Comeback Cafe

I've been to enough tea shops that the memories of them start to meld together. However, I had a…read moretrip to Chicha today and it is one I'll remember. After ordering at kiosks, it took about 20 minutes for our drinks. Good things come to those who wait! We ordered: Bubble Milk Tea, light sweetness, less ice Dong Ding Milk Tea, perfect sweetness, less ice Both teas had really good tea flavor. Bubble Milk Tea being more of a traditional black tea and Dong Ding being closer to a green tea. The Bubble Milk Tea had more cream, not sure if this was on purpose. For sweetness, light sweetness was good for me with boba. Perfect sweetness would be good without boba. Overall, the tea was fantastic. 90th+ percentile, but also on the pricier side. Each tea comes with a disposable cup carrier. The space is also really nice place to hang out - modern, spacious, and with a couple of interesting tea-related things to look at including a running video of tea harvesting and processing. As we were looking around, we noticed they have free tea tastings, but reservations look like they book out at least a few days in advance. Really impressed with this shop and will make a point to visit next time we're in the area.

This is the first boba places I've been to where they have tea demonstrations. There is a display…read moreof their tea blocks. A nice boba shop, pretty big. There are 2 ordering kiosks. They have unique drinks. I went with milk tea w/taro ball and taro paste. I really liked the taro ball and taro paste. So glad they serve fresh taro and not powder. Street parking. It is located by a college so this place does get really busy.

Main counter

Busy any time. Lots of nice table configurations

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HH signage

TP TEA

4.3(390 reviews)

Summer has definitely shown up during the last few days of July with a heatwave upon us with the…read moresun coming out. The weather heats up there is nothing more essential to refresh by grabbing a beverage on ice. There are many places to grab something to clinch your thirst. Nothing is better on a sunny day as grabbing a bubble tea. There is a place which professionally provides all kinds of flavors of drinks from Taiwan and it's called Taiwan Professional Tea. On another Summer stroll in Telegraph I landed at Taiwan Professional Tea. Inside there is some seating and the party people order on a kiosk. They have lots of drinks not too sweet and some are sour like lemonade like some on my social media feed. They also have matcha for Don Juan de la Matcha . I got the Mango Passion Smoothie . It was not too sweet and it had lots of flavor and hit the spot . A good place to grab a drink rain or shine because the drinks are Type A ( Taipei). Last day of the month and it's "gone" now every social media feed for the end of July photo dump is what is going "on" but this place has tasty tea drinks which has a second name professional and first name "Taiwan" and they also have matcha for the "Don Juan" This place is the place during a heatwave is the answer and that is "unquestionable"they have drinks with fruits and not a "vegetable"when it comes to matcha leave it to the "professional" because Don Juan de la Matcha is nothing "correctable"

One of my favorite milk tea chains in the Bay Area, always consistent. My favorite is their TGY…read moreMilk Tea which has great tea flavor, but they also have a huge variety of other choices, including seasonal ones. Small spot with only a little seating, but it's quick and easy to order from their self service kiosks.

Interior, self order kiosks

C6. Strawberry Milk Tea Osmanthus milk tea

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C4. Taiwan Classic Milk Tea C6. Strawberry Milk Tea

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea

4.0(449 reviews)

2.8 mi•Telegraph Ave

$6.50 Yifang Fruit Tea: delicious and tastes naturally sweet even with 0% sugar. Lovelyread more

Tried a few more drinks at Yi Fang:…read more Multi-floral honey mountain tea, 50 sweet no ice, large: The drink was done in about half the time that was estimated (Snackpass estimated 15 minutes, but it was done in 7). It was barely sweet, 50% is the lowest sweetness you can set for this drink. I was disappointed by this one as I felt the tea and floral flavors could've been stronger, it really just tasted of honey. Large chocoberry bliss, warm, 50 sweet (which was the recommended sweetness): It's a non caffeinated drink and can only be hot or warm. It tastes of dark chocolate with strawberry. It reminded me of hot chocolate but with a strawberry milk flavor, I liked it and would recommend trying it when it's in season if you enjoy sweets and chocolate in particular. Cheese creamer black tea, no ice, 0% sweetness, large cold: The tea is truly bitter when at 0% sweetness, which is what I intended. A generous thick amount of creamer on top. It doesn't mix easily with the tea. Note that on Snackpass, they add another $0.25 onto the price of your drink for "city cup fee" - referring to City of Berkeley's fee charged for plastic drink cups. I have found they're usually pretty fast at making the drinks and they may be done earlier than what Snackpass estimates. Sometimes you may need to get the attention of one of the workers as they can be occupied working and aren't always at the counter looking at you.

