Tea Ninja

Love the holiday decorations: feels like a great place to lounge and catch up with friends! For this visit, I ordered the Thai tea, and it was tasty. Price was fair as well. Looking forward to trying new flavors and seeing more decorations.

Misleading sales tactics! Bad experience, not worth coming back, better find other bubble tea place worth your business! I ordered 1 medium milk green tea that was ok size was too small for it to be medium. Then I ordered a medium hot americano m.It showed that coffee was priced at 3.95 for medium size americano but when the cashier was punching in my order and as i was about to pay they charged me 4.25 and I asked why when it shows a different price from the price board cashier was clueless nothing was rectified he just said he will inform his manager..oh wow to make it worse once coffee was served i asked for creamer and they said they didn’t have any, disappointing why serve coffee when you don’t have milk or half and half available. Disappointing and dissatisfied!

I had a really awful experience here. I asked for them to refund my drink after I said it didn’t taste good. They said no. Asked to remake it, but come to find out all their dairy free options were made with this disgusting fruit gel instead of fresh fruit. And no milk substitutes are available such as Soy, Coconut, or Almond milk. Better off going to Joy Yee for a better quality product at a similar price.

Recommend: bubble tea here was good. I'll stop by again to try their different creations. The tiramisu did not really taste much like tiramisu so I'm not sure I can recommend that one.

First time trying, as I’m in the Lake View area pretty often. And I must say, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The wide range variety of drinks, such as bubble tea, regular tea, slushees, and a few other great sounding drinks are fairly priced for the area. I had a Large Taro Milk Tea with tapioca. The tapioca was THE FRESHEST I’ve ever had. On that note, I typically don’t get it because my prior experience with it have been awful. (Hard tapioca, frozen tapioca) I felt confident enough to add it to my purchased drink. Highly recommend if your looking for great milk tea, or just in the area. Side note: The milk tea was sooo good, I had finished it & it was too late for me to snap a photo of it full. Photo added to give idea for portion size as of June 2021.

Not sure if they changed owner, but the quality has gone down. There’s not really any tea flavor or any additional flavor if you were to order one of the milk teas. Ordered taro milk tea and it tasted like mud water, they remade the drink but it still tasted terrible so I asked if I can just switch it to another flavor. The manager/owner told me he watched the employee made the drink, which I explained I’m not blaming the employees, I would just like to switch because it wasn’t good at all. He then proceeded to tell me he already tried to accommodate and work with me and then just stared at me, so I ended up walking out because I’m not about to argue with him. What is the point of “tried to accommodate” if the problem still not solved? When you literally have the power to solve it? Might as well go to other boba tea places in the area, but you just lost a long time customer just because you wanna be cheap with your customer and can’t own up to the fact that maybe your product can be improved. *** I see the owner response calling me rude and said that they couldn’t do anything but apologize. There was never an apology by the way. They just talked about how they already tried to accommodate. But go ahead and lie.

Had the Jasmine honey tea--yum! I'm visiting from San Jose, CA so was pretty jazzed to find a good milk tea place here :) Note to the owner if you see this: your small straw did not want to poke through the top, might be your plastic if it happens to other people? The plastic film back home is thinner

One of the worse experiences I could have, the cashier that was helping who call herself the manager, was upset because she was touching her face asked her to please wash her hands she instantly start yelling this is a shame someone like that is running a shift. This is a lot of food safety violations just letting you know. You please watch the cameras… 5:45pm

Recently, I find myself craving for the Thai ice tea. I love eating the boba. My favorite drink! The service rates an A+. No long waits for me to get my order of Thai ice tea. The staff knows how to create the perfect tasting boba. They do it very well. The Thai ice tea tastes fabulous. Rich in black tea and perfectly mixed with condensed milk, the Thai ice tea looks perfect. They stick to the standard. I really enjoy the atmosphere. It feels really relaxed and calm. Tea Ninja attracts many college and university students. With reason! The prices tend to be friendly to the students and locals alike. We get our money worth here. Tea Ninja features a nice and intimate setting. Comfortable seating can be found in the front and seating lines across the wall. Come to Tea Ninja. Bring friends, dates and even family.

