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Happy Lemon

3.0 (51 reviews)
Closed 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM

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Black tea with salted cheese
Melody A.

This Happy Lemon is the one that's closest to me and the location is perfect because I go to the petco and safeway nearby and I never struggle to find parking. The drinks I order are almost always consistent. If you order a drink you've had there before, you know what it will taste like. When boba is $6-7 and over these days I expect my drink to taste how I want it to and Happy Lemon at practically ANY location tends to deliver. My go to order is a large A2 (black tea with salted cheese) half sweet half ice, and get a second one for the following day with 0 ice. I also love the grapefruit yakult, oreo milk tea, and matcha latte with salted cheese. Please note: I say this about the drinks that I order. There have been a few drinks over the years I was not a fan of. Every once in a while I'll try something new but not all happy lemon drinks are for me and that's okay! They cater to a lot of different palettes. For snacks, I've had the bubble waffles and popcorn chicken. Both are quite good. I personally get the chocolate bubble waffle with oreo inside, and the puff cream dip. I recommend that you eat the waffle quickly or it will get soggy. You can also ask for it to be extra crispy. My only gripe with this location is that no one has ever greeted me with a hello when I walk in. In fact, you practically dont even get acknowledged unless you walk up to the counter and even if you do walk up to the counter it's not guaranteed... It's practically dead silent in there unless you are placing your order verbally instead of using the tablet. That being said, the fact that they are 99% consistent with their drinks and food is enough for me. This isn't a fine dining establishment and I don't expect quality service from shy high schoolers. This is likely a lot of the employees first job so I cut them some slack, order what I want and go home happy. Pro tip on the grapefruit yakult: if you don't like it suuuuper sweet get 0 sugar because the yakult is already quite sweet!

Entrance. Lotsa parking in lot...
Victor G.

Happy Lemon opened where TD Ameritrade once was. Interior refurbished with a few tables inside for seating, & a platform to take pics with a Lemon mascot. Prompt service as no patrons present. Ordered at counter. Drink ready in minutes. Offerings: yakult, bubble waffle, milk tea, lemon slushy, salted cheese, blended whole lemon, squeezed lemon, fruit tea, classic brewed tea, fruit smoothies.. Drink: Roasted Oolong tea (L. 6) 25% sugar/ice no tax -creamy, sweet. Roasted tea faintly tasted. -shaken slightly. Drink from hole, no straw needed. -this drink definitely worthy. Tried others @happy, not as satisfied. Salted cheese is done right here...

Front area
Vincent G.

The formula for Happy Lemon really hasn't changed for the longest time which is a good thing. I'm happy they finally added this location in Castro Valley since this is probably the best boba which is closest to my house. The parking is easy, there's plenty of space outside for parking, so you'll have no problems being able to reach this location. I ordered my usual green tea with salted cheese and boba since I've been ordering that for the past five years and it still has the same great taste of sweet and salty. The workers creating the drinks overall were welcoming and the space inside has a lot of room. Anyone who lives in the Castro Valley area should at least give this place a try since it's local and consistently has good boba to offer!

I just got a cup of milk when I ordered milk tea for $6.

The young girl at the counter didn't communicate clearly with customers. I ordered a milk tea, but she gave me just milk. When I tried to scan the QR code for points, she told me it was too late. Please make sure staff can communicate in clearly and provide better customer service. Also they never have chicken wings and taro puff as they advertise in their window.

a woman entering a store
Chris Y.

Looks like the ghost of Happy Lemon has stopped haunting this empty space, and finally opened up. This Happy Lemon for those who are locals know that it's been kind of weird trying to open for some time now. Every time you thought it was going to open, it would do the reverse and get boarded up again, or something. But nice to see it finally made its debut. This Happy Lemon definitely has a nice design vibe going for it on the inside. I'd only ever be at this location when I'm visiting my family, but way better looking than the Happy Lemon near me. They have the self-order kiosk right when you make it into the door, so makes it easy, unless someone is slow and stands there taking forever. What can you do? /shrug Pricing wise on only the standard milk tea is good, but all of their other stuff is pretty expensive. With i-Tea and U-Cha not too far away, they're going to be a bit more expensive than those spots. The quality of the drinks at this Happy Lemon is at least somewhat more decent than the one near me. I got the standard Milk Tea to try out here, and it was not bad. Flavored well, and also, the boba was pretty good too. Can't complain. If anything I'll probably be back to this Happy Lemon in the future when visiting family in the area, though cost wise, I probably will just get the house milk tea since the other stuff is a bit too much when you consider you're paying almost $8 for some of those drinks, and their cups aren't even supersized ones, so can't even justify the bang for buck with many of them. Is this the best boba spot around here? Probably not. But since they're right next to a heavily residential area, it's probably the better option besides just popping into Pho Play for their drinks.

Grand Opening bogo!
Vania C.

