We stopped by Zen & Ginger and it's a solid spot if you're craving Vietnamese food with a modern feel. The banh mi was delicious with fresh bread and balanced flavors, and the grilled chicken rice bowl hit the spot too. Boba was okay, but the clean, cozy space and friendly service made the experience better. Overall, a nice casual place to grab a quick bite if you're in the area. (Video of the place on my TikTok & IG page: @eddynguyenrealtor) read more

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Service was fantastic! The place is super cute and very clean. We only ordered drinks. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The drinks were very good and refreshing.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]They have a good selection of drinks as well as a build your own.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I had the blended taro with lychee jelly and boba. The boba tasted fresh and the sweetness was perfect.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Next time we stop by we'll try some of their food items. read more

We decided to stop here for a quick little Thai milk tea. There is a cute little kids corner inside filled with games to play. The staff was very receptive towards his questions and friendly. But, we are here for the tea. Funky little hole in the wall in a nice area of town. Nice little local spot. Very very kid friendly sweet. "It's unusual to see in a place and I like it. Makes me want to play!" Still waiting on the tea, just one person working but that's ok! We got games! We only ordered the tea, but they offer other stuff. Staff just high fived him Score! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The drink was really good. What a lovely little find.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Excellent food. The pho is not too salty and tastes healthy without those fatty after tastes. The pork and chicken egg rolls is a must-try. The wonton soup is also good. Thai iced tea with less sugar and the boba is excellent. Don't forget the chicken pop corn. The owner Kim and her crew are awesome! read more

Delicious! Bought some charbroiled banh mi and beef pho to go. I wasn't expecting much. I'm not that close to Jacksonville and we are in FL. But dang, don't make me think I'm in Orange County CA at little Saigon. Also had the Tiger with boba 1/4 sweetness and it was charged with espresso. Perfect sweetness and will be getting that again. I will be back. read more

I do not believe you can call this soup "Pho". Pho should always come with a rich broth and sprouts, mint, lime wedges, and jalapeño. All these were missing for the price of a bowl of pho that does come with the essential condiments. And the Bahn Mi came with too much mayo on a white hoagie soft roll and not on a crispy baguette. I went with a large group and sadly no one liked their meal. Skip if you truly like Vietnamese cuisine. read more

I came by here a few months ago to try out their boba. Needless to say, I was left disappointed. I ordered the brown sugar and it was super sweet with little amount of tea. I really wanted to like this place since it is near by but after two tries, I don't think I will return. read more

Zen and Ginger - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Went here for Vietnamese coffee & it was so bad. The coffee looked like was 80% milk when the menu said nothing about milk being in the Vietnamese coffee & that it would be strong but it was not at all. I've never had milk in Vietnamese coffee only sweetened condensed so I asked them politely if they could remake it & they tried to charge me another almost $8. I told them I wasn't paying since the menu said NOTHING about it having almost all milk. They said they would charge me half and I still refused to pay since it was falsely advertised. I ordered a large coffee and they would only remake the drink as a small. I threw the milky coffee away before I could get a picture but terrible customer service considering I didn't get what I payed for. Will never come back to this place even when they remade the coffee without the milk it was grainy and mediocre. read more

I popped in to this cute little cafe on my way through town and was pleasantly surprised! The menu was very interesting with a few different options for sandwiches and small plates, plus coffees and milk tea bobas! I got a cappuccino and a grilled chicken bahn mi - both were delicious. The bahn mi was very spicy (jalapeño) but had good flavor. The space is small and has some really fun decor - you feel right at home as soon as you walk in. I had my laptop and spent about an hour working (yay WiFi) and enjoying my treats. Come on by and see for yourself! read more

Zen and Ginger - the front of the building - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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I had beef pho and egg rolls. The broth is bland and weak in flavor and didn't come with any sprouts, basil, jalapeños, and limes which is typical sides for pho. The chicken egg rolls were not good. It lacked flavor and seasoning. I would not recommend to go here for food...especially for pho and egg rolls. read more

