Personal experience- went to topdog but didnt get a drink but only had a bucks and some change in my pocket. walked across the street to sweetheart's and noticed what?! 1.29 for just milk tea?! and 1.79 with boba?! LOL I was set after that. NUFF SAID haha. one thing though the cashier seemed like she didn't want to touch anyone which she didn't even have to -__- leaving my change on the counter when you can just drop the coins in my hands with out touching me? I don't know maybe shes stuck up or very unsociable, either way that effected my rating but its A-OK in my books read more

Sweetheart is my go-to place for boba in Berkeley since it's close, cheap, and convenient. The pearls they make here are really good, and they also have the best popcorn chicken compared to other boba places close by. If you're feeling adventurous, try the mocha avocado! Some people think it's weird, but I love it :) read more

I actually really like this place, especially for their fruit smoothies. They're open late which is always great, and the service is very friendly. Their grass jelly is not too sweet like some places, which is another bonus. I tried the strawberry banana smoothie, which I would definitely recommend! If I ever get another late night craving for a cold, sweet drink, I'll be back! read more

I'm pretty sure half of the money I spent during undergrad went to this place. Despite making powdered drinks, this place isn't bad. In my hundreds of visits to this place, I've never had a drink that tasted diluted or overly sweet. And since the drinks are powdered, they are a lot cheaper than the authentic drinks you find elsewhere. Prices were super cheap back when I started college, and you could get a milk tea without boba for $0.99, and adding boba would be somewhere between $0.30 and $0.50 more. Over the years the cost has gone up (as of July 2014 it is $1.49 without boba) but it's still a much cheaper option for milk tea, and it will certainly be a lot faster. If I didn't feel like getting milk tea, I usually went for honey lemon tea with aloe, which for a while was a special (so it was really cheap) but is now one of the regular items. For a short time, they also served some Chinese buns, but they have since removed them from their shelves, which now have some of their boxes. I also remember they had that Daily Cal award for "best burgers in Berkeley" though to be honest, I've never seen anyone order one haha. But hey, if a place can win that award over an obvious choice like Bongo Burger, that says something. Ever since I graduated, lots of new tea places have opened up in Berkeley. Despite this, Sweetheart still has a lot of customers because of its cheaper price, faster service, and decent quality, and I'm glad one of my favorite spots in Berkeley still remains despite all the new competition. read more

The original! So many boba shops nowadays but this one takes the cake; my go to. The jasmine green milk tea & kiwi slushy are so flavorful, food isn't bad either. Good boba shop that's open late. read more

One of my favorite boba shops in the whole Bay... Sweetheart Cafe is a must stop whenever I'm in Berkeley. I usually park right by this place, so it's usually one of the first stops I visit. They have tons of flavors to choose from, and they even sell burgers and ice cream. I get the same drink every time: Passion fruit slushie with boba. I don't remember the last time I ordered another flavor. The popcorn chicken is damn good, too. I love this place! read more

Pooh says "I'm so rumbly in my tumbly, time for something sweet" This happens to me too, but it is always in the middle of the night and I want something crazy like an strawberry Julius or a unsweetened lemon tea or some type of crazy jelly. Sweetheart takes the cake because they have more options than Quickly and they are open late unlike Moccacino. I must tell you that I always try something different and sit there while they make it thinking "that was so stupid, i know i won't like this" and they always prove me wrong. whether I want a major sweet fix or "less sugar" as they have taught me to order, I am always delighted. now i will admit the boba itself stinks but everything else makes it worth it. read more

Maybe I'm just picky, but I'm not a big fan of their milk tea because you can tell it's made from powder. I have to give them some points because I do like their snacks. If you're looking for a quick drink that's cheap ($1.29 for a regular milk tea), Sweetheart's will definitely satisfy that craving. BUT...I'm willing to put in another dollar or so for a drink that's not made with powder. I was quite disappointed with their strawberry milk tea...I could taste the graininess from the powder. However, they have really friendly service and they are very quick to deliver food and drinks in a timely manner. I like how they're open late at night too! read more

This boba cafe never disappoints. I've gone here numerous times and their boba drinks are always really tasty. See, the trick is making the consistency and texture of the tapioca (boba) balls good. You don't want it to be too chewy/hard and you don't want it to be too soft. And trust me, I've had it both ways and it really ruins the drink. But this place nails it, every time! Even something that sounds really gross (i.e. cookies and cream boba) is surprisingly good. My fave is the regular milk tea boba. Yummy! The passionfruit smoothie boba is also a must-try. read more