2 day Grand Opening bogo, 4/28 and 29th! The lines are long for the first day for sure, but a nice cold drink for this weather, it's worth it for sure. It was about an hour and a little more around 7pm on the first day (4/28). Service was very efficient and all the employees were bustling for sure. After ordering, it was less than 10 minutes for my drinks and bubble waffle to come out. I got the strawberry milk and my normal Happy Lemon order of Mango green tea with mango boba. The strawberry milk was definitely as what you'd expected, nothing all too special - just a creamy refreshingly sweet drink. I'd wanna give the puff cream one next. As for the Mango green tea, tastes normal like how it does from other Happy Lemons. Only gripe is that the mango bits were very crunchy, unripe mangos probably and it wasn't the best texture to go with the mango boba to me; definitely my go to drink to satisfying by boba craving normally. As for the waffle, the red bean was out when I ordered so oreo was next up to try. The waffle is always fresh, made to order - lightly sweet and very satisfying with a nice crunch (when eaten hot). It's definitely a snack that I'd like to get to-go (even my pup likes to have a bite when I get just an original flavor). This is a great addition to this plaza! No need to go downtown just to satisfy a boba craving now :) Final Thoughts: This place is gonna be dangerous being only a few steps away from 24hr Fitness... gotta practice self control for sure. As each boba shop in the area has a specific drink I go there for, Happy Lemon is mango green tea and bubble waffles for sure... just don't have to leave the area for it anymore. I'd like to have another review a few months later after the grand opening rush has died down a bit - but for now, great areas in the shop for boba pictures and service is smooth for being the first day!

Tiffany C.

Got to try out my first ever happy lemon drinks during this grand opening! I've had happy Lemon on my hit list for years actually and I'm glad one finally opened up in Castro valley. Line was prob about 40 people deep and it took about 1 hr and 15 mins before we got our drinks. Workers were very patient w the orders. It took a long time bc people ordered 8 drinks or so at a time. They handled the orders quite well considering and once you get to the front, the orders are quick and took about 10-15 mins. Quite honestly, wasn't super impressed w the drinks. Tried different drinks from 4 different categories. Fresh dragon fruit lychee w salted cheese was my least favorite. Not sure if it was the combo of flavors, but the taste seemed to be overpowered by the lychee syrup, which seemed to make it taste artificial. It was hard for me to finish this one. The Ube milk tea w taro puff cream and taro balls also tasted somewhat artificial and reminded me of a regular taro milk tea from quickly's but with toppings. They didn't have taro balls, which was disappointing so it came with boba. If you try to sub out boba for a different topping then it costs .75 or more to do so even if the substituted topping is the same cost. The mango matcha smoothie was decent. I ordered it 100% sweet but it could have used a bit more sugar. There were still noticeable ice chunks that were not blended well and it reminded me more of a slush than a milkshake bc it wasn't creamy and the milk wasn't noticeable. Really appreciated the real mango bits but they were not ripe and seemed a bit raw and crunchy. Drink was decent. Lastly, got to try the passion fruit mango green tea. This was quite refreshing. There was noticeable fruit "swirlies" in the drink and sweetness was well balanced with tart. Download the app and add an e-gift card for 5% back Not my first choice when it comes to tea/fruit drinks but glad to have it as an option in Castro valley now.

Sherry Y.

We've been waiting for this to open in Castro Valley! Came here during their grand opening and got the buy one get one free drink. There's plenty of parking in the plaza (in the Safeway, Petco, Panda Express plaza). The line was pretty long as expected but it moved quickly. My go to is either the mango or grapefruit lemon slushy ($6 Large) and I got the grapefruit one this time. Also, got the the lemon yakult with aloe ($6 Large) as the free drink. Both drinks were good and refreshing!

Celeste L.

My family is super happy that this location made it to Castro Valley. We attended their soft opening. Buy one get one free. We've been to this location a few more times after the opening. Kids enjoy drinking the Yakult, and taro milk tea. Also, the bubble waffles. We've tried the chocolate bubble waffle and the oreo waffle with the puff cream. Extra $1 for the puff cream. There are other flavors for both. Just recently we tried ordering through their app. There might have been a glitch with the app that day. Placed the order through the app. It charged me, but the screen still had a "submit" notification. We figured it would go away. We get to the store and they asked to submit and it double charged me. The cashier was very helpful and tried resolving the situation with the IT person. Hopefully, we can place a mobile order without any other issues going forward.

D6 Ube milk tea with taro puff cream and taro balls
Waiyi C.

My friend bought me a Ube milk tea with taro puff cream and taro balls. This is my first time to try it. It is super yummy. I will order it again next time.

Menu 4/28/23
Jackie Y.

After months of waiting, the Castro Valley Happy Lemon has finally opened! I'm especially excited to have a boba place on this side of Castro Valley. It's located in the 580 marketplace right next to Bodi's Java. This shopping center has plenty of parking, especially in front of the Safeway. I came here for their Grand Opening BOGO deal (4/28-4/29). The line was long, but it moved quickly. Inside, there are several tables. After the opening hype dies down, it could be a nice spot to hangout. I ordered a mango green tea with mango boba and a passion fruit green tea with lychee jelly. Keep in mind that the mango green tea with mango boba drink doesn't allow for any sugar adjustments. The mango boba appears to be agar boba, not tapioca boba, so it's pretty firm and chewy. The drinks tasted on par with other Happy Lemons I've been to. Overall, I'm satisfied with my first visit to the Castro Valley location and am excited to come back!

