Sweet Cow Cafe - Ice Cream | Bubble Tea | Dessert

Just a heads up this store is open again but seems to be new owners using the old store name and branding, so reviews prior to like Jan 2026 don't apply. They sell a few flavors of ice cream in a single size cup and take only take CashApp or Zelle as payment if you don't have cash. (No card or apple/google pay.) Interior is really barebones compared to what it used to be. No visible menus, flavor labels, or pricing. Decent quantity of ice cream for the money (enough for 2 people,) of average quality (especially compared to Afters, Kinrose, or Wanderlust.)

We used to be regulars at Milk Cow. The soft serve was creamy, decadent, and worth every penny. Then Sweet Cow bought it — and it’s been downhill ever since. First of all, the ice cream? It’s no longer ice cream — it’s ice with a dash of cream, if you’re lucky. Grainy, watery, and disappointing in a way that feels personal. You can literally taste the corporate takeover in every spoonful. It’s like they fired the cows and hired ice cubes. They didn’t just change the name — they changed everything that made Milk Cow special. What was once a hidden gem has now been stripped, rebranded, and sold back to us as a cheap knockoff. And for what? Higher prices and lower quality? The audacity. Honestly, McDonald’s soft serve — yes, McDonald’s — puts this sad Sweet Cow swirl to shame. You could buy two cones there, and they’d still cost less and taste better than the icy disaster you’ll get here. Sweet Cow, if you’re reading this: not everything needs a corporate glow-up. Sometimes, simple and authentic wins. But you didn’t just miss the mark — you lost the map entirely.

A solid spot serving a wide variety of desserts, ice cream, and bubble tea. The soft serve ice cream is good and looks nice. The interior is compact with some seating and very clean. Right across from PCC so lots of students come here at night to hang out and grab dessert. Staff are friendly, and there is even a claw machine too.

This ice cream/dessert/boba shop is a charming little spot across the street from PCC. The shop is clean and tidy, and while there's a kiosk for ordering, we were glad to be able to order from a person. The drinks and desserts are delicious. Overall, a great experience!

The people working here were nice; but they messed up all of our orders 😅. The ice cream was also subpar and cost $12. I asked for less, they made the swirl and then tapped it down for some reason 🥲 unfortunately, not coming back here

Life is like a cup of tea, it’s all about how you make it. ;D With that said let’s begin this review. Milkcow Cafe (est.2013) is a cute little ice cream and tea shop in Pasadena. It’s located along the Historic Route 66 and PCC. Interior design was modern with an eye catching decor and layout. Indoor seats were very limited, but plenty of outdoor seats (back and front). Their menu is mostly flavored ice cream and limited tea drink. I ordered a Mango Green Tea with mango chunks/boba (75% sweetness and ice). It tasted banal and lacks the mango fruity; ice was in small amount that it melted quickly. Therefore, it became a little lukewarm. Next time I will make the necessary adjustment. Server was amiable, patient and professional. Service was on point. They have free wifi. Kiosk order available. Parking was easy. Overall, I had a decent tea drink and I wish I had ordered ice cream instead. I will come back and try other stuff.

Cute little place for some boba and ice cream! Small shop that mostly does pick up orders, there is a bit of seating. Pop ID accepted here like some other businesses, mostly in Pasadena right now. Plenty of street parking. On the pricey side of milk tea. Tried the dirty ube milk hot—it was so creamy and delicious! Would try it less sweet next time. On the pricier side for boba, but pretty high quality. Worth a try.

This is a nice soft-serve ice cream place across from Pasadena City College. Easy ordering on touchscreen kiosk I got the Black Pearl with chocolate malt balls and it was delicious. They also have a decent selection of tea drinks as well. Free street parking outside.

Greeted upon entering. The staff gave me a moment to look over the menu. I placed my order and received it right after payment. Creamy Watermelon- 10/10 Very refreshing. I would definitely come back to order this again. The place was empty and seems like it's a nice place to do some homework.