While most people know this place for its tasty boba drinks, it is important to point out that this place makes one of the BEST Mint Chocolate Chip milkshakes I have ever tasted! It is definitely worth it to go out of your way for this milkshake! I first tried it over 10 years ago and recently had it again! And it is just as amazing as it was 10 years ago. While most people may think that a milkshake is a milkshake, this one is without a doubt, way better than the rest! Try it for yourself! I would also recommend trying their curly fries!! read more

Get the Strawberry Milk Tea. JUST DO IT!! It's next to godliness. I really don't know how Quickly's next door is still in business because this place is by far superior to the cheap tasting stuff over there. read more

My favorite black milk tea AND my favorite pearls. I don't get why the other tea spots around southside are so milky and weak, and others' pearls are so chalky, hard, bland, or just gross. Sweetheart milk tea is great even with no sugar, and I love using my own cup and getting a stamp toward a free drink every time. read more

Boba is always good although one time I got some shoddy tapioca pearls. Pretty expensive compared to most boba places I've been (~$3-4). I am a lover of boba so I love stopping by this place for a delicious treat. I've tried Chrysanthemum (really good), Regular Boba (always a fan), Roasted Boba (also good), Taiwan style (too creamy, not a fan), Honey Aloe Green (not with milk, pretty good), Coconut (very sweet), and Almond (ehh, it's okay). read more

This place was the cutest thing!!! The little old man was the most enthusiastic and sweetest person ever when helping me and my friend! Our food and drinks came out really fast! read more

The boba was.. interesting, to put it in a nice way. If you chewed on the tapioca and burped, it tasted like popcorn chicken. i do not know why and dont want to. The milk tea was a bit watery and lacking in punch. Just wasn't as satisfying as boba milk tea should be, but was drinkable. read more

Meh. Let me let you in on a secret, I UNDERSTAND CANTONESE. So, don't try to pull a fast one on me. Service is pretty bad. I swear they just slam your charge onto the counter and walk away. Not even a 'what can i get you' but a 'NEXT!' Their milk tea is watered down. Also, they skimp on the boba. Pro: Their tapioca is good in comparison to other places, they open late, its spacious inside, reminds me of Asia. read more

I don't know why people complain about the boba or the freshness of their drinks for Sweetheart Cafe. You get what you expect - I order the bubble milk tea for less than $2. It comes out super quick and it tastes great. Their boba is pretty fresh in comparison to other places. I am a San Leandro/Hayward gal (originally) and have been to all the famous Tapioca Express locations in the tri-city and would say that I actually find Sweetheart Cafe better, only because their Bubble Milk tea tastes unique to all other milk teas I have tried. The reason why this joint wins my heart is because of their extremely late business hours. It is totally worth employing people past midnight when I see hella college kids grabbing their drinks here around 1AM. Thanks for being open late, Sweetheart Cafe! I'm glad you're nearby, but still a nice five minute jog... makes me feel less guilty when consuming you on a once-a-week-basis. read more

WTF?? I want a boba, but you can hold the atitude' FOB boy. Got me P.O.'ed when you LOL and talked shit in Cantonese. No worries though, you got F'd up teeth and bad skin you A-HOLE My other Asian A.B.C's ain't so rude, so eat my A.S.S and get my order beotch. Seriously, the staff here makes mainland Chinese seem like pleasant well adjusted people.....quite a feat considering. I don't get angry easily but I was ready to punch some bad-breath MO-FOS out. They still have the best boba around. so I added a star. Try going to the other one in Oakland Chinatown, the lady there is sightly nicer. read more

Can't lie that I've been here many a late night.... Even with the price hike a couple cents, I still manage to come back here from time to time for my fix of random flavor tea (no boba plz). I make an effort to experiment their special flavor blends, but the most recent one "Pomegranate Green Tea" is just syrup + green tea = Jolly Rancher Tea. BLARGH. More interesting ones have been Avocado Lychee (intriguing flavor even if it did look like grass + dirt) and Papaya Mango Milk. My friends and I have a running joke about the burger meals and picture they have there. We're still wondering if the burger actually would be as tasty as the picture looks, or if they have someone go out the back-door and drive somewhere to get it from Carls Jr. (it looks like a six dollar burger stock photo) and come back really quick.... read more