Convenient location, customizable drinks (can choose your flavor, sugar level, ice level, toppings, etc), very fast service, staff are polite. It simply doesn't taste AS good as some of my favorite other bubble tea places, but it certainly gets the job done and I enjoy it when I go!

Online ordering was convenient but they only have extra sweet or regular sweet, no 25-75% so you have to specify in the comments. I asked for less sweet and they delivered on that front but next time I would go for regular or 75%. Staff was nice and had our drinks ready right away in a drink carrier and offered bags if we needed. Gave three stars because the boba itself had no flavor. Texture was a little soft for my preference but the boba just offered no sweetness. Maybe it was an off day?

If you have a craving for boba then you have found the place. Your typical flavors (ninja milk black tea/Thai/taro milk tea) are customer favorites. They provide the option for sugar level and ice level adjustment. We just went for normal everything for my passion fruit QQ Tea and Lychee icee with boba. Since we were the only customers at the time (7 pm) they came out rather quickly. The texture of the boba itself was a little on the chewy side (meaning it's not fresh). Usually when I get passion fruit drinks the flavor is very strong and overwhelming so I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted my drink and it was a decent mixture of sweet with a little bitterness. The interior of the establishment and overall vibe is great and good for pictures. There are plenty of seating areas so we were able to enjoy our drink inside.

Ninja Milk Tea with Boba Less ice | 100% sweetness DRINK: 3/5 The drink itself wasn't too bad. You can taste the tea for sure and i the flavor wasn't too overwhelming. BOBA: 2/5 Not the best texture and firmness I've ever had. It was too chewy and it was smaller than what I was used to. Unfortunately, it was one of those very rare situations where I didn't finish my drink before throwing it away. SERVICE: 5/5 No complaints here. It was fast.

Surprised that there aren't more boba tea places in the area (although it looks like there are currently two places that are about to go in on Belmont around Clark so that's exciting. Anyways, I've been here twice now, and I feel like I've never felt really friendly service from the people who work here. No acknowledgment of your presence when you walk in, and since you can order at the kiosk (assuming this was put in due to COVID), they don't really interact with you much other than giving you your drink. Besides that though, I do like their drinks, and I can't remember the last flavor I just got, but I like that it wasn't overly sweet, and was a perfect mix of flavors. I'd return here given the lack of options in the area, but wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to go here since there are obviously much better options for boba tea in Chicago.

A little expensive for a mediocre portion boba, but it tastes good! I think it was about $7 w the tapioca and tip. The service here is nice, they have a kiosk which is amazing when you want specifics and don't like to talk to people (like me). And the ambiance is very quaint and restful. A nice stop, for sure.

Went here right before close and the service was really fast. Bubble tea is dairy free which I love.

I'm not a fan of Tapioca, I prefer glass jelly / coffee jelly or brown sugar jelly. Ordered oolong milk tea 30% sugar and the tea is rich and very good. The tapioca is not sweet but the texture is good. So 5/5 for tea!

Was initially craving coffee until I bumped into this bubble tea place. I wasn't really craving tea initially. But that's okay too. I bought a lychee oolong w/ lychee jelly and while it was great, it's just standard tea. It's not as pricy as other places I've gone to and tried in Chinatown; but it was still decent for what it's worth. They have really unique cups and they're eh with customer service. Menu was big & you can order as a kiosk. The workers were really quiet that day when I went in & it seems like average tea. I think for its price, it's worth it. Nothing too fancy with this tea place. 3/5, i would go back to try another flavor if that was close to me.

Drink is bad, they are so powder full. It's plain tea taste for me. I was trying from 3 different locations that they are the same, definitely not be bad.

Overall a great boba spot! Always a go to especially when in Lakeview. Very fast service and the people are always lovely in there. There's a self serve kiosks and a cashier.

Came here for the first time after wanting to try it out for a while! The location is convenient with plenty of street parking in the neighborhood. Excellent range of menu items here, including a variety of flavors and tapioca! You can choose from medium or large sizes, and the drink came out quickly, within 5 minutes. I look forward to coming back and trying their different options!