The name doesn't lie. I ordered their classic milk tea and a sweet, sweet, cow welcomed me. It's so sweet and milky. Probably should've been called classic milk milk with tea scented milk

This place is located across PCC, so it's probably convenient for those who attend classes there. Parking can be difficult since it's street parking. Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by the employee there, but I think she was on her own. We came here for the soft-serve and we're big fans, especially for the price. The vibe of the store was cute and cozy, with wooden seats and artificial plants hanging on the walls. Overall would go back again, especially when we are in the area.

Got the cookies and cream ice cream and it was definitely 5/5! The ice cream was so smooth and creamy. Honestly you can never go wrong with cookies and cream as well. Service was nice and fast. The shop itself was cute and welcoming. Would definitely recommend and come back!

An interesting place to visit for a soft serve options. Each selection offers variations with basically the same base. Two options for ordering - touchscreen or with one of the helpful staff. The treats are well-crafted and Instagram-worthy.

service: good! :) interior: cozy wooden interior with high seats available as well as table seats, good place to chill with friends! health and safety: hygienic! hand sanitizers are provided on each table! would you crave for it? no.... i ordered two drinks and they were both tasteless.. this is a boba shop but their bobas are not up to parr :( the texture of the bobas were not really chewy and are completely tasteless..i ordered the classic milk tea and thai milk tea, both with cheese foam, but the tea flavors are SO bland. everything just tastes like milk :/ came here for boba but I left confused as to what I came here for.. if you're trying to get quality boba tea, this is not the place.. according to other reviews, the icecreams are watered down as well ://

This place is pretty much honeyme but with a variety of other options. Came here on Christmas night after dinner at home and got the honeycomb flavor which comes with an actual honeycomb. Total came out to be $8.24. It was pretty good - subtle but rich in flavor especially with the honey drizzled on top of it. My cousins got the tiramisu flavor to share and that was okay for me but cool to see that they put lady fingers in there to make it actually like a tiramisu. Overall, it's good but I'd only come here once in a while since they don't have much favorite flavor which is matcha (they only have matcha floats). Every place does this but there's a big ole hole in the middle of the dessert so you don't actually get as much as you think. Haha. I believe they might have parking in the back but I just did the street parking in the front. It got a bit more busy later in the night but not too bad.

TL;DR: stuck between boba or ice cream? Why not both! Lots of options to choose from, all more on the sweet side. Great to have an intimate hang out with friends. Street parking might be limited depending on time of day. I had dirty Ube milk tea with boba and enjoyed cream puffs with a friend. Prices reasonable for the size and quality. Service was good, the guy answered my questions about the menu.

Located across the street from PCC is a small shop serving both soft serve and drinks. Decided on the soft serve and a milk tea with boba. The milk tea was tasty and the boba was fresh. However soft serve was not particularly good. Pricey for ok soft serve with some toppings. I suppose the draw is location.

It was so delicious and creamy. I finished the entire cup even though I got a brain freeze. So worth it! I can't wait to try their matcha and affogato

This place is dangerously delicious (I live too close to this place), got their melon swirl ice cream. The kiosk was easy to use and if I had any questions the staff were delightfully helpful. The cafe is a bit tiny and not a lot a seating for your more ample plus size mama like myself. But if you're a skinny legend you'll have plenty of space. Overall best place to get desserts across from PCC.

Aesthetically, such a cute boba spot! I went on a Saturday night and my party was the only one there. It wasn't busy at all! I ordered a milk tea with boba (25% sugar) - I would say it was good, and it was $8. My friend ordered a matcha latte with boba, and it tasted like milk. Can't say they were impressed. Regardless, if you're in the area, it's a pretty cool spot to study in or meet with friends.

