How could I not have yelped this treasure trove?!?!?!?! They know what I want when I walk in. They served through the pandemic making sure I got my yakult green tea and accoutrements. They know my favorite gelatos. This is a worthwhile visit. Their menu evolves through the years. Support this gem! read more

Small take out shop next to the Grand Lake Theater. You order at the window and wait in front on the sidewalk. It is a fairly busy sidewalk so just be mindful where you stand. It looked like they had a good selection of drinks but we came for the gelato. It was a nice treat for a hot day. The gelato was ok. Nothing special. read more

Gelato Firenze - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

Stopped by on a Monday afternoon and was fairly busy, so waited a little bit, but not too bad. I ordered the small scoop with hazelnut ice cream and strawberry ice cream. The strawberry was very good, but not super impressed by the hazelnut. I also ordered the kumquat lemonade, and was a little disappointed with the kumquat flavor - it tasted a bit artifical. But I would come back and try other flavors. read more

Gelato Firenze - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

The drink's really tasty and they're very nice and courteous. Officially, they're open till 6pm but it varies. They can sometimes possibly stay open till 7pm... But don't be that person (aka me. ; w ;) TBF I just walked in and it was entirely coincidental, but still. Place looks nice and clean too. Definitely recommend! read more

See all

My husband and I just spent two weeks visiting Oakland and we discovered Gelato Firenza (near Grand Lake Theate) one week into our trip. Once we did we made a special trip there every day, and one day even went twice! It's the best gelato we've tasted anywhere, and we've been all over. We first had gelato 40 years ago in Rome and were delighted as it became increasingly popular all over the world. We've tried it in many places, but this is our favorite. We learned that it's all natural, no additives, and made on the premises daily by the owner, who is so devoted to getting the flavors just right that she often spends four or more days perfecting them. We love the fact that it's not overly sweet, so you can really taste the underlying flavors (and feel good about it having less sugar). They're very generous about allowing you to taste before ordering, and the prices are excellent. Our favorites were: hazelnut, salted caramel, strawberry and rose (which was so unique and delicious!) Others we tasted and loved included Earl Grey, Matcha, coconut, almond, Dulce de Leche, and cookies and cream, but every flavor we tried was truly delicious. For reference I have only written two other reviews in my life: one about my dog's veterinarian, and one about a hotel in Thailand. But this gelato is so special and the owner so delightful I had to pass the word on. We can't wait to return to the Bay Area for more. read more

The gelato itself is just okay but I expected a lot more hazelnut flavour & sweetness to the guava. The shop operates through a window so there's no way to taste test before you order. 3 stars for the prices maybe, they do 1-2 flavours for smallest scoop too! read more

Gelato Firenze - Mini scoops of Guava & Hazelnut Mascarpone - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

The best boba milk tea and the best avocado smoothies I've had. Ice cream (gelato) is good too, I've been told. They have it boarded up since the riots and kept it boarded up during Covid, but you can order at the door. Even though the state of emergency is officially over for Covid, they still have the best touch-free transaction I've seen anywhere. If you choose to give a thumbs-up or not, I hope you found my review helpful! read more

Gelato Firenze - a building with a mural on the side of it - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

I LOVE boba. I stopped drinking caffeine last year which impacted my usual order. I asked the woman working here what was good that didn't have caffeine. She suggested Taro. She described the flavor as "extra creamy." I don't wanna say this changed my life but low key... it did haha! I will never stray from taro flavor even if I went back to caffeine. My order: taro boba milk tea- regular milk, regular boba, 25% sweet. It is always still plenty sweet like that. Another amazing option: make it a smoothie! In summer time a smoothie just hits different. This is by far my favorite boba place. I feel like it must be family owned because I always see the same person working. If you love to support small/family owned businesses, go check them out! read more

Gelato Firenze - Taro boba - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

Nice boba spot right by Lake Merritt and the Grand Lake theater. Very COVID compliant now. They talk to you via microphone and push the credit card machine to you via this stick box contraption they created at the window. Same with your drinks. I was pleasantly surprised how seriously they took their health. I guess it makes a lot of sense too, it's a highly trafficked area especially on the weekends! Got a soy boba tea with red bean and it was pretty good! Fresh and chewy and fast! Their menu is huge too, they can make anything and even offer smoothies and gelato and ice cream. Definitely a great spot to visit before walking around the lake. read more