Let me give you a disclaimer, I'm not the biggest fan of boba. I'm more of a coffee person, not tea, but in the new year I decided to give it another go, why? Because I like to keep an open mind. Zen and Ginger is a new cafe that opened in St. Johns. It's located in a new shopping strip, that has a hair salon, kids boutique, Italian restaurant, and more. I popped into the plaza and noticed that the location had ample parking. There was still quite a bit of construction going on, as there are new storefronts going in this plaza. I parked at the front of Zen and Ginger and walked in. I was greeted, and noticed a modern vibe, with an awesome panda mural on one side of the cafe. They have everything from coffee to tea, to boba and they have snacks and appetizers. While I didn't get any food this time around, I'm eager to come back and try their Taiwanese popcorn chicken. This particular visit I ordered a regular, half sugar brown sugar milk tea with regular boba. The girl who assisted me made my drink pretty quickly and was friendly. There were a few tables, tons of light, and all around nice vibe here. I can see myself coming here (after Covid) to sit and do work at the cafe. The boba was good, not too tea forward, which I don't really care for LOL, the brown sugar was sweet, but not too sweet. I'm glad I didn't get full sugar. I'm still on the fence about boba, but this particular trip may have won me over. Pros: -Beautiful new location -Friendly staff -Tons of drink options -Has light snacks and pastries available for purchase Cons: -My dislike of tea Tips: Check out this new business, it's worth a go read more

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My coworkers and I went out to try this zen and ginger today. It's a cute little little place in this plaza with plenty of parking. I ordered the matcha green milk tea with lychee jelly, spicy Taiwanese popcorn chicken, and fried dumplings. My coworkers ordered the steam dumplings, eggrolls, banh mi, fries, calamari, and skewers. The spicy Tawainese popcorn chicken was delicious. Packed with spices and many flavors. The fried dumplings were amazing! So good with the sweet and sour sauce. My coworkers loved what they got as well and ate everything! I was able to try all the food, and man, chefs kiss. The green tea matcha milk tea with lychee jelly was spot on! It was very refreshing! Not too sweet and not too bland. It was just right. As for dessert we got the honeydew and honey milk sponge cake. Both were good! Overall, I highly recommend this place. Their milk tea and appetizers/food are bomb!! 10/10! read more

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Great little place off CR210. Banh Mi sandwich was excellent. They have Pho on weekends. They also have calamari, dumplings. I wouldn't know a boba if it fell on me but i enjoyed everything i ordered. read more

Zen and Ginger - Banh Mi - Pork - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

So delish! We stopped by for their coffee of the day and grilled pork sandwich. Derick and Sakeena really have a great venue here. The coffee was freshly ground. What a wonderful sandwich. The bread was crispy on the outside and soft inside. This is really a great start to the sandwich. The pork was tender, greens and veggies, fresh. Oh so good. Very nice menu with a great mix of beverages and food. read more

I've been dying for a boba place to open near where I live so thank god for Zen and Ginger. I ordered the brown sugar milk tea with tapioca pearls and it was perfect. I like my boba chewy but not stale and it was exactly how I like it. The girl who took our order was friendly and helped us by recommending what fruit teas to try. The only critiques I would say would be I think crushed ice is not ideal for drinks with boba. This is because you get ice up the straw with your add ins such as jelly or pearls. Overall will definitely be back because of the cute seating areas and the yummy tea! read more

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Soooooo slow to make a coffee I've been back a few times as it taste great but v slow read more

They are doing good things here. We've been stalking when they would open at a time we could go in (the soft open hours were tricky for us to get away) and finally tonight the planets aligned. We tried a taro smoothie with boba, a dragon fruit ice with boba, and a char siu bahn mi. Everything was great. The taro texture was a bit different because they use the real stuff and the taste was nice and mild as you'd expect. Boba aren't too sweet and perfectly chewy. Dragon fruit ice was nice, I enjoyed the flavor without the seeds the fruit has. Finally the bahn mi was excellent. The veggies were still crisp, the baguette was fresh, and the char siu had great flavor without being unnecessarily bright red. I am SO excited to have this place on my side of town, please check them out! read more