My experience was just okay.. Drinks: - Tiramisu milk tea w/ boba: 6.8/10 Despite ordering it at 100% (regular) sweetness, I just felt like it was lacking in terms of flavor. It wasn't that sweet and honestly tasted kinda water down. The flavor didn't really resemble tiramisu and the boba was kinda hard. - Ice cream Jasmine milk tea w/ boba: 7/10 I would say this tasted a bit better than the tiramisu tea as the jasmine milk tea was a lot more flavorful. The ice cream definitely added to it too but the boba was still kinda hard. - Mango green tea w/ lychee jelly: 7.8/10 This one was personally my favorite as it was refreshing and didn't taste waterdown. I could taste the mango and it was just like what you would get at other stores, nothing spectacular but still good! Tiramisu: 6/10 Similar to the tiramisu milk tea, I felt like the flavor was just kinda lacking. The coffee flavor wasn't strong and it was just disappointing as a tiramisu lover. The cup was quite small in comparison to the price tag of $7.75 (w/o tax). Service: It took quite awhile for the worker to make our drinks despite no one really being around. Ambiance: It's a cute place to sit and study at as there were quite a few tables and sitting areas. The shop itself isn't that big but there was still seating. The decoration was cute!

Sweet Cow Cafe is across from PCC, right next door to Pho Bahn Mi Chi Cali with street parking available. Sweet Cow Cafe currently has a Yelp check in deal in which you get 10% off your total purchase. My husband, our little girl dog (yes dogs are allowed inside) and I stopped by this cute eatery a few Fridays ago, around 7:55 pm. We were greeted by the employee behind the counter. After looking over their extensive menu, we ended up ordering: Lychee Macaron, $2.50 prior to tax- A pretty good flavor macaron, it has a light flavor of lychee. Thai Ice Tea Macaron, $2.50 prior to tax- The Thai ice tea flavor is prominent. I liked this macaron as well. Creamy Melon, $5.75 prior to tax- Creamy melon is a swirl of both vanilla ice cream and watermelon sorbet, which is a great combination (although if you prefer, you can just get the watermelon sorbet for the same price but I think the vanilla ice cream makes this extra creamy and has an excellent mouth feel). I loved these 2 flavors together and so did my little girl. The size of this frozen treat is more than plenty for 2 people (and a little girl dog) to share. Ice Cream Jasmine Green Tea, $6.95 prior to tax- My husband ordered this drink to be made with 50% sweetener and no ice. The jasmine green tea itself was over steeped so this drink wasn't very good and a bit disappointing, especially for the price. ----------------------------- (Total= $19.51 after tax, prior to Yelp check in deal) Service was very friendly and wait time for our order after paying for it was a little less than 10 minutes. There are some seating available inside (none outside). I really like this place and will come back but would recommend sticking to their ice cream/ sorbet.

Get ready for a unique boba fix with all the basics... This is the milkiest and creamiest boba drink I've ever had. I've had. Their DIrty Ube is RIDICULOUS!! I woud highy recommend getting the homemade cheese foam with any drink. If you're not getting a drink, the soft serve, ice cream is wonderful. Every single ingredient in your cup is perfect (as I give the chef's kiss). The lady at the counter is super helpful and though not particularly friendly, definitely makes a mean drink and will answer any questions thoroughly! Cute place for sweet, milkiness!

Barista was very kind and helpful:). It's very cute cozy cafe:). Was a bit disappointed watermelon ice cream sandwich was not available bc it was a seasonal item:(. Hope it will come back next year:)

This place has sadly gone downhill since opening. Looks dirty inside now and out of many ingredients. I hope they can revamp their business.

I ordered thru ubereats. I got 1) Classic Milk tea w/ Agar boba and 2) Dirty Chai Thai. 1) Classic Milk tea was sweet but cant taste any tea. Tastes like watery yet sweet non-fat milk or creamer. This is my first time trying Agar boba so I cant really compare but it was white color and it was mediocre. If you are looking for that standard milk tea flavor - I dont think you'll enjoy it. I've enjoyed bopomofo, jin boba and boba time for reference 2) Dirty Chai Thai . I ordered this reg sugar but I taste no sugar/sweetner. Extremely watered down. I can baaarreeely tasted thai tea. It tastes like 5% chai and 95% milk/creamer. It literately tastes like nothing!!! These were both buy 1 get 1 free on ubereats. Unfortunately I ll be tossing out all 4 of these drinks. It almost seems like they split two drinks into 4 drinks by adding more milk creamer and water. Theres goes my $23 :(

We wanted a drink and decided to try a new place. We went with a classic and will be coming back.