See all

This place is my go to spot for boba! I get the milk teas and they make it perfectly every time. No seating. This is a walkup window kind of spot; parking is easy; the owner is friendly and the lines move quickly. read more

Food: 7/10 Service: order and pay at counter Value: 7/10 Portion size: medium Wait time: less than 5 minutes Hubby and were walking around the lake and decided to cool off with some Gelato! This place also has boba milk tea as well, which I will try next time. We got the toasted marshmallow and thai boba milk tea Gelato flavors. Both were good! The toasted marshmallow Gelato had real marshmallows in it. It also has a yummy realistic marshmallow taste and isn't too creamy (what I love about gelato). The Thai boba milk tea is also very good and tastes like Thai tea. The boba was a little mushy and too melted for me. But maybe its hard to keep boba frozen in ice cream. I do love all the fun flavors of Gelato. I have never seen so many Asian flavors before. Like I said, I do wanna try their boba drinks! I saw a cool grapefruit orange drink that looks super refreshing during hot summer months! Can't wait to try it! Also everything is still covid safe! They have an iPad on a stick and a plastic screen to protect workers and customers. read more

See all

Afraid to share bc we don't want long lines. Only posting this after a few years bc we want this business to stay. Bottom- quickly. Better- mister green bubble. This place- super good. My son also gets the Oreo smoothie- comes w whipped cream and Oreo dust. read more

Boba milk tea. Very generous boba portion and not too sweet which I like. Tea tasted a bit weak, and I'm not sure if that's a me-thing so I would try this place again. Lady who took my order was nice and I want to support businesses in that location. read more

Came here on a Friday afternoon after I picked up the boys. Boys wanted some ice cream on a hot day and I had a craving for some boba. We ordered through the window. Kids got some Thai tea ice cream and I ordered boba. Everything came out very quickly. The staff here is very nice and courteous. If you guys are around the area and need something sweet please come by here and try them out read more

My wife and I came here before a movie at the Grand Lake one night, it is located one block away next to Starbucks. When I walked up I noticed they are taking social distancing very seriously. They use grabbers and long sticks to move your items and take your payments so there is no close contact at all. This lead to show "huhs" between both parties with communication but the server was friendly so it didn't bother me. We both got small gelatos in cup. I got Cheesecake which was tart and sweet like a typical New York Style Cheesecake. I really enjoyed it. My wife got Salted Caramel. It was what she wanted exactly. At least based on the two we got they really taste like the flavors they are named. I thought the price ($9 for 2 smalls) was a tad high with no cone or anything otherwise we had no complaints. read more

Gelato Firenze - Salted Caramel Gelato (small) - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

I was walking by last week and decided to finally give this place a try since they were going to be temporarily closed from June 16-21 for vacation. I ordered a small gelato, guava and earl grey; I would say the guava was pretty accurate to flavor, whereas the earl grey tasted more like a standard black milk tea (not that that's bad, it just makes me curious if their milk tea flavor tastes about the same as the earl grey). It was $4.50 plus tax for a small. They also serve boba - you may see signs on this store for "QTea Bar". What I really liked about this place is that they use long wooden "arms" and a box so that they can take your payment remotely and then give you the order in a box at the end of the wooden arm, which maintains a lot of distance between you and the workers. This is in addition to the translucent barrier they have at the ordering window. Really appreciate the caution around COVID-19 especially since we're getting another upsurge in cases. read more

Gelato Firenze - Guava and earl grey (small) - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

Food and drink*** A whole in the wall business that serves Gelato and bobas. I had a chocolate Gelato that was ok. Ambiance**Not much Ambiance. I know they are doing their best to be safe. The server is way back, wearing a mask and using a creative contraption to collect money. Accessibility****This easy to get to with a wheel chair. Street parking can be difficult but you can park in the Trader Joes parking lot. Cost***average. Service**The person behind the mask serving the ice cream felt robotic, and she didn't seem interested in relating to me. She was not friendly. When I asked about the Gelato, she just pointed to the sign. read more