When visiting Berkeley last summer, I suddenly felt the overpowering need for boba tea. And there this place was, like a miraculous apparition from the heavens! Alas, had it only been a mirage, and not a real place existing in the real world. This is the first place from which I've had tapioca tea so disgusting that I had to throw it out. I ordered taro milk tea with boba - usually a pretty foolproof choice. Wrong! It tasted like aspartame with artificial grape flavoring plus a hint of potato. My companion had something else, I think a Thai tea, and it was slightly less murderously offensive, but nothing I would call tasty. I wouldn't come back here unless I was actually in a desert and dying of dehydration. read more

Sweetheart, you've been such a sweetheart these past few years quenching my sweet tooth/boba craving during late nights! When other places are closed, chances are, sweetheart is still open! My default is usually taro milk tea with boba. Last time, I decided to change it up to their mango slush with boba. I was super surprise that I got not just boba (which I originally ordered) but boba + an assortment of jelly! MMM! I LOVE FREEBIE SURPRISES! Prices are reasonable, but it is CASH ONLY. I'd definitely recommend Sweetheart; take yours here for your next boba date! read more

First of all, let me just say that this place has crispy peppered squid--aka deep fried octopus, the best thing alive. And by alive, I mean the amazing feeling I get when I eat it. As much as I would love to come here just for that, I have to say the green milk tea that I had was one of the worse ones. It wasn't untouchable. It just tasted watered down, but that might have been because I didn't get boba to balance the sweetness. Either way this place is at least pretty cheap and satisfying--~$7 for a milk tea and a snack?! 3 for shabby milk teas but the guilty pleasures of deep fried octopus. read more

Well, well, well... Sweetheart has impressed me on the second try. First time I was here, I tried the hot taro milk tea with boba, and it didn't taste like anything too spectacular. However, I don't like hot boba anyways. The second time around, I saw the cheap price of a bubble milk tea w/peals for $1.79 and went in. Took a long trek uphill in the heat to get home, and by the time I arrived in my apartment, I was sweating and looking oh so forward to that bubble milk tea. One sip and I was smitten. Cold, refreshing, not disgustingly over-sweetened, and pearls just the way I like them: chewy and not too mushy. Mind you, this is coming from someone who swore that out of the close Boba Trio - Moccacino Cafe, Quickly's, and Sweetheart Cafe - Quickly's was her go-to place for boba. However, now I'm not quite so sure... Uh oh, Quickly's, you have competition in my book. I'm going to keep switching back and forth between the two to decide what's really my favorite place. I'll still say Quickly's for now out of loyalty, but Sweetheart just might be able to nab my heart. Wow, I'm almost done with this drink and I started writing this review about 3-5 minutes go. Either Sweetheart is good, or the heat is making cold things taste better. Or both! read more

Ehh their boba milk tea is okay. My main complaint is their customer service. I came a little past 11 am (around 11:15 am) one time (the time when they open), and the door was clearly open. I went in, but no one was at the cash register. I waited, and someone finally showed up. I asked her if I can order, but she said it wasn't open yet. I was a bit disappointed by the way she simply turned down a customer (without an apology). Okay, I guess it didn't matter to them. I usually got the strawberry milk tea (about $2) until ShareTea opened up. Come here if you're down for minimal customer service and if you're craving late night boba (past midnight). read more

I go here for a quick drink everyday during my lunch break. Not only is it fast it is cheap I can order and be back in 5 minutes with my drink on the counter waiting for me. read more

My default choice: strawberry milk tea with pearl. I used to love how before, whenever I would order any milk tea with pearl it would only cost $1.50 exactly. Now that they've upped the price, I'm not frequenting here as much, thus the 3 stars. I hear they make a mean delicious burger (but I have yet to try). I love their fried squid and chicken poppers, especially after a drunken escapade. read more