Zen and Ginger - Char siu bahn mi - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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I had this cafe saved on my to-try list for a while. I was able to visit here before a Sunday Funday with my mom and son in Fruit Cove. I walked in and noticed how pretty the interior was, complete with a green wall and neon angel wings for a quick photo op. I was able to glance at the menu before ordering. They have coffee, tea, boba, specialty drinks, and food. I ordered the coconut milk tea without boba for my mom and the Vietnamese iced coffee for myself. It was around $14 for a small and large drink. There were a few people in the cafe and one order ahead of me, so I looked at the Squishanimals and products available for purchase. They made my order quickly and with precision. We took our drinks to Alpine Groves Park and drank them while walking around. They tasted delicious , and the Vietnamese coffee wasn't too strong. I'm sure we will be back soon! read more

I found Zen and Ginger looking high and low for Taiwanese food in the Jacksonville area. I came across a photo of their Taiwanese chicken nuggets and wanted to give it a try sooo on our way to St Augustine, we stopped by. They are located in a brand new shopping center on the right side when you enter. They have an extensive menu from what I saw on the screen. Lots of items squished on the screen and the prices even smaller. I think a small drink was around $5.26 and a large was around $6.16. I'm assuming the prices include tax because I recall the numbers being random. Anyways, we ordered a large almond milk tea with taro pudding, small black milk tea with crystal boba, and Taiwanese chicken nuggets. Toppings are either "regular" price or "premium" price but isn't differentiated on the screen. My total came to almost $21. Staff answer questions based on their drinks and did mention their drinks run on the sweeter side which was helpful. Chicken nuggets came out lukewarm as they got really busy making drinks and forgot about my order which was no big deal. They were apologetic. Best thing we ordered was the chicken nuggets which was around $7. I'd say it's similar to what I normally get and is much better than this other place in Jacksonville that also serves Taiwanese chicken nuggets. Drinks were meh - the almond milk tea had mild almond flavor, zero tea taste. Black milk tea was bland. The toppings were pretty sweet. A huge downside to their drinks which I would recommend they change is their use of crushed ice. Sure, some people love munching on ice but this does not work in bubble tea. How does one eat the boba (or any other toppings) when the cup is filled with crushed ice? I threw the rest of my drink away because... ice in my way. Waste of the topping. read more

Zen and Ginger - 8 oz. Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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I tried their Winter Melon Fruit Tea. It's loaded with sugar!! Expect it to be very very sweet. Egg rolls are nice and crispy outside but the inside seems not to be warm considering it was fried. And I tried the Grilled Pork Banh Mi. The bread was a little tough to bite on. It doesn't get prepared toasted like some Vietnamese restaurants do. Probably next time, I will give it a try again and request less sugar for the drink and toast the bread for the banh mi. Overall, it's average. But thankful there's an Asian restaurant close by. read more

Zen and Ginger - Egg Roll - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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If your looking for boba and delicious Asian snacks, this is the spot! As service is affected by covid, the quality of their dishes stays amazing. The owner is knowledgeable in his craft so don't shy away from asking for recommendations. They are also on Grubhub and Ubereats for anyone not looking to dine at the location. Locally owned small business, def. my new favorite spot for boba in Jacksonville! read more

Zen and Ginger - Taiwanese popcorn chicken! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

I'd give this place more of 3.5/5 stars. This place definitely has room for improvement, but it's still good! It's a cute, well-decorated small shop that has a nice variety of food and milk tea beverages. The staff (at least every time that I've been there) has been real nice towards us. In all honesty, I liked the cookies and cream drink, but the last two times I have visited, it tasted powdery and grainy. Some of the food items (the calamari and the BBQ sticks) are not that great. However, the fries are pretty addicting. It's the closest boba shop to our neighborhood, so we'll definitely be back. I just wish they could fix the formula or the way they make their drinks. read more

What a great find!! Visiting family and was resigned to a week without good coffee or Asian food. I am so thrilled to find this place. Gourmet coffee, classic bubble tea, and Vietnamese favorites like banh mi and pho. Highly recommend!!! read more