See all

35 cents charge if you use a card. Wait time was slightly long since there was only one person working. However, the drink I ordered was good and the drink from another customer looked amazing too (they had the Oreo smoothie). I ordered the strawberry and banana smoothie, it was delicious, my son loved it. Medium size is$4.50 and large is $5.25. I stayed with the medium cause the cup is so adorable but next time I'll order the large since it only 75 cents more. There's metered parking in front and around that area. The place is kept clean and the shop is super cute! Definitely coming back. read more

Gelato Firenze - Delicious Okinawa milk tea. No boba - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

This is my favorite place around Lake Merritt to get bubble tea! They did the best job quickly converting to and sticking with Covid-safe practices. I greatly admire their efficiency, cleanliness, and the quality of their delicious treats! I love boba and go for the classics like roasted oolong with tapioca pearls or jasmine milk tea. My partner tries everything else on their expansive menu and has loads of fun with it. read more

Memorial Day impulse purchase of boba tea, lychees slushee and strawberry smoothie. Super kind, polite and patient staff member. Well organized used so that everyone involved is safe and getting served efficiently. Quality of drinks was absolutely tops. So glad the Starbucks next door is NOT doing well. Support local and small businesses. read more

I love this spot! I come here on the regular for their Watermelon Slush, which is just watermelon blended with ice, nothing else added. Such a nice hydrating treat and it has no added syrup or junk. Their gelato is nice (they currently have a watermelon flavor that I love...do you see the pattern here?), but I love coming here for their drinks. Great service; usually there's just one woman there and she's fast and friendly. Parking can be hard, but you can try around the block, behind the Grand Lake theater, or in the old Merritt Bakery lot. read more

See all

All these people going to a gelato cafe and complaining about their tea are trash. This place has been breaking their backs for decades now and deserve the respect they you need to give them. You can't even make gelato first off and it's not easy. Dont review this place about service or your stupid pearl teas people, get the GELATO!!! I've spent time with the owner and they gave me perks and drinks that aren't on the menu and are the sweetest peopLe you'll ever meet. Their gelato is the best in Oakland and that's a conservative statement. I give them 10 stars if I could. Excellent stuff guys! read more

Cheap, friendly tea doesn't taste like it's powdered, quality taste. The cashier is quite friendly too!

We stopped by here on a Sunday afternoon and there was no line. When we first stepped inside the store it felt very dusty and not clean. Since we were there, we orders a classic milk tea with less ice. The first sip, the boba was not chewy and the drink tasted like it was watered down. There were also not much boba for the size of the drink. There is also extra charge for paying with card vs paying with cash. read more

The average star review should be higher than 4. This is easily a 5 star location. The product quality is that of some high end place. I know the dine in area is closed off but it's still worth stopping by to get something to go. I'm not going to say what I get cause I don't ever want it to sell out. It's a slushie but I won't say which flavor. The service is always great. The wait time is reasonable. They fix products with intention. They pay attention. The area is starting to get sketchy though with the car window break-ins; so, be aware of your surroundings if you go in a car. The car break-ins have nothing to do with the business itself, I just wanted to alert y'all. read more

They currently have a window set up at their front door for orders. Got a mango smoothie and it was a warm smoothie?? I assumed maybe it was because they used fresh fruit, that were room temperature, but there were weird frozen chunks in the middle. I honestly don't know how else to explain it was: warm, blended, overripe mango on the outside and freezer burn, old mango in the middle? Additional star removal because their staff lack manners sometimes. read more

Great tea bar near Lake Merritt. Lots of fresh juice options with great toppings. I really liked the way they handled payment and handing off during covid, felt pretty safe. read more

Gelato Firenze - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

Love this spot!!! It reminds me of the boba spots in SF. I love getting their boba milkshakes. The green tea one is my absolute favorite. The perfect amount of sweetness with fresh boiled boba. It's heaven read more

Gelato Firenze - Green tea milkshake boba - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

I really like that they made a lot of effort on preventing the spread of covid here. I came today and noticed that beside having a glass cover, the staff was also wearing mask, and kept a 6 ft distance from the customer when taking orders and processing payment. The lady was using a long stick to bring the payment machine close to the customer, and it a tap your card kind of payment thing. I really appreciate that they're taking the covid thing seriously and keeping everyone safe. Now on the drink part, I ordered a lemon winter melon drink ($5), with extra ice, and I think I should of also request very low level of sugar too, because it came out really strong on the lemon and sugar for me, very overwhelming and not pleasant. Well it my fault for not being specific enough like I usually are at many tea places. I'll just dilute it with some water. read more

Gelato Firenze - Lemon winter melon ($5) (extra ice) (too lemony and sweet for me) - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

There were many times I hesitated to come to this location since it's really hard to find parking to stop by and the street is always busy with cars and people walking. I finally took the chance to park my car and paid for the meter and went into this boba shop. My first impression when I walked in was very dusty, a lot of flies was flying around, and smelled musty. I ordered a simple drink, jasmine milk tea with boba light ice and peach green tea with mango jelly light ice. Comparing to iTea, T4, ShareTea, and many other boba shops, I'll never come here ever again... The peach fruit tea had no taste at all; the tea tasted very watered down. I went back to ask for a remake, she told me to take out my straw and she added the syrup/sugar into the hole where my straw goes in. She told me that the ice made the drink watered down; I just received the drink and tried it, how can it be the ice? You must be joking with me. As for the jasmine milk tea, there was no tea taste at all, also tasted watered down; the boba was not soaked in honey; it was very bland. I saw other customers ordered their blended drinks, maybe that's good or maybe their ice cream is good who knows, but their basic milk tea or fruit tea was poorly made, sorry. read more

See all

I came here on a sunny day while walking around with my baby and I was looking for an ice cream shop I'd always seen this place but never stopped in So I decided to drop by I saw they had an assortment of flavors some of which were odd to me so I asked for a sample and the woman gave me a tiny spoonful then I tried I think three more flavors and she said that's usually too much but I'll let you try one more So I said ok I was originally going to buy a pint but she was just non conversational, not friendly and acting like my tiny samples were going to get over on her So I just got two scoops after that The other downside is there's an extra charge for paying with a card Negatives - bad service, pay extra with a card Positives - a couple good gelato flavors read more

$5 for a taro smoothie with boba (which costs extra, it's listed in small print at the very bottom but it's annoying how they don't tell you that it's extra when you go to order - they only ask if you want boba). The taro was actually pretty good and nice consistency, not too sweet (98% sure it's powder, but I could be wrong). Medium was more than enough. Relatively quick. Boba tasted a little hard, but I still enjoyed it. Overall feeling: would come again if I was craving boba and in the area, but that's about it read more

Today I went by here for a boba with two friends, they skated up and I scooted up! We got three different bobas, the teas were okay not the best or worst I have ever tasted. But the service here is so cute and charming. They are sooo safe and their set up is just as funny as safe! We all thought it was so different and special:) read more

Great local boba and gelato spot! I usually order their almond milk tea, which is sweet enough with 50% sweetness. Their gelato is flavorful and a great consistency. I go for the fruity flavors and have never been disappointed. During COVID they have a plastic barrier and have seemingly repurposed a selfie stick to receive contactless payments. Clever and safe. Street parking available as well as a public parking lot across the street under the freeway. Service is decent, since it usually seems there are only 1-2 people working at a time. read more

I always pass by so was tempted to try today just because i am on a gelato spree since the hot weekend. The service is nice and friendly and the place is cute, small and clean with couple tables to sit. Lots of gelato flavors. Went for the pistachio 2 small scoops for 3.75. Thought the pricing is really great with the amount you get. Flavor was good but not as good as pistachio at Alimento in SF! Would love to come back and try more flavors read more