Cantaloupe Green Tea @whaevaeats

Mango Pomelo Sago

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Plentea

3.9(235 reviews)

Absolutely love how late Plentea is opened in comparison to other tea spots in the area. My…read moredaughter is obsessed with their matcha potted plant drink, aka matcha with cookies n cream or something + a lil leaf to make it seem sort of like a potted plant. It's also one of the few spots I get almond milk tea. The drinks themselves are pretty good, especially in their signature glass bottles. Sometimes I do feel the drinks are a bit inconsistent with the sweetness and how strong the tea flavor is. Online ordering is easy, and parking can be another story at times. The store itself is clean, and I'm able to pick up my orders with ease.

Bad experience. We ordered for pickup, and upon arrival, we asked the employee if it was ready. She…read moretold us 10 minutes. There were no customers, we just watched her wash a ton of dishes for 10 minutes before starting on our drinks. I got the avocado smoothie, which came with a sweetness level request. 100% was recommended, so I picked that. I watched her literally just put milk, avocado, and ice into a blender. No sweetener such as condensed milk like I expected. As expected, there was absolutely no sweetness in the drink, just milky avocado slush. My husband got a house milk tea with boba, and it was extremely flavorless. Tasted really sweet, but you couldn't really taste the tea at all. Honey boba wasn't bad, not the worst we've tried. Overall, considering there are tons of other boba shops in Berkeley, we definitely will not be back.

Takoyaki and Plentea boba

Fresh taro with egg pudding, lactose-free milk, less ice

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Hui Lau Shan

4.5(413 reviews)

2.5 mi•Downtown Berkeley

We ordered the jumbo mango cup and it came out larger than expected. We usually order the smaller…read moresize but felt ambitious today. Jumbo Mango Cup: It came with a mango sorbet in the center, sides of glutinous rice balls, mango chunks on top of mango pudding. It was very good despite it not being mango season. A must stop-by every time we visit Berkeley! Love their mango specialty desserts and excited for their San Mateo location.

Tried Hui Lau Shan for the first time and got the mango sago, which was fresh, refreshing, and a…read moredelightful dessert! The menu was a little confusing as a first-timer, and unfortunately the associate didn't offer much guidance or help with choosing as it's self order on a kiosk. Shop is also small, so likely to fill up when busier. I'd still consider coming back to try some of their other desserts and drinks, especially now that I have a better idea of what to expect.

C8. Coconut Jelly With Mango

Inside

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Pomelo and Mango with Sago

Asha Tea House

4.1(1.7k reviews)

2.6 mi•Downtown Berkeley

at this point I have tried most of the Matcha places in downtown and this is the only one I have…read moregone back to multiple times. The Matcha is always a beautiful bright green color with a large depth of flavor. both the hot matcha and strawberry iced matter matcha are my favorite depending on the weather. Also they have adorable tea and California enamel Pins for sale at reasonable prices. I can get my morning cane and birthday present shopping done on the same day.