Excellent drink! I loved my dragon fruit, kiwi refresher with Lychee jelly! They appeared to be really busy and I had to wait a little bit BUT it's so TRUE!!! Good things come to those who wait!!! I tried to save some to share with my husband but I couldn't save him any. I wanted to keep it all to myself like it was my precious. I can't wait to come back again and again. I can't wait to try everything! read more

Zen & Ginger is a cute tea & coffee shop with different types of drinks plus they have lunch & desserts! We only had the drinks & they were high quality coffee drinks that we will definitely coming back!!! Clean, very cute interior design & decorations! The service was amazing!!! We'll definitely coming back!!! 5-STARS read more

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Tbh, this is probably more of a 4 for me, however that is only because I normally reserve 5 stars for restaurants I would drive at least an hour for. However, since this place is new I wanted to add my 5 stars to encourage my neighbors to try this place out. I'm planning to become a regular here. I have never really gotten into the whole Boba tea craze, but this place may convert me, kinda. They have sooo many flavors and combos. I learned that I could get the drinks without the tapioca (little solid pieces in my drink freaks me out) I ended up with a coconut ice, which was super yummy. I also tried the Taiwanese chicken, super delish, and a Bahn mi sandwich. Everything I tasted was so good and the place is super cute. read more

Zen and Ginger - Weekend options!! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

This place has so much potential. This place is definitely on to something. The branding and logo is on point! The takeout cup pictured, never seen a plastic to-go cup like this! Now the coffee was not bad. We ordered 3 lattes, at 10:57am, we received our last latte at 11:28am. There was only one other customer in front of us. By the time we received our last latte the first one was so watered down. For each drink we ordered, about 10 minutes to make (Yes. Until they can speed up the process, I highly recommended going there on your day off. Might I add they have the "good ice" referring to the ice nuggets! read more

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If you're looking for boba anywhere near the St. Augustine area this is one of the few places you'll find it! Their drinks are on the sweeter side so keep that in mind when ordering. The actual boba was a little undercooked and chewy so not the best but not bad. I've definitely had better boba, but considering that there really aren't any boba shops in the area it'll fix your craving. We also tried their popcorn chicken which is really tender but the taste was just okay. Their grilled pork banh mi was probably the best thing we had considering everything. Might be back to try their pho! read more

Zen and Ginger - Regular milk tea with boba and brown sugar milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Stopped in for the first time today to try some milk teas and was not disappointed! We tried the taro and brown sugar flavors. Very good flavors and good quality Boba as well. Next time I will probably order mine "half sweet" just because they are very sweet. Clean shop and friendly service. I will be back to try some food! read more

Zen and Ginger - Taro milk tea with boba, brown sugar milk tea with boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Drinks Ordered: Taro Milk Tea with 'mixed jelly' The milk tea was overwhelmingly sweet and tasted more of jasmine than taro. Additionally, it tasted like the 'powder-base' stuff you would find at a mall. The jelly was mediocre at best. The color was nuclear purple and radiated preservatives. Definitely not worth the price point that was charged. The crushed ice is a bad choice too, it trapped all the toppings at the end. Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Boba The milk tea itself tasted like it didn't come out of a bag. However, it wasn't outstanding like the price point charged. The boba was hard, the type of hard boba you would find in the refrigerator made a few days before. Food: Chicken Banh mi The bread was actually tasty, the crust was crunchy and the bread inside was fluffy. Great piece of bread. The fillings were terrible. The pickled radish and carrots were there for presentation, not so much as the acidic flavor contrast you would expect. The chicken tasted old, as if the meat was marinading in its own packaging juices. It didn't taste like food-poisoning, but it was old chicken. The paté was vile. It was a mistake to order it. Char Siu Banh mi The meat was disgusting. The color of the meat was grayish purple as if it was just shy of a few days from being tossed out. It tasted like nothing somehow, but at least it didn't taste like food-poisoning. Zen rice and grilled chicken The rice was mushy and was over cooked. The chicken tasted like it came from a discount grocery store with a "Manager's Choice" sticker on it. The sauce that came with the meal looked like it was the drippings from a dirty grease trap. Experience: The menu displayed prices that wildly differed from what was actually charged. For example, the Zen rice and grilled chicken was tagged with $9.0X but I was charged $12.50, strange how the sales tax works. We waited an extraordinary amount of time for the sandwiches to be made, just to be let down that it came out of a microwave. The zen rice and chicken somehow made it out before everything else. The staff was nice and the atmosphere was welcoming. However it doesn't make up for what was served. It was an incredible waste of money. read more

