3pm Cafe

Service was good, people were nice.
Ordered Strawberry Yogurt Iced Drink. It was too sweet with no yogurt to be found. The drink was syrup based and it was disgusting after 3 sips. Just too sweet.
My friend ordered strawberry smoothie, and ended up getting more of a slush drink. Also syrup based and only tastes like water. I
Overall, I just want to say that the drinks are terrible. They don’t use real fruit or powder, and instead use a syrup. It ends up tasting too sweet and very artificial.

WHO: UNLV students/​alumni or people just around the area, and craving a drank with boba!
WHERE: On Maryland Parkway, between Tropicana & Flamingo. Right next to Café Rio. (Yessss. dessert!!)
WHEN: They are still fairly new, so I believe they are testing out their hours as of the last time I’ve gone there.
WHY: If you need a break from all that studying, if you need a place to study, if you want to meet a friend and chitchat, if you’re for some reason thirstier than normal, if you want to try something new, or if you just want to be there!
WHAT: I am so glad that there is now a boba café directly across the street from school! There are times where I crave a nice, cold boba drink and I now can fulfill my cravings and run across the street (of course looking both ways before crossing) and obtaining that delicious drink!
Both times I walked into the place, it was slower than I was expecting (probably because the times I’ve been there were both after 6pm). However, every time I stepped foot, I was delightedly greeted! The workers there are so friendly! You can actually converse with them! =). They strictly had boba drinks only, but their menu stated other. This is because they will be getting their food stuff soon; which I’m extremely excited for (if they haven’t gotten it all in already). The menu looked awesome though. Be prepared for another asian fusion hot spot!
In the meantime, enjoy what’s available, and I will update as soon as I get the chance to go back there! =D

I’ve seen this place a million times, yet I’d never ventured in. Finally, on another sweltering Las Vegas day, a co-​worker and I braved the steaming streets to give this place a try.
It was empty. That wasn’t too surprising as it was 8÷13÷12 — during the 3^rd summer session at UNLV. It’s the most dead semester of the year. We ordered popcorn chicken, but they were fresh out. The friendly guy working the cash register went above and beyond to make up for the fact that they were out. He gave me boba for free in my drink… and upgraded the size. That was pretty awesome of him.
My coworker got the chocolate toast and I got fries that were the special. They had black and white mayonnaise on them. They were okay. Nothing I’d crave, but the sauce was good.
Overall, I’d probably hit the place up for more boba, because honestly, who doesn’t like boba?

Oh god wasnt paying attention and this is my 200^th review…
Yeah i’d seriously wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. We only went here due to it being a Sunday and all the major hot spots were closed (Stephano’s, 28Go, that taco place).
Service was alright considering there’s only one person on staff to man both the drinks and front counter and the kitchen in the back. That could account of the quality of the food but if they knew there was only going to be one person then the food could have been prepared and if it was could also account for it’s quality.
Fusion Fries
— seriously almost 7 dollars for frozen fries with sauce, mayo, and rice topping sprinkles. SEVEN DOLLARS! at most it’s worth 3.95! portion size wasnt even that big!
Pork Belly on rice (daily special)
— Wow seriously the blandest pork belly i’ve ever had. Waste of what could have been bacon. Not sure if it’s suppose to taste like nothing but it tasted like… nothing. Even the chunks of pork belly which has the fat had any flavor to it.
Curry Rice w/​Chicken Katsu
— The chicken was pretty decent. Dark meat and had a nice crunchy crust and they even seasoned the chicken with a little salt. The rest of it was meh. Potato salad was halfway cooked containing bits of still raw potato hunks. Curry was Golden brand brick instant curry and is there a shortage of the stuff? When that nuclear reactor blew up did it take out the curry brick factory? When you think of Katsu Curry you’re expecting a bowl with just all curry sauce, in island of rice, and a few strips of fried chicken slightly submerged in the curry. Nope exact opposite here. Mountains of rice with just a light mist of curry.
Expensive too. WAY expensive. When your target market are college students your strategy should be cheap and plentiful so they keep coming back. 3pm Café is neither cheap nor is it very plentiful.

Nice clean boba place next to UNLV. Went in and got a passionfruit tea with no boba and tasted just fine. I also like how this place has free wifi so I can get some homework done. The place is typically slow with only a few tables occupied however when I was leaving a big group came in and they were kind of loud. Can’t really say much for their other drinks or food so I guess this is just a typical boba place. Prices were a little high.

