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New York, NY

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Boba Whale

4.2 (39 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

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Mango Green Tea with Boba
Meryam A.

I stopped by this spot while running errands, and it turned out to be a great find! The interior is cute, bright, and welcoming, with a few seats if you want to hang out for a bit. Their menu is decently sized, offering a good variety without being overwhelming. I ordered the mango green tea, and my drink was ready in just a few minutes. At around $6, the price felt reasonable, especially given the quality. The mango syrup they use is excellent--rich and flavorful without tasting artificial--and the drink itself was perfectly balanced and refreshing. Honestly, this is the closest I've found to my go-to boba spot back in Houston, which says a lot. I'll definitely be coming back whenever the boba cravings hit!

Camryn K.

Sad to say, but the drink I got was sub-par. I got the mango slush with boba and cheese foam. The mango slush wasn't bad but it had a slight artificial taste to it. The boba was good, and it had a nice texture. The worst part about the drink was the cheese foam. The taste was super off putting, and it tasted very artificial. I would not get this drink again. The shop was small but super cute. I liked the tops of the cups. Service was quick, but there was no one else in the shop.

Briana C.

If I could give negative stars I would, a month ago I ordered a matcha tea from a delivery service and when emptying to recycle.... I found there was a roach in the drink i had finished most of . Disgusting and disturbing was an understatement, I have yet to hear from anyone after emailing twice and calling the location 3 times, regarding this issue so here I am making a review. I should not have to chase around management for an issue this bad . I use to love ordering from here but I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO DRINK HERE AFTER FINDING A ROACH IN MY DRINK!

Boba tea sizes
Lise H.

I stumbled into Boba Whale while spectating the NYC Marathon - they serve reasonably priced bubble tea with cute thoughtful cups! Their cups teach some Bahasa Indonesian phrases which is incredibly unique - and I'm so happy they aren't afraid to label their cups and represent their origin culture (mad respect and appreciation here). We got the thai milk tea and oolong milk tea. You can customize the sugar and ice levels. I wasn't a big fan of their thai milk tea, but I was a big fan of their oolong milk tea! They also have a cool unique XL size! We also tried their meatball soup which was Indonesian and very warm and packed with flavor. Great for cold days! Great ambiance at this small business! If you are in the area, I'd recommend you check them out.

Chin T.

The staff was friendly. You can order Indonesian coffee, food, and desserts as well. Ordered lavender and regular honeydew with tapioca boba, topping cost 75 cents extra. Quenched thirst on a hot summer day. There's seating inside. Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Ambience: 4/5

Serena X.

Stopped by for a late night treat with friends and appreciated the kind service, and their food looked really good. However, I'm not a big fan of their powder based drinks, as I tried the Taro milk tea, and it was pretty standard.

Jasmine Milk Tea, Chai Milk Tea
Victoria K.

[NYC BOBA TOUR STOP #49] *My other stops on the boba tour: https://www.yelp.com/collection/4dXTAnFqPHD1D8obaInTZw/nyc-boba-tour Boba Whale is cute and bright inside and they have an extensive menu that includes Indonesian food! They also have the BUCKET BOBA option (XL cup), which is always thrilling... but only if the drinks are good. We ordered (rating): Chai Milk Tea with Boba (1.5/5), Jasmine Milk Tea with Pudding and Boba (2/5) They were advertising a new chai milk tea and I was like I LOVE chai, and it's not something that's everywhere, so let me try that. This was the wrong decision. First sip and you are attacked with the fact that this drink is made from powder. Usually people try to hide that aspect, but there is simply no shame here I suppose. And, you know, the thing with tasting powder when you drink boba is that it doesn't go down easily, it kinda just settles on your tongue and it's all grainy and weird. The boba was extremely small and a very interesting texture. Honestly, the miracle is that they achieved this texture, which I will now compare to being like the Earth's layers but take away the crust. So on the outside it was like a slimy, mushy layer (mantle and outer core), and then when you get past that layer you reach the core which is hard (don't allow me to make similes ever again). The taste of the boba was strong, though! It was sweetness forward and was a pinata of flavor. Tragically not one to return to, but I'm glad we tried it.

Mango slush
Grace K.

