The Bubble House

This place went downhill. Although the food was good and the staff was friendly, the place wasn’t maintained at all. It was as if the owner didn’t care…

«I’m sorry, we’re all out of that flavor. Can I get you something else?»
«I’m sorry, we’re all out of that flavor. Can I get you something else?»
«I’m sorry, we’re all out of that flavor. Can I get you something else?»
«I’m sorry…»

this rating is purely for the tea drinks. although i will say the food here doesn’t look very appetizing.
i think the milk tea and fruit tea blends they have here are absolutely terrible. i believe they call them latte and non-​latte tea drinks, which is already an insult to the existence of milk tea itself. the boba (aka pearls, tapioca, bubbles. whatever you call it) is almost always too hard so i always ask for mixed fruit jelly substitute instead. trust me, that’s a much better option. the milk tea when served warm is pretty decent. but the fruit tea blends are SO sweet i feel like i’m just drinking sugar water. maybe a little less on the sweetened fruit concentrate and a little more on the tea?
however, as horrible as the milk/​fruit teas are, the actual brewed teas are wonderful. my favorite would have to be either jasmine or pu er tea. it comes in a brewed pot, and tastes like heaven — especially on a cold winter day. i’m giving this place two stars solely because their brewed teas serve as semi-​redemption. and their service has been pretty good the few times i’ve dared to venture in here. if you want decent boba milk tea, however, try chinatown instead.

The negative reviews don’t surprise me. There’s always one problem or another with the The Bubble House, and most of the issues can be boiled down to poor customer service. Granted, I’m pretty patient, and if I’m in the area in need of some serious boba, I’ll stick it out. I mean, their Thai Tea doesn’t flat out suck, after all. But, as the two star rating says, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»
To its credit, the interior is quite cool. I sort of want to live there.

NEVER GO HERE!!! EVER!
So I’ve been to Bubble House a couple times, and the service has never been all that great but the last time I went there it was the honest to god WORST dining experience of my life.
So my friends and I walked in only to be greeted by a waitress who barked «WHO WAS FIRST?» to the line of people we were in. After we were seated our waitress served us our drinks and then promptly forgot about us. Once she remembered our existence a while later she took down our order, barely. I say barely because she came back two minutes later to ask us all what we ordered again because she forgot.
After 25 minutes she came back to tell my friend that they didn’t have the side she ordered. She then suggested my friend order a salad but did not offer a menu. My friend ordered a salad with dressing on the side.
Ten minutes later she came back with our food. My friend’s salad was missing and my «medium» burger was burnt to a crisp. I sent the burger back, seeing as I had specifically asked for it to be cooked medium, and honestly I’m not that picky but it resembled more of a hockey puck than a burger it was so burnt.
It took them 15 minutes to bring out my friend’s salad (which ended up having dressing on it) and 30 minutes to bring out my new burger, which was also burnt.
When I asked to speak to the manager I was met with rolled eyes and a sigh. When the manager got to our table, he muttered that he would take something off the bill. No apologies. No excuses. Just a mumble that he would take something off.
I ended up getting the burger for free and getting it to go since my friends had finished their meals 30 minutes before I even got my food.
It was SO frustrating. Oh, and they have mice!
WORST.

Oh dear, Bubble House, why such a disappointment?
In the past, I’ve gotten pretty acceptable food there.
But this time it was primarily gross. Okay, our entrée was gross. Wasabi potatoes were my first, and I’ve been daydreaming about them all day. Also, desserts are mediocre scrumptious, but at 7 dollars a pop? Meh.
Weird misunderstanding happened with a coupon, too.
OH YEAH: BUBBLE HOUSE HAS THIS PROBLEM WHERE THEY NEVER HAVE ANYTHING ON THE MENU. Whatever you have your heart set on, forget it. Ask immediately what they’re out of, the moment you sit down. Every single time I go here they’re out of what I decided to order. And I’m indecisive, so this is especially frustrating.
The artwork is bangin’.

