Seattle-Area Boba Shop Review #123…read more Looks like The Alley finally opened up a location in U District to target the local college student population, given the much larger footprint compared to the locations in Lynnwood and CID. There's actually plenty of seating here, and even a games shelf to kill some time and/or study. Like the other locations, there's a convenient kiosk in front to order. Assam Milk Tea, Less Sweet, Less Ice w/ Boba ($6.65) - I feel like less sweet is a little sweeter than the other two locations. It could just be in my mind, or maybe the boba recipe is a little different, adding more sweetness to the drink here. Otherwise, the general taste and ice level are pretty consistent with the other locations. The milk tea is slightly malty, has good body, and has enough ice to keep the drink cold but isn't overabundant. The boba here isn't nearly as good. The pearls are lumpy and disheveled, not to mention slightly mushy, on the outside, while the interior is undercooked, on the harder side without a great chew. I think the boba is also much sweeter than the other locations. I wonder if it's because they don't drain it in a slotted spoon before adding it to the cup - instead, they scoop both the boba and the syrup. Not sure why the boba here is worse. Milk Tea Rating: 4.5/5 Boba Rating: 4/5 I don't think this location of The Alley quite matches the other two in terms of quality, but it also could be due to opening hiccups. I'll revisit again in the future to see if they've improved. Bathrooms - 3 gender neutral rooms that are shared with the other building tenants. Drinks: [4.25/5] Service: [ ] Other: [ ] Final Rating: 4/5

Tasty! Definitely will be one of the more popular spots in U district for a boba or tea now. Menu…read morehas variety and they also offer croffles and basque cheesecakes. Location is near all the bus stops and easy access to the light rail. Store is bright and modern. Menu has cold brews, teas, slushy drinks, smoothies, rice yogurt, house made lychee jelly and much more! Definitely a spot with a little something for everyone. Service can be brief and cold. Tablet ordering seems the way they want you to order. We stopped by during the soft opening and again I stopped by few days after grand opening. The Jasmine Green Milk tea is delicious. Tried the boba and seems they really skimp on that so I'll skip that next time and just get drinks with no toppings. Boba was perfect taste and texture though but for how little they give it's not worth the added price. The Orange Peach Oolong my boyfriend ordered was amazing. A perfect and refreshing summer drink for sure. I tried the Matcha Croffle my second visit. It was $4.95 I think so basically five dollars which is a better price compared to other shops I've seen selling croffles. Croffle took some time but was presented well. I thought it was tasty but nothing special. On top of the croffle is like a simple sweet custard whip and they sprinkle matcha powder on top. I am glad I gave it a try but wouldn't order it again. The basque cheesecakes look intriguing and popular but small and pricey so don't know if I'll try that in the future. Overall I would definitely return and now consider this one of the better tea/drink options in U district. I recommend the Jasmine Green Milk Tea!

Delicious black tea with very fresh boba . Easy app to use for online ordering and good rewards.read more

Decent boba spot that is a little bit further from the main UDistrict street of restaurants, but…read morestill convenient by transit (about 10 min walk from the light rail) and car (good amount of free parking in the plaza). I went here to take advantage of the BOGO I found on UberEats pickup (even normal price as-is is competitive and on the lower than average price for boba drinks). I got the jasmine green milk tea with boba. Not the best boba, but still satisfies the cravings. The milk tea was a little watered down but still great (usually even when the ice melts, it is still pretty flavorful). They do give a generous amount of boba and it is decently chewy - quantity over quality in my opinion, but never hurts to have more boba! I would try their cute desserts next time though!

Tried this place out for lunch around 12pm on a Thursday. Not bad, a little pricey for a banh mi…read morebut it makes sense for the area. $11 for a beef banh mi or $10 for a pork or chicken one. You can do a combo for $15.50 that comes with a preselected drink and banh mi which is alright. The inside of the shop is a little small, not made for groups to really eat together since it's just a small bar-like table to eat at. So good if you're eating with one person or by yourself. For the banh mi, the bread is okay. Kinda generic. Meat is good though, flavorful, good quality and good amount. I'd come back only because it's the only banh mi shop in the area. For parking, there's just street parking. Around the corner from the Grand Bakery, there were spots open but you do have to pay for parking by the city. For a Thursday afternoon, it's only like $.50 for 45 minutes.

I just ordered an Ube milk tea but it was delicious! I was a bit worried because the picture showed…read morethe ube on top and milk tea on bottom but I am guessing they pre mixed the milk tea for me but I was relieved that it tasted normal and the bubbles were decent too. The shop is small but cute, the best thing about the shop is that the window isn't covered with stickers like most of the restaurants I've been to in seattle. This allowed me to sit at the window and look out into the street. There isn't much of a view but it's kind of nice to just people watch people walking by on the street and just existing while drinking your tea and listening to the Mandarin music playing in the background. The place was empty when I came jn but I got my drink pretty fast right after ordering by the cashier/server. I recommend a stop for sure.

Went to Coffeeholic with a friend on a Saturday morning. We ordered the Matcha Purple Haze and egg…read morecoffee, and both drinks were really good and definitely the highlight of the visit. The cashier was new so she probably made a mistake but I originally ordered the sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich, but after I paid, the cashier came over to let me know they were out. I switched to a bacon, egg, and cheese instead and didn't ask for a refund even though it was cheaper. Unfortunately, when my order came out, there was no bacon, just egg and cheese but I had already left for work. The sandwich itself was pretty bland. I was also expecting more Vietnamese-inspired breakfast options because i saw it on the yelp.

