Prices have gone up (like everything everywhere else has) but paying $6 for a terrible drink? NO. I wish I could have gotten refunded for this. Paying was straightforward and simple. $5.96 for a drink.... Almost killed me on the inside. The wait was kind of long for a lava flow drink? A friend and I spent the entire time just watching the girl blend the drink for the longest time. When we finally get our lava flows, the first thing out of my friend's mouth was: is it supposed to taste like this? I try it and my immediately response is: NO. We basically got sour pineapple juice blended up with ice with strawberry syrup and overcooked tapioca. It was so hard to drink but I forced myself to finish it because I paid $6 for it. Would not return unless desperate for a pricey smoothie. read more

Zagu - Pretty lava flow but terrible taste - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Decent option for bubble tea in the Makai food court but I'd recommend you go to Shirokya if you have the time. Anyway, I got a green tea bubble tea which was really, really sweet if you like that sort of thing. I got a regular milk tea bubble tea in a prior visit which was alright. Cash only! read more

Coarse shaved ice. The styrofoam cup is layered with shaved ice then a scoop of Dave's ice cream of your choice, then more shaved ice. Ultimately topped with up to three flavors of your choice. I chose coconut, strawberry, and pineapple syrups and coconut Mac but ice cream. The ice cream contains bits of Mac nut and coconut flakes. The syrup flavors are decent but the ice is too coarse for my liking. read more

Zagu - Hardened layer of ice below the ice cream scoop. :( - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Quick service ! My kids loved the shaved ice ! Must try great size for a small one too

This place is a BIG a disappointment for service and smoothies. It was empty when I arrived the worker was very rude and has headphones in his ears. I made an order saying I wanted a Medium size Purple Yam with coconut, I repeated my order again. He raised his voice and scold me pointing to the cups and ask me what size u want small or medium. I was pissed at this point! Maybe if he took off his headphones and listen in the first place. Anyway he blended my smoothie and it came out very thick and slimy, I couldn't taste the taro (purple yam) but instead it taste like thick coconut milk with a bad after taste. It was not good! I pay $6.25 for a thick coconut milk with chucks of ice . :( I feel like I waste my money on this place. Never will come back ever again! read more

Zagu - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

While waiting for my order next to this boba stand, one of the workers yelled that she wasn't going to "f-in pick up" the fallen product that got into the ice cream part & she said she was "just gonna leave it there because i don't care anymore". This is a horrible way to show professionalism. I heard the worker yell, curse & complain all in less than 30 seconds. I don't think she realizes that there are 10 or so other customers waiting for their order & they all heard it. SHAME! read more

Came here for the first time and wanted to try the acai smoothie with pearls in it. I ordered my drink and waited like 15mins for it. The people in back of me got their drinks before I did:( I was so mad cuz I had to go work soon. It was also really busy so I understand if you made a mistake but making a normal smoothie shouldn't take that long. Other than that the smoothie was good and cold. I was hot and sweating so I wanted something fruity to drink then I came here:D I will still come after I write this review. There's noting bad about thing place just the waiting time. read more

Zagu - They have interesting Hingis on their menu - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Yummy boba drinks located in a kiosk (no seating here) in the middle of the food court at the Ala Moana! We got the Taro and Coconut boba drink with tapioca at under $5- it was really good (we shared the treat). There were no pesky ice particles (hate that)- it was full of flavor and mixed well. We didn't go to our usual places this time for our smoothie fix, but this was a nice discovery. I saw the flavor on the sign- happens to be our favorites. There was a long line (good sign) but it seemed to go fast (less than five minutes). Though they were rushed, seemed pleasant enough. Definitely need to get this again next time. read more

After a hectic show, my lovely ladies and I headed to the food court to grab ourselves some snacks. Before coming here I was craving a bubble drink and this was the first place that came to mind. For the longest time I've kept away from bubble drinks because the last time I had one I had a tummy ache and it's price rose from the last time (before that visit) I ordered a drink. Ha-ha. Okay. There weren't much people standing in line. I was next and I ordered a honeydew melon bubble drink, in the small size. It was a good thing I had cash on me, cause they only accept that! After ordering, I walked to the side and waited for my order and watched as the other worker made the drinks. It wasn't a long wait and already a line was forming in the order line. Taking my first sip, I forgot how wonderful they are! Kept on sipping until there weren't anymore! Probably going to get another drink the next time I'm at the mall. read more

Awesome custor by Jack. He always makes my bubble drink perfect! Bubble tea is awesomely creamy and always the same.. Every time I know I will be close to ala moan, I always always go here for the bubble tea! read more

Zagu - Best bubble bubble drink - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The shaved ice and pineapple float were a great treat for a hot day. They came out fast and the staff was very nice!

