straws, though drinking out of them is a different experience than what most people are probably used to with plastic.

Consistency has gotten EVEN worse. Last three visits: 1st - Boba was super mushy and they told me it was because it was fresh. But it was obviously just overcooked. Finally asked them to remake the drink and they gave me a drink w/ boba from the same batch which doesn't fix the problem. 2nd - Pearls weren't as fluffy as they could've been, but decent overall. The milk tea is usually good. 3rd - Got HALF the boba as usual and I looked at a picture I took from before to confirm. Think I'm done with this place, it's such a dice role depending on who's working. Gonna take my business to TP TEA even if it's another 15 mins away because at least they're dead consistent (and tbh their drinks taste better overall anyways) :/

I ordered for delivery and my order is wrong. I paid extra for aloe jelly and chia seeds toppings and both drinks had neither toppings which I paid extra for. Additionally, the size ordered was wrong, I paid for 24 oz drinks they gave me 16oz. Drinks. I called the boba guys contact number and the answering service says do not call with complaints about boba guys because the Customer service number is unrelated to boba guys.?! Who do you call if you have problems regarding boba guys orders then, and why would the contact number and customer service number - be different for boba guys? I Will not go here again, I feel robbed.