I moved to Berkeley about a month ago, and Asha quickly became one of my go-to spots for matcha. I…read morelove the vibe and decor of the cafe, the baristas have always been sweet and friendly, and the menu has a great selection. I especially appreciate that they have genmaicha, which can be harder to find. Their version has a distinct roasted tea flavor that doesn't taste watered down, which I love. Their strawberry matcha is also delicious, with a fresher, juicier strawberry flavor than a lot of other spots. I would honestly give this location 5 stars based on the drinks and regular barista interactions alone, but my last experience was really off-putting. I noticed that people often study there with laptops, so I came in with mine and brought a small lunch from Oori down the street to make a morning out of it. I've done this before without issue, but this time, a woman with crazy eyes who seemed to have a higher role came out and very abruptly scolded me, saying, "You CAN'T eat outside food here," while aggressively pointing toward the door as if I needed to leave immediately. I completely understand having a no-outside-food policy, and I would have had no problem following it if it had been communicated respectfully. But the way she approached me felt unnecessarily harsh and honestly pretty upsetting. I apologized right away, packed everything up in a panic, and left. After processing it, I realized how inappropriate the interaction felt for something that could have been addressed with a simple, polite reminder. Overall, Asha has great matcha, a cute space, and friendly baristas, but that experience really left a bad taste in my mouth. Just a heads up: the drinks are good, but you may want to be careful about bringing outside food in, because the policy might be enforced in a pretty unpleasant way.

Cold matcha

Soft serve: matcha and hojicha swirl

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Hojicha Latte @lesminaddio

Boba Ninja

4.0(232 reviews)

2.8 mi•Telegraph Ave

Parking: yes, but hard, street parking only Steps, stairs:…read moreno, but narrow doorway opening, if you're wheelchair bound, it will be difficult Seating: collective sharing common area for seating and eating outside Service: Minimum, order online and you pick up, but no issues so far Ambiance: Minimum, fast food, small decor, this is more a pick up and go spot Food: the only reason I've kept coming are their popcorn chicken, so good

Standard boba. Not bad, not great…read more You order from a kiosk and your drinks are ready in under 5 minutes. I ordered the taro milk tea with soy milk + boba and my bf ordered the tiger milk tea. I'm sad to report the tiger milk tea had no stripes. It was just a regular brown sugar milk tea and did not deliver on the "tiger" aesthetics. The boba was fresh but it's the kind you can buy from the supermarket to make at home yourself. Nothing crave-worthy. For what it's worth, it was well-made. For the area, there are certainly other places you can go for boba. At least the non-dairy milk swap only had a $0.50 adder, a bit less expensive compared to other places.

Inside order counter also has a separate electronic order kiosk too.

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Rare Tea

3.8(583 reviews)

Great drinks here. The sweetness scale is truly Asian and 50% sweet is not very sweet at all, I…read morelove it!! Strawberry berry 2.0 - this tasted like it was made purely from puréed fresh strawberries. Delicious fruity flavor. Okinawa milk tea - great flavor and not water down at all. Boba - not bad, but a little soggy in texture. I probably just didn't get a fresh batch.

I ordered ahead for a dragon fruit tea, less ice, 30% sweet. It was done within 5 mins. It was…read morestill quite sweet, and had an acidic sour tang. While I'm satisfied with the strength of the fruit flavor, I do wish it would've been less sweet since that is not what I would've expected for 30% sweetness. They are on the SnackPass app, so there's occasionally discounts available on there.

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Sharetea

3.6(70 reviews)

The boba and drinks are just alright, as there are a lot of competitors in the area. They're open…read morequite late so it's a fun place to go to for a late night adventure. I think it's a trustable, baseline boba place that's near Berkeleys campus. The bigger plus is that their chicken is halal and quite good.

Pro: fast, convenient, and opens really late. Perfect for after club meeting or late campus…read moreactivities. Taste is pretty good but nothing special. I recommend less ice and no sugar since the ingredients and topping are sweet already. Been there 20+ times in my Berkeley student era. Con: honestly kinda mid and pricy for what it is. Nothing is made fresh here and all from canned/powder ingredients. I wish they can lower the price or have some other perks. Ex bathroom, board game, etc.

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Heytea

4.2(149 reviews)

2.6 mi•Downtown Berkeley

SO! GOOD! HeyTea has ruined all other boba for me…read more Lines and wait time can get super long, so plan ahead or order through the app.

