Gong Cha

The staff is always so polite and quick. It gets pretty full and loud in the evenings so I don't consider it an ideal work/studying place, but it's always good for a quick drink & bite. They do however have plenty of outlets available to connect your charger to. Can't say much about the food cause i've only tried the fries, but the fries are always fresh and crispy and well seasoned! My fave spot for brown sugar boba!

Drink was very sweet even though less sweet was requested. Employee coughed while making my drink, didn't wash hands or wear mask.

Large seating areas with huge counter space. Bright and big interior. Perfect for reading a newspaper. Buy one get one half off at 6pm. The ambiance is a highlight here. It isn't as comfortable or cozy as a Starbucks but it is a pleasant place to be in. Very clean and big windows and good lighting. Countertops are the biggest I've ever seen. Usually if you sit at the window its a small one foot counter or table - here it is 3x that width. Perfect for reading a newspaper or spreading out a lot of paperwork. Convenient as there is an old school news stand nearby. Buy one get one half off at 6pm. I like the concept. It is moving inventory before they close instead of probably dumping it down the sink. I'd like to see bakeries do this too at the end of the day. If I buy a donut that is 12 hours old at 6pm half off would make sense - its no longer fresh and it probably keeps it out of the trash. Park Street has metered parking and there is a garage. Not the best situation but if you park your car and visit a few different points of interest its a pleasant experience.

I generally find boba tea places to be way too sweet for my tastes, but today I found myself needing a place with wifi and this was the best option. I like the self-order and self-pay kiosks. The tables here were sticky but the employees here were really nice and wiped them down for us with a smile. I liked the winter melon lemon tea with basil seeds. I dislike ice and I ordered it less sweet but it still came out 50% sweeter than I would have liked. It tasted pretty good though. Would definitely come back here if I was craving something sweet!

I'm very mixed about this place, but I think it's closer to "may come back" vs not. I'd say the biggest draw is sanitation & food (aka waffles).Let's start with pros:- Large seating area- Good number of outlets available- Fast free wifi- Great happy hour deal (6-8pm everyday) BOGO drinksThis place has all the qualities of "Good for Working" except the music is pretty loud so maybe bring noise cancelling ones or jive with the music (got lucky last time, the playlist was just like mine).Okay, cons:- my experience with mochi wafflesI was about the 2nd person out of a long line as soon as happy hour began at 6pm. I heard all the hot foods coming out but my mochi waffles were never called. So after 15 mins of waiting, I went up to the counter. Took them a minute to tell me that they will call my name when it's ready. When I added it's been 15 minutes, they said we'll check on it. It comes out soon after - I receive two modest size waffles that clearly looks undercooked and burnt bits sprinkled all over. I assume it was sitting in the machine for a while cause it was also not warm.- gloves or no gloves?This might be cause I just learned about food safety and became a bit of a germophobe after taking a microbiology class, but I think using one's phone in between work WITHOUT changing gloves pretty much defeats the purpose of wearing one? I guess it protects ones hands but not the food or drink. I think the items I am consuming I didn't have too much of a gross factor (drinks, for instance, the touched part is usually just the cup), but just to note.

OH NO! I love (or should I say loved...) this Gong Cha, and have been coming since they've opened. On my most recent visit however, the front desk cashier appeared to be picking their nose and flicking something off their finger afterwards! I was pretty grossed out especially since I have purchased drinks from this business in the past. Not okay!

I got the taro tea which was good but the boba was a bit warm and I guess I got low ice (I got whatever the cashier recommended) so together it made it so the drink was kind of lukewarm. I enjoyed the drink and experience but I'm not sure if I'd come back, at least for the full price of ~$6.50 for the small. Maybe I'd return for the BoGo. The ambiance is fine, very clean but a bit empty and sterile. Not a negative experience by any means (I enjoyed my drink), but I'm not sure if I'd return.

WHEN: Tuesday @ 6:45pm The line was to the door for BOGO free drink before 8pm when the store closes. Gongcha was understaff with 2 bobaristas and 1 cashier to take orders. The bobarista took turns running the baguette food area as well, making baguettes. Cashier was very friendly and advised customers that it was BOGO free drink promotion when the customer only order 1 drink. WHAT I ORDERED Earl grey MT with boba, 0 sugar 25% ice $4.50Black MT w no toppings, 30% sugar, 25% ice $4.50I was ordering the panda MT wo toppings, the cashier advised it basically a black MT n it's cheaper than Panda MT so I'll take it. It took about 10min for my drinks to be ready. Took longer to wait for the drinks than to order. It's worth the wait for bogo free drinks. You can't find this type of deal anywhere else.

Love that they have bogo at nights! We got the matcha and jasmine milk tea. They definitely did not skimp on the boba, which I appreciated. I thought the matcha flavor was on the lighter side, especially when the ice started to melt and water down the drink. The jasmine milk tea was good. With the bogo, the drinks were worth, but I probably wouldn't pay for both at full price unless I needed a boba fix. Service is quick, and the location is very convenient as it is close by to a lot of restaurants.

Best deal in town bar none! Gