Purple Kow

Must say the chicken here is really tender and delicious, I was very surprised. I don't rate chicken wings very highly but the nuggets here are really delicious. Soft, juicy and flavorful. The price here is affordable but the shop is a bit small. Will come back.

Their drinks are amazing. Boba is USUALLY pretty good and chewy. Definitely recommend their grass jelly toppings. Generally recommend their ice milk drinks. Garlic fries were amazing! Their fries taste fresh. Fried perfectly and crisp. Perfectly seasoned, plus they use fresh chopped garlic. Their dipping sauce also works well with the garlic fries. The tobango wings was definitely the best wings I have ever tasted. Way better than Gordon Ramsay’s chicken wings, or all the other dry wings that wingstop has on the menu. The sauce is sweet, savory, and acidic.. Their fried chicken wings are crispy, and incredibly juicy and tender. Their sauce is definitely something special!

This place is pretty good ! They have a wide range of food options that are yummy and some nice drinks. Unfortunately they seem to be another place that uses powder for their drinks and I doubt they make their boba in house, but it tastes good nonetheless!

The food and drinks here are so good especially the chicken. They give a lot of chicken and it’s enough for one person. But sometimes the waiting time is a bit long.

The boba isn’t great and the light fixtures are caked with dust. Updating the review because they recently switched out the lights. The new lights are clean, and I appreciate a business that listens to feedback.

We got an oolong milk tea. The tea flavor wasn’t really there and I thought it tasted diluted. The tapioca pearls were a little too hard for my liking however they did give us a generous scoop in our drink. Sitting down at the shop, it was crumby and sticky. This place used to be good but it’s gone downhill.

The girl who was at the register on May 23rd at 7pm was so kind and helpful when I was choosing between drinks. She had amazing customer service and a positive attitude. The tea was a little over steeped, but I can look past it because the customer service was so fantastic!!

Tried the toffee QQ half sweet with oat milk. Everything was good. The cups are huge and don’t fit in a cup holder. Might be hard for little hands to hang on to. Seating available inside. Parking could be challenging. We waited 5 minutes, there was no one in-front of us. Straws look like compostable, hoping it doesn’t get soggy before I finish. I like to take my time and enjoy it all afternoon.

I recently visited this place and really enjoyed the snacks they offer. The garlic wings and salt and pepper chicken nuggets were delicious and juicy. I would definitely get them again if we want something quick to grub. The atmosphere at Purple is cozy and comfortable. It's a nice spot to hang out with friends. The decor is simple but nice. The service was good. The staff were friendly and made sure we had what we needed. Overall, this Purple Kow gets 5 stars from me. If you want good food in a nice setting with friendly service, give it a try!

don't order red bean it's literally a bean staff polite but will roll eyes at you if you ask stupid questions boba vat ergonomic af great spot for vlogs

High Mountain Oolong Crema: I love a good milk tea drink with stronggg tea flavor and this one does not disappoint!! Might be one of the best oolongs I've had! For toppings, boba is good but the green tea jelly is even better!! The green tea jelly has a strong jasmine green tea flavor and not too sweet! Salt & Pepper Chicken Nuggets: Can never go wrong with their SUPER SPICY chicken!! Crispy, big pieces and so good with rice (does not come with rice tho)!!

We really enjoy their D1 which is a very delicious drink. This is also one of the few boba shops that really gives you your money's worth of boba; so much so that we ask for less boba now.

Their cups are not the usual size or shape of the ones I'm used to from other boba shops as they're short & wide and appear to hold more. Had a milk tea with pudding and boba. Was good and not too sweet as Asians like to say. My daughter ordered garlic wings, Tobango wings and garlic fries to share. The wings were all freshly fried "flats" and were surprisingly large, juicy and full of flavor.

One of my most treasured boba places that I always find myself coming back to. So many memories here as I came often back in high school. My absolute favorite is the D3! Have to give this a try as it's so unique, I've never had this anywhere else! 50% is the perfect sweetness but sometimes I opt for 25% which is good too. Anything above 50% is honestly too sweet but up to the person! D3 Caramel & Pudding & Boba - Split Cup 5/5 I love that they have the option to do a split cup cuz their regular cup is chubby!!! Split size is the perfect size for me! D10: Pistachio & Matcha Pudding & Boba 5/5 Usually I wouldn't opt for Pistachio but my partner ordered it and I stole some sips. It was actually really delicious, might have to get it next time if I ever get tired of the D3. Come try out my favorite boba spot ever!!!

Stopped in for a sweet treat and visiting from Vegas! I tried the strawberry chocolate pudding and it was GOOD. The sizing threw me off a bit because I wasn't anticipating it to be so big - I'm used to smaller boba cups instead of the bowl type cup. I love this place because they ask how much sugar you'd like in your drink and I thought this was really nice. For someone who has to actively watch their blood sugar, this is essential! Shout out to the cashier who advised the drink is already sweet, so it's best to go with less sugar.

There's usually a line out the door but we came in the afternoon and it wasn't too busy. Ample street parking. Our favorite is the D3, all D3's in the photo! The pudding, boba, caramel and milk combo can't be found elsewhere. Spicy chicken is always good, the pieces today were large. Garlic fries is also a must! Worth the drive every time I come to the bay.

Tried the toffee QQ half sweet with oat milk. Everything was good. The cups are huge and don't fit in a cup holder. Might be hard for little hands to hang on to. Seating available inside. Parking could be challenging. We waited 5 minutes, there was no one in-front of us. Straws look like compostable, hoping it doesn't get soggy before I finish. I like to take my time and enjoy it all afternoon.

How can it possibly take over 20 minutes to get one tea? Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm. Completely disorganised.

Definitely my favorite boba place in sf. If you're not getting their popcorn chicken, sweet potato fries with sugar, or any of the d1-d5 drinks, what are you even coming here for?! As my partner explains it, the d1-d5 series tastes similar to a melted milkshake. I would recommend 50%-80%. Anything above 80 is too sweet. My favorite is d4 as I love boba and grass jelly. You can pretty much get any other drink at any other typical boba shop. But the iced milk drinks here are what makes this place special. Their sweet potato fries with sugar is pretty unique and their popcorn chicken just hits every time. Love this place and wishing I can find something similar to this where I currently live.

Got a haircut near 30th and Clement. Order my drink online, my ride arrived 5 minutes later. Got here and my drink still wasn't ready. The place was freezing. I asked if I could close the door while waiting. She said NO. For 5 star for drink. 3 star for service and attitude. 4 star average.

Woah!! Love these bubble teas. They also are huge!! You definitely get your bang for your buck here. I got a peach tea with lychee jelly and peach bits - it was very refreshing and again was such a large size. They have a lot of food options and would return to try a bunch of those!

First time trying purple Kow and I was recommended to try their signature ice milk drinks (D section on the menu)! I want to give my drink a 5/5 stars, but because the milk they used for my drink had gone bad, I will have to knock my experience back to a 2/5. I got the D4. Ice Milk w/ grass jelly a boba. THE CUPS were CHUBBY! I was told the drinks are in the sweeter side, so I opted for "less sweet" which was 80% sweetness. I liked my drink it was a good level of sweetness, but definitely on the sweeter side. Boba was chewy and the grass jelly was smooth. The milk was both sour and sweet at the same time. *** UPDATE: My friend had changed her drink because her ice milk tasted off and it turns out the milk had gone bad (hence the sourness). The employees were unaware until it was brought up but they did offer to change her drink out for something else. There were a lot of seating options inside, and a steady flow of customers when I had went around 3pm on a Sunday (our wait time was around 20 minutes). We were lucky to find parking right in front of the store, but you will definitely need to look for street parking if there's no luck in front. I would suggest ordering online and picking it up Togo if you don't want to stop and sit down!

This place has a special place in my heart though its super effing dirty inside we love the drinks! We make it a habit to always stop by when we're in town!! Wish they opened one in Orange County. Our favorite is the D3! They have been open for years and i hope they never close down!

Purple Kow is the spot for me when I visit SF! This time around, decided to go heavy and ordered a 33 oz passion fruit green tea with boba. Total was $6.90 which is a bit pricey, but there was A LOT to drink. Probably scooped a few spoonfuls of boba in there. Staff was a bit slow. No one was in line, but it took awhile for them to make my drink. I ordered it with half sugar and it was too sweet. I would definitely recommend maximum 25% sugar (maybe no sugar) for the amount of boba they throw in there. Street parking only. I'll be back with my sugar adjustments!

I know this review is a little late but I went here on March 25, 2024 & I wanted to share my experience. This was my first time at Purple Kow. I ordered a Thai Milk Tea with boba. I usually order this everywhere I go so i'm pretty much a thai milk tea connoisseur lol. My drink tasted like water & a splash of milk. The honey boba wasn't sweet & had a unusual jelly consistency I wasn't familiar to. The straw also became very limp after 5 minutes within recieving it. I understand boba places make their drinks different than others but i'm sure that a Thai Milk Tea would taste similar. I'm very disappointed because I was told how good this place was. I could've gone on a bad day, but who knows. I haven't returned since.

This place brought so much joy to me and my family during the pandemic. We used to bike along the Great Highway and stop here on the way home for a boba. The boba cups are beyond standard size! The cups don't fit in a standard cup holders, but I've heard they fit in the cup holders of some minivans. They provide paper straws since the business is in San Francisco where plastic is frowned upon. My favorite snack is the fried chicken nuggets, which you can get either spicy or not. I'm a classic boba milk tea lover and the PK black milk tea with 25% sugar and boba is my jam. Sometimes when I'm not in the mood for milk tea, I get the peach or mango green tea with 0% sugar. My kids are a huge fan of the D3 (iced milk). Parking is pretty easy for the most part. To avoid the lines, I recommend ordering online and running in directly to the counter for pick up.

Purple Cow | San Francisco 1. D3 with caramel, pudding, and boba ~ house blended sweetened milk made by organic milk 2. Salt & pepper chicken nuggets ~ signature popcorn chicken paired with spicy mayo sauce 3. Fried mozzarella sticks ~ paired with a side of ranch For my native SF boba lovers, this one is a classic. Purple Cow is an Asian-influenced shop that serves milk teas, flavored teas, jelly drinks, snacks, and even desserts. They first started in San Francisco in 2011 but eventually expanded to Berkeley, Roseville, and Concord. A lot of their ingredients are organic, which helps aid in their preparation of drinks that everyone knows and loves, especially their signature iced milk drinks.   In high school, my friends and I would literally take how many buses to get to Purple Cow because no one knew how to drive yet. My order always stays the same, as I get D3 with the replacement of caramel pudding with matcha pudding and a side order of their salt and pepper chicken nuggets! If you haven't had Purple Cow yet, I definitely recommend checking it out at least once!

I ordered a twin QQ drink and was able to keep half for the next day! It's huge!!! Tasted good at 25% sweetness. And because it didn't have boba, I can put in the fridge without boba getting hard and nearly inedible. Love that!!! We had ordered a bunch of drinks so it took awhile to make. But they got all our drinks right. Not too many tables and chairs so we took it to go. The place is quite small and when it's busy, people are standing and waiting.

I ordered a peach qq, passionfruit qq, and a California fruit tea qq. The wait time was not too bad. Bathroom was not the cleanest and there is only one stall. My number was called but none of the drinks were labeled. I could only tell the passionfruit apart because of the seeds. The other two drinks we had to just guess but I really wish they had labeled it or at least put a p for peach. Boba was on the harder side and had no flavor. I like that the qq drinks come with toppings included and the cup is a cute chubby cup, but it doesn't fit in a standard car cup holder making it difficult to drink while you drive.

Always a go to boba place :) There's times when it's busy & there's not enough seats, but there's also times when it's not packed... but usually super cold in this area since it's by Ocean Beach, so I totally recommend this place especially during the summer times.

Ordered the pumpkin spice milk tea for fun, and it was way too sweet (I got 70% but should've gotten 0, honestly), and I couldn't even finish the drink even after having two other friends help me with it! The wait was too long for a mid drink. I'm giving this place the benefit of the doubt with 3 stars. Maybe I should try a different drink next time...

4/15/2023 - Last stop before ending date night. Line is still long and out the door. Sometimes I wonder, is it really worth it? Well, I love that they use fresh organic milk or oat milk. Not a lot of customizations are allowed as certain toppings are allowed only on certain categorized items. That's no fun. But! We made a new discovery...Sweet potato fries were bomb! 3 types of seasonings available. (1) salt and pepper (this is what we got) (2) sugar (3) plum powder (interesting) Purple Kow is just one of those places where you go once in a blue moon. I'm not a-moo-sed. Why? I honestly don't know. Maybe I'll find out the next blue moon I'm here.

Last time I was here I think it was 2016. This time came during weekday 2pm. Random impulse while out for work. No lines fast service hahaha D4 is still my go-to. They tend to go on the sweeter scale. I like mine 25% sweet only. Never tried anything else. Decor still the same. They have chicken wings now.

The space was small but decent. The food menu was plentiful but there were only like 3 black tea options so that was disappointing. The cup is fat and short and 24oz so not bad bang for your buck but def on the "lower end" for overall quality imo. Though I must confess I did finish my drink.

Purple Kow is a cute little boba shop that offers both food and drinks as well as ample space to sit! Parking here is all street parking so be ready to park farther away and walk in. What we ordered: - Peach QQ (includes boba, lychee jelly and peach bits) - This drink was quite sweet even at 25% so I would recommend staying around that range for sweetness. The peach bits were fresh and gave a nice bit of fruity flavor to the tea. Honestly the cups are so large that I couldn't finish it without getting tired of it by the end! - Passion Fruit QQ - even at 25% this drink was MUCH sweeter than the peach. passion fruit can sometimes be a little bitter as well which I definitely tasted here. I personally preferred the peach but if you are a passion fruit fan then this is the one for you Overall, I would return here if I was in the area, but at the time time I would not go out of my way to come back here. The drinks are good but nothing unique.

By far my favorite bubble tea that I have ever had. The bubble tea is huge, I always share mine with my husband. We always get the same thing passion fruit micro sugar with the lychees. I love it! Get one every other week! Just found out they have foods as well, def need to check it out!!

This spot on balboa is a little small but they have more seating inside than I expected ! Staff was friendly, and service was very quick. I would definitely return here to try out their food. Thank you !

Probably the best place if you like Iced milk drinks!!! Their boba is always fresh and love the egg pudding as well. The drinks are pretty sweet, but I have a sweet tooth so I enjoy it. I normally get 100% if I want it really sweet, but I can probably get away with 75% sweetness next time. The drink size is large which is nice. Popcorn chicken is also really good here! I'd rate it 4.5/5. Rounding to 4/5 due to the longer wait. There's almost always a line and it takes awhile to get your drink... I have waited 15-20 mins before.

My family's favorite boba place. The tea is pretty strong and the drinks are consistently made. My favorite drinks here are the strawberry green tea with lychee jelly and the iced milk drink with chocolate pudding and chocolate chunks. I usually get both at 25%!sweetness. My husband loves the B1 black with boba and oat milk. It's his favorite of all the boba milk teas he has ever tried. If it's crowded, it can take a long time to get your order so I almost always order online before I get there.

This is the best boba in the city if you want to get the most bang for your buck. Not the most luxurious or critically acclaimed, but their boba drinks get the job done. You can't beat the prices with the sizes of the cups in my honest opinion. And they give a good amount of boba. The food items always hit too, can never go wrong with some popcorn chicken. The inside is cute with a pop of color, not the cleanest at times, but I know many people come and go here. The wifi and service/signal in here is also hella janky, so just be wary of that.

Love the drinks so much!! The cheapest boba place I know for how much ounces the drinks are. The taste is the same every time and tastes super fresh. Online and I person orders are super easy and the workers are all super nice! The location is great inside and outside too. It's next to golden gate park and the beach so it's always super fun to go there I love the fruit drinks the best and their snacks are also excellent!

Best boba place i've ever had in my life. Period. Friendly service and up-lifting atmosphere. It could get quite busy and crowded at times.

Best boba in town . It's definitely a different look than what you're used to. The taste is amazing easily Tops my favorite Boba spot in the Richmond The parking is terrible, but cares about parking when it's great Boba? The only complaint that I've ever heard of is that their cups don't fit in a vehicle cupholder

Super friendly service and boba/food but I feel like they need to reevaluate some of their processes. Took about 20-30 min to get our order of honey milk tea and popcorn chicken even though it was relatively empty. The store itself was also kinda trashed and dirty, but I feel like the staff had their hands full and wasn't intentionally neglecting the lack of cleanliness. Good option if you're in the area looking for boba and quick bites, but wouldn't really go out of my way to come back. Cute and unique cups, but they also don't fit in cup holders.

Came here after an awesome day of fun with friends. We got together for Christmas Eve to do some escape rooms together and majority of us stuck together to end the night with boba. In all honesty, our first choice was not Purple Kow but the spot we usually frequent, was closed early for Christmas Eve and understandably so. I appreciate all the spots that even open on Christmas Eve. Anyway, we went over to Purple Kow because some members of our group were not full from dinner and because I knew they had a pretty good indoor seating to just hang with friends. Upon going to the register, the male cashier was super friendly. He talked very casually which I appreciated. He made small talk with me because he noticed my One Piece clothing and asked if I'm caught up with it and told me how he gave up after about 200 episodes LOL. Understandable but bro, if you're reading this, get back on it! Anyway, his customer service was top notch. I even heard him answering questions about drinks before we were ready to order. Our group got 2 orders of their popcorn chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks. The food was fire but I would ask for light spice and seasoning on the chicken because it was a bit salty. They're very big pieces so don't expect your typical bite size popcorn chicken. I got their roasted milk tea upsize ($1.05 more) with boba and it came with a GENEROUS amount of boba. Now the reason for my review is to spread how awesome the workers were. They're the sweetest people ever - right after my milk tea. One of us ordered our drink and forgot to ask for boba. We asked if we can just get a side of boba to add into the drink but they weren't able to. They could've just left it at that but I overheard the lady making the drinks (they were speaking in Cantonese and my poor Cantonese skills were adequate in eavesdropping ) was asking the guy if we really wanted the boba. They must've overheard us teasing our friend saying "how could you forget boba?! That's why we came here!" The guy suddenly offered to make us a new drink with boba if we tossed out ours. Perhaps it's some policy but we weren't sure why the need to toss out the drink so we said no it's okay because we didn't want to waste a perfectly, good, boba-less drink. Okay, I guess it's not perfect if no boba. Anyway, I whipped out my Cantonese eavesdropping skills once again and heard the lady ask the guy something along the lines of "oh, they feel bad about taking it?" Few minutes later, the guy came to our table with a new, NOW PERFECT, drink with boba and said Merry Christmas. How freaking awesome is that?! I ordered a drink to go for my sister and left a $5 tip (I wanted to tip more but didn't have any other bills) and the guy said "oh let's not play this game." I replied "oh, we're playing and we're going to win." On our way out, the friend that got a new drink was planning to tip a $10 and run out of there but before we could do so, the guy asked us if he could offer us some stickers. Like what?! Above and beyond customer service. We were already gonna come back because the drinks and food were fire but now we DEFINITELY will put purple Kow up on our list next time we want boba because that was just an awesome experience. Thank you Purple Kow team!

Purple Kow is a unique place in that it offers one drink size in their standard fat tubby cup. Besides the size of the drink, I also love how many options they have. I got the Orange Yakult drink, which is not really a traditional milk tea drink, and it was delicious. This is a great place to stop for a treat!

Weak tea. Perfect boba texture. Will be back to try the popcorn chicken and maybe D3 since their milk tea wayyy watered down.

The boba is very creamy and makes me reminiscent of boba shops from when I was younger. This is a no frills kind of shop. Large menu so there's something for everyone! However, the line was somewhat long and they were extremely slow. It took be about 40 minutes to receive a drink been 10th in line.

If the feeling of being ****** silly by the largest most pleasurable **** was in a drink... this would be it. THE Purple Kow had the best drink I had in my entire lifetime (and I am old and have had lots of drinks before). It was something out of this world. The drink 10/10. The boba and pudding 10/10. The customer service by the young gentlemen 10/10. BUT the only issue was the menu (most confusing menu in the world) as well as the environment (low key dirty but it's all good they can fix that). My girlfriend thought it was so good that she finished her ENTIRE drink in under a minute. She described it as the pleasurable feelings of being ******* by a ****** (sorry I have to censor myself people). Get the chocolate covered strawberry drink and get D10.

My favorite boba place in SF! Building needs to be updated but best boba in town! They'll substitute honey for the sugar in your boba. The boba is cooked just right -- chewy but not too chewy. Also, their garlic chicken wings will hit the spot! Careful -- they come out really hot. Nicest people who'll do whatever they can to serve you the best boba or food. My SIL loves their Caramel boba milk tea. And now you can even order online!!!

I'm in love with their popcorn chicken. I believe they changed the menu name to salt and pepper chicken nuggets. If you request to make it spicy they add a little extra seasoning. I miss the days when they left the cayenne out so you could dust as much as you like. But now they also include a side of Sriracha mayo to dip the chicken in that's actually really tasty. I added extra cayenne at home and it was such an amazing meal. The chicken is super flavorful and moist. But the coating is also super crispy. Truly the best popcorn chicken experience you can find at a boba shop or anywhere really.

We always go here cause it's like 2 blocks away. All their milk teas are awesome! I usually get their Matcha Milk Tea or Roast Oolong Milk Tea. 2 drinks and Popcorn Chicken is about $20. The only thing I do not like is that they make it different every time so it depends who's making milk tea that day. I can taste the difference. I love their big chunks of popcorn chicken. They have always given me a generous amount. There are days where I can taste the chicken is not as fresh tho lol. Average space inside. Friendly customer service. A little hole on the wall type place. Yes, it's true.. their lights are dusty lol. It's packed around 3pm cause that's when kids get out of school. This place is good enough for me so I will keep coming back and it's near by :)

Super duper yummy! I LOVE HOW BIG THE CUP IS!! Got the matcha as a mid-day sweet treat and it definitely hit the spot. I let a lady go in front of me in line because I was still looking and she ordered like $85 worth of boba which was kind of silly!

I ordered yakult peach boba, pop corn chicken, and garlic fries. The yakult was great 5/5. The pop corn chicken was great 5/5. The garlic fries was not great 3/5. The garlic fell to the button on the container, they did not understand the concept of garlic attached to the fries. It wasn't oily or greasy, so basically the tossed regular fries with fried diced garlic. Skip the garlic fries and save your money. Hygiene seem okay until we sat to eat and saw the decor needed major work bc there were rotten holes at the bottom of their work station. Dining table was clean and seats were fine. Cashier was very nice. I was able to do a mobile order from yelpand there wasn't much wait.

Excellent boba made just how you like it. Salt & Pepper Chicken Nuggets were yummy too!

The smallest size is HUGE! So it's a good deal in that sense. But the drinks are kind of plain. I don't recommend the roasted oolong milk tea because it is just milk and tea and sugar. We didn't try the food, but it smelled really good. The bathroom is not very clean though. And it's very cold in there!

The tea is pretty good. I've only tried their honey milk tea, but I'm glad they offer oat milk. I will say, their sweet potato fries are my favorite!! They are super tasty and they give you a big portion. The place is clean and has plenty seating. Everyone was kind and offer their recommendations when asked.

Tried the pistachio milk tea here and it was tasty, good amount of seating if you wanna hang out here and I think they sell food too. Overall nice friendly staff and good drink