18 Places for the Best Boba in SF
Also known as Bubble milk tea, “Boba” is sweet, creamy, and oddly delicious. The term “Boba” refers to the chewy tapioca balls piled at the bottom of the cup that complete the whole drink.
If you’re here in San Francisco, don’t miss an opportunity to grab some Boba while you snack on some popcorn chicken. Here are 15 great Boba places you can visit. (We encourage you to check out our recommendations for High Tea and for Desserts in San Francisco as well!)
Note that some restaurants listed here are temporarily closed due to the pandemic. You can check out their websites for more information.
1. Boba Guys
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM Monday to Thursday, Sunday; 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM Friday to Saturday
Open During COVID for: Delivery (Order ahead)
Address: 3491 19th St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (Mission Store)
Phone: (415) 967-2622
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Boba Guys first appeared in Los Angeles in April 2018 with their iconic aardvark animal with a built-in straw. They just debuted at that time but they were already drawing massive lines, serving the best boba drinks in the city. Soon, they managed to expand including here in San Francisco.
Boba Guys, located in Stockton St. Union Square, San Francisco, has been credited as one of the best boba spots in San Francisco. With a mix of simplicity and scientific approach, Boba Guys are making bubble milk tea from premium teas, house-made syrups, and a selection of premium milks like organic Straus Family Creamery cow’s milk, Califia Farms almond milk, and Oatly oat milk. They also continuously boil their tapioca balls to retain softness and chewiness. The perfect concoction is quite pricey, but it is undoubtedly guaranteed high quality and tasty. Must-try Boba Guys drinks are Horchata Milk Tea, Iced Matcha Latte, and homemade almond jelly.
2. Plentea
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 341 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: (415) 757-0223
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If you visit their Instagram page, you'll see pictures of special boba balls that add to the Plentea experience. The best part is you can reuse their bottles and bring them back to get a discount on your next drink. They've been making boba for both locals and visitors in China Town, serving drinks such as their Green Ice Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, Strawberry Fresh Fruit Tea with Lychee Jelly, and the Sea Salt Cream Oolong Tea.
3. Sharetea
Price Range: $ | Hours: Hours: 11:00 AM - 7:30 PM Monday to Thursday; 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM Friday to Sunday
Open During COVID for: Dine-in, Delivery, Takeout
Address: Metreon Mall, 135 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone:
(415) 227-0888
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The place where you can share your boba tea, Sharetea! Nothing beats this place with their yummy Boba. Both locals and visitors love their products. Established in 1992 in Taipei, Taiwan, Sharetea started with black tea and pearl milk tea drinks. With their drinks made from high quality tea leaves and selected ingredients directly shipped from Taiwan, they started to gain attention. Soon, they opened branches and franchises in California.
This place is a real deal where you can also have options like Yakult drinks, ice cream green tea, coffee milk tea, brewed teas, hot drinks, fruit teas, and ice blends. Their best servings are Okinawa milk tea, Mango green tea crema, Oolong milk tea, and Oreo milk tea.
4. Purple Kow
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Monday to Thursday, Sunday; 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Friday to Saturday
Open During COVID for: Takeout
Address: 3620 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Phone: (415) 341-6380
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Purple Kow is located on Balboa St in the Outer Richmond and is more than happy to serve you their Boba specialties. The store takes pride in its organic ingredients to create drinks everyone will love and enjoy. Aside from that, they also hope to create a sentimental value and memory with all their customers and products that will leave a long lasting impact.
When we talk about sweetness, big portions, and iced milk drinks with signature pudding, Purple Kow is the one and only place that you must visit. What's great about this store is that they let you choose from ten toppings, ranging from aloe vera to boba noodles. Purple Kow's best products are D3: Iced milk tea with caramel, Pudding, Boba, and their house special. They also have coffees and teas that you can also enjoy.
5. Super Cue Café
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Monday to Thursday, Sunday; 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM Friday to Sunday
Open During COVID for: Delivery
Address: 1139 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116
Phone: Phone number
(415) 566-5888
Our Favorite Item:
Super Cue Cafe has the cutest little blob mascots and possibly one of the most extensive menu varieties ever. They’ll serve you with a shocking "Twisted Milk Tea," and supersized drink options. If you need additional refreshment, they can serve you fresh mint as a topping for herbal tea.
The best items to try are their Toffee milk tea, Irish cream milk tea, and Passionfruit Pineapple slush.