The workers here were very patient and quick I had a lovely experience here the boba was refreshing and tasty. The shop was very cute and clean. read more

Stopped here when I saw Bahn mi on the menu. It Did not disappoint! It had all the yummy! The pork, pickled veggies, crispy bread, spread and all that! In all a Seriously great sandwich! I would have a photo but it was so good we ate it before we ever thought about it!! I think I'll Try the pho next time. This is a great find if your into bahn-mi and believe me there is a dearth of decent bahn-mi around Jax/st augustine area. Now, Don't be fooled by the place, yeah the decor looks all hipster vegan & coffee shop mixed together with milk. And yeah, it does a pretty brisk business for the boba tea. Sure there are many teenaged employees and guests alike. It almost made us regret the choice while a 30 minute wait for the sandwich found us watching the giggle girls take selfies and all that flirting with staff from the teen boy band that came in just before us. Nope I said just be patient, fresh food takes time. Sure enough, the pickled veggies were perfect and crisp nothing was out of order. Perfection on a crisp roll!! Totally worth it! But, Next time we will call ahead to order take out. read more

I love this place no complaints, Great costumer service, great products. Over all I recommend this place. read more

Zen and Ginger - Milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

we were in the area to have a nice dinner but the place we wanted to try had an hour wait and we weren't willing to do so. Instead, we decided to try a couple of different local selections and then see which one you wanted for dinner. This was the first place. we were the only customers although some did come afterwards. we thought the anime style decor was cool. we ordered a bahn mi sandwich to split so that we could decide if it was worth getting more. This is my favorite type of sandwich so I was eager to try it. The downside was that it took almost 30 minutes for them to make our sandwich with only a few customers coming in afterwards who are ordering Boba teas or coffee. The upside was that the sandwich was very good although it could've used a little more dressing or pate as it ate A little dry. The vegetables on the sandwich were not heavily pickled but fresh and white and had a good crunched that this type of sandwich needs. The meat was fairly flavorful and we had to take the pickled jalapeño off because it had too much heat but the residual heat in the sandwich was good. We were considering some other options like they're pho noodle soup I decided we wanted to try another place before making our final dinner decision. other than taking longer than I think it should've taken to make the sandwich (my wife did not feel like it took too long but I'm impatient anyway so), We have found another place to add a minimum pick up some of these delicious sandwiches or noodle soup to go when we are in the area. read more

Zen and Ginger - decor - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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I'm a boba fiend and this was really good! I'm so happy there was a shop that finally opened up in at Johns. I got my go to Almond milk tea and it was great. Right amount of creaminess. Boba was tender and not hard and lighty sweet which is Friendly service read more

Great boba and food! Very authentic and it is made fresh to order. The manager loves his business and the workers put great effort into making your orders- never rushed like how Starbucks makes their drinks. Definitely recommend! read more

Zen and Ginger - Mochanut Iced Latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Lovely cafe with an interesting menu. Very tidy, friendly staff. I had a hot latte and a chocolate croissant, the croissant was good but the espresso was excellent! I was pleasantly surprised to receive my order on porcelain dishes instead of disposables, it's a nice touch most places are getting away from lately. read more

Zen and Ginger - Latte, chocolate croissant - Coffee & Tea Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Best boba place nearby! We've found ourselves here at least weekly if not more often. The food has also been pretty solid as well.

The boba is great but the popcorn chicken is out of this world amazing! Worth the wait for them to cook it while their busy - just remember to get two orders so you don't have to share. lol read more

Great service, delicious authentic food and boba/coffee. It's nice walking into an establishment and being greeted by smiling faces. My food came in a timely manner as all orders are made fresh. I ordered boba and Vietnamese coffee too. Both were so good. I highly recommend this place! read more

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