It’s ikea-​chic. Walls are dark like a cave, but there’s just enough natural light. This was originally going to be a Tea Time Café, but the deal must have fallen through and that’s a shame. This is no Tea Time.
Although everyone was nice they were not knowledgeable about their drinks. Or not very good at explaining the difference between similarly named ones. My lover and I stuck with old reliables: taro milk tea with boba and a black tea. After choking down powder on my first sip I shook and stirred my taro milk tea for a good two minutes to get it were it should have been. At least the boba was good, but looking at reviews that doesn’t always seem to be the case. The black tea was WAY TOO SWEET. I’ve heard that they make things too sweet, but this was bad. It was like drinking syrup.
I usually will look past a lower health grade if the restaurant is good. But for a C, this place has a long way to go.

It is difficult for me to give this café a star because it was good when it first opened few months ago. It is just getting worse and worse, super slow service… worse food, how can i say… it is just as bad as tea station but at least tea station wont ley us wait 40 mins (still waiting actually) for 2 drinks to go. 40 mins i could have been to jugoo have some super nice dinner.
Unilocal does need to provide a negative star system to show how bad a restaurant can b. a star is still too good. I don’t know the staff is not rude but just damn slow and food quality is… omg…
Again the only 1 star is for the nice lady making boba. She is polite but just slow. Other things… no good.

You are a Boba place. You should have Boba.
Two days in a row I have been here and been told that there is no more Boba. This time, it was at 5:30 pm, well before the business closes for the evening (1 am). The milk tea is okay, but not worth driving and spending my hard-​earned cash to come here, only to be told that there is no Boba YET AGAIN.
My fiancé’s milk tea tasted entirely different than it did the day before. It was disgustingly sweet and watery. I strongly dislike inconsistency, so this was a big downer for me. I also had the pleasure of witnessing the girls making my drink discussing how they «really didn’t know how I make a Thai tea». Really??? I guess that’s why it took over twenty minutes for them to figure out how to do it, even though our drinks were the only ones they were making at the time. Maybe if there was a long line of orders I would be more understanding… but instead, I was steamed. I wanted to hop behind the counter and make my own drink. It would have been quicker.
The tea that was used in my drink was sitting out in a big, warm, frothy vat. Yummy. The evaporated milk came from an already-​opened can that looked all crusty on the sides. Worse yet, they didn’t put any ice in the cup, so I was left with the unobscured sight of odd orange floaties drifting around in my tea. Ick. I threw my drink away. Between the warm temperature, oddly frothy texture, and random mystery floaters, I knew it wouldn’t go down the hatch without a fight from a very unwilling stomach. (SEE NASTY PHOTO)
Save your money. It’s not worth it. Go to a real Boba place… You know, where they sell Boba. This place is vile.

I stopped by here with some friends, after having lunch at the Pita Pit next door. They opened at 1pm that Saturday apparently due to maintenance earlier that day. We walked in at around 1:15pm and was told that their boba wouldn’t be ready for another 15 minutes. Not a big deal, but not good considering that boba is probably the main thing people want in their drinks. Instead of waiting, I decided to try their lychee instead.
I ended up getting a Mango Green Tea with Lychee. We were the only ones in there, so the drink was made quickly. When I got the drink, though, I found two strands of hair floating at the bottom near the lychee. How does that even happen? I told the server (who didn’t even apologize BTW), and she quickly tossed it and re-​made the drink. Already grossed out, I analyzed the new drink and noticed a few black specs floating around the bottom. It might have been from the tea, or it might have not. I took a few sips anyway, and it tasted decent. I eventually tossed the drink though, because I couldn’t get over the stuff floating around.
First time I’ve ever had hair in a drink. With this being my first time there, I don’t plan on going back. It’s too bad because it’s in a great location right across campus.
UPDATE:
=======
SNHD recently rated this place a Grade C, with 40 demerits (ONE demerit away from being closed immediately). Now, this should tell you something about the place.
Check for yourself:

I’ve been trying to find a decent boba café conducive for studying and lounging while trying to get things done. Enter 3pm café.
Located in an inconspicuous plaza right across from UNLV, I thought this would be a study haven for students. I came here on a Saturday afternoon expecting to fight over an available table to whip out my laptop to surf on their free Wi-​Fi and get my nerd on. I walked in and the place was empty. «Sweet!» I thought. I was greeted by a friendly server and placed my order: honey green tea with boba ($ 3.75) and minced pork over rice ($ 7.25).
The service was friendly and attentive so that’s always a plus. Nothing to write home about, though. I really like the laid-​back atmosphere of the place and the fact that I can camp here for a few hours rage-​studying without being given a dirty look.
My tea came out in a cute mason jar fairly quickly. It tasted good, with the right amount of sweetness from the honey. The boba pearls had a decent amount of bite to them and I do enjoy a good boba chewing session.
The minced pork dish was surprisingly good. It reminded me of the same dish my mom made back in the day. There was a good amount of rice (about 2 cups worth) and the pork was tender and flavorful. There was half a hard-​boiled egg so I was excited about that (I LOVE anything egg). Two things, I didn’t like, were that it was a tad bit salty. At first bite, it was good. Each subsequent bite became saltier than the last, but not to the point where I would douse the food with water to dilute the saltiness. The second thing I didn’t like about this dish was that it was a little too pricey but I’d still order it again. just because it’s decent food and I’m usually hungry and will eat anything I can get my grubby hands onto.

I was looking for a place that was open late, had free WiFi, and wouldn’t be too noisy.
This was a perfect spot.
My server was super friendly and very attentive. I stayed there for two hours and didn’t feel like they were wanting to kick me out.
People have mentioned the food being overpriced. Nothing on the menu is more than $ 8.00 and while the portions aren’t huge they aren’t tiny either.
Downsides are the service was a little on the slow side so if you are in a rush this might not be the best choice and the food choices are minimal. And boo that the 10% discount is only for UNLV students. I go to NSC and UNLV honors our id just like their own.
Still will definitely come here when I am at UNLV.

Went here last week since Lied Library closed early due to spring break. I decided to be adventurous and try the peppermint green tea with boba. And I did not like it at all. I honestly expected something like Starbucks green tea beverages, but it was nothing like it. So there I was sitting un-​happy and my server (I think her name was Ariel) asked how I liked the drink. I said it wasn’t what I expect so she insisted on giving me another drink. So I just played it safe this time around and asked for a milk tea with boba. Nicely done, but I agree with Misti the boba is nothing fancy. They noticed I was studying and they offered to lower the music for me and I said it was fine. I too stayed for a lengthy time and was offered water– what a nice gesture! Definitely great service here, but the drinks could use some improvement.

Atmosphere:
Went in with a couple of my girls and it had nice wide windows and the sunlight was streaming in on two sides of the room. The walls were a charcoal color, chic white lighting hanging from the ceiling, and comfortable square seats with matching tables. Complete with the cutest salt and pepper shakers. The menu was straightforward listing things such as different types of milk tea, smoothies, teas, apps, entrees and additional toppings. Free wi-​fi as well? Overall a ⁴⁄₅
Food &Milk Tea:
1. Coconut Milk Tea, Thai Milk Tea & Milk Tea: Served in large square glass jars. It was a pretty good amount of milk tea and even more boba pearls lining the bottom. I was so excited when it came out because it was so pretty and it certainly didn’t disappoint in terms of quantity. QUALITY however can be approved on. My drink, the coconut, lost much of the coconut flavor because of so much ice, or perhaps they don’t use enough flavoring? It tastes like powder mix, but I’m not a boba expert. What I do know is that I’ve been to many places with better coconut taste. The boba pearls itself was a little more on the chewier side, which I liked. One of my friends though said the inside wasn’t fully cooked and was too hard.
2. Popcorn Chicken (appetizer): Now this time it’s opposite of the milk tea. Not much quantity, but makes up for it in quality. Good salty flavor, packs a whole lot of flavor and is the right amount of crispy. However, such a tiny portion for amount paid.
3. 3pm Fusion Fries: Really liked these, but again overpriced. They kind of reminded me of Fukuburger’s Jazz fries with the Japanese mayo, brown savory gravy sauce and furikake sprinkles. Still not worth it to pay over $ 3 for this and I was charged over $ 6.
Overall a ³⁄₅.
Service:
The guy at the counter was very helpful, explaining the menu to us and answering our questions. He was polite and friendly. Let us know that we could use our Rebelcards for 10% off which was great! He served us our food and drinks (3 milk teas) within minutes of each other, aaand cleared our plates after we were finished and asked us how everything was. Overall a big fat ⁴⁄₅.
To me, the most important thing about the restaurant business is the food and cleanliness. Our main goal was to get boba and I left full and satisfied, what with the boba outlasting the milk tea. I’d give this place another try, but honestly? The milk tea flavoring needs a make-​over.