6. Cool Tea Bar
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 728 Pacific Ave. #118 San Francisco CA 94133 (inside Miriwa Center)
Phone: (415) 529-2364
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Anyone would love to customize a drink to the taste they want and Cool Tea Bar can give you that! Cool Tea Bar ensures that you can have a fresh drink from natural, fresh, and healthy fashion tea. The store values client satisfaction in the services they provided.
Fun Fact! The manager of Cool Tea Bar visited Taiwan to learn from the original makers of Boba and milk teas. Cool Tea Bar also has leaves selected and imported from Taiwan to make your Boba drink perfectly tasty. You don't want to miss their Grass Jelly Roasted milk tea, Kumquat green tea, and Matcha Red Bean smoothie. With every cup, Cool Tea Bar ensures that you get the original experience without having to travel far. Here you can also enjoy the taste of authentic and mellow Taiwan tea.
7. Wonderful Dessert & Café
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:30 AM - 9:50 PM
Open During COVID for: Takeout
Address: 2035 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone: (415) 731-6889
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Wonderful Dessert & Café might be a small store but they can give you a big taste of serving with their authentic selection of Boba teas in various flavors. The OG of Boba can offer you a ton of milk tea options and sometimes it’s hard to decide what to get for the day. But besides that, you can also grab some of their sweet milk tea shakes and a full candy bar.
Wonderful Dessert & Café always satisfy you in your sugary desires. You must try their Honey Lemon Chrysanthemum tea, Gummy Bear fruit tea, and Roasted Brown Rice milk tea. There’s also Taro which is the most popular item on the menu as well as their watermelon juice. Try these out to-go and enjoy some sweet drinks as you chill.
8. BB Tea Station
Price Range: $ | Hours: 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 1314 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone: (415) 681-5888
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Board games, WiFi, adorable decorations, and sweet Boba, all in one store. BB Tea Station can give you what you need in life! The tea station is everything, and they offer locals and visitors tons of flavors, low prices, and giant sizes. Lavender Milk Tea, Pomegranate Green Tea, and the Chocolate Black Milk Tea are the best products you must try at BB Tea Station. Boba is life, and BB Tea Station can bring you that!
9. Tpumps
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 9:30 PM
Open During COVID for: Dine-in limited capacity
Address: 1916 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone: (510) 398-8499
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Tpumps is serving locals and visitors, located at Irving Street in the Outer Sunset. Nothing beats their delicious, sweet, and great flavors of Boba. Tpumps offer affordable options without compromising quality taste. They have green, black, and non-caffeinated teas with premium tea flavors for an additional $1 only. You can choose up to 3 flavors to mix and also add in milk and toppings. The featured boba has a mango popping boba which will only cost you additional $0.75. They also have a long list of customer favorite mixes if you’re not up to make one of your own!
You must try their Secret Menu online, or go for their tried-and-true flavors like guava, chocolate cookie dough, marshmallow, almond Roca, and many more! If you are looking for delicious Boba, Tpumps is one of the best places to go. With their delicious boba flavors and hipster spot, Tpumps has definitely marked their name as a boba favorite in the Bay Area.
10. Fifty/Fifty Coffee and Tea
Price Range: $ | Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Takeout
Address: 3157 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
Phone: (415) 684-8886
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Grab your Boba at Fifty/Fifty Coffee and Tea. This place has been serving people with great delicious stuff, including their amazing pastries. Boba is not the only option you can have here, because they also serve coffee and tea. The store is always welcoming to people who are looking for good servings. Try their Jasmine Milk tea, Honey Coconut Milk Tea, and Dynamo Donuts to eat with on the weekend.
You can also shop aesthetic cups, tumblrs, and plates on their website. Most of the items are sold out so stay tuned when these items will be restocked!
11. Asha Tea House
Price Range: $| Hours: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Delivery
Address: 17 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone:
(415) 549-3688
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Asha Tea House is one of the best stores that offer Boba. Asha in Taiwanese is “someone that enjoys life” which is why this buzzy neighborhood café never fails to provide relaxing space and great servings of hot and cold teas, with or without bubbles. Their tea selection is a curation of extensive traveling and tasting and unlike other boba houses, they have a small but comprehensive representation of teas.
Asha Tea House serves great drinks including Black teas, Green teas, White teas, Matcha, Light Oolong teas, Dark Oolong teas, Herbal teas, and Pu Erh Teas. The store also offers milk tea, jasmine tea, and their seasonal menu. The most recommended is their Hong Kong milk tea. Asha Tea House is also a good place for a delicious shot of caffeine.