I've been here like 15 times, and I realized I've never written a review. Yea Ninja has been in the area for about 2 years now, and I remember when they first opened and they did punch cards. Tea Ninja is a chain, and it reminds me a lot of Vivi Bubble Tea. The menu has a ton of variety to cater to different types of clients -- anything from crème brûlée to slush to milk tea to fruit teas etc. There's a bunch of different toppings you can add to your drink and get creative with, they also sell macaroons, and you can also adjust your ice and sugar levels. They seem to have something for everyone, and it's also nice to see how diverse the clientele is and resembles the Lakeview demographics. I was also excited to see oolong milk tea is a new item on their menu, and knowing me, I had to get that because it's my go to. I went with the large cup, no sugar, no ice, added tapioca and pudding. I was also happy that I wasn't the only person who asked if they had tapioca or not since there were several signs saying "sorry no tapioca" (I would've ordered any way but it would've been a bummer), and thankfully the guy behind the counter said they have it (my hero!). I was also worried that they'd be out of a lot of things because they closed at 9, and I literally walked in around 8pm (I was that girl last night, I needed a fixing last minute). Thankfully they were going strong, and I was able to get what I needed. The place is always clean, and so are the bathrooms. The atmosphere reminds me of a place where I can either come with friends and hang out with our drinks, or I can work or study here. I'd recommend this place to any one in the area looking for bubble tea or a drink to quench your thirst.

Quick service, lots of options, and good bubble tea. Nothing fancy but always a safe bet

Pretty decent boba in the Lakeview area. I'm surprised there isn't really any other boba nearby! The interior is small, but chic-- it's pretty much standing room only. You can order at the cashier and there's also a touch screen menu with pictures of everything. I had the purple Oreo slush, which is basically a taro smoothie with Oreo pieces, and added boba, 50% sweet. It was pretty good--smooth consistency, well blended, and flavorful. The boba was warm and fresh, which is important for icy drinks because if the boba isn't fresh, you're pretty much left with small stones. I really liked the cup, too--the bottom is curved. Service was fast, especially for a warm and sunny Sunday. So, overall, not my favorite bubble tea shop, but it's the only one in all of Lakeview, so it will suffice if I'm in a pinch.

Best boba tea. Quick and friendly. Also, love the macaroon selection. Finally, they have slush versions of the bobas.

Very good boba, I recommend the Milk tea with brown sugar. Can't wait to taste other flavors. My only complaint is that they add too much ice. Everything else is good.

Ordered the Ninja Black Milk Tea with tapioca. The tea flavor was good, but the drink was overall watery and not the typical milk tea consistency. Tapioca consistency was okay, but lacked much flavor on its own. We ordered at the counter and the service was fairly quick and friendly.

I'm giving this place an extra star simply because it is the only boba shop that is walking distance in the Belmont area. Okay, Tea Ninja is not *that* bad, but compared to other places, it is not the greatest. What I have found though, is that their Jasmine Milk Tea is not bad, and I have been trying ice jelly which is less dense than tapioca but adds a different, nice kind of texture to the drink. Would recommend, not only because it is monopolizing the area, but it is actually kind of good as well.

This place is just ok. It was nice to find a boba tea shop in Lakeview, but the quality is average at best. The service was good and the staff was friendly. However the quality was so-so and the value verses the size I got was not very good. I ordered the matcha boba tea with red bean. It was ok. If you want boba tea and there is another shop other that Tea Ninja, your well served to go to that other shop.

The first time We came here We ordered the strawberry rose bubble tea and the cappuccino slush bubble tea. The rose overpowered the strawberry and although it was not bad, it was not my favorite. On the other hand, the cappuccino was very good! Highly recommend! The second time we came we had the strawberry slush and the strawberry lemon jade. These were both amazing! The strawberry was sweet and refreshing. My favorite was the strawberry lemon jade. It was sweet and sour! This will be my go to!