Vegas definitely needs more of this: comfortable cafes with free WiFi and a generous camping policy! I was able to meet with a couple of people and complete work over the course of 3 hours, and I didn’t receive the evil eye once!
I had no problem with service. In fact, the server repeatedly checked in on me and even offered water. I ordered an unsweetened green tea with boba. The tea quality was as expected, but the boba were a bit below average– a bit smaller and without any distinct flavor. I also ordered the popcorn chicken for a snack, and when it came out, the appearance was not promising. However, it tasted pretty darn delicious.
Overall, as a place for lunch or dinner, perhaps not so much, but if you’ need a post near UNLV to post up for some meetings, remote working and refreshment, they do the job very nicely.

I consider myself a Boba Milk Tea expert.
I know A LOT of spots including the (not so) secret 2 for 1 boba milk/​thai tea spot in China Town. I live right by UNLV though and driving to China Town costs as much as one regularly priced boba drink so I was UBER excited when I saw a spot that is a 3 minute walk from my apartment. I don’t care about service (it’s just a drink that i’m after), I do care about price (Phở Tahn Huong raised their price to $ 4.50 for a boba drink??? outrageous), and I do care about drink quality.
I had the boba milk tea THREE times (twice green, once black). Each time it was bland and watered down. Can I get some more syrup added or what? Perhaps I should try a different flavor, but my theory is that if you eff up the basics, how can you do the advanced?
I sound crazy, huh. Who is an elitist about boba? bwaha.
Anyways, my conclusion is that I will be back. Why? Cuz I have an addiction and only because it is close to where I live. Plus, I started my stamp card (i think it’s buy 7 get one free? not positive) If it was in China Town, it would get no love from me.

The chicken was delicious. But for an $ 8 entrée, I expect more than chicken cubes and sticky rice. Not a lot more but throw in a vegetable for cryin out loud.
More importantly, the service was weak. I asked for an explanation of some of the beverages — and was told they were powdered. Now that’s how to get me to give you my money… Really? They’re powdered? Yummm. The grandmother, who clearly is passionate about her recipes, needs to whip those slack jawed, goth kids into shape, yell at them about their lack of a work ethic and fill them in on a few things — first of which is pride in her food, how is it prepared, what is it… why should I care! I want to know… I’m interested, don’t look at me when I ask these questions like I’ve grown horns! Then third… bus your damned tables! If you don’t clean the tables, you can’t seat new guests… Get busy! Votive candles on the tables don’t make money… they’re just a fire hazard. Or put them out in the afternoon when the sun is setting so they don’t just look stupid.
If a single guest comes in to eat lunch — and you only have 4 tops, don’t keep asking them if they’re sure they don’t want to take their lunch to go… You designed the damned restaurant with only 4 tops and no counter space, it’s not my problem. Get over it. And finally: More than 1 person should be able to handle transactions… but the cash register is in the wrong place. Honestly, it’s a disaster. If anybody there had any previous experience in the restaurant business, they should be ashamed.
I love Mom n Pops… but I hate rookie places whose only reason to be in business appears to be pissing off people who want to give them their hard earned money.
But again, in their defense, I will repeat, that was some delicious chicken… and despite the fact that they say it isn’t spicy, it was and it was good… just don’t waste your time getting it with rice — get two orders of the appetizer.
To go. err.

Hate to be the one that gives a new business a bad review… but I feel its necessary to share my experience.
So 3PM café is a new Taiwanese tea house furnished heavily by Ikea items with snacks and minimal entrees. Teas are based off either black or green and then flavored accordingly and come in a fairly sized glass jar. Toppings include the usual such as boba and jelly, although at the moment they do not have jelly in stock. Everything is under $ 10 and you get a 10% discount with your UNLV ID. There is also free wifi, and I believe they’re opened until 1AM?
Now the bad… The service definitely need works. Walking in my group went up to the registers to place an order, but was told to go to the table to sit down and get our orders taken, although other people weren’t turn down at the counter when ordering. Service was really awkward, and took multiple awkward looks with the wait staff to get our orders placed. Two egg and spam instant noodles ($ 4.95) and a minced pork ($ 7.25) over rice took about 25 minutes to come out. Had to ask for silverware, kind of hard to eat instant noodles with a soup spoon haha. Food… needs to be revised. The two slices of spam were not even cut straight and the mince pork over rice. well… was probably 90% rice and 10% minced pork, a bit pricey at $ 7.25. A third spam and egg instant noodle also came out for my friend who came late and never ordered one.
Drinks came out at the same time even though they were ordered 10 minutes apart and came with the thick straws without plastic wrap, would not be a huge issue if it wasn’t for two of the workers coughing in their hands, at least cough in your elbow. The guy making the drinks was also drinking the leftover from the drink mixer… I don’t mind if you want the leftovers… but at least pour it into a cup?
Overall organization is definitely needed for improvement, a POS system, and… sorry to say, but a review on the districts health card movie.
**EDIT**
BUMPED up from 2 stars to 3 because:
I was contacted by someone who works there and they claim to of washed their hands after they coughed and only drink the leftovers to check on the taste, I didn’t see, but its best to give them the benefit of the doubt.