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Mango yak was excellent. Plenty of parking shared w Safeway. Servers gave good advice on choices

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Update, they even stop serving Popcorn Chicken 1 hour before they close..... I don't get it

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For our wedding, we had a highly custom request for a wedding cake (Maplestory themed!), so we…read moreconsulted with Natalie before purchasing. She was extremely nice and accommodating, even outside of the bakery's business hours since we were super late. We taste tested and loved ALL the flavors, but ended up with matcha, ube, and vanilla. During the day of the wedding, Natalie and her team promptly delivered this beautiful 3 tiered custom themed cake. It was completely hassle free (I don't even know when she dropped it off on the hectic day), and exactly how we imagined it to be. Additionally all the guests loved the design and especially the flavor, so we were definitely feeling a little proud for choosing for this place. Thank you Natalie for this amazing cake!!

We had such a wonderful experience with this bakery for our retirement party! From the very…read morebeginning, their response time was incredibly quick, making the planning process smooth and stress-free. They were also very flexible, allowing us to customize the dessert menu so it fit exactly what we were looking for. The dessert display was set up beautifully and looked absolutely stunning. It became a centerpiece of the room, and our guests couldn't stop talking about it. Most importantly, everything tasted amazing. The desserts were fresh, delicious, and disappeared so quickly that not a single crumb was left by the end of the night! That says everything you need to know about how much our guests loved them. Thank you for helping make our celebration so special. We would absolutely recommend this bakery for any event and can't wait to order from them again!

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Sip & Savor

Sip & Savor

4.6
(127 reviews)
3.5 mi

This was initially a second choice option, that quickly became a place I'd return to. Everything…read moresounded delicious and what we ordered (scallion pancake chicken wrap, garlic Parmesan tater tots, popcorn chicken) was PERFECTION. The scallion pancake was expertly crisp on the outside, yet still pliable and forgiving. the popcorn chicken was tasty enough to stand alone without a dipping sauce (we're on a Thai sweet chili kick.) I believe they are seasoned with 5 spice. It was pretty empty when we came around 12:30, and when we left around 1:15, it was packed with a line out of the door. I look forward to visiting again, S&S!

After eating dinner, I decided to drive my way to Hayward to go to Sip & Savor since it's close to…read morewhere I ate at. This is quite unusual because this boba shop serves pastas since other boba places serve rice meals. Don't know but I guess that this is supposed to be a fusion restaurant? Inside is very quiet though, but I saw some people come in here. I also really like how they decorated part of the wall with "Sip & Savor" sign. If they covered the whole wall and even the ceiling, it would have looked like we're in a jungle. I didn't get pasta, but my mom and I wanted to try their boba. It's really good though. The Sip & Savor is slightly more expensive and it's quite flavorful even without adding boba. Not too sweet and it's just right. Definitely looking forward to trying one of their pastas if I were to come back!

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Interior
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4.3
(276 reviews)
4.5 mi
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After my first experience I would not hesitate to become a loyal customer. I've never had a better…read moreexperience at a boba place. The staff were so kind and friendly and cheerful. They made my day better after interacting with her. I ordered a drink for my wife and she decided i didn't order it correctly so I asked if they can change the order. I was expecting them to do it if I asked but she was so kind. She offered me to keep the first drink and remade a new one for me with a huge smile. Excellent customer experience save. The drinks are also excellent and I really liked the taro drink with fresh taro. It'll be nice with even a little more taro or taro paste. Wish we could choose sugar level but nothing seems overly sweet here. Only complaint is that the drink lids ripe every time you insert a straw. They need nicer plastic lids. Mines ripped and I ask her to re-lid it and it ripped the second time. The other two drinks also ripped when I got home. Easy to spill once ripped.

Pro Tip: This teaspoon offers samples by the register and you can ask for small samples of their…read morerecommendation before ordering. Everything is sweetened at 50% so you can gauge what you may like in your own drink. I've been coming to this teaspoon since they took over the Quickly that occupied this space. Let me say this was one of the best things to happen to this area. This particular teaspoon sets the standard high on efficiency and quality of their products. I can't remember ever saying my drink tasted wrong or took too long to make. The workers are always on top of their game. You can also save some time and order online through doordash. They're usually very quick with online orders. We usually get either the lychee on lychee, peach oolong or the guava sunset. As mentioned, their drinks lean on the sweeter side even at 50% so if you want something more light definitely opt for 25% sweetness and less ice. For fruitier drinks I usually opt for crystal boba but honey boba works too if you want a chewier texture. Overall can't wait to be back and highly recommend.

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Happy Lemon - bubbletea - Updated July 2026

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