We approached the counter, the young male stood at the register, never greeted us and just stood at the register. Very rude, we almost walked away, but after 2 mins, he finally greeted us. My wife and I ordered an oreo crembrule and a thai tea. The oreo crembrule was made horribly, it tasted like milk. Poorly made, and a really bad experience. I won't come back again.

The drink itself was okay and the jelly wasn't bad. A bit overpriced for the quality, but it is a convenient stop if you want boba/tea.

My test drink - green milk tea, half sugar. It was okay...creaminess and tea flavor felt diluted. The shop is a small place, like a buy your drink and go. Finding street parking isn't bad. I may not come back but if I do, it'll be to try a different drink instead of milk tea

Great boba tea spot located in Lakeview and came for a medium Thai milk tea with boba. It has so many choices for different teas and I love that they have options for how much sugar and ice we got. I asked for no sugar in the Thai milk tea and it was very tasty! Pricing can be a little steep as I paid for $6 for a medium, but still a cute spot overall.

ordered frozen matcha drink. tasteless & sugary. tapioca was ok. maybe other drinks are better there.

Enjoyed the drink. It was refreshing after walking all around Chicago today! ................

Bubble Tea in Lake View? Yes - absolutely! As soon as you walk in the decor and the music is load in a good way. They have a ton options. I always use Taro(purple) bubble tea as a comparison and I have no complaints. My son had the honeydew milk tea. I like that a lot. I really want this place to succeed so come and visit.

Experience: Not going to lie, my first thoughts about this place was very low because it took a while for them to receive my order. But I then realize it was only one person working on a Friday night, so it was understandable. Just be patient if you do come here, they may be understaffed. Parking: When it comes to parking, it was absolutely horrible. At the same time, I did visit on a Friday night and it is Lakeview. It appears that it is only paid parking. If anyone knows any free spots please let me know! Maybe visit during the week rather than the weekend. You might be lucky to find a spot. Worth: I think it is worth the visit. I had the Brown Sugar Brûlée (As pictured below), which was also new on their menu. It is definitely on the pricier end compared to other bubble tea places. At the time of this review, there was no dine-in and it appears they follow all the necessary precautions to keep the staff and customers safe during these uncertain times!

Quick service, I love being able to order in advance, and most importantly the bubble tea is wonderful

Very few places to get bubble tea around Lakeview/Lincoln Park! I'm so glad we stopped by Tea Ninja! The tea I ordered was delicious (peach oolong) with 30% sugar (you can choose how much sugar you would like in your drink! Love this!!). They are doing curbside pick up only and you have to order via their website. They do not take orders inside so please save yourself 30 minutes by ordering ahead of time! We didn't know this at the time and ordered our 2 drinks outside of the restaurant and had to wait a half an hour! Thankfully it was a gorgeous day! Due to COVID-19 they have the inside of the cafe blocked off, so when your order is ready, they will announce it via a walkie-talkie. One customer at a time within the cafe for pick-up! The cafe is right on broadway. The street gets very congested and there's little to no parking around (you'll need to circle a few times or park farther)!

This is your run of the mill bubble tea spot. I got the peach 30% sugar + tapioca and it was ok. My fiancé got the Oreo. Also ok. I prefer Kung fu tea in Chinatown or vivi in the loop But if you're looking to get a bubble tea fix in Lakeview this will do. Ordering process was super simple and efficient online.

Your basic boba tea spot. I'm here for it! I am happy to see choosing an ice and sugar level available.

All the lactose-intolerant Asians (and non-Asians) can rejoice: they serve non-dairy milk and creamers! I specifically picked the coconut milk tea, but was informed even their regular milk tea is non-dairy. Got mine with no sugar added, the coconut milk and tapioca bubbles still lend sufficient sweetness. The black tea is bold and smooth and blends well with the milk. If you're fighting the winter weather like me and order your milk hot, be mindful that your bubbles might melt a tad and lose their chewy texture.