DOWNGRADE.
Went to Bubble House tonight with some friends because they had a coupon. The bubbles were stale (like they were the other week, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt that time), the food was blah, the server was blah, and they didn’t have about half the menu in stock.
The food we did order was cheap. I shared the Red Coconut Curry with shrimp with a friend and there were three shrimp. Three. In a large bowl with tons of rice and soggy lettuce swimming in the curry. Ew. Why wouldn’t the rice come on the side?
There was a dispute about the validity of the coupon and the waitress told us it wasn’t valid, but it was supposed to be valid for a year from the purchase date, etc. Annoying.

Is this a joke?
Only pro is that its nicely decorated and good for groups. Everything else is poor:
–Slow service: It took 45 minutes for a crab sandwich and a burger to come out. Oh wait, that’s because they didn’t have any GAS when we came in. What in the world?
–Overpriced food: $ 9 for a crabcake sandwich that was medicore. Doesn’t come with anything extra. Anything extra requires more dollars. No thanks.
No offense… but this seems like a typical UPenn area restaurant: overpriced, mediocre food, and apathetic service. If you have the money and the time, by all means.

I was here with my mom and we ate fairly well, but it wasn’t stellar.
Bubble House is an overpriced restaurant/​tea house that’s good for a bite of lunch if you’re willing to overpay for your meal. You know your food will be edible, but be prepared to feel disappointed.
I ordered the crab cake sandwich (³⁄₅ stars) and found that the crabmeat wasn’t very fresh, and the mixture that they used to form the patties really overpowered any potential crab flavor. The sweat potato fries (⁵⁄₅) on the side were spectacular. I didn’t really care for the sauce they came with, I’m more of a honey person for my sweet potato fries, and the one they give you is a little to tangy. My bubble tea (can’t have bubble house without bubble tea!) was good, but overpriced and a little watered down (⁴⁄₅) — I had a green tea latte.

Thai tea was okay. Pomegranate flavor was truly disgusting. And sadly, the most important of all… the «plain black» (i.e. classic milk tea) was probably the worst I’ve ever tasted. This is saying a lot– it was bland and watery. Some places mask the fact that their tea itself sucks by at least adding a ton of sugar and cream, and Bubble House didn’t even bother with that.
For all of the above, the tapioca itself wasn’t nearly as soft and chewy as it should have been, and the insides were beginning to harden. Actually, some of it was clumped at the bottom of the drink and refused to go up the straw. This should not happen– just means that the bubbles aren’t fresh.
The flavors are all made from powders (kept neatly in a drawer) rather than real ingredients, so you can’t expect perfection anyway– though for $ 3.50 per cup, I think I should expect a bit better.
In general: cute place with cute outdoor seating and a fantastic location… but gawd the bubble tea sucks.

I went to Bubble House on a day when my burger craving was like a tree root bursting out of a sidewalk. It had been weeks since I’d had a burger, and I was at my breaking point. When this happens, I often settle. And I don’t like settling… especially when it comes to meat.
The burger at Bubble House is obviously a hand-​shaped patty that they top with melted Gouda (yes!), Asian jalapeño sauce, lettuce and tomato, all snuggled by two slices of focaccia. It’s messy, but if the burger’s not messy, then it’s likely not very good (am I right?). The salad was doused with a light, tasty dressing.
My pearl tea was also quite nice. (I always get taro root.)
Anyway, that missing star is due to something most of the other reviewers mentioned: the service. While our waiter was really friendly and attentive, it was as awkward as… I don’t know, something really awkward when we arrived and waited to be seated. About four employees looked at us and carried on as if we weren’t there at all. My message to you: be proactive! Don’t seat yourself, but make sure some sort of Bubble House employee knows you exist and notifies a server of customer life.

