Fantasia Tea Cafe

I really loved this place more than momo2 and pochi, I went recently and found out that the place was closed down.
Now I’m looking for a new place to get my purple rain fix!

This is always my 1^st stop when visiting Columbus. Unlike other reviewers I have never been disappointed. Pricey? Yes! Delicious? Yes! Worth the price? I’d say so. Taste the rainbow is my favorite smoothie from Fantasia and my boyfriend likes to create his own. Service is as fast as can be expected and always pleasant. The décor is kind of tacky, but who cares?! Cleanliness isn’t a problem, neither is noise. Very laid back and inviting. Can’t wait to go back! (this review is prior to new management) so hopefully it’s just as good now as it was then.

Enjoyed tea there today, delicious, as always.
Under new ownership starting Thursday, September 1.

The taro and almond boba teas are…
…watered down. My mom, brother and I were in town visiting and were craving some boba teas. We were very disappointed after our first big sip. I could hardly taste the taro or the almond in my brother’s. I’m not a sweets person, so it has nothing to do with that. At least the boba was good. What a waste of 9 bucks.
The atmosphere is cute and there are some couches. The place also offers smoothies and a bunch of other flavors so hopefully those are better. When I told my sister, who lives in Columbus about it, she said, «Oh yah it’s not very good there, you should’ve went to Zencha on High st.»…good to know for next time. Come on Fantasia, get some flava…

So the story is. a few years ago i had a friend’s friend who came to the bathroom here and claimed that he saw an old woman sitting on the side. And nobody else saw that old woman. Some time after that, another friend (unrelated to the one who saw the old woman) also claimed that he saw an old woman sitting on the side in the bathroom. Creepy…
But the bubble teas are pretty decent. Better than Momo’s.

as a socal native one of my natural talents is having the ability to differentiate between crappy boba and good boba and this is good boba. wayyy better than pochi’s and momo’s (too watered down + the bubbles at pochi’s are sometimes not cooked all the way)

As a growing bubble tea fan, I decided to try Fantasia out due to it’s great reviews and not so popular or hipster-​y location. It’s a nice quick and quiet place to go.
There is one sweet lady making the drinks and the bubble tea is fantastic. The bubbles are nicely cooked and chewy. My current bubble tea obsession is Taro. The list of flavors is decently extensive and the prices are pretty standard ($ 3.95 for a small, $ 4.95 for a large – credit cards for over $ 5 purchases only).
Overall, if you’re a current fan or have a new interest in bubble tea, I recommend this café for a good experience and great taste!

I really like this place. Yes, it is a bit pricey, and no, it’s no Lollicup with their five billion choices, but for the mid-​west, this seems remarkably good. Their smoothie combinations are excellent, and the boy proclaimed the «Midori» to be «the best smoothie I’ve had… ever.» The woman who runs the place is really nice, and upgraded my small smoothie to a large for free!
With its spacious and comfortable sitting areas (especially the brown and red sofa — the boy wants to steal this one), I’d expect this place to be overrun with Asian high schoolers and college students. But the couple of times we’ve been here, there’ve only been one or two other people in the shop.
I particularly like the fact that the blenders are in the back of the store, instead of in the front area like most boba shops; this greatly reduces the chaotic sound of ice being crushed.
But I didn’t get a punch card, which is too bad, since I know I’ll be coming here often.

This place is very sweet. The lady at the counter always greets you so nicely. It’s so sweet. The drinks are sweet too. They are yummy. My favorites would have to be the «dessert» ones. with are always served very cute with whipped cream or fruit or redbeans on top. just depends what you get. The place is very clean and they have board games to play with your loved ones. How sweet.

Ok, so I said that i’d try their milk tea as a baseline for comparison.
Damn, it was a notch… wait, no… a thread above the milk tea i had at the north market. Instead of melted boba, the ones I had from Fantasia were undercooked, slightly. But the worst part was the milk tea. It tasted like diluted milk mixed with jasmine tea. And was wayy too light in color (pretty much white). My mom looked at it when I got into the car and actually said «That looks sick.» =([see pic]
Maybe it’s too diluted and transparent for my liking? From other reviews, it looks like they do fruity drinks well. Just be careful of their milk teas!

I used to be such a fan of Fantasia, but they have really changed. Gone are the old issues of video game magazines and plethora of tea choices. The menu is more limited and the environment is more sterile (I think they’re under new management). I would recommend Pochi near OSU or Bubbles in North Market over Fantasia, but if you’re already on Bethel, try the little tea place and bakery near Micro Center across the street.

At first I wasn’t sure if the place was open. Then I read the hours and ventured in. Immediately I was greeted by a friendly little lady behind the counter.
There were many different flavors and a few that I was hanging between, but I decided to do the create-​your-​own smoothie using papaya, passionfruit and mango flavors. I like the tapioca bubbles a lot, but this time I thought I’d try the pineapple jelly. It was that cool sweet treat that would be perfect for a hot summer day. Even though it was a harsh and cold winter day, I still enjoyed it.

Fantasia Tea Café is no Joy Yee (the bubble tea heaven located in Chicago), but its freshness sure parallels what JY has to offer. It’s been years since I stepped inside FTC so imagine my sigh of relief upon discovering the change of ownership that took place last year.
Drinks are on the pricey side. $ 3.95 for a small drink and $ 4.95 for a large one, but as I had previously mentioned, the boba and the jelly were fresh as could be. If none of the combination of flavors strike your fancy, you can concoct your own drink as well as your choice of boba or different jelly options. The mango delight special I ordered had chunks of jackfruit in addition to the boba — talk about a creative drink! The taro smoothie contained chewy three colored jelly and was equally refreshing.
I used to go to MoMo2 for my bubble tea fix, but my trips have dwindled as inconsistencies prevailed. Perhaps FTC may be the go-​to place for bubble tea from here on out. Yes, even in the wintry weather.

I used to visit this place pretty often a few years ago. I was often pleased with my service and my overall experience. Today was no exception. Apparently management has changed due to an illness. The new guys added some new couches and energy efficient light bulbs (yay!).
As far as my drink was concerned, it tasted just like always so I was happy they didn’t change recipes. They still have the hole punch discount card and plenty of board games. Monday-​Thursday they’re open until 9:30pm and 10pm Friday and Saturday. I had a peach/​pineapple smoothie with extra boba. delicious.

While the décor and furnishings aren’t exactly lavish — a couple of couches, some cheapo tables and chairs, a few books, magazines and board games — Fantasia Tea Café has a great selection of hot and cold milk teas, bobas, smoothies, and smoothie freezes. The server lady making the drinks warned me that my green apple freeze would be sour, sorry, «tart» I think is the lingo — perfect! Just what I wanted! — but I was disappointed to find that it really wasn’t at all. AT ALL. Booooo :(The mango and peach smoothie was really creamy and delicious though. Prices are a bit steep for what you get — about $ 3.75 for a small, $ 4.75 for a large, plus 25c for the balls. This isn’t some place I’d go to regularly, but it’s nice for a change.