We came here in the early evening and they were all out of boba! It was very strange to have milk tea without boba as that texture and chewing adds a nice dimension to the drink. The flavors of the milk tea were great though. The workers also didn't have the best customer service skills. This would have been a 5/5 if they just made some more boba!

Milk tea is in my blood, and I have it several times a week. I really needed a fix after lunch one day and looked up what was in the area. This place came up, I noticed it was new, and thought I'd give it a try. Upon entering, I noticed a very familiar vibe and look. It finally clicked as this place is somehow related to the Vivi Bubble Tea downtown on State and Van Buren. Tea Ninja is a way cuter name though. Inside is nice and bright and not overly crowded with furniture so you can get some work done. The drinks overall were so-so. We ordered a chocolate Oreo slush and Earl grey float. The Oreo slush didn't have much chocolate flavor to it nor did it have much Oreo taste. It tasted like a bland vanilla milkshake with a hint of cookies n cream flavoring. I will give it to them the boba was fresh and perfectly chewy. The Earl grey float didn't have much "float" to it. I opted for the larger size and you'd assume the cheese top to tea ratio would be adjusted accordingly. I found myself sipping cautiously to conserve what little top I had so that I wouldn't be left with just tea towards the end. Does that make any sense? The jist of it is they're being too stingy with the cheese top. They're new so it did take a while to get our drinks. I'd give it time for them to get into the groove of things, but I'm optimistic they'll do fine.

Boba milk tea in Lakeview? Skeptical - initially, but VERY impressed after tasting their boba milk tea. Background: I grew up in the San Gabriel valley in Los Angeles, which has a huge Asian population. Boba shops are pretty much on every block and are more prevalent than starbucks/coffee shops. The boba is as close as you can get to Taiwan's. warm, soft, chewy, with good quality milk tea. I've lowered my standards since coming to the Midwest but have still been in search of good boba. I luckily happened to walk by someone carrying a boba milk tea cup after finishing lunch in the area. This led me over to the shop. The shop was decorated in vibrant colors with bright tv screens as menus. I was impressed by the variety of teas that they have to offer! The hardest part was deciding what to try out first. Also, it was nice to see that the menu reminds you that you can adjust the sugar levels as well as the ice levels. I ordered the boba milk tea with less ice and regular sugar. That's my usual way of testing out a boba shop and determining the sugar levels. It was definitely on the sweeter side so I recommend going with 50% sugar next time. I was really impressed with the boba! It was coated in brown sugar and had a good balance of chewiness to softness. The boba didn't come out warm so this is where it lacks compared to the California boba shops. Pro tip: STAMP CARDS!! I love stamp cards and am extremely excited that this shop offers them. Hardly any boba shops in Chicago do. Overall: I'd definitely come back! I'd try their rose milk tea next time because not that many shops offer rose milk tea.

I absolutely love boba tea and I am always trying new places. So when Tea Ninja opened up near my place, I just had to try it. Looking at the menu can be a bit overwhelming since there are so many options, plus the names of the teas are in a very small font. The music was blasting pretty loud. I decided to go with the oreo slush. This drink only came in a large size. The tea is rich in chocolate and tasted pretty good. The place fills a fourth of the glass with the tapioca pearls, which is nice. I will definitely be back to try the other teas.

Degrading my rating to 4. A few points of my dissatisfaction: 1. They changed work hours so now they open after 12pm on weekends. 2. Ordering on chowbus honestly sucks. They will give anyone in store priority than your order. So if you want to pre order, dont bother: their customer satisfaction is far from Starbucks. 3. Chowbus sizing price is always large even for medium hot cups. 4. They cant make any logic alterations: So a simple sentence like : Can I have *warm* bubble tea? The answer is No. They dont know how: it has to be either Hot HOT or Cold and colder with ice. Come on. I really want a good bubble tea in lakeview area and so far this all makes me far from liking it.