I ordered a small mango slush with lychee jellies and cheese foam. Half sweetness. The mango slush was ok, a little chemically tasting. The lychee jellies were good. The cheese foam had an odd flavor. I want to say it tasted a little like coconut but it was not. It lacked the sour flavor that cheese foams should have and added nothing, in fact I wish I didn't add the cheese foam. Quick service because nobody was there. Near the Roosevelt bridge.

a man working in a coffee shop
Cecilia L.

Cute little boba shop but I wouldn't say they stand out from the rest. I got the XL strawberry mango smoothie but I don't taste the mango - taste more like cantaloupe to me!

passionfruit boba w/mango pop + extra mango pop, 25% sweet, less ice. really refreshing!
Emina S.

after a long walk, I ordered a fruity passionfruit boba w/mango pop + extra mango pop, 25% sweet, less ice. made super quickly and perfectly! looove the containers for the bigger sizes so much the woman who took care of my order was so patient as i couldn't decide between a brown sugar boba or the one I eventually decided one. I was quite happy for under $9 and would definitely come back to try other flavors and toppings.

Mango Fruit Tea
Anthony P.

Sorry if you miss out on this great new boba spot in the UES It is really tasty and you should give it a chance! Didn't expect a spot in this area to serve Indonesian style coffee either. Work your way through their extensive menu to find something easily refreshing from milk teas to fruit teas. Out of few options of boba spots in the neighborhood this one is def better than the other ones. I hope you find happiness and success, Boba Whale. I'm sorry for any mistreatment, towards the boba scene on my part.

Ex large!
Anita L.

I got the boba smoothie EXTRA LARGE. I didn't expect it to come in a bucket but it did! It's so cute. I shared it with my bf and we both enjoyed the mango strawberry smoothie. I got 75 percent sugar, we added boba which was nice soft and chewy. I will definitely stop by again. I can't wait to try the other smoothie.

Regular Coconut Milk Tea with boba

Okay, would probably try other places before coming back. Smallest regular I've ever gotten, slightly bland but not bad, guess it is NYC. The flavor was not bad but it was one of the smaller regular sizes I have gotten if not the smallest. For reference I already have small hands and it was very small

Brown Sugar Milk Tea

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Reviews are generally positive. People highlight the friendly staff, welcoming ambiance, and drink variety, including unique Indonesian specialties.

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10 months ago

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6 months ago

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8 months ago

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3 years ago

Best boba spot in Manhattan. The smoothies are great and offers Indo-cuisine and coffee.

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2 years ago

Best boba in the city!! I always get melon milk tea with tapioca and strawberry popping and it hits every time.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Delicious, awesome boba, soft and chewy, the drinks are so tasty and refreshing. Definitely would recommend this place.

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

Got it takeout and it was amazing. I ordered the Honeydew Boba with popping lychee boba.

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3 years ago

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Gong Cha - Thank you, Gong cha, for the anniversary pin, and the appreciated beverage.

Gong Cha

3.8(455 reviews)
1.5 mi•Midtown West
•$

Good place for boba. Simple ordering process thru their kiosk. Lots of selection. I chose the black…read moretea with boba. Drunk came out fast. No real interaction with the staff but they are efficient. Place is clean with some space for seating. Funny conversation to eavesdrop on but a couple was on a date and the girl was talking about her psychedelic experience doing mushrooms and an alien god judging her about her network of friends...I normally don't eavesdrop but couldn't help it in such a small sitting area

I returned to another Gong Cha bubble tea chain which this is located at 38th Street between 5th…read moreand 6th Avenues, Midtown West, Manhattan, NYC. This location is accessible via A train at 42nd Street Port Authority. Upon arriving there was a woman in front of me arguing with the staff persistently haggling the price to be lowered, but to no avail. Woman, no means no! There are other bubble tea businesses within the locale that may appease your needs, but not this particular Gong Cha whom apologized for the inconvenience of the inability to lower the price on the product ordered. As I waited patiently, I took photos of this business' environment. The staff stated the cash register is not working and currently unable to accept either credit or debit cards, but cash only payments. Ergo, I was unable to obtain a sales receipt nor a drink label printed. I wonder if the staff reboot the register or check their internet connection to be offline as the cause of non-functioning O/O/O. [1] Customer service is average. Well... if the staff can lower the price for one customer why not lower it for ALL customers? Surely, why not make my drink order as inclusion for lowering the price, please? Hell no, of course not! The conclusion was ironclad. In the real world, this cannot happen. As I stood on line waiting for this woman to let go and walk away from her argument I had shrunk to my own gnawing thoughts. I took photos of the atmospheric environment. There is a cute signage: "Bubble tea where refreshment meets creativity." The pink metal water bottle is very adorably cute which is something that I would certainly purchase. Peach green tea, medium $7.25 My favorite default topping grass jelly (aka herbal jelly) loeng4 fan2 涼粉 is my standard request for $0.75 which was good, but not served chilled. At 30% sugar level request, it was slightly higher in sugar content. Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg would shake his head at me in disbelief with disapproval and disappointment for consuming this excessively sugary drink. The peach green tea was not the cause of the sweetness but a man-made sugar embed measurement error. Nevertheless, this Gong Cha satisfied my bubble tea fix as it is now my addiction - in addition to my other addiction, writing. [1] O/O/O = Out Of Order

