I was so surprised to see that the NewBo had a Filipino kitchen called the Pinoy Cafe! What?!?!…read moreFilipino food here in Cedar Rapids! Are my eyes deceiving me? The menu items are limited, but she offers Filipino staple items like Pork Adobo (Filipino Pork dish marinated in soy sauce and vinegar), Pork or Vegetable Lumpia, (Filipino egg rol) and Pancit (a Filipino rice noodle with vegetables and usually chicken or pork), and of course rice! We actually ordered a Combo Dish with Bar-B-Que chicken, rice, and 2 pieces of lumpia. After a bite of the lumpia, we ordered another 5 more pieces! Yum! This food booth also sells delicious Boba drinks and Bu! Now these were quite pricey! I am use to seeing Boba drinks all over California, but this was my first time seeing one in Iowa. We ordered the Thai Milk Boba Drink and a Strawberry Boba Drink!! Yummy! I miss getting these while I have been here in Iowa! In California, they are practically on every other block or strip mall, but I guess it hasn't really become as popular out this way. Boba drinks or Bubble Tea are often creamy milk smoothies or flavored teas that contain these round, chewy, tapioca balls that are placed at the bottom of the drink and add a unique texture and delightful surprise with almost every sip! Sooooo tasty and fun! The only shocking thing for me was the price! I have never paid so much for a Thai Boba Drink or a Strawberry Bubble Tea in all the years of drinking them out in California! I was a bit shocked at the price, but that didn't stop me from buying them! I've gotten one every time I have come to the NewBo! I love these drinks! And they have them for the lactose free people as well! After meeting and talking with the very nice Filipina woman who owns the Pinoy Cafe, I found out that she is going to be closing shop by the end of the month! After running a very successful and well respected food booth for the past 5 years, she has decided she wants to stay home with her kids before they grow up to be too old to want to spend time with mommy. I was heartbroken to hear that she will be closing up shop! This has been the only Filipino food place in all of the Cedar Rapids area! It may not have been the best Filipino food that I've ever tasted, but it was pretty solid. And how else will anyone here get to experience even a little taste of Filipino food if this place closes down? I feel like this is such a great tragedy for the cool young hipsters and the old timers who come to hang out at the NewBo that may never get the opportunity to try any Filipino food ever again! She did say that she will most likely keep her website up for the Pinoy Cafe and offer lumpia made to order. And maybe after the kids are grown, she might reopen. Who knows?! If you have never eaten Filipino food or never tried this particular spot at the NewBo, go check it out! Let's say goodbye to our local Filipino Iowan gal with a warm good luck for the future!

What a gem to find Filipino food in Iowa. This place is located in a market downtown, where there…read moreis a number of other food stands (Mexican, truffles, coffee, Indian, Mediterranean) which is perfect for someone who wants to try multiple bites or for a family:group who just can't decide and needs choices. The food was a bit on the pricier side for fast casual, but happy to support small and local businesses. The pancit (noodle) and lumpia (egg roll) combo dish was ok. Noodles didn't seem particularly flavorful but the lumpia was good. I also liked the accompanying sauce. The pork skewers were excellent...mouthwatering juicy fatty pork grilled to perfection with a sweet savory sauce. Hundred percent -- get this. Service was nice and fairly quick. Was one of the more popular food stalls in the market. Would go back for the pork and venture to try other menu options too. Overall more of a 3.5 of 5 BUT considering this is Iowa and.....Filipino food - I rounded up! I like the abundance of seating both inside and outside. Was easy for our family of six to enjoy a nice low-key lunch.

I've had a lot of boba in my life, and I would say La Tea definitely leans a little less…read moretraditional compared to more authentic spots. That said, there's one drink here that truly pops off -- and it's what keeps me coming back. The Uji Matcha Latte with tapioca and red bean (half sugar) is my go-to order, and it's delicious. Perfect balance of earthy matcha, chewy boba, and just the right amount of sweetness from the red bean. Honestly, I like it even better than some matcha drinks I've had in Seattle! I think that drink is better than the random drinks I've tried at Teamo which is next door. The last time I stopped by, we were heading out on a road trip, and I ordered a small -- but heads up, the bottle is a teddy bear shape, which while super cute, isn't the most convenient if you're trying to fit it in a car cupholder. Still tasty though! Overall, I'd rate their boba quality around 3 stars -- but that matcha drink alone is a solid 5 stars in my book. Plenty of seating inside (the space is surprisingly big) and a few games at the front if you're hanging out for a bit. Tip: Stick to the matcha drinks if you're a fan -- they do them really well here!

La Tea and Teamo are right next to each other. I wanted to go to Teamo, but due to the Pride…read moreFestival, the line was much longer at Teamo. Being an impatient gremlin, I went to La Tea instead. I love Jasmine Milk Tea; that is my go to everywhere I go. I'm always trying to find the next best Jasmine Milk Tea place for my tastes. Let me tell you, this place is not it. There was a reason that Teamo's line was much longer then La Tea. My tea did not taste like Jasmine at all. I was with my best friend and her mom. This was her mom's first boba experience, so she thought it was great. My bestie doesn't go out of her way to drink boba or milk tea, so she thought it was fine too. Basically, if you're a noob when it comes to milk tea, it'll taste good to you.