Line was a bit long, but getting through the cashier was quick. Many selections from bubble tea, smoothies, and shave ice. Been awhile I had a bubble tea drink. From all the selection, I ended up with the original. I got the Milk Tea with mochi pearls. Wow, damn thing brought me memories. It was good and refreshing. Recommend this place to everyone read more

Zagu - Menu board - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

My boyfriend were in the Ala Moana Center for an afternoon of shopping when we were suddenly hit by a craving for shave ice... mmm... We asked around, and Zagu was apparently the only place in the center that offered shave ice. We were initially taken aback by the price for a small serving (over $3 but I forget the exact amount), but then we saw that the shave ice was piled twice as high as the height of the container! The guy was helpful when we asked for help in choosing 3 flavors - we ended up with lime, mango, and passion orange. The syrups were pretty good, but the quality of the shave ice was BLAAAAAAHHH. It was so icy and rocky - not smooth at all as I had come to expect (Waiola, you seriously set a high standard). It was so icy that it was difficult to get the spoon into there; we almost knocked over our tower of ice several times! I really HAVE experienced better... read more

Zagu - See how icy it is? - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

After eating at the food courts, I wanted something else...YUP! I was craving milk tea! Long behold, what did I see? I see Zagu, the original crystal and pearl shakes stand. Hmm...why not try it? So, I got the milk tea. After waiting for a few minutes...my order was ready! MILK TEA IN A SLUSHEE/SHAKE FORM! Cool! It was like a Starbucks frappucino, but instead of coffee it was milk tea! How interesting! Either way, I was very happy! :) *** There were other flavors like mango and melon, and pearls and jelly can be added if you opt for that choice. read more

I haven't bought any bubble drinks at this place since high school. What I remember about this place was that they served soft, chewy balls. I'd suck them up and just chew them because they felt nice in my mouth. Say what?! The drink itself was good tasting too of course. Anyway, my bf and I stopped here today after eating lunch because I was craving for a succulent boba drink. They have a lot of flavors to choose from. We opted to buy the ube (yam) with sweet coconut. It wasn't bad but I was really disappointed with the balls. It wasn't as chewy as I remembered it to be. In fact it was kind of hard. I was also disappointed and shocked at the prices. We ordered the largest size and it cost $6.xx. With that money, I could have bought myself a meal at McDonalds. It's Alamoana and all but dang, $6 and its made from powder? Anyway, I probably wouldn't return here. I was walking around Shirokiya and found that they also serve boba drinks. I'll try them next time. I wonder how much they cost? read more

If you are shopping around the mall and want a drink. i suggest this place! they have different beverages to choose from! bubble drinks, smoothies & even ice cream! so refreshing :) I got a honeydew bubble drink & it was so yummy! it was $6 something for a large, not bad. and the cup is pretty big. choose from small, medium or large. they even have dole whip! yum! although their bubble drinks are not from real fruits, they use powder. i definitely want to try the rest of their menu! read more

I remember coming here 10+ years ago in the Ala MOANA Center's food court. They had some really good bubble drinks. I loved their drinks and you could either get it with tapioca or gel. I've always opted for their tapioca. Coming back here brought back memories. Drinking bubble drinks back in the day was a lot different from now. They still do it like before. Fortunately today I got me the Pineapple Orange Mango drink which was surprisingly balanced and refreshing. The prices are reasonable and it's located in the top section of the food court. You can get shave ice and other refreshments here too. If you're in the area, try it out. read more

The drinks themselves are surprisingly good, although their bobas are stale and tasted old (probably because they store them in some drawer all day). Service is also substandard. It's essentially a fast food drink shack, but baristas actually expect a tip... FOR WHAT?! They're not serving anyone. You just order and wait for them to make it. There's no reason they should expect tips when they're drinks are already a tad pricey. read more

