Bobo Drinks

Eh. It seemed like one drink took an awfully long time to make. I ordered a caramel crunch something-​or-​other and there was nothing crunchy about it. The server was nice enough, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back.

Whoever the cashier girl is with the bleached hair and braces is does not understand the concept of customer service. Step one: Stop playing on your phone and greet customers when they come in. Step two: don’t lie and say that the smoothies are made with real fruit when you know for a fact that they aren’t. If you aren’t sure, go ask a coworker who knows instead of blatantly lying to the customer. I wouldn’t have ordered this syrupy, overly-​sweetened drink otherwise. Step three: work on your customer service skills so that when you graduate high school there will be a job you can actually keep.

This place is mediocre. I got the iced lemon green tea with boba. I requested they make the drink not too sweet, but my drink tasted watered down. Their iced green tea is a bit weaker than I’d prefer, which is probably why the drink tastes diluted. The boba was sweet and soft, making the drink overall tolerable.
Their regular sized drinks are larger than most places. I’d say their regular is about the same as other places’ large. I think my drink was about $ 4
The girl who helped me was friendly.
Overall, I probably won’t come back unless someone else wanted to.

Review for the popcorn chicken and shaken beef. Surprisingly, the shaken beef with rice had a great flavor considering this place focuses on boba drinks… the popcorn chicken was ‘eh’…lots of batter and would not order again… I’ve had popcorn chicken from Quickly, T4, and other tea places and unfortunately, this was not good.
Service friendly but for some reason it takes people forever order. Nice place if you’re into boba, asian smoothies/​teas which i am not.

Love this place it’s so cute inside and the girls that work there are so nice. The beignets are so good!

Pretty good boba! They have «regular» and «giant» sizes here, haha. I didn’t see an option for «small.» The Thai milk tea was really good, tasted just like it does if you’d get it at a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant. Perfectly sweet. If they used crushed ice, it would be even better :)

Came back to try them again. Customer service was great. Ordered a strawberry banana smoothie and it was loaded with whip cream. Score!!! For my kid who loves anything whipped and it was definitely a lot of whipped cream compared to the first time i came. The pineapple paradise was supposed to have jackfruit but i didn’t get any. Jasmine tea was the base with tidbits of pineapple and Basil seed and garnish with a wedge of orange and a slice of strawberry. It was ok, i may or may not order it again. Popcorn chicken had basil and jalapenos but was very bland and small chunks. The calamari was also under seasoned. The sweet chili sauce helps but i find fried snacks are better at other boba places. Beignets were the bomb! Freshly made and still warm. Delish… i would love to dip those in a custard or chocolate sauce too. Go for the beignets!!!

The guy that works on Sundays is so clueless. I can’t stand the loud music. It’s still too damn loud. Rap, hard core, lots of swearing. I don’t know whether everyone likes it, but clearly the middle aged lady in the back who cooks the food has no problem.
They do have good popcorn chicken, I must say. I ordered it to go, but the airhead cashier did not bother to pack anything but the food in the bag. No fork, no napkin, no skewers.