This was my first time at Heytea, and it did not disappoint! I ordered at the kiosk at the front,…read moreand once my order was ready, my order number showed up on the screen farther back. I had to wait ~15 minutes for my drink though, so I recommend ordering ahead instead of in person. I got the cloud jasmine tea with less sugar and less ice. The cheese foam was soooo good! I enjoyed it a lot more than expected. Can't wait to try more drinks in the future!

Large mango coconut boom

Mango Coconut Boom

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Coconut mango bloom

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14 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

minh l.

6

3

0

19 years ago

i was told there was a great little neighborhood family run cafe in emeryville. the COMEBACK i thought was the coolest name. i decided to give it a try, and it was a very pleasant surprise. it is hidden on the corner of a mixed use building. if you didnt see the people standing in front, you would never know it existed. to my amazement, i was told it has been here for 10 years. wow, they must be doing something right. i came during lunch time and it wasnt that busy, and then out of no where, flocks of people came. they appeared to be all regulars since, they all knew what they wanted. i asked a couple of people what they liked, and they said everything is good. the comeback serves great fresh vietnamese rice dishes, great pho, way better than the public market, and some really good american dishes like meatloaf, turkey lasagna. the family seems really nice, the cashier was a very pleasant girl and there was a really cute tall asian guy, whom didnt speak, but was quick in bringing the food. their prices are great, considering you are getting great fresh food. and if you are there, you will notice, that everyone comes back. this cafe is definitely going to be on my weekly lunch places. read more

Mandi L.

0

1

2

2 years ago

Found this little gem online and had to pay a visit because of all the good reviews. The ladies there are the warmest, most genuine people on Earth, hence the great and welcoming service. Great grab and go spot for lunch on a busy day. Milkteas are handcrafted, which tasted amazing, and the boba is just right. Rice plates are the best comfort meal but I especially love their Spicy Beef Noodle soup with the most authentic taste compare to other places around (on Special Menu along with Pho and many others dishes). I haven't gone back to Emeryville since Covid and now everything is ridiculously overpriced but definitely not this place. Great prices for such big portions. I LOVE IT :) will definitely be back (possibly daily too haha) 10/10 read more

Brianna

0

1

0

7 months ago

I had a really great experience at this café. The atmosphere was super nice and relaxing, and everything felt clean and welcoming. The customer service was honestly amazing. Everyone was really kind, patient, and made me feel comfortable right away. You can tell they care about their customers and take pride in what they do. The drinks were also really good and made well. Overall, I had a great time here and would definitely come back. I highly recommend this place if you want good drinks and great service. read more

anton a.

0

1

0

16 years ago

I was pleasantly surprised by this little corner cafe. Its kind of like a hidden gem!! There very simple, but fast and friendly. I tried their vietnamese sandwiches,and they were soo good, i ate two there and took one back. They are so much better than any sandwiches you can get, real grilled meat, not the deli stuff everyone else has!!! I have been back for curry and pho, both great and very reasonable. I always comeback to the comeback cafe!! read more

rosendo C.

0

1

0

17 years ago

i have had pho in many restuarants, i think the comeback pho is simple, healthy and very tasty. They dont use msg, like a lot of other places, nothing fancy, but always good!! i have to say, the yellow curry chicken and the lemongrass are my favorites, those will for sure have you coming back!!! if you want something quick, and yummy, go for these!!! read more

Desmond B.

0

4

1

17 years ago

Its probably a 4 star for the price and the food but beware the place seems to never be open. It's worth driving by if you have some other places in mind. The people and service are good although they didn't have all the normal Pho ingredients that one would expect? read more

Robert L.

0

8

0

15 years ago

I'm not sold on this place. The prices are decent. Place is pretty small so we had to order takeout. The soup is ok not great. The only reason I would come back is it's close to my work. read more

Vy P.

3

62

3 months ago

All of foods very delicious! Well come to the Comeback cafe! They have happy hour from 1:00 pm to 4:00pm every day with the combo any sandwiches with any kind for drinking only 15$! read more

Seizee W.

3

7

1

14 years ago

Can't get better, friendly service than this! Food is awesome, wait is short, place is nice and cozy and has a TV. Thai Iced Tea is the bomb! read more

Jaclyn P.