I've committed an error in judgment. I stand by my statement that the drinks here are not that great at all. Very artificial, extremely sweet. Still diabetes-tier, but serves a purpose when I really, really want something disgustingly sweet at an odd hour. BUT. Based on a recent experience I had going here late at night, I've realized the food is actually much better than I thought. I keep coming back here not for drinks, but for food. Chicken strips here are actually bomb. Perfectly tender chicken, delicious breading, and the seasoning problems I have with the popcorn chicken are a non-issue because of how widely across each individual strip the seasoning is dispersed. These are quality strips. Also! The other foods -- the fries, burgers, etc. -- are quite formidable in their own right. Especially the fries. They're quite good. A worthy place to go for food late at night. I just wish their drinks weren't so mediocre/terrible. read more

Five stars for some of the best pearls I've tasted in the Bay Area. They're soft, chewy, and they're not too sweet. Plus, at $1.50 for a green tea with pearls, it's a steal. I'd definitely come here more often... if I lived in Berkeley and not San Jose. :-P read more

I'm not a connoisseur of pearl drinks and such, but I stopped here last week for a cheap drink and got the bubble milk tea for 99 cents. It was incredibly good. They have so many different drinks on the menu that I wish I'd discovered this place earlier. So check it out some time, right outside the Durant Food Court ("Asian" Ghetto). read more

I used to come here for really one item - their fries. Man, when it's 12am/1am, and you need something greasy and hot for cheap, Sweetheart's is the place to go for a cheap bite. It's basically a Quickly's, but not as Asian-fied. The fries are always hot, cheap, and greasy, almost like a bad porno, except delicious. read more

I always come here to get boba with a friend. They have a lot of varieties. It's a little overwhelming sometimes. I usually just stick to two flavors. They are really fast about it too. You just pay for your boba, and it's ready for you in 1-2 minutes. read more

Dude, this place is good! Too bad it's all the way in Berkeley! But on the cup it did say there was a location in SF....anyways, I got the strawberry slush with boba. And when I got my order I noticed they put lychee in it by accident? I'm so glad they did cuz it was bomb! read more

I got the Jasmine Green Tea with Pearls (comes to $1.99 with tax). The boba was your typical A-OK, but the tea just tasted really watery and sort of chalky. Is this like skim milk or something? Given they no longer have the cheapest boba (price point is similar to Lotus House and Quickly's and unlike Moccacino you don't have to purchase 2), I think I'd move on elsewhere. read more

My Taiwanese jasmine green tea was realllllly milky, and my friend's bubble milk tea was revolting. Mine at least was edible and drinkable, with the jasmine flavor coming out very strongly (overpowers the tea taste), good sweetness level, but the boba was slightly hard to chew and stiff....so I would most likely not come here again. This might have to do with us stopping by kind of late (11:30pm-ish)...but that shouldn't really be an excuse. read more

Best boba ever! The boba is so sweet and chewy; I don't know the secret recipe to making them! My husband and I ordered a Taro Slushy, which wasn't quite as good as a Taro Snow Bubble, but we appreciated the boba! The Taro Slushy was just too thick for our liking. read more

Cheap & convenient. The boba I tried was a little slimier than I like, but the hot almond milk tea is good.

I've been to Sweetheart Cafe a couple times in my life. It's really just some Asian shop that serves your typical boba-shop items. With that said, it's very average. I know that's like saying extra-medium, but it really just is a boba shop that can get you your fix--it's not amazing but not the worst. If you're in the Asian ghetto and want some boba I guess I'd go here instead of Quickly's but now that I think about it, they're like the same thing. Quickly's is just a huge chain. In other words, only go here if you're in the area. read more

I stopped by with a friend late one night it's so wonderful that this place had such late hours - perfect for a midnight snack! I ordered a jasmine milk tea with boba, and was pleased by the chewiness and sweetness of the tapioca pearls. The drink itself was also very refreshing and quickly made. For the low prices, the drink itself is surprisingly wonderful in quality. The con side to this place is the lack of parking - clearly catered towards more of the college students / pedestrians here! Overall, solid boba joint. Will be back for sure in the future! read more

I ordered a milk tea with boba but apparently the people working there cannot understand English and gave me chrysanthemum tea with boba and made me pay more! For something I didn't even order! WTF... They've messed up other people's orders before including my own and I think that's completely unacceptable considering they didn't remake the correct drink. 1 star for Bad customer service. The tea is okay but I won't be frequenting this place anymore. Time to go to Sharetea! :) read more

Only thing I like here is their regular milk tea.