SERVICE
I was skeptical to try this place because I had been to the location in San Jose (which is now closed) and wasn’t impressed. Service is great here. Really friendly, and if you aren’t pleased with something or want to substitute and ingredient they’ll be willing to help you out.
FOOD
— Popcorn chicken: I wouldn’t order this again. There was too much breading and I like my popcorn chicken light on the breading but with a lot of seasoning. The chunks of chicken weren’t big enough and it tasted mostly like dough. They garnish with basil leaves and jalapenos but it’s not enough to flavour the chicken, even with the sauce they provide you.
— Sampler: I ordered this at the SJ location and was severely disappointed because I only received 1 piece of popcorn chicken– ONE! However this time around they forgot it completely! So I pointed it out to her and she didn’t even realize it was part of the sampler so she took it back to the kitchen and we received a small portion of chicken. I took a picture so you can see how small a portion we’re talking about here. This would’ve been more disappointing if it weren’t for the fact that the chicken pieces were small and doughy. On the plus side, I asked to substitute lobster balls for more fish/​shrimp balls and they did. Needless to say, this was basically the same experience as the one I had in SJ.
DRINKS
— Honey lemon green tea w/​basil seeds: The saving grace of this place might be it’s drinks. My drink tasted more like a honey green tea because I couldn’t taste the lemon at all. But it was still tasty and I enjoyed it. Next time I’ll just ask to add a lemon wedge if possible.
— Green apple green tea w/​lychee jelly: My friend ordered this and she liked it. She said you could taste the green tea and that the green apple flavour was nice.
AM I COMING BACK?
If I’m in the area and craving a fruity drink I’ll come here. I prefer their fruit drinks to Sharetea because they’re less sugary and taste more like actual tea.
RANDOM TIPS:
They have a bathroom that’s pretty clean. It’s down a dimly lit hallway so if you watch a lot of scary movies, you might feel frightened during the walk.
There’s also a little kid area and there are plenty of seats indoor and outdoor.

Was very surprised one opened here because nothing is really around here. Bobo drinks originally from San Jose was good and I was excited when the one in Berkeley opened. However the one in Berkeley was crap, drinks were all filled with syrup and couldn’t taste any sort of tea. I requested to be remade and it was still trash.
When this one opened I wasn’t sure how it would be but it was better than I expected, definitely way better than San Jose and Berkeley. Been back multiple times already. They’re great owners and just want to make sure people are happy with their drinks.

I tried this place after having dinner at Delight Garden.
I would say this place probably gets most of their customers because their drinks are served in mason jars if you dine in. And of course, anything with mason jars are welcoming and always wanted. But, the actual quality of the tea isn’t that great… I would much rather drive across town to T4 for fresh quality drinks.

Time: 12:37pm/62°F mostly sunny
Purpose: Couple of client meet up in San Leandro and immediate proximity. Also previous chats with Victor G about how Greenhouse Market Place has change from 20yrs ago lead me to curiosity.
Ambiance: Bobo runs around edge of Greenhouse Market. From the outside couple of high table and chairs with eye catching color. Inside is really vibrant with standard lighting pair with multiple matt fluorescent décor and menu panel. Three television (off) at the time and couple of small frame food silhouette holograms. Traditional asian altar for good luck/​health blessings. Mahogany shelf frame with plenty of pottery plants mostly orchids. A three panel privacy folding screen set up to block kitchen area out of view. Hip hop music playing about 75% volume level. When place is slightly pack, they’ll turn the volume down by a notch or so.
Staff: Guy and girl about late 20s to early 30s, girl is preggo. Didn’t want her to be stress out. I try my best to understand menu without her grabbing items to show me. She’s expecting anytime so, I don’t want to be the one being blame for unforeseen problem with her should any arises. Made up my mind and put in order with her. Just then a guy walks out from kitchen area. She mumble in Vietnamese to guy, and he nods happily while I sat and wait. Both extremely friendly no pushing for sales or telling me what to get. Clearly, they know what true meaning of CS in small business is all about.
Cleanliness: Grade A, no complaints very clean. Table top clear of debris may be a rubber band or two from unwrapping of banh mi. No drink drips or sticky residues from desserts.
Eats/​Drinks: Cold cut w/​Vietnamese ham $ 3.75 and pineapple surf smoothie w/​boba $ 4.25. Sando was made warm with slight crunch on baguette exterior. Fixings were very fresh as pickled daikon, sliced cucumber, cilantro and carrot having a snappy crisp. Pork liver pâté was abundance spread evenly not just in middle. Cold cut combo consist of sliced pork, pork sausage, and head cheese. First bite wasn’t just the end tips of baguette. Sando was fill end to end with all ingredients listed. Very pleasing bite after bite can’t ask for more. Washing it down with pineapple smoothie really pairs well with sando. Refreshing drink being cold and sweet with crushed pineapple wedges mixed in. I’m thinking add some vanilla ice cream to it, you’ll have dolewhip.
Main Features: Beignet, beef stew sandwich, boba java.
Products/​Services: Banh mi, beignet, salad, fries, onion rings, calamari, crêpe, toast box, smoothie, fresh fruit juice/​soda, flavored tea, milk tea, boba challenge, CC’s (minimum $ 10), Wi-​Fi, television, hip hop/R&B, outdoor seating, share complex parking. Find them on Twitter and FB.
Punch Lines: Friendly, lively atmosphere, zippy/​efficient, knowledgeable, pleasing flavors, inexpensive, in/​out less than 5 mins, drool-​worthy, imaginable toppings, laid back, well-​prepared, light bites, hip crowd, can’t go wrong, casual and delicious, worth the wait, a twist of traditional favorites, tucked away in Greenhouse Market Place, more than adequate, satisfactory.
Tradeoffs: Boba Challenge is just another way to sell a combo size deal. Even if bought separately, it comes out to $ 18.26 after tax about $ 1.74 shy of the $ 20 you owe if you don’t finish in 20 minutes. I rather not take the challenge, but take my time eating with a saving of $ 1.74 along the way.
Final Thoughts: No doubt very nice couple running the shop. I like the ambiance and set up very youthful and inviting. Have no trouble or anything that would make me not to return again. If I had to say anything its that Boba Challenge again. It’s like they took a page from places with humongous quantity sizes and apply it to their place. Not every average adult will be able to finish it. Now, if a football player or sumo wrestler comes in, they’ll be the one that can handle the challenge.

