Ingleside boasts superb boba tea spots that also serve up other uniquely flavored drinks, ranging from fruit teas to slushies. Whether you’re hankering for traditional Hong Kong-style milk tea or fresh taro milk tea, there’s a variety of places to get what you need.
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All are within walking distance of each other along Ocean Avenue and each is easily accessible by public transit. What’s more, some offer meals, including breakfast and lunch, and sweet snacks, such as egg puffs and mochi waffles. Several carry savory items too.
Here’s the rundown going east to west.
Pho Ha Tien serves boba drinks with their Vietnamese cuisine. | File Photo/The Ingleside Light
Pho Ha Tien, the neighborhood's go-to Vietnamese restaurant, has been carrying bubble tea drinks for nearly two decades.
The popular restaurant goes deep in the Asian beverage.
They carry Thai iced tea, fresh coconut juice, plum soda, Hong Kong-style milk tea and red bean coconut drink. Standouts include the salted lemon soda and Horlick's calcium drink. On standby are teas ranging from honey citron to Jujube and classic drinks such as lemonade, Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke and Sunkist.
Jojo's Cafe has been serving milk tea for decades. | File Photo/Ingleside Light
Besides offering traditional American breakfast fare and Asian dishes throughout the day, patrons can pair their food with Jo Jo’s version of a Hong Kong-style milk tea. The hot drink comes with a side of condensed milk to sweeten the tea and is always made to order. Of course, you can also request the drink be served cold. Jo Jo’s also offers Thai iced tea and iced lemon tea as well as Vietnamese cold brew coffee. Jo Jo’s makes milkshakes in vanilla, chocolate, mango, strawberry, mocha freeze and avocado flavors. Both indoor and outdoor seating are available.
After Indulgence Tea Bar, the neighborhood's high-end boba purveyor, closed its doors, the owners of nearby Sakesan Sushi & Robata picked up the lease and will keep the location as a boba tea shop. It opened in June.
Dots serves all kinds of black sesame boba drinks. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
Dots
📍1330 Ocean Ave. 📞
With a unique take on bubble tea, Dots mixes the nutty rich taste of their housemade black sesame paste into their signature drinks. Black sesame has a heavy influence on their shop's identity. Co-owner Agnes Shung designed their logo with the essence of the small black seed in mind.
In addition to their milk tea drinks, they also serve fruit teas like mango and strawberry sago and have toppings like boba and grass jelly for an additional price. They also serve homemade wheel pies in flavors such as salty egg pork and taro paste. Prices for their drinks range from $5-$7 depending on add-ons.
Decorated with floral walls and cozy seating, The Fate Tea House brings a bright tea-drinking experience to Ocean Avenue. Inspired by her Chinese culture and love for milk tea, owner Courtney Huang designed an ever-changing menu for customers to pick from.
From fruit tea drinks like lychee lemon rose to milk tea options like taro red bean, their diverse menu is stacked with a drink for everyone. They also serve non-tea beverages like sodas and slushs. To pair with their drinks, they have snack items such as cakes, chicken sandwiches, curry fish balls and more.
Just a few doors down from the Ingleside Gallery is Lucky Ocean Cafe, which offers different flavored milk tea boba and fruit tea drinks. Some of the milk tea drinks with boba include caramel, taro and matcha. Fruit tea flavors include lychee, peach and mango. The business offers fruit smoothies, such as mango, strawberry and banana. On top of a variety of blended drinks with coconut, java ship and mango, Lucky Ocean Cafe also offers shaved ice desserts with different sweet toppings, such as red bean, mango and chocolate.
Quickly has a menu of classic milk tea flavored drinks but it's also got the most famous bubble tea food dish: fried chicken.
This location first opened in 2005 and recently reopened on May 20, 2022, after closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The location is under new management.
Purtea Boba + Latte
Address: 1422 Ocean Ave. Hours: Open every day except Tuesdays, from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Phone: 415-347-7089 Visit Website
7 Leaves Cafe
Address: 3931 Alemany Blvd. #2003 Hours: Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Phone: 415-349-4445 Visit Website
Alex Mullaney