Wanted to stop by to get a sweet treat and it was closed. The store hours state they close at 10 but when we arrived around 9:40 they were already closed. The girl working the front immediately turned off the light when she saw us checking if it was closed. Very disappointing

The honey comb soft serve was soooooo yummy! It wasn't overly sweet. The honey provided the perfect sweetness but also a slight hint of saltiness? Not 100 percent sure but it was hella yummy!!! I also thought the honey from the honeycomb was extra tasty but I'm not a fan of the beeswax haha. But the honey was so good, so I recommend just chewing it and throwing away the beeswax haha. They had other yummy looking softserve flavors too. I love that the softserve itself was a plain milky flavor that allowed the flavor of the honey to really shine and mix together with the ice cream. Also the interior is quite cute and aesthetic. It's in front of PCC and I noticed some students having a nice time hanging out here. The service was pretty quick too.

Twice now I've shown up about 30 minutes before listed closing hours (~9:30PM) super excited to try this place and both times they've been closed before their listed hours. First time it seemed completely lights off closed up. This time however there was a worker still in there that hurried off into the back when she saw my car park in front. :(

A bit overhyped for me. I went with my sibling and tried the watermelon ice cream, Thai tea, matcha, milk tea, and a chocolate smoothie. The watermelon ice cream was refreshing rather than sweet, but the matcha lacked flavor, and the rest were just average. Unfortunately, the customer service was also lacking.

The inside of the store is nice, but drinks were watered down :( maybe people just come here for the ice cream

A small cafe that shares a very, very small parking lot with a couple other businesses. I was lucky to find a parking space. The interior decor is nice but has limited seating. The ice cream and drinks menu is quite extensive. I got the watermelon sorbet and mochi strawberry milk tea. Both were delicious, and the milk tea was on the sweeter side. Service was good although there was only one person working while there were several people placing orders. Would definitely come back again when I feel like getting ice cream.

Update your hours! This says you're open until 10. I get there and you're closed. I drive a long way for it to.

Life is like a cup of tea, it's all about how you make it. ;D With that said let's begin this review. Milkcow Cafe (est.2013) is a cute little ice cream and tea shop in Pasadena. It's located along the Historic Route 66 and PCC. Interior design was modern with an eye catching decor and layout. Indoor seats were very limited, but plenty of outdoor seats (back and front). Their menu is mostly flavored ice cream and limited tea drink. I ordered a Mango Green Tea with mango chunks/boba (75% sweetness and ice). It tasted banal and lacks the mango fruity; ice was in small amount that it melted quickly. Therefore, it became a little lukewarm. Next time I will make the necessary adjustment. Server was amiable, patient and professional. Service was on point. They have free wifi. Kiosk order available. Parking was easy. Overall, I had a decent tea drink and I wish I had ordered ice cream instead. I will come back and try other stuff.

#77 in my Teaholic Diaries. I guess I should have tried their soft serve to understand what all the rave reviews are about, because the drinks were just passable to me. I ordered a coconut chai Thai and a dirty chai Thai. The drinks weren't bad but they didn't stand out either. They were also on the smaller side for the price range. Overall this place was a miss for me. ******************** My Ratings: 1 Star: Terrible; just thinking about it makes me angry. 2 Stars: Wasn't a fan so Not likely to return. 3 Stars: Meh. Average. Might return if others drag me. 4 Stars: Yum! Likely to return. 5 Stars: Amazing! Would plan my day around it.

Came in for their watermelon sandwich on a hot day and it was super refreshing! We also got the watermelon green tea which came with agar boba and it was pretty good. The watermelon soft serve was a bit icy, with a sorbet consistency but the flavor was decently good. The watermelon sandwich is on the pricier side considering the amount of soft serve you actually get, but it's aesthetically pleasing and great to try! I've also tried their milky honey soft serve and I loved how the soft serve was creamy and delicious with the honey. Overall a decent spot for soft serve and refreshing drinks!