Found the place on accident at 10÷31÷15 1130am, and was surprised that they didn’t have any boba ready. Soft Opening, I know, I know, but the name of the place should dictate what should be ready at opening… maybe?
We had the simple milk tea with grass jelly, and it was above Quickly, but not as good as ShareTea level (which is in the same plaza, with a 45 min line out the door). Worth it. Will update this when I try their boba.
We also had a very surprising deep beef stew with a warm bread, the one they make their banh mi with. I know they cook this a very long time, because my 1 year old son with 4 teeth could eat the carrots without any issues. Worth it.
Banh Mi grilled pork was good enough. Had better, but would have to drive farther (
or
), so this is worth it.
Deep Fried Tofu, was good enough. Had no flavoring, except for the dish of soy sauce, but that was enough for me.
Beef Pasta. Not worth it to me. Others might like the penne pasta and sliced beef, celery and green peppers, but I would rather have chow mein style chinese noodles, softer beef and went the tomato and red pepper.
Seats 5 tables of 4, and plays music videos on the tv, and has 1 unisex bathroom with no diaper changing station.
Takes credit cards, but the prices charged did not match what was displayed. I asked «why am I was charged $ 9.50 for a my $ 9 dish», and one of the guys said «we charged tax». I had to patiently tell him «sign above says $ 9, and 10% tax means $ 0.90 more tax for a total of «$ 9.90, and I was charged $ 10.45». Another guy spoke up and sheepishly said, «we have the wrong prices up there». I also saw that they had time to cross out items on the board they were not serving, but no time to update their prices. Be wary.
Will I come back? Yes, I like some of their food, and like the tea enough to come in the afternoon to try the boba one day.

Bobo Drinks is misnamed. there is more food offerings than there is boba/​tea drink offerings.
some items are already crossed off on the menu board. noticed sign outside on window that numbers on food items don’t match numbers on menu board. huh? shouldn’t they just make an adjustment?
drink: jasmine milk tea (3.25, 24 oz?)no ice, no sugar (#58)
–cashier gave me «black tea» probably a freudian slip
tasted faint jasmine, tea scooped from «cooler»
–no premium teas offered, mostly fruit flavors, thai tea, coffee.
drips:
–place empty since sharetea just opened days ago
–only a few tables for sitdown.
–parking difficult in this section of shopping center, (safeway and all the eateries).
–no reason to return except for eats. bahn mi 7ish? yep.

