Restaurant Review #107: Lollicup, Saawtelle, West LA - CLOSED

Lollicup is, as far as I can tell, the largest chain boba shop in the country. For this reason, I intentionally avoided it for the first year and a half or so that I lived here.

But then, Volcano Tea started serving boba that wasn't quite fresh. And Upper House only serves those huge cups, and has a somewhat limited flavor selection. So I tried Lollicup.

Lollicup offers both a regular and a large size. They have an extensive selection of flavors and textures (by textures, I mean snow, slush, tea, etc). They also sell steamed pork buns, a couple of pastries, soda, coffee, pudding, and prepackaged Japanese snacks like Pocki and shrimp crackers. There are three booths in the back, three tables in the front, and four amazingly uncomfortable tables outside.

They have free WiFi (which works just fine at the outside tables). There is a community bulletin board, mostly promoting area nightlife and helping people sell services from English lessons to voice lessons. Like any place with a blender, it's noisy, and not a place where I would want to hang out and chat. The loud and very repetitive pop music makes matters even worse.

Lollicup offers some less common flavors like watermelon and canteloupe, and with the exception of one visit, the boba has always been fresh and my drink prepared with the proper ratio of liquid to ice. I won't try to tell you which flavors are good and which aren't, because it's really a matter of personal preference, but I am partial to taro and canteloupe. It should be noted that though the menu has separate sections for slush/icy and snow/smoothie, there doesn't seem to be any difference in the way they are prepared.

Lollicup is consistent, at the very least, and though the ambience can range from okay to barely tolerable, it's no worse and probably somewhat better than the other options on Sawtelle.


Lollicup
2012 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-231-3522
Website (with menu)
Mon-Thur 11am-midnight
Fri, Sat 11am-1am
Sun noon-11pm

Restaurant Review #90: Volcano Tea, Sawtelle, West LA

Volcano Tea can be a bit hit or miss, but it's still my second favorite boba shop, after Upper House, and in fact, sometimes I prefer it to Upper House, either because it's actually open, because it's not as sweet, or because the drinks are a normal size. Volcano tea is pretty cheap, at about $3.00-3.50 per drink, after adding boba, and offers the usual wide variety of flavors and consistencies (smoothie, milk tea, etc). I almost always get a honeydew smoothie, though I occasionally gravitate towards plum or taro, and all are quite good, depending on what you're in the mood for.

It seems to be more popular than Upper House, perhaps because of its close proximity to many restaurants, which makes it an easy dessert stop, or perhaps because the valet makes it easier to park here than in the shopping center across the street, which might send you to the underground garage.

My only complaint about Volcano Tea is that sometimes the boba isn't fresh enough, meaning that it's a bit dried out and cakey in the middle. Upper House, by contrast, never fails in delivering warm, moist, and gooey pearls. What is their secret?

Like most similar places, with the notable exception of Tapioca Express, Volcano Tea has no atmosphere and is noisy, both because of the often boisterous clientele and because of the constant blender grumbling and whirring.



Volcano Tea
2111 Sawtelle
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310.445.5326

Restaurant Review #5: Infuzion Cafe, Santa Monica

The worst boba I've had in Los Angeles can be found at Infuzion Cafe at 3rd and Wilshire (just off the Promenade). While I welcome boba near the Promenade and would be perfectly satisfied with this place if I lived in a less culinarily diverse city such as, say, St. Louis, Infuzion's boba just doesn't live up to LA standards or the standards of any boba-lover.

Whether or not the tapioca will be fresh and chewy or old and stale is hit-or-miss. Once cooked, boba only stays fresh for about 30 minutes, but Infuzion doesn't seem to understand this. The selection of flavors is good, but the intensity of the drinks is on the weak and watery side, perhaps because health-conscious Santa Monicans want less sugar in their drinks, perhaps because the cafe's employees don't have a knack for making good drinks. If you ask for an extra strong drink though, you may get more what you had in mind based on your experiences with places like Volcano Tea, Lollicup, and Upper House.

The staff is very friendly, and they did re-make my drink once when my first order just wasn't worth the $3.50, but I'd prefer to not need my drink re-made in the first place. Also, they offer free WiFi and one desktop computer with internet access for patrons. This place is kind of sterile though, with decor similar to a Starbucks, and not somewhere I actually want to sit and hang out. Also, the hours aren't great.

In addition to boba, they also offer other coffee and non-coffee drinks that you'd expect at a coffee shop.

Infuzion Cafe
1149 3rd Street
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310-393-9985
Mon - Fri: 6:30am-7pm
Sat: 7am-9pm
Sun: 8am-6pm

Restaurant Review #4: Tapioca Express, West LA (now closed)

Tapioca Express has an amazing array of flavors, including rose and watermelon. My rose icy was disappointing, but I think it would be great as a creamy drink, and the light plum was just what I had in mind. They also use fresh fruit in some drinks when in season, like honeydew and canteloupe in the summer. Also, their boba is notably fresh, and has the perfect amount of subtle sweetness for those of you who don't have the kind of maddening sweet tooth that I do.

The other cool thing about this place is that in spite of being a chain located in a conspicuously pink strip mall and in spite of having to contend with blender noises from all the frozen drinks it makes, Tapioca Express has managed to create a certain degree of atmosphere by having sleek furniture, bamboo plants, very friendly service, the lowest prices in the area (your drink with boba after tax is only $2.71), a comfy couch, pale blue walls, magazines, free WiFi (no electrical outlets, though) and best of all, a babbling brook that runs along one wall next to your table. In terms of atmosphere, they have outdone every other boba shop.

Tapioca Express also serves a few Thai dishes and appetizers. I like the vegetarian eggrolls: they're small, very crispy, made to order, and served steaming hot. There are cooked vermicelli noodles on the inside, along with the usual melange of cabbage and carrots. The rolls are served with a thin sweet and sour sauce that tastes perfect. Finally, the service is always friendly.

Tapioca Express
11870 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-571-3229

Restaurant Review #3: Upper House, Sawtelle, West LA (now closed)

Upper House, on Sawtelle in the two-story shopping center near the corner of Olympic, is hands-down the best place to get your boba fix, and believe me, I have shopped around. They have a somewhat small menu, and quirky hours (2pm-midnight), but their honeydew frappee with boba is otherwordly. Upper House's boba is extra sweet (probably soaked in a sugary syrup) and they put it into your drink while it's hot and fresh, making the first few sips, with their juxtaposition of hotwarmgooeysweet and coldicysmoothsweet, pure bliss.


Upper House
2130 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025