We didn't like the quality and taste of the boba here. The only reason I rated 2 stars is because of the customer service. First time that we didn't even come close to halfway our drinks. Sad... read more

Horrible customer service. All I did was stand by the register looking at the menu. I assumed they were open since it was already mall hours. Instead of saying "excuse me we aren't open". I get " uhhh We're not OPEN!"... Said so rude.. The day didn't even start and that's how they act already? Seriously stupid ... read more

The drinks are okay but they're Unprofessional. I was standing in line and they said they're closing for ten minutes and turned off their sign. Fine, I understand if you're having a technical issue or whatever. So I left, came back about 5 minutes later and the sign is now On, so I waited In line again. When I get to the counter the girl says "We're not making drinks right now! WTF! Then at least put a sign up rather than wasting people's time! I've gone there before and even the owners have a look in their face like they don't want to be there!!! IF I go there again there won't be Any tip! read more

Uh... I'm going to have to echo Kim M's review that Zagu is NOT a good example of bubble tea in Hawaii. I ordered the small sized Milk Tea for about $5 and I was very disappointed in the flavor of my drink. I've had Milk Tea dozens of times at different bubble tea shops around Honolulu and this was by far the worst in terms of flavor. It had a grainy texture and a funny aftertaste which is reminiscent of coffee flavoring. We walked from the food court, where Zagu is located, up to the second level by Lulu Lemon where I proceeded to throw away more my cup which was still 3/4 full of bubble tea. I didn't want to throw it away considering it was $5, but at the same time I couldn't see the point in sipping down something which kept making me "BLECK" as we did our holiday shopping. My daughter asked me what was wrong with my drink and all I could tell her was it just didn't taste right. Hopefully my experience was not the norm or else I'd likely advise to skip the bubble tea at Zagu and grab something else. read more

They don't put prices on their menu. I ordered Acai bowl and 2 kiddie ice cream cone and it came out to over $15. When they only gave the açaí bowl and 1 kiddie ice cream, I had to go back and ask the workers how much everything was and they were cocky about it and sarcastically said, "Have a nice day!" Put prices in your menu guys, otherwise you come off as deceptive. Anyway, have a nice day! read more

Shortest review ever. Try their ube boba. God it's delicious! The downside? The wait and the price. Damn the Chinese know how to rip people off more than the Koreans! But it's the best 10 dollars spent for 2 ube boba's! PS: Please take credit or debit cards. Imagine how much more in revenue you could make! read more

Zagu is a little kiosk concession inside the Makai Market Food Court within the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It is a little enclosed hut that serves Shaved Ice and Pearl Drinks. Zagu is actually a Phillipines based franchise, with over 80 in P.I. It has a long fancy official name, but I guess Original Crystal means Shaved Ice and Pearl Shakes means Boba Smoothies. I found two young Asian dudes watching DVDs on a portable or playing on their PSP or something when I walked up. It took them 10 seconds to realize they had a customer. I ordered my favorite, Mango Smoothie with Boba (Pearls, Tapioca balls, Bubbles, etc). Actually, bubbles refers to milk teas popular in Taiwan, due to the froth. Pearls refers to the Tapioca balls. Boba are Pearls. This place is expensive! Odd since Zagu Corporate doesn't charge a franchise or royalty fee and these two teenagers must be making minimum wage. Maybe it is the Ala Moana rent. Maybe it is a greedy owner? $5.75 for a 20oz Mango Boba? That is high for the mainland. But the Pearls were warmed and stayed soft in my iced smoothie, which is good. I hate it when my balls get all hard when I am sucking on my soft Mango! read more