Another boba joint, unwise to open so close to a sharetea in the same plaza. The specialty tea drinks are pretty good and intriguing but the milk tea was not up to standard. Everyone who had the milk tea we brought from here had an upset stomach. They go a little heavy on the ice so be sure to tell them little or no ice. OH! AND THERES A BOBA CHALLENGE! cant recall what you need to do but for $ 20 I believe… if you can eat and drink ALOT, you should be fine hahah

FINALLY a boba place inside the green market plaza!!! I’ve been waiting for so long! And it’s funny cause they’re also opening a Sharetea here too but Bobo opened first! I went a couple days ago and the customer service was good, super friendly, the décor was nice and cute; I really liked the benches. And my jasmine milk tea was yummy, it had a strong tea flavor which I personally like as it’s more refreshing to me.
They had a lot of food on their menu but I didn’t get to try them yet, I think the owners are Vietnamese so they have a lot of Vietnamese style foods and snacks. I’m excited to go back and try their brick toast instead of driving all the way out to Union City at Snowflake. Thumbs up!

Mehhhhh, I was pretty excited when I heard bobo drinks was coming to San Leandro, I’ve been meaning to try it whenever I was in San Jose but never got a chance to. Came here on a Friday around 5:00 and boy was it crowded… Stood in line for about 5 – 10 minutes… Kids kept cutting… Once I got to the front of the line I order a honey lemon black tea… The cashier read my order back to me about two times looked at the menu and said that they didn’t have it… So I ordered a peach green tea. Took them 10 – 15 minutes to make my drink and they got it wrong. Instead of my peach green tea they gave me peach milk tea. I told him he got the order wrong so he made me a new drink and still got it wrong. I will give this place another chance after their grand opening. But T4 will always be my goto boba place in San Leandro
P.S if you do plan on going on a weekday make sure you go before the high school/​middle school gets out.
Note to owner/​manager: turn down the volume of the music just a bit so that your staff can hear peoples orders and not mess up also so we don’t have to yell our orders to them.

I have been waiting for this place to open for a while… finally open and not up to what I expected.
Too many teenagers family, friend, employee behind the counter! Limit to two unless it’s busy… was to much chitchat and playing around. So not good for business! Music is way too loud for the small area and yes you can hear the teenagers behind the counter over the music also. Menu has a lot of blocked out items don’t know the deal on that one cause if your open you should have everything ready. Seating is alright.
So I had ordered the popcorn chicken two of em and they don’t put the spices on like quickly or tapioca express. It’s not crispy but not soggy. Just not what I expected. It was very flavorless I mean no flavor what so ever. I did see another customer order their drinks and looked alright.
I’ll give em some time to get used to being in business and get situated then I will return and hope they will be more prepared. I give em two stars for now but will change it next visit depending on experience! But I am glad we finally have one in the area now just get it together!
Best of Luck BOBA DRINKS! Till next time…