See all

In the mood to explore Oakland at night? Have you got that gelato urge, or are you simply in the mood for some boba? Well, if you can't decide, you can always come here. Luckily it's near the Lake Merritt area and off the freeway, so it's not so bad. The gelato here is actually pretty wholesome. They carry your normal flavors like chocolate, cherry, raspberry, coffee, salted caramel, mint chocolate chip, almond, pistachio, hazelnut, watermelon, and special ones like merlot, super chocolate, and cumin. Although I didn't try it, they even carry a few sorbets. You can get your scoops in a regular or waffle cone. Or you can do three different bowl (cup) sizes. I had three scoops in a medium bowl, $4. I gave the Merlot a try, as well as the pistachio and almond. The merlot had some chocolate chips in it, and it all mixed well. My only complaint was the amount I got. My three scoops were only up to the rim, not above the rim of my bowl like some of the yelp pictures show. Not fair. I also gave the Royal Milk Tea a try. It tasted alright, but just not as good as the other milk teas in the neighboring Berkeley area. I should have tried it as a smoothie instead, because I don't like it watery tasting, but then again who does. The boba seemed ok though. Service from the girl helping us was nice, but bubbly. The inside tables area were small and seemed a bit dark as the lights weren't on at night. Didn't feel the need to wanna chill there. Meter parking on the street. And even though there's a security guard walking around for KFC, don't park there. read more

See all

Considering QTEABAR has been open for almost a year, I'm surprised that there aren't more reviews at this location. Though the shop may look nondescript, it's a pretty solid milk tea shop, and I'd definitely come back! Royal Milk Tea ($4) - Really smooth flavor. Nice and milky, it wasn't overly sweet or too bitter, and I thought this drink was perfectly balanced. I really felt that this was a nice quality drink and apparently they make everything fresh in the back. Taro Milk Tea ($4.50) - Not artifical tasting whatsoever, and the Taro taste was definitely there. Not overbearingly sweet & pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, and everything seemed perfectly balanced. Apparently they use fresh Taro in the back so it's not artificial whatsoever, and it definitely reflects in the drink as well. They also have a pretty nice variety of Gelatos/Ice cream here. Only downsides right now off the top of my head are that there's only 2 tables for seating, and this location pretty much looks hidden because it's sandwiched pretty hard in between KFC and another business pretty tightly, plus an additional tree kinda obscuring the shop. The topping selection also isn't as vast as a lot of other boba shops, either, but for a basic drink I wasn't mad at it, and the quality is pretty good! QTeaBar gets a solid 4 leaning towards a 5. Definitely a gem for milk tea in this area, and I'm honestly surprised there isn't more talk about this place! Also for it being only 1/2 Boba shops in the area (Quickly's being the other), I'd much rather come here, as the quality of the drinks speak for themselves. Definitely a place worth checking out! read more

Gelato Firenze - Royal Milk Tea & Taro Milk Tea! - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

Ordered two drinks from here while visiting the area, taro smoothie was decent, they poured a whole bunch of the juices from the tapioca bubbles so the bottom was warm liquid and started to separate in my cup. Other drink was a fresh fruit punch, that one was super good! A little sour but also sweet, but they forgot the whole fresh fruit part and I had to ask for fruit on the side to mix in myself. read more

Gelato Firenze - Front of shop - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

We were walking around the area and stumbled upon this place. It seems relatively new but in addition to boba/milk teas this place also serves homemade gelato. The place is small with only about 2-3 tables to sit inside. Other than that space is limited. Gotta give this place a solid 4 stars for their avocado and taro shake smoothies but 2-3 stars for their boba. Their drinks come in 2 sizes (regular & large) and costs vary with how many fixins you want for ($.50) each. The avocado and taro smoothies tasted fresh and didn't taste like a powder that many places seem to have nowadays. Just the right mix of flavor/milk/ice. Didn't seem like this place puts their tapioca in honey or any other sweetener because while the boba was chewy it tasted bland. Can't really comment on their milk teas yet but I would come back here when I'm craving another avocado smoothie fix. read more

Very COVID safe handling and exchange between payment and purchases. Super friendly cashier, fast service too. Ordered a standard Chai Tea with Boba, needed a little more sweetness for my preference it kinda lacked flavor. But the boba was chewy ! :) read more

Gelato Firenze - Chai tea with boba - Gelato Near Me - Oakland, California