Y I K E S! oh, it’s a shame because the place is cute, and it’s so convenient for me to get there, but i don’t think i’ll be back; the customer service was just awful! the place barely had any customers, but when my friend and i walked in we were completely ignored and we had to ask to be seated.
our waitress was actually really nice, but after she served us our food, she completely disappeared! we figured she must have gone on break or maybe asked another staff member to check on our table, so we ate what we could of our food. …forty-​five minutes, an hour, and an hour and a half… she never came back! finally we asked a group of employees huddled at the bubble tea bar for our check and yikes, the nasty looks we received!
the bill was only around twelve dollars, so i gave the waiter a twenty. when i answered, «yes,» to his «do you need change?» he sighed and rolled his eyes. …sheesh sir! i’m not leaving an eight-​dollar tip for spotty service and really mediocre food! he promptly went to the cash register, got our change, but then walked over to his friends and carried on a conversation. we waited for another ten to fifteen minutes until he brought back the change, and he THREW the check/​change holder (is that they’re even called?!) on the table and then walked away. heavens to betsy, who knew that two asian girls drinking tea & juice, splitting a sandwich, and then wanting to PAY FOR IT would be so infuriating?!
so coins were all over the table and of course he gave me all ones… i thought for a split second about not leaving a tip, but then i realised that’d be pretty low, so we left two dollars. as we were leaving he shouted, «yeah, thanks, have a nice day,» but i’m sure he didn’t mean this sincerely.
…lastly, i wasn’t a big fan of their food. they marinated their tofu well, but all the veggies were brown and the lettuce tasted like it was out of a bag, not so fresh. their pearls were awful too, way too firm; i tried the non-​latte pomegranate pearl drink, and the juice was so horrible, it tasted artificially sweetened and it wasn’t even chilled. my friend didn’t like her banana latte pearl tea either and she really lost her appetite after seeing the cloudy crusty rim of her glass.
my friend (who hasn’t lived in america for very long) was appalled by the service and food quality, but i assured her that most places aren’t nearly as bad. i doubt i will ever return to the bubble house, and i really should have listened to my other friends who’ve had similarly bad experiences. those who insist on eating here, good luck! i hope you have a better (and a little friendlier!) time than we did!

I knew the original four owners (plus fifth silent owner), so there is some bias to the history as compared to the current store.
The bubble tea is acceptable, but a majority of the flavors are powder, or extract, as opposed to actual fruit. The tea selection is light, but varied. The tea pots certainly are a good touch for the hot teas. Boba varies day-​to-​day, but generally acceptable, if a little bit overcooked.
Seating and spacing is relatively airy for the location, and the place expanded downstairs after a short renovation at the store’s inception and now also branched into the former card shop’s space to the East. Original entry point on the South is not handicapped accessible, but I believe they put in another door.
Food is lackluster. Best selection — the sweet potato fries. The Vietnamese hoagie was uninspiring (you can get better in Chinatown for half the price). Other food selections were either bland or tasted overly strong of one sauce or ingredient. Worst were the side of noodles. It was fairly plain.
Take-​out counter is usually stocked with random flyers and is fairly swift. Cost is normal for the area, between $ 11 – 14 for a meal and a drink, per person.
I’ve never seen alcohol served here, so I’m not sure why people indicate they have a full bar, but then again, this place has changed quite a bit.

I wish I could rate the food separate from the tea, because the bubble tea is AMAZING. The food and service however, leave a bit to be desired.
The bubble tea is so good because the pearls are perfectly cooked, not too hard or too gooey. And the flavors are awesome. I love almond and taro. Their menu of hot tea is fantastic too, they have some incredible herbal teas.
The food always lets me down. The sweet potato fries are good but that’s pretty much it. The dumplings fall apart, the hoagies are weird, noodles are plain. Don’t have dinner here, go next door to the White Dog. This place is best for tea and the bar/​dj parties. If you’re into such things.

If you asked me about Bubble House in person, I’d shrug my shoulders and go «eh.»
It’s not very good, but its not bad enough to talk down about. The prices are a little bit unjustifiably high and the portions are a little smaller than I would’ve hoped.
That being said, I do like the bubble tea. I get it with half bubble because otherwise I risk choking myself on them. I don’t like to chew my casual drinks for too long.
My recommendations are the Chicken Red Curry and the Thai flavor bubble tea.
OH and WARNING: DO NOT GET RED CURRY TAKEOUT FROM HERE! Their takeout boxes are not designed to hold anything even remotely soupy and you’ll get sauce all over the place. In fact, I’ve got to bring this review to two stars, as their undisciplined takeout containers made a mess in the backseat of my car.