As a fellow Unilocaler mentioned, Bobo Drinks is still in its «soft-​opening» stages and the grand-​opening is set for September 12^th. With that being said, their menu items are currently limited for both snacks and drink options.
Located in the Greenhouse Marketplace in San Leandro, it’s a definite blessing that more boba places are opening on this side of the city (instead of Downtown San Leandro). I say this with boba-​loving bias of course, since I’m local to this area and love the idea of shorter trips to boba shops to get my fix! However, with the noted announcement of two more boba shops opening in the Washington Manor neighborhood (and one being in this shopping center itself), Bobo Drinks does have a few kinks to work out on in order to compete accordingly and meet the needs of their customers.
The overall ambiance of the shop is very bright and colorful & they have TV screens playing music videos, totally down for those kind of vibes. It feels very youthful and with its close proximity to middle/​high schools, I can see the potential for a high volume of foot traffic to be experienced in the future. The spot is small, but there’s a good amount of seats inside the establishment where you can sit with a friend or two and enjoy your drinks/​snacks. There are also a couple tables outside if you’re in the mood to enjoy your drinks outside! Since the spot is pretty small, when it is really busy — it can get pretty cramped when the line starts to form but I mean that’s kind of a given. It only really became an issue when my sister and I were trying to get sticks, forks, straws, etc. for our purchases and they were on the opposite side of the line. Suggestion would be to move these items to the left of the register for ease of use or find another area to put them so customers can avoid trying to get through the masses!
So now to the nitty gritty. The menu items. Although limited, I do feel the selection for the soft opening of Bobo Drinks accommodates to the needs of its targeted audience. I ordered a popcorn chicken and a Bobo Special Milk tea. The total cost came out to be $ 7.59. Bobo Special Milk Tea is basically milk tea with popping boba and ice cream. I was pleased with my drink choice because the tea flavor was really able to shine through and with the extra blend of ice cream, it added the extra kick of sweetness I desired. What was unfortunate, however, was the portioning because it felt like they were really trying to be super frugal with the ice cream scoop and the popping boba. Since I’ve never visited other Bobo Drink locations I cannot really say whether or not this a «norm» for this franchise. The popcorn chicken was pretty yummy too, especially when you dip it in the sauce! :)
Service-​wise, I had no real hardcore issues. The worker who took my order was patient and super friendly & answered all of my questions about what drinks were and what not, which is also great. However, I do feel that there is inconsistency in drink flavors as other Unilocalers mention. My sister ordered a Honeydew milk tea and she thought it was okay but the flavor wasn’t shining through as much as she had hoped. When my friend ordered a Taro Milk tea, he informed me how watered down it was. Now, I think I was very lucky or maybe they’re slowly getting the handle of drink production — but my drink had just enough of that tea flavor along with the creaminess of the milk! Another thing is that I felt like I could be improved on is product delivery, whether it be a drink or a food item, when you complete your order they give you a number. I was waiting for my number to be called so I could pick up my drink/​snack, but instead my drink order was called by name «Bobo Special Milk Tea» and my popcorn chicken had an attempted delivery initially (but…didn’t make it to the table because the server didn’t remember who it was for or who it was supposed to go to and didn’t hear my sister say «It’s ours! It’s ours! and was dropped on the floor — on accident, which the worker did clean up. Now don’t get me wrong, I have worked in the food service industry and I understand the pressure and high volume of foot traffic that can be experienced but I think that in order to create efficiency and ensure that each customer gets what they order they should call out order numbers moreso than what the menu item is called.
ALSO, IF YOU ARE ABOUT THE JAR LIFE THIS IS IMPORTANT: This location doesn’t sell jars just yet. I’m actually not too sure if it’s eventually going to be a thing, but as of right now for the soft opening — if you want a drink in a jar, you have to have it «FOR HERE.» So if you want that aesthetic, you can’t get it as to-​go otherwise it’s going to be in a Plastic Bobo Drink container, which isn’t bad but it all depends on your pref.
Overall, one word comes to mind when I think of this location: «POTENTIAL.» They have a solid product, but they do need to make improvements with service and flavor consistency! I will be back.

PSA: Grand-​opening is on the 12^th!
The whole setting is very modern and bright. The place is like any other boba spot with decorations honestly, big tv, chairs to kick back in and nice lights. Bobo drinks is well known for their mason jar drinks!
The staff is very friendly and I do tend on coming back!
The place had just opened today but apparently everything kind of ran out :-(No boba, no milk tea, but it’s totally fine.
— Their peach green tea with lychee is really fruity but super con
— the taro milk tea tastes like vanilla ice cream!
— the hazelnut milk tea is really gross don’t even think about it
— the drinks are 2.50 and one sized!
I really do hope that bobo drinks is prepared for their grand opening because I was actually pretty upset knowing that their first opening wasn’t quite successful.