Such a cute little place! The tea tasted amazing. Love it!! Great service as well. Go visit!

horrible! just horrible!! as soon as we walked in the girl said they ran out of boba, ran out of ice cream, ran out of everything! and when she was making the drinks, she put about 8 pumps of syrup, like, are you trying to kill me??? and she was looking all over the place because she ran out of toppings, we wanted a refund but she denied, we ended up leaving the drinks on the sidewalk.

I assume they run out of their sweets fast because I went at night to buy a chocolate cake and there was none so i settled for raspberry cheesecake. I want to come back and see about the boba

Milkcow Cafe is one of the few boba shops open until 11pm on a weekend night. I had the opportunity to visit with a friend and tried the Dirty Ube Milk without the "dirty" brown sugar syrup. The location itself is rather small but can be comfortable for smaller groups. The "clean" Ube Milk is an interesting drink. I'm not the biggest fan of ice cream, so that left me with 20% of the menu to choose from. What surprised me was I think the milk part came from vanilla ice cream - or at least if it didn't that's what it tasted like. The Ube powder was not thoroughly mixed, so there were chunks of ube around the drink which was peculiar. Even at half sweet, it was quite sweet. As I'm starting to sip my drink now, I can admit it tastes like cold, melted ube ice cream or a slightly thin ube milkshake.

Drink was overpriced for what it is. I ordered a matcha latte with boba and tasted like straight up milk with a little bit of matcha. Nice employees but not business drinks guys. Not chill bc I was looking forward to this treat after feeling defeated after school.

Their soft serve was some of the best I've ever had! It was the creamiest, fluffiest, indulgent yet light soft serve I've tasted! I got the matcha float and they used some fairly high quality matcha to make it as the flavor was deep, dark, and bitter - a perfect contrast to the light and creamy milky soft serve. Mix it around a little, let the sugary sweetness melt, and indulge. I also ordered a macaron on the side and it was one of the best one I've had in a long time! Dreaming about getting this again already.

I've only tried two flavors here: the dirty boba soft serve and it was AH-AMAZING! Definitely add the honey, it was a really nice combo with the flavors of the dirty boba. The Black Pearl with mochi was okay, I'd much rather prefer the dirty boba. I can't give it full stars for two reasons: 1. No store parking. They only have street parking which can get annoying when I'm taking my toddler for a simple activity like getting ice cream. 2. Too many "out of stock" items. We can here a few times on various week days and weekends, and there's a lot of NA items. I was a bit bummed. I'll definitely come back to try some of their teas, but I likely won't go out of my way for it.

Sweet Cow Cafe is a nice concept especially mixing boba with ice cream. But when you get the actual drinks, whether it's the boba float or blended ice cream drinks, it's the small details that are hard to ignore. The boba float alone was a small serving that was only an inch or so tall from the lip of the cup. It had only six to eight pieces of boba and a small drizzle of syrup. That was around $13 with tip. The other item I got was the blended ice cream drink the one with matcha, ice cream and cheese foam. I also added in a mochi add-on but was disappointed to find it was missing from the drink. I paid around $10 with tip. Oh and ice ratio was rather high so you barely had any liquid. I hate giving negative reviews but these small details really make a huge difference. Boba should be hefty and the add-ons should be included in the drink. It is difficult to see if it was easy to forget these details since Sweet Cow Cafe is generally empty. Unless they work on honoring the toppings, you're better off going to Bubble Puff next door which is always busy.

Update your hours! I walked to this store during store hours day n later at night, and it is still closed. Even the uber app says it's open.

This place was ok. The staff was not very friendly and they only accept cash if you have exact change. The drink I got was ok but could been better. The ambiance was cool, but I would not spend a lot of time there, it felt like a place to just do a "rapid pick up".

Cute dessert place right across from PCC! Hubby was having an oddly specific craving for ice cream with honey so we made the trek to Sweet Cow Cafe. I opted for the mango blast and both desserts were absolutely delicious. It wasn't crowded at all on a Friday night, but perhaps it's because it was during the summer? Either way, great place for a simple, yummy treat!!

Cute & aesthetic cafe! Great for studying, or work. Servers are kind, and will always make great suggestions. Their menu has a good variety of sweets, so you cannot go wrong with anything there.