Based on some of the reviews I was really fearing my first attempt at dining at Bubble House. But my dining companion wanted to give it a shot so I decided to toughen it out. And to my surprise I found the house to be pretty decent.
I can understand why traditionalists hate it because it’s anything but traditional. If you want to grab a standard bubble tea and a Vietnamese hoagie go directly to places like O and Zen Tea House. But if your looking for chewy tapioca goodness with some coffeehouse innovations you might want to give Bubble House a try. While I’d be stumped by these options at most other places, I found choices like chocolate latte and orange creamsicle to be pretty cool. I tried the mix of pineapple and lychee bubbles and found them to be a gross mistake though. don’t do it!
While reading these reviews another thing I was fearing was the food. But I kept it simple and got some great stuff. The calamari was super huge and good to the last bite. The veggie spring rolls were huge, but not he best. The sweet potato fries were incredible! The service was also pretty dead on. So even if it’s not traditional you’re still going to find enough reasons to give Bubble House a try every once in a blue moon.

First and most obvious is the amazing menu of teas — yes there is a menu just for tea at this place! We all had something different and were all pleased.
Our lunches were so tasty that we nearly licked our plates cleaned — again we all had something different.
If I have one complaint it’s that the service was a bit too laid back for me. They didn’t bring us spoons to stir sugar into our teas and they only showed up to take our orders and bring us food.
That aside, I’d go back and next time I’m going to get lots of tea to bring home (yes they sell it retail too).

As an event venue, Bubble House has never been bad, and only has gotten better over time, especially after a renovation effort in the last few years gave the place a facelift. It’s not overly spacious, but not small either. Even with multiple levels they manage to stay cozy.
For bubble tea (they ARE called Bubble House), I’m told to go to Chinatown for better places. I’m not into bubble tea, so I don’t know where off the top of my head. I’d grab a cocktail maybe, or shots? You can always pre-​game at New Deck, which would probably be cost-​effective.
For food, you can enjoy expensive and blah-​tasting appetizers and entrees — their Vietnamese hoagie ($ 6) is vomit-​inducing and the worst I’ve had in my life. Everything else food-​wise that I’ve had (cripsy egg rolls, calamari rings, spicy tuna roll, egg noodles) has been okay. On the bright side, their desserts are pretty tasty — the cakes at least are made in-​house, I’m told. Last I was here, a group of us destroyed three cakes — when the waiter brought out a wrong cake slice, he decided to give it to us for free. How’s that for service?

Honestly, I only had the boba milk tea here. But the boba tasted a day old and the mixture was all off. For a place that calls itself the Bubble House, it has really bad bubble tea (and it’s called boba East Coasters!), and I’m hesitant to ever try its food. If I ever do, and miraculously discover it’s tasty I’ll report back.
I came back and tried their «Vietnamese hoagie.» This place is still terrible. I don’t know why people eat here, honestly.

Came here for lunch and left feeling pleased and satisfied. I ordered the vegetarian hoagie with sweet potato fries. The toasted sandwich was stuffed with sweet soy sauce marinated tofu, grilled vegetables, and melted gruyère. The fries were slightly overfried so they were very crispy and not at all soggy like sweet potato fries tend to be. They were served with a tart sweet & sour sauce. My friend’s crab cake was served on a bed of mixed vegetables and jasmine rice. Not bad.
The teas are best served hot & in a pot. My friend’s bubble green tea latte was disappointing — too watery, lacking cream & froth, and the tapioca wasn’t cooked all the way through. My hot honey bush tea, on the other hand, was hot and comforting on a windy day.
Service is a little rushed but that’s probably due to the place being super crowded at lunchtime. The décor is cute — wooden benches, booths, and lots of windows. Overall, I think that it’s probably a good place to eat around the Penn campus, but nothing makes it stand out.