174

22

4

5 years ago

This place has now been closed for over a year. I'd really like to see it reopen, but I am not sure if there is a plan to do this.

Suzy K.

0

7

6

7 years ago

The food was good. Not too bad, and not amazing. Passable and stomach filling. But for the price, it was good.

Minnie L.

6

8

0

14 years ago

The comeback cafe will be reopening July 9th 2012....

Jonathan G.

126

8

5

15 years ago

Yummy is all I can say

Cheska Tangerina G.

0

72

0

11 years ago

tofu banh mi.

Comeback Cafe - vietnamese - Updated September 2026

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I got take out and the price was reasonable but the food was meh…read more I got the tofu banh mi and it was lacking in vegetables and flavor- the bread was too fluffy such that it made the mouth dry. Small pieces of tofu and not enough stuff in the banh mi and not enough flavor! I did not like it but it was passable for lunch.

I really like the number 9 trah vinh grilled pork; it's juicy with a nice lemongrass flavor. The…read morepickled vegetables taste very good, but the bread is only sometimes crunchy and fresh. I wish there were more fillings, and I could not taste or see the pâté. I have also had the number 3 district 3 classic combo, which not as good as the number 9.

Saigon Express

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Summer is sometimes a stranger and it can be sunny one day and rain drops on another day. This…read morehappened while I was on a drinking binge this week on my matcha bender in Berkeley. Although I go get some Pho after a night of drinking this time I decided to go before noon . Any day when there is rain falling would be an excuse to grab some Pho. There is one place in Berkeley which has been serving Pho for years. I haven't reviewed it until now. It's called the Saigon Express. On a Summer stroll in Downtown Berkeley while rain fall on a supposedly sunny day I landed at Saigon Express. This is a good casual spot to get some Pho. I decided to get chicken pho and it was tasty. I could had a whole bucket of the chicken broth. The noodles were like Angel hair and soft and fresh. The chicken was tender. This place also sells banh mi like the fish cake banh mi on a flakey baguette like some on my social media feed. Overall a good spot to grab a good bowl of Pho rain fall or shine. Walking in Downtown Berkeley I felt the rain fall "on me" a place which has " drawn me" to the Pho place for the one and only "Don Juan V." which also serves some flakey tasty Vietnamese sandwiches called " Banh Mi" Go on a stroll party people from dusk till "dawn"with the hella cool "Don Juan" and they even have a "Seafood Udon "so make an express line to a place with the last name express and the first name "Saigon"

$7.75+t pork ham combo banhmi: cheap! Decent size for the price. Classic flavors, definitely not…read moreAmericanized. Can eat on repeat.

Le Pho

3.9

(350 reviews)

Came in on a weekday after 2pm and there were a couple of tables of customers…read more I got the pho dac biet large which the staff who helped me told me large vs small has more of everything, which at any other place generally large just means more noodles. Needless to say, I got the large. This was a great bowl of pho. Clean tasting broth. The meat was great. Only thing was the noodles were clumpy, as if it was cooked in advance already and put aside then reintroduced back into the broth, like how it would be when I get take out pho. Otherwise I liked the noodles, it was thin and smooth and not powdery.

Get the shaking beef!! My parents love their pho but I've…read morehad better from other places. I usually order to go and when I arrive to pick up my food, they make sure I have all necessary condiments.

Mint Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant

3.6

(355 reviews)

I love this place! The firecracker wings are amazing, try them! I usually get the rice plate with…read morechicken and ask for hoisin sauce on the side. I normally place to-go orders but I've sat in the restaurant a few times. The restaurant has an open view of the street (I love the window view!) ML offers amazing options along with service. Try the smoothies!! Also convenient that is so close to Berkeley Bowl! :) I wasn't able to get a pic of the wings because I devoured them. My original plan was to taste them.