Delicious drinks! I really love the matcha and pandan flavored items at Coffeeholic! I'm not…read moreusually a coffee drinker but they have really tasty coffee drinks although I do prefer the matcha! I got their summer matcha and strawberry cream drink and it was fantastic! Service was friendly and although it was kind of busy, drinks were made decently fast. Indoor seating is available but I tend to grab my drinks for takeout. 10/10 love this spot!

Surprised us how good this cute little place is. The Pho and vermicilli plates are the best we've…read morehad in this area. Will diffinetly be our go to now. I tried a smothie a while ago and it was great but did not expext this small space/kitchen to have food so fresh and full of flavor. The owner and her staff are friendly and welcoming.

Seattle-Area Boba Shop Review #67…read more Taste & Tell Lounge is a small but welcoming cafe, serving a decent sized menu of food and tea and coffee drinks. Ordering is quick using the kiosk right in front and the staff are very friendly, getting the drinks prepared and out within a couple of minutes. Signature Milk Tea, Less Sweet, 50% Ice w/ Brown Sugar Boba ($7.25) - Interesting. This is the 2nd time in Seattle I've seen a boba shop put a piece of wax paper in between the cup and the lid, to allow the customer to shake the drink and get that satisfy pop of a boba straw piercing the top. This drink is ridiculously sweet, so cloying that my mouth puckered while sipping on it. I could not drink more than a couple of sips before having to stop. It's perhaps 200% or maybe even 300% sugar level as compared to other places. The taste is also not very pleasant to me. Not only is it extremely harsh but for some reason, there's somewhat of a stale undertone to the entire drink, kind of reminding me of the essence of cardboard mixed with an old Chinese herb shop. I believe they use real tea leaves to brew their tea, so the taste is puzzling. The ice level at half is essentially like full ice at any other establishment. When the drink is completely cooled, the ice still fills up approximately the top third of the cup. When I visited, they had just run out of the regular boba, but they still had the brown sugar boba in stock. For the same price as the regular boba? Great! And then I bit into my first one.... This is not boba. The pearls are agar based cuboids. Why call these brown sugar boba? That's false advertising in my book. Milk Tea Rating: 2/5 (and I'm being generous) Boba rating: 1/5 I feel bad giving such a low rating to this family owned establishment, but the drink I got was not up to par. Given the high ratings from other reviewers, I have to assume that I just received a poorly made drink and they're usually better. Bathrooms - One unisex room Edit: I stashed the drink in my fridge for a couple of days and after diluting it by about half with freshly brewed assam tea, it's much more palatable due to the reduction in sweetness. The harsh taste stale is still there, though, and there's still no tea flavor.

Huge space and open till pretty late are def their plus points. Prices are fairly reasonable as…read morewell especially when compared relatively to similar shops. The options they offer on the menu for both food and drinks are plentiful. Going with a group of friends and I got their Kumquat Lemon Tea with less ice and 50% sweetness, which was refreshing and pretty unique given kumquat wasn't like commonly available anywhere. Taste was pretty decent.

Stopped by Rain Cafe for a quick lunch and overall it was a pretty easy and convenient spot. We…read moretried the chicken katsu curry, beef noodle soup, and mango iced tea. The chicken katsu curry was nice, which paired well with the curry. The beef noodle soup wasn't really my favorite though, which didn't feel very authentic. I also liked the mango iced tea, which was refreshing and a nice drink to go with lunch. The place is self-serve, so it feels more casual and quick rather than sit-down service. The atmosphere was also quite dark. Overall, an easy spot if you're looking for a quick lunch. Not everything was a hit, but we still had a good meal.

Got the combo with Sunshine Lili Tea and Grapefruit Lili Honey Drink and this pairing works so well…read moretogether! Sunshine Lili Tea is bright and smooth, really refreshing. The Grapefruit Lili Honey Drink has lovely tangy‑citrus notes balanced nicely by honey sweetness, not overly sugary. It's such a fun contrast between the two drinks‑‑one mellow tea‑forward, the other bright and fruity.

The drinks here contain real fruit and are really tasty! I tried the King of Mango Smoothie and…read moreStrawberry Smoothie and enjoyed both. The drinks were made quickly. They have two kiosks for ordering, one at the counter and one to the left of the counter, a bit off to the side. Not everyone noticed the second kiosk, so a line formed at the one at the counter, while the other one was not being used. Other notes: - Limited seating indoors - Street parking only - Restrooms ok in terms of cleanliness and supplies

This is my favorite Acai place. Ever…read more The Acai is consistently delicious, perfect texture (sorbet-like), perfect consistency (frozen but easily scoopable with your spoon) and the fruit on top is always fresh. I've been to Acai places in LA, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, airports, other places and I can never find Acai as consistently good as this. Either the fruit is thawed frozen fruit, the Acai is soupy, or for some other reason, those other places just aren't as good. Beyond the Acai, I'm a big fan of the beef pockets, the ham and cheese pockets, the chicken cones, and the Nutella-filled cheese bread. A vegetarian colleague likes to come here for breakfast when he's in town for the egg, spinach, and cheese-filled cheese bread. If you're looking for a great Acai spot, I can't recommend Kitanda enough.

Aight tbh if you're looking for an authentic acai bowl... this acai base will prob be sweeter than…read moreyou're used to and/or wanting. BUT kitanda's bowls are simple, available at multiple locations, and most importantly, they're pretty gas. I typically get their energy blast bowl but went with the Lena today bc your boy is cutting. Trust me fam, don't look at the macro's if you're wanting a "healthy" meal or whatever bc these bad boys are loaded with calories (and not the good kinds hahahaha). You just gotta accept the cold hard truth, the majority of acai bowls aren't healthy, but we gotta keep telling ourselves they are bc they're so FN good lmaooo aight catch yall later