Rip off! Came for açaí bowl ant totally small scoop of açaí. Boo! On this place! Came once before and it was way better! Never coming here again. read more

the short story is = expensive bubble drinks with no flavor. the long story is = so i've been drinking a lot of bubble drinks lately (Bee's, Taste Tea, Bambu, Paradise Blends, etc....) so i figured i would try Zagu. its pretty central in Ala Moana, and i've always wondered if their drinks were good. i found out they are not :( tried the Milk Tea and Honeydew Melon flavors, and wow.... i've never had such bland bubble tea in my life. the boba was BLAND, the drink base itself was BLAND, and not to mention EXPENSIVE.... at nearly $5 for a small drink, i'm glad i only got the small...... i only finished about half of this drink before i decided to stop and toss it. the milk tea flavor was more milk than tea, and had a weird off flavor to it that i still can't figure out. the honeydew was extremely artificial tasting, yet still bland. it was like drinking cold green nothing, with a hint of melon flavor. not coming here again..... can't believe they actually charge this much for flavorless beverages. p.s. - cash only if you really want to try it here.... .but i'd save my $ if i were you..... p.p.s - they also have shave ice here, but from what i've seen, it looks pretty gritty.... more like snow cone kine read more

Zagu - (L) honeydew melon bubble drink / (R) milk tea bubble drink - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I wanted a refreshing dessert after grabbing dinner from Aja in the Ala Moana food court, but unfortunately refreshing dessert options are a bit limited there. Despite a number of negative reviews for this place, I decided to try Zagu out anyway. It seemed like most of the negative reviews were for their drinks and I wanted shave ice... I got their Rainbow Shave Ice for $4.97, which means I got to pick three flavours. I chose Watermelon, Mango, and Pineapple. The guy behind the counter (who seems miserable and barely says a word to you) grabbed the three syrups, poured them on top of the shaved ice, and gave it to me. I couldn't tell the Mango and Pineapple flavours apart--they looked the same (1/3 of the cup was pink and 2/3 were urine yellow) and the entire area tasted somewhat pineapple-y. There was no mango flavour at all. It's my fault for expecting more, but the shave ice here was just syrup-y flavoured crushed ice. It was refreshing, in that ice is always refreshing, but it wasn't delicious by any means. (Thankfully I was able to get better shave ice elsewhere before I left the island.) I found the whole experience to be quite "meh". read more

Yay for the "Dole whip" - love that pineapple soft serve. Boo for having "shave ice" on the menu but it's actually a snow cone. "Shave ice" is shaved, soft ice, not shredded ice that's crunchy. read more

This place definitely gives people a false idea of what bubble tea is all about. Sorry, but I feel like it just doesn't stand out...There really isn't anything special about it. AND their service isn't very good. They're lucky because the location is great and there aren't many places to get bubble tea in Ala Moana. It's Zagu or that Crack Seed store... by HIC and Foodland. (Joel Y. told me you can get better-priced bubble drinks from Shirokiya.) I don't like watching them make drinks with all that powder. It kind of grosses me out. Especially because there's no way that is anywhere near to being good for you at all. Maybe I'll have to give it another try... I haven't been there in a while. I remember when they first opened up... They really didn't have their act together and I thought their pricing was ridiculous. And I still think their prices are ridiculous... read more

My favorite menu item is the lychee smoothie with boba. WhyI love you Lychee Smoothie Boba... : 1) Perfect consistency, not too runny or too thick. 2) Perfect sweetness. 3.) Tastes just like lychee. It's the perfect treat after a hot day at the beach. I frequent this place following my surf sessions. It's the standard boba smoothie, where they make it with milk, ice, and the flavored powder. It's probably not the best thing for your health, but despite the artificial flavoring, it tastes just like lychee!! hhaha. I'm stuck on the lychee smoothie because I love it so much... so I haven't ventured on to the other flavors yet... but I will one day :-p. I've taken a few friends here, all of whom enjoyed their smoothies too. read more

Location: In the Ala Moana food court, it's near the Big Island Cookie and a sushi bento place stand. Menu: They offer ice cream from Ben &Jerry's , fresh pineapple juice , shave ice and bubble tea. My friend and I tried their small Pineapple, Mango and orange bubble tea with boba ($5.69) , it was alright. It wasn't terrible but it was average. I could taste the orange , pineapple and a little bit of the mango. The boba was fine. Most of their drinks are from powdered bubble drinks. Would I come again? Maybe but the price is definitely a turn off for a all bubble drink . read more

Zagu is the perfect stop to cool down on their delicious shaved ice, pearl drinks and dole icecream. They have a variety of flavors that will make your mouth burst for more. The kids loved their shaved ice. read more