My wife had a craving for the crab soup that she normally hours. It has been a day since our last…read morevisit. I stopped I. And ordered the soup to go. Staff is very nice and timed my take-out order so I could swing by Berkeley Bowl so I could take care of my grocery shopping. They do a nice job disassembling the soup for take-out so it is easy to put it together to eat. I tasted the soup, the ingredients are fresh and ample crab meat. We will be back. Still as good as we remember.

Boba Binge

4.5

(350 reviews)

I knew this was the right choice!…read more Happened to be in Oakland for a work related event & gravitated to this establishment for lunch especially when I saw how buzzing it was with customers. There is limited seating inside and a few tables outside shared among the business in this area. Ordering was easy via the self ordering station and yes....there will be a wait but it is so worth it. Ordered a matcha which was phenomenal and one of the best matcha's I've had. However the star for me was the meatball & egg bahn mi sandwich. It was melt in your mouth delicious. All the flavors and textures in this sandwhich was well balanced and I would drive the 61 miles one way to have this sandwich again.

Prices on board are still not updated after months. Have…read morementioned to staff repeatedly for months now. I got the B10 and B11. Both have been $9.50 from the system. They are $9.25 and $8.95 respectively on the board. Each time I mentioned, there's indifference, the last time was a cavalier attitude. The answer given is, "you want it or not". Not going here again.

Freshroll

4.3

(121 reviews)

The best place ever! Quality is always 10/10, it comes out quickly, and the restaurant itself is…read moreclean. My favorite place in Berkeley!

earned a star for: 1. great food, always consistent…read more2. quick service 3. reasonable prices

House Of Three

4.9

(7 reviews)

really nice place clean and their drink drinks are delicious. Awesome awesome customer service and…read moreincredible menu.

While they're known for their matcha smoothies, they also have some great food options such as…read moretheir pork belly rice and their croffle sandwiches. Note that the food can take a while to make as most people order drinks, but it is prepared with much care. There are a few dining tables inside, but there are also picnic benches outside. Ordering is done on a kiosk and they provide trays for the compostable tableware.

Nomad Cafe

3.9

(366 reviews)

Nomad cafe has the best organic coffee anywhere in the East Bay. Plus they have great food items,…read moresmoothies and teas. The owners work hard and are the nicest ever. This is a true neighborhood gem that I encourage everyone to support!

$18.38 for coconut water and pork chop salad. Basically a pork chop bahnmi in salad form without…read morethe bread and mayo. Decent size makes it a somewhat budget friendly choice. And the pork wasn't gamey. Very good. I suspect the bahn-mi version of this would taste even better. Definitely would eat again.

Paradise Park Cafe

3.7

(270 reviews)

I went here for my first time last weekend with a friend. I didn't order any food, but I did notice…read morethat they have vegan breakfast items on the menu, so I'll probably have to go back at some point to try them. The inside was quite full, and I didn't see any available tables. So, I meandered outside and found a long community table that was lovely. And I was able to get my dog out of the car to sit with me, which was nice. I got a latte with nondairy milk, and the surcharge for nondairy milk was $.80 because our country sucks and they subsidize the horrible dairy industry. You get to choose between two sizes for your iced coffee drink, so I of course got the large because I'm a glutton.

I've never eaten inside but I've waited inside long enough for my phone order…read more I placed a phone order for a burger and fries, I was quoted 20min. I arrived after quoted time and my food still wasn't "ready". Upon arrival I saw a brown bag sitting on the counter for pick up but I couldn't assume it was mine. While waiting for my food, I noticed that patrons seemed well pleased and in good spirits. There are two entrances and outside seating. Street parking only. You stop at the counter, place your order, pay & wait. Staff were friendly and all greeted me with a smile. They were pretty busy, 15min passed and I asked about my order, I was told about 5 more minutes, meanwhile the same brown paper bag was still sitting on the counter. A woman came and asked what I ordered and the name on the order. After telling her, she grabbed the bag on the counter and gave it to me. While she assured me the bag wasn't there for too long, I asked for new fries and they honored that. My grass-fed cheeseburger was amazing! My fries were piping hot too. I also ordered the paradise egg sandwich and that was amazing as well. The green machine smoothie had an off putting after taste so I wouldn't order that again.

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