12. i-Tea
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Takeout
Address: 2150 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
Phone:
(415) 681-6188
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There is nothing to love about this contemporary original boba shop rich with the taste of Taiwan’s finest. With over 45 years of experience in the tea industry, i-Tea brings unique drink selections and a cup of perfectly made fresh tea every time. You don’t want to miss their roasted Oolong milk tea with 30 percent sweet and less ice with boba.
You can also count on their delicious and refreshing boba drinks such as Strawberry Mango Fruit tea, Guava Fruit tea, Panda Milk tea, Honey Brown rice MT, Tiramisu, Super Fruit tea, Super Lime Sijichun, Super Grapefruit, Taiwan Jade Royal Kreama, Signature Boba Milk tea, and more! i-Tea serves you not just a cup of tea, but a special delicious boba tea. Or you can try their popular Cheesma series as well. Aside from that they also have authentic popcorn chicken that goes well with their drinks.
13. Urban Ritual Café
Price Range: $ | Hours: 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 488 Fell St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 590-2873
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Craving for craft teas and awesome boba cocktails? Worry no more because Urban Ritual Café is ready to serve you the best artisanal tea with great coffee drinks, including boba options. All of these goodness after 82 drinks and over 167 revisions, countless late nights and early mornings and what they shared on their website, 6,907 calories shared between friends.
Urban Ritual Café allows you to order online to enjoy some of their delicious boba and a few toast snacks. This café, located in the heart of San Francisco, is more than ready to serve you with their unique drinks. Urban Ritual aims to bring unity to all of their guests using their coffee and tea. So, if you want to have healthier options and all-natural ingredients, then come to Urban Ritual Café!
14. Black Sugar – Boba Bar
Price Range: $ | Hours: 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Tuesday to Sunday
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 320 39 Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 521-2022
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Black Sugar boba bar is one of the best boba places in San Francisco. The boba store is proud of its premium drinks, including its specialized black sugar-soaked boba. This minimalist and quick-serve boba bar ensures that they serve guests with their organic loose-leaf tea, Straus Family Creamery organic milk products, housemade fruit puree, organic ceremonial matcha, and pure cane sugar.
If you are looking for traditional flavors and innovative concoctions, the best boba place to visit is the Black Sugar Boba Bar. Enjoy their sweet Matcha Taro Latte, one of their best products! You should also try their Milk Tea, Coffee, Fruit Tea, and Fresh Milk!
15. Little Heaven Deli
Price Range: $ | Hours: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Monday to Saturday
Open During COVID for: Delivery, Takeout
Address: 2348 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: (415) 824-1293
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Locals really love how Little Heaven Deli prepares their delicious crepes, yummy and affordable ice cream, and magnificent bubble tea. Little Heaven wants to serve guests delicious and nutritious treats. This is a place for everyone and anyone. Here you can enjoy good food and relax like you’re in your happy place.
The store is ready to serve everyone with their fresh-baked crepes and waffles. Never miss your chance to visit Little Heaven Deli and enjoy your boba tea!
16. Bambu
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Open During COVID for: Takeout
Address: 6050 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121, United States
Phone: (415) 379-4683
Our Favorite Item:
If you want to experience bubble tea to the next level then try Bambu. They are most famous for their traditional Vietnamese-inspired "Ché" Dessert drinks with unique topping combinations like red tapioca, pandan jelly, grass jelly, dark coffee bricks, mung bean, red bean, palm seed, basil seed, taro paste, lychee and jackfruit. Not only that, their base includes fresh coconut juice or coconut milk. Bambu special made from fresh coconut, pandan jelly, longan, basil seed, coconut water is their number 1 most popular dessert drink.
17. Quickly
Price Range: $ | Hours: 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Open During COVID for: Dine-in, Takeout, Delivery
Address: 2116 Irving Street, (Cross 22nd Ave)
Phone: (415) 665-1000
Our Favorite Item:
Quickly is everywhere. With its many branches in different locations, you sure will find one Quickly to satisfy your boba cravings (that is, with a whole range of boba selection and a $0.50 addition for topping). And aside from that, you also get to enjoy a lot of other interesting food choices. This includes mochi waffles, chicken waffle cones, and rice bowls. With this, Quickly has “quickly” become one of the mainstay bubble tea shops.
18. STEEP Creamery & Tea