This hole in the wall serves tasty soft serve! They have lots of flavor combos and drinks to choose from. It's on the pricier side but it's a local small business so understandable. We ordered the strawberry soft serve which was pretty good and refreshing. We also got the cookies and cream soft serve and that was less impressive because the Oreo to soft serve ratio was off. All in all it was a solid dessert and I'd come back!

The Dirty Ube Milk was absolutely fantastic. Runs on the sweet side though, I got 25% sugar and still felt liek it was s little sweet. The Ube is made with powder but it doesn't taste powdery at all- it's pretty good.

Gave this place a second try because of the rose parade float. Sadly, moo wheel cake is no longer available, which was something I really looked forward to. Pretty disappointed. I got the black pearl ice-cream, and mango green tea. Nothing really stands out with the ice-cream. It tasted like ice-cream sundae with fudge. Mango green tea: I requested regular sugar with less ice. However, the tea came out tasting bitter. Staff was friendly.

There are so many boba drink places that they're as common as coffee places. We all tend to have favorites for both boba and coffee and I usually like certain common drinks. So what differentiates one shop from another? Convenient Location, customer service with a warm greeting, mixing to consistent standard proportions, and a thank you. So Milk Cow on the Rose Parade Route - Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena only has street parking, unless you use adjacent restaurants' parking lots in the back. Thus not always convenient. We went on a rainy day near year-end, thus the parade Grand stands were set up. We ordered a few drinks and all were passable. So the difference between a three, four, and five star? This place is average for me due to lack of parking and lack of a positive vibe in the customer service. Guess four will be the highest I would go with this site.

Mid and overpriced. Ordered a strawberry green tea yet there was hardly any strawberry flavor, two floating strawberry cubes that's it.

Tried the Dirty Chai Thai - Iced and it was refreshing. A little sweet for my taste buds but overall delicious. The cheese foam was something new to me and it was surprisingly good as well. Service was super quick and easy. The baristas were so knowledgeable on the menu and I waited a whole 5 minutes before my drinks were ready. They are so helpful and attentive to the customer. Cute little place on Colorado and I love that it's right across the college campus. They also have plenty of specials.

I don't know why I had hope for this place. Maybe it was because the Moo Wheel Cake looked soo delicious. Came here on a Monday night. You have to order either online or through a kiosk. I had some questions because I wanted to order the moo wheel cake but it there wasn't an option listed in the kiosk. So I tried to get the attention of the man working there. I said, "Hi, excuse me, I have a question" in a very gentle tone and he said one moment. He was working on another order so I was patient. Keep in mind, I'm waiting at the Kiosk to place an order. He gives the other customer their items and then after he didn't bother to ask what my question was. I had to once again say hi and tell him I had a question. I asked where the moo wheel cake was on the kiosk and he said they no longer sell that and then walked away. Kind of rude. So then I ordered 4 little macarons and the Matcha Ice Berg. We got our order but then noticed that the Matcha Ice Berg didn't have an strawberries. Went back in and he was rude about the strawberries. Finally put some on our soft serve dessert. I don't know, that man just gave me bad vibes. I didn't like his customer service at all.

Dirty Boba Soft Serve Classic Milk Tea 25% sweet, less ice Cheese Caffe Latte - salted caramel cheese foam (lots) and coffee The boba is soooo soft. The perfect texture & flavor. Delightful! The milk tea had good tea flavor, too. Some places it's so bland, it's mostly just a milk drink, but not here! The cheese foam on the latte wasn't very cheesy or very salted caramel, but it is a nice cream to mix in to your coffee. It could have used more ice maybe...it wasn't very cold on delivery. It's better after all the ice melts. The soft serve was super creamy, perfect base for all the toppings and flavors of you can add (and there are so many choices). Ours had brown butter syrup and boba. Like a fresh milk drink in soft serve form! They also have fruit flavors, so many options to try and combine. Also lots of cakes and other sweet baked goods that look delicious. They have the cutest keychains here! Boba/sanrio themed, all kinds of colors, very glittery and cute...and chunky. You won't be losing your keys with one of these attached to them. Service was very friendly, informative, helpful and quick. We'd come back here anytime!