Finally, a Boba place in my neighborhood! I practically shrieked when I came across the soft opening a few weeks ago. There are tons of fun drink options and combinations on the TV screen menu for anyone who isn't sure about how to mix and match toppings and flavors. I've had a slush and milk tea, both with boba - because boba is included! - and loved them both. Even my boyfriend who doesn't enjoy the consistency of bubbles in his tea has really liked his milk teas. Things seemed a little chaotic during my first visits, but that's what soft openings are for. The line to order wasn't too long, but people had to wait a while for their drinks. Regardless, staff was always helpful and kind. I'm eager to see how the business progresses as it matures. I know I'll have plenty of opportunities to check in since I walk by multiple times each week. I have a hard time not stopping!

So we love our boba tea and this place hit the spot!! We were excited to see a new place in the neighborhood, and when we found out it was boba we just had to try it! Inside there is a small seating area, but the majority is the counter you order from and a huge menu board as this place has numerous options!! I had my usual strawberry banana slush with boba and it was delicious. Better than others we have had! I hope this place stays in business and I recommend you try it!

Great addition to the area! Boba was perfectly chewy and consistent. And it's FREE to any drink My drink was not very sweet and I didn't even alter the sweetness! I got rose strawberry (more strawberry flavor) and lychee oolong (more oolong flavors). Less ice = true small amount of ice. I got my stamp card and I'll definitely be back! I'm excited to get a milk tea next time. P. S. It's 15% off all drinks for their soft opening right now!

It's quick, has a lot of options, and tea was good. However if you are afraid it will be too sweet maybe order 50% sugar. I ordered 30% and it may have gone too far.

Final update-- I really want to like this place but every visit is inconsistent. This past Tuesday I got the earl grey float, size medium with boba. I was blown away! The taste of the earl grey tea was amazing, & with the cheese foam the drink was perfection. I thought I hit the jackpot! Fast forward to yesterday, I ordered the same thing in a large. The tea was.... Lacking? Plain? I brought it back saying the tea didn't taste like earl grey. I was told this drink uses black tea. I was very confused... When I had it previously in the week, it was a flavorful earl grey tea. She offered to remake the drink, so I just went with it.... Nothing changed, and I was still pretty bummed. I thought I finally found a favorite drink.... Why is it called earl grey float when the tea base is just black tea??? To add to the inconsistency, sometimes my drinks would get a big scoop or a small scoop of boba depending on who's working. This place is so close to where I live, so I want to come back again but this most recent experience really put me off.

Stoped by here for the first time and ordered a lychee & mango slushy 70% sweet. It is soooo good!! You have to order online before going into the place but it's quick and easy.

Boba is my JAM but I forget about it a lot until I have a random craving (I swear I'll be the pregnant lady who just wants the boba, no drink). Tea Ninja is right place, right time. SO many choices to choose from but my lactose intolerant body always goes for milk-free. I'm telling you, I don't need anything else, just give me the boba! Ordered for pick up the other day, easy, old school walked talkie said my name.

I ordered the milk green tea with boba. The boba is way less chewy. The quality of tea was okay. (I added one star for the reason that the boba is free.) Boba milk tea selection in Chicago is limited. (I don't like lots of weird artificial flavors tea that I don't even know where they are from.)

I like how this location has late hours on Saturday and that the staff are really efficient and courteous. I had the taro milk tea and it was very watery-tasting as if there wasn't enough mix in there. I'm no expert but I'm sure that taro milk tea shouldn't taste like tap water.

There's finally bubble tea in Lakeview and it's good!! Tea Ninja has sooo many options! They have your traditional milk tea flavors and more unique ones like pina colda slush. Every cold drink comes in two sizes, medium and large, and there are even hot drinks for when the Chicago winter settles in. The price is perfect for the size! Also the boba is free! There is a small additional price for any jelly or other things but the taste is totally worth it! They even have macaroons and other small treats! Plus different ice amounts and sweetness amounts, everything is so customizable! The only part I'm slightly sad about is there is limited seating. But there's still tables and chairs and there's even a punch card! Make sure you get a punch card - it's buy 10 get the 11th free. Would I come back?: Yes! While not the most mind blowing tea ever, it's still amazingly delicious! Add in a punch card plus the staff was very nice and the atmosphere was fun and inviting, and Tea Ninja is a great place for a fun drink.