Zagu - Shaved ice with watermelon, raspberry, grape, and cotton candy - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This place is weird. Advantages It's in a convenient location Disadvantages They use powder They charge almost $5 for a small cup The guy on front never said hi or thank you Just sux Go to a better place like thangs or hangs instead of this small weird place read more

Best bubble drink by far. Mango is surprisingly tasty read more

Zagu - Desserts Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

There are only a couple spots to get bubble drinks here in Ala Moana and Zagu's the easiest one to find. They are located right in the middle of the food court. I've tried two bubble drinks there and both tasted underwhelming. Milk Tea - Too sweet. Looks like instead of milk, they put powdered creamer and blended it. Ended up dumping it without finishing it. Pineapple Bubble Drink - Underwhelming taste. Looks like too little fruit was inside or was made with some pineapple juice. Not only that, both times I bought drink from them, it took a while for my drink to be ready. It was probably about 4-5 minutes on both occasions. 100 Reviews, 1 Day 46/100 January 12, 2013 read more

I'm very bias and loveee bubble tea in all shapes and all sizes. I give it 3 stars because they got the basics down. Decent tapioca pearls with a good chewy consistency, the flavor was a bit on the sweet side, but still hit the spot. I always like the good old fashioned milk tea and when i feel like mixing it up I get melon flavored or taro. There are usually only two workers there at a time, so if you go during lunch or dinner time-- it's pretty crowded. My only pet peeve about this place is that they blend the ice into the beverage. I personally haven't ever experienced that in all my bubble tea experiences except when I moved to Hawaii. It definitely is a Hawaiian thing. I like regular bubble tea with ice in it, but I didn't sign up for a slushee. (Big sigh.) If anyone knows of a place that DOESN'T give me a slop of slush inside my bubble-tea... please let me know because I'm still searching! Maybe I'm just too spoiled with NYC bubbletea. Other than that, the bubble tea is pretty standard. I haven't tried the shaved ice yet, but they look pretty festive from what I've seen! read more

So, I don't usually say this...but I would give this establishment a zero star if I could. In this day and age, it's become increasingly obvious that "good" much less "great" customer service is becoming a thing of the past. This was no exception to that. I went to Zagu because I was craving a bubble drink. I've had one from them before...and I have to admit, it was great. So I made the drive out to Ala Moana. I was excited! It was approximately 757P...and they close at 9P. I stood in line for about 10 minutes, mind you, nobody was in front of me. They just literally took this long to get to me. I asked for the drink and the associate said " we're out of tapioca so bubble drinks, can not". I was crushed. In a 'irritated and upset' kind of way. So I looked over the menu again. Finally, I said "actually, I don't need the tapioca." Then the cashier told me the truth...."we already cleaned the blenders". So...not only was I there over an hour before closing...but they couldn't make what I wanted, NOT because they lied and claimed to be missing tapioca, but because with an hour left, they didn't want to tarnish a clean blender. I'm pretty sure a blender takes all but 2 minutes to wash. I left without ordering. It was frustrating to say the least. read more

#69/365 If you're craving for a bubble drink or just something cool and refreshing then this is the place for you. If you're shopping and need a sugar boost then stop on by to Zagu. They have smoothies and shave ice and bubble teas of various flavors, such as purple sweet potato, coconut, taro, watermelon, etc. Most of the flavors are made with the powders but you can also get the fresh smoothies with bubbles so those are always nice. It is a bit pricey like most some people have mentioned but their tapioca balls are good, not too chewy or hard like other places. read more

Located in the Ala Moana food court, this little hut probably has one of the best coconut bubble drinks I've ever tasted. It's powder based but they blend it so well that there's no grainy texture or funny after-taste. Since I'm not really a huge fan of the bubbles, I usually get double crystals (not really sure what these things are but they taste like pineapple). Unfortunately, the prices are ridiculous. I get that they're located in a mall and rent at Ala Moana is fairly high but $5 for a SMALL bubble drink?! For that kind of money, you'd think they'd be lacing everyone's cups with teeny pieces of gold, or at least using real fruit for their smoothies! Oh and by the way, they only accept cash. read more