The Alley

We were at the Spectrum and wanted some boba. We stood in line waiting for the worker to help us for a few minutes before we noticed that we had to put in our orders ourselves at the counter. It was a weekend and he was working there by himself so he was a little busy. Cashless and cashier-less. Prices were a bit high but I think maybe it's because it is in the Spectrum and rent must be high too. The drinks took awhile to be made since there was only one employee so didn't go here if you're in a hurry. The bobas were chewy and soft. And fresh! I ordered a grapefruit tea and my friend ordered a coffee milk tea. We both liked our drinks.

I love the drinks here; they can make them really delicious. I particularly enjoy the passion fruit green tea. Just be prepared for them to be very sweet. And also you can try Orange peach oolong with cheese 50% sweetness. There’s often a lot of syrup at the bottom of the cup or the liquid itself is just very sweet. I recommend asking them to reduce the sweetness by at least 30%. The flavor will still be good and rich, but it won't feel like you're drinking a concentrate. Below you can see their menu: Yogurt Series - Original Purple Rice Yogurt - $7.95 (860 cal) - Yogurt Grape Smoothie - $7.95 (575 cal) - Lychee Yogurt Smoothie - $7.95 (504 cal) The Alley Specialty - Passionfruit Green Tea - $7.25 (442 cal) - Strawberry Green Tea with Jelly - $7.25 (220 cal) - Lychee Green Tea - $6.95 - Orange Peach Oolong - $7.25 (240 cal) - Snow Strawberry Smoothie - $7.50 (833 cal) Original Brew Tea Series (Snow Velvet option +$0.80) - Assam Black Tea - $4.95 (86 cal) - Jasmine Green Tea - $4.95 (86 cal) - Royal No.9 Black Tea - $5.50 (86 cal) - Peach Oolong Tea - $5.50 (77 cal) Brown Sugar Deerioca (Tealess) (Choice of organic milk, soy milk, or oat milk) - Brown Sugar Deerioca Crème Brulee Milk - $7.25 (1071 cal) - Cocoa Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk - $6.95 (987 cal) - Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk - $6.95 (581 cal) - Matcha Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk - $6.95 (800 cal) - Ube Taro Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk - $6.95 (695 cal) - Ube Brown Sugar Deerioca Crème Brulee Milk - $7.50 (1117 cal) Milk Tea Series - The Alley Assam Milk Tea - $5.95 (311 cal) - Jasmine Green Milk Tea - $5.95 (310 cal) - Peach Oolong Milk Tea - $6.25 - Royal No.9 Milk Tea - $5.95 (311 cal) - Thai Milk Tea - $6.25 Toppings ($0.80 unless noted): Regular Boba, Brown Sugar Boba (extra sweet), Crystal Boba, Rainbow Jelly (konjac), Lychee Jelly, Coconut Jelly, Green Tea Jelly, Aloe Vera, Taro, Sweet Cream, Snow Velvet, Creme Brulee ($1.00)

Stopped by earlier this month on a Saturday, and boy was it PACKED. I highly suggest ordering for pickup to speed up the process. Regardless, it didn't take too long to get the order (just super busy inside), even with only ~3-4 people working. I got the peach tea drink with boba. It was decent for a boba shop at the mall. However, being in Irvine and at The Alley, I was expecting a little more. I think if I was really craving a boba at the mall, I would come again.

They have new owners and they water down their drinks with milk and less tea to save on costs. The Royal #9 tastes like milk. It barely has the original tea flavor. I asked for a refund and didn’t get one. Really sad how down hill it has gotten. We miss the old owner. He would never mess with such a great recipe.

When the boba tea is so good you have to go back in to make sure there’s no dairy in it! Haha I got a brown sugar crème brûlée without the crème brûlée and it was bomb!!! Thank you to the employees who accommodated me. Will be back again!

Been here several times (Irvine Spectrum location) and the staff are very welcoming and knowledgeable! The Royal milk tea is unique and delicious!!!

Pretty sad since I've been going here for a couple of years. Came here a few days ago to get the brown sugar drink and I paid extra for creme brule, and also gave them a tip while paying. Once I started drinking it I realized there was no creme brule in it at all, so I went back and asked if they had any and showed them my drink, but they tell me the creme brule is now different and it's some type of liquid added now? I was so confused thinking they changed the recipe so I just left and decided to look it up, but no it's still the same "spongy" type of recipe, it never changed and yet they decide to lie to me in my face even after I gave them a tip? I went to another location after and got the same drink with the creme brule in it. The craziest issue is that this is the 2nd time this has happened but I wasn't too upset the first time. Can't even mention to their customers when an item is out of stock and take people's money instead, ridiculous and greedy, never coming back and telling others that love this Boba to not come to this specific location. I took no pictures unfortunately

I ordered a brown sugar boba milk tea and it’s just plain milk with boba. Very sad