We stopped by for lunch on a Saturday. Nice looking place and friendly staff. A good selection of snacks, entrees and drinks befitting a teahouse. We ordered some milk teas, the minced pork bowl and the beef spaghetti.
The milk teas were good. We had the green milk tea and the coffee milk tea. The green milk tea was okay. The coffee milk tea was a bit sweet for my taste.
Although not exorbitant, $ 7 for the minced pork bowl felt a bit too much for what arrived at the table. It tasted fairly good, but it was basically just a bowl of rice with some chopped up pork in it. Suggestion: toss a nominal fried egg on top (provide some furikake or shredded dried pork sung) and I’d be a happy camper. The beef spaghetti felt more worth its price. Definitely tasty.
Overall, definitely a nice place to grab a drink and bite, but with plenty of places all around with somewhat similar fare and some with lower prices I’m not sure we’ll be back.

Finally this place has opened! A dark little café next to the new Pita Pit and Café Rio, 3pm Café offers boba drinks, teas, smoothies and Taiwanese snacks and entrees. The tables are unique with corner-​shaped chairs. Wifi is free: the phone number! There are lots of outlets so you can hang out and study. The hours are good, early to late and great for the nearby student.
I stopped in for lunch today and experienced great service. I ordered one tea-​flavored egg ($ 1.50, 3 are $ 3.25), a fried tofu appetizer, and an off-​the-​menu avocado boba smoothie. The smoothie came first in a huge mason jar — I ordered the regular but it almost appeared like mine was large! It is more sweet tasting than avocado tasting, but still good. Next time I should go for almond milk tea because that is another favorite of mine.
The tea flavored egg came next. I peeled it (I am terrible at hard boiled egg peeling but this was at least cracked for me in the kitchen). Unraveling the shell bits was an almost tie-​dyed egg, a beautiful contrast of brown shades. It was a bit salty, and the yolk over hard (I am partial to eggs without grey-​shrouded yolks) but it was a new experience nonetheless and not bad.
Lastly, the tofu appetizer. Mini fried and marinated tofu squares with salt and pepper sprinkled on top. Tasty and simple. With the drink, definitely filling. The server graciously put my mason jar smoothie into a to go cup. I will definitely come back again. There are also daily specials and this week a 10% off discount with RebelCard.

UNLV Students should rejoice.
There’s a new late night spot to hang out in that isn’t the Lied Library. It’s equipped with free wi-​fi, plenty of power outlets, and an arsenal caffeinated drinks to keep you jolted.
3pm Café offers a wide variety of teas ranging from fruit and milk teas, along with an assortment of smoothies and non-​caffeinated beverages. You can come here hungry too, since they offer apps and entrees. Most of the menu consists of dishes originating from Taiwan, with some popular Japanese fare like chicken katsu bento boxes and katsu curry. After a brief chat with the staff, they seemed to take most pride in their homemade Taiwanese dishes, so it would probably be best to give those a try.
Here’s what I tried on my first visit:
–Minced Pork Over Rice — A simple, yet very comforting Taiwanese dish.
–Iced Coffee Milk Tea w/​Boba — I admit that I’m not much of a boba drinker, but I enjoyed this. It was a refreshing beverage that catered to my coffee addiction.
–Popcorn Chicken — I was brought out a sample of this dish. It was a bit salty, but in a satisfying way. It was very tender and flavorful. I wouldn’t mind getting this over rice.
Walking in, you get some top-​notch service, with clarification on menu items if you’re unsure of what to get. The staff never hesitated to make sure I was happy with my meal. I even had a sweet little old lady come out to check if I liked the food. Apparently, she was the mind that went behind the delicious recipes on the menu.
I could definitely see myself regularly dropping by this spot for a quick lunch or for a much-​needed study session.
Note: There is a 10% discount with student ID, plus rotating daily specials. Ask the staff for the wi-​fi password if you need to bust out the laptop.