The bubble tea here is delicious...and non-dairy! You can adjust the ice and sugar levels although…read more regular sugar (which I ordered by accident) is not too sweet. The large is also not that large...wish there there were a few more bubbles in the drinks. Parking can be difficult (it's off-street only in a busy area).

Favorite place to grab boba downtown…read more I keep it plain with the #1 most popular item - Teamo Signature tea. Why go wrong when you can get something right each time? Friendly staff, always willing to make recommendations. I imagine it would be a nice place to study as well, given the open concept of the inside.

I've never had milk tea so good. The milk tea they use is fresh black tea and green tea, flavored…read morewith fresh honey. It is the best milk tea shop in Iowa. I Love it。 I've seen people vilify the store in the comments section and I just want to say it's not true. I have been drinking milk tea in this shop for three years. It is very delicious

Staff was very friendly and took care of our whole family! The prices are a little spendy but it is…read morewell worth it for the taste and the vibe! 5 stars

Strawberry cream with strawberry popping pearls (pictured) and I got an iced coffee with vanilla…read moreand tapioca pearls both were very good. We also got the avocado toast which was also very delicious. Service was fast and very friendly and happy to accommodate special requests. It was quiet when we were there and would be a great place to work for a few hours, free WiFi. Spreading diversity-tea, equali-tea, conservation, and joy! #qcbobatea 100% Woman, Latina, and LGBTQIA+ owned! Love this about them. Hours are different than what I seen on yelp, they are open 9:00 am until 7:00 pm M-T until 4 on F and 2 on Saturday, closed Sunday. They are inside the college, public welcome.

From the owner: We do bubble tea! Bubble’s Boba tea has a variety of bubble tea goodness and food. We are located…read moreat SCC Downtown Urban Campus Cafe!

I had the tarot ube brulee boba tea and it was the best tasting boba tea I have ever had in my…read morelife. And I profoundly love boba tea and do not get it anywhere near as frequently as I desire. It was so rich and creamy, a heavenly blend of ube and caramelized goodness with perfectly tender boba pearls that have me yearning for more. We got it at 50% sugar and it was still very sweet so next time I would probably go for 25% sugar even. They also have shave ice and mochi donuts and they had neither of those when I was there because it was pretty late but you bet I'm going to be back soon to partake of this deliciousness as well! I love the decor, lots of green and cozy and clean and bright. So perfect! Service was fast and friendly! They also have ordering kiosks that let you get exactly what you want without having to talk to anyone. I always joke that Iowa city has more bubble tea places per capita than than anywhere I've ever lived... So fortunate to be living here!

I love this place I think I always have and they always do very good drinks and wonderful peopleread more

Fun tea varieties, and service is always great! Cute and cozy inside whether you're waiting to take…read moreyour tea to go, or staying awhile.

Cute boba tea shop with cute squirrel branding! The drinks are decent, but they aren't the most…read moreoptions and a lot of the ones they have are more fruity and less focused on the tea part of boba tea. Cute interior space, but most people when I was here were coming to pick up and/or take to go. Packaging was a bit lackluster and basically just clear cups with a paper sticker on them that dissolved in your hand as your cup became covered in condensation. But you can pay extra for their cuter designed reusable bottles, which ehhhh. I got one of their "Fijian" drinks with lychee jellies, which is like a full proper fruit drink since none of their milk tea options really excited me, and an Oreo smoothie for my boyfriend. We both liked ours and there's not a ton of other options in the area, so this'll do!

My friends and I were looking for something fun to do last weekend and decided to look for a…read morekaraoke place. We found this one through Yelp, but couldn't find information on prices, times, reservations, or anything. We called the number we found online, but no one answered. We called multiple times, but ended up with no information, so we decided to go and talk to them in person. When we got there, we found about 4 college aged students who did not speak much English at all. When we asked the cost, they said it was $15 per hour. We decided to go ahead, because that isn't bad at all. They had us sit in the waiting room for about five minutes, to clean the room (although there were zero costumers anywhere so I don't know why they hadn't done that before, instead of standing around and talking like we had seen them doing as we walked in.) We were then lead to our room and began singing. That part was pretty fun, and the music selection was decent, with many fairly current songs available. When we were leaving, however, we were informed that it was actually $15/person/hour rather than the $15/room/hour like we had been told. As we stood there in disbelief, the girl ringing us up said she would charge us $40 in total (there were four of us), which was a nice gesture, but still a lot more than we had been expecting. It wasn't the girl's fault, as she wasn't fluent in English, but it should've been written somewhere or explained to us better. We then shelled out the $40 and left, knowing we would never go back. All in all, the place was dirty, smelled bad, poorly lit, had poor service, and was way too over priced. Go at your own risk.

Encore is now the best Boba shop in Iowa City…read more I think this is the best bubble tea in Iowa city some of the more exotic flavors I have yet to try because thery are frequently sold out. I wish they'd have more ingredients in stock so I can try all of the exotic flavors Please get all the flavors.