Photos
Gong Cha
Gong Cha
Gong Cha - Menu

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Menu

Pinkberry - IG: @nom.nom.only | original & strawberry vanilla

Pinkberry

3.3(564 reviews)
1.7 mi•Koreatown, Midtown West
•$$

I've been stopping by this location whenever I'm in Koreatown, and it's always a great experience…read more I dropped in again after dinner tonight and was genuinely blown away--a very friendly African American gentleman who helped me on a previous visit actually recognized me! With the number of people he must see every day, that kind of personal touch really stood out. I had my fav, chocolate with Cap'n Crunch and brownies--trust me, it's the best!

i don't normally leave bad reviews, but this location was extremely disappointing…read more i love and frequent pinkberry often back home in socal, so i was excited to get a taste of some good froyo in nyc. when we walked into the store, i noticed how hot and stuffy it was in there. there was a line of about 4-5 people in front of us when we first entered, but it just kept growing as time passed til it was literally packed to the door. the table i waited at was also sticky and had trash and toppings dried on it. my boyfriend ordered for us - we got a small cup of froyo and an order of dragon berry tea. he waited around 15 minutes only to notice the cashier hadn't given the other workers his order receipt, so the people behind him in line were receiving their orders first. when he ordered the tea, one of the workers had told him that he couldn't order it because they were out of some ingredients, but another worker corrected her and told her not to tell customers that they're out, just cuz she doesn't know how to make it. seems like there is an issue with improperly trained staff. anyways, after waiting around 30 minutes for them to give us our order, we were disappointed by the amount of froyo we got. it was also melted by the time we got it. the tea was flavorless - just tasted like sour water. overall, was underwhelming and disappointing.

Photos
Pinkberry - Small (Original & Mango) With Toppings

Small (Original & Mango) With Toppings

Pinkberry
Pinkberry - Pomegranate

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Pomegranate

FIFTYLAN Koreatown - Lychee Black Tea (Large)

FIFTYLAN Koreatown

4.3(164 reviews)
1.8 mi•Koreatown, Midtown West
•$$

This was very close to my work, and I've been wanting to try for a while. I guess you can say I…read morefinally caved. I got the golden bubble milk tea which is their most popular drink. I didn't realize golden bubble literally just meant golden boba balls. I thought it would be some sort of special milk tea flavor LOL. But it wasn't so it was just your typical milk tea (which was pretty good) with LOTS (too much) of boba (not good). The boba to tea ratio could definitely be a lot better, half the drink was boba which is way too much. I also wish the boba was a little less chewy. They recommended 50% sugar so I got 25% and it was still too sweet for me. The upside is that it did satisfy the boba craving for the moment. And the service was quick! It was also a little bit hard to find this store because people were doing construction around the building.

I went here on a Monday after lunch and there was no line. I saw they had a hojicha flyer, this…read moreintrigued me, so I will have to come back for this. The man at the cashier was very nice, but he was training, so it took us about 10 min to order our drinks. He asked us the same questions multiple times. I got the peach green tea (large size) with their signature golden boba. The peach green tea tasted like water. There was not much substance. I liked the boba was nice and squishy (and not too big). I liked that they have multiple customization options as other places (less sugar, less ice, less boba). It was a standard bubble tea place.

Photos
FIFTYLAN Koreatown - Golden Bubble Milk Tea

Golden Bubble Milk Tea

FIFTYLAN Koreatown - Local goodies

Local goodies

FIFTYLAN Koreatown - Interior

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Interior

Ho Ho Té - Logo

Ho Ho Té

4.0(204 reviews)
1.4 mi•Theater District, Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen

Staffs were friendly. There are bubble tea, and food you can order from here. I ordered a regular…read moreKorean Hot Dog which was $4.99. There are tables and seats where you can sit and enjoy your meal here. Service: 4/5 Food: 4/5 Ambience: 4/5

My bubble tea crawl continues throughout NYC attaining my favorite default grass jelly loeng4 fan2…read more涼粉 choice topping. Ahh, grass jelly loeng4 fan2 涼粉 is my childhood favorite dessert and summons nostalgia! It is my mission to search for bubble tea businesses that offers grass jelly as a topping for my primary reason to patronize. It was abundant which filled one quarter of my medium sized drink. The grass jelly topping is New York City standard priced at $0.50 at least there is sustainability and a sense of normalcy. I requested regular ice, but the entire ice dispensed disappointedly melted and the drink became room temperate. Heat wave medium $6.00 Passionfruit green tea with grass jelly, 50%, light sugar. The drink alone was good quality. While scanning the electronic menu the drink names appear very comical and not business appropriate as well as this bubble tea business name Ho Ho Te. The sound speakers is boisterously loud blasting music directly at my face by the ordering counter. The cashier associate was 90% inaudible of her customer service questions due to the boisterously loud blasting music as I had to fight loud vs. loud by blurting loudly several times: "WHAT?" Why would a business intentionally place sound speakers in front of a ordering counter station where customers must communicate their food/drink orders? How can customers place their drinks orders with clear specific description/instructions only for the cashier associate to inadvertently obfuscate by misinformation because the message conveyed was utterly misinterpreted? Communication is vital for ordering and order fulfillment accuracy in the food service industry! The cardboard paper straws available are environmentally sustainable friendly for biodegradable and compostable. However, these cardboard straws taste AWFULl!! The drink selection is very limited menu compared with other bubble tea competitors. Disappointedly there is no Jasmine green tea on the menu. There are some food items. Takeout menus are available for grabs. Loyalty card is available which also serve as business card where the back is printed in gold foil. This business is very accessible by MTA NYC Transit at Port Authority 42nd Street's A, C, E trains and buses near the peripheral of Times Square.

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Ho Ho Té - Summer Special: Slushes~ Mango, Lychee, Dragon Fruit and Strawberry, free cream cap!

Summer Special: Slushes~ Mango, Lychee, Dragon Fruit and Strawberry, free cream cap!

Ho Ho Té - Black milk tea ft papee straw!

Black milk tea ft papee straw!

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Surreal Creamery - All Very Strawberry Ice Cream & Cake Jar

Surreal Creamery

4.2(225 reviews)
3.0 mi•Greenwich Village
•$$

Cute ice cream shop near WSP ~ Everyone's always super…read morefriendly and will explain the menu to you and the different combos. Flavors are good, light, different mix and match vibes ~ Def a SHARED experience though, it's a lot of ice cream if you get the mason jars. It's been hot lately so by the time we walked to WSP it was getting a little melty on the top swirls, so if you want an aesthetic pic ~ get it early on Found old pics from when we've gone before, apparently we like the chocolate the most!

I was really craving ice cream and stumbled across Surreal Ice Cream on Instagram!! the purple and…read moregreen swirl immediately caught my eye (usually a sign of matcha and ube or taro, which I love). The place itself is small but cute, and the service was honestly great, friendly and quick. Unfortunately, the ice cream didn't live up to the hype or the aesthetic. What looked like rich, exotic flavors ended up tasting like basic vanilla with food coloring. I was expecting bold, creamy matcha and ube or taro flavors, but it just tasted artificial and flat :( like a cheaper version trying to ride the wave of the trendy flavors. The portion size was generous, but I left feeling like I wasted my cheat day. It's definitely IG worthy, but tastewise, it missed the mark for me.

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Surreal Creamery - @eatingsfrom - earl gray flotea

@eatingsfrom - earl gray flotea

Surreal Creamery - Thai Milk Bubble Tea & Vietnamese Iced Coffee Ice Cream

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Surreal Creamery - 2025 (melted butter not their fault lol)

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2025 (melted butter not their fault lol)

Boba Whale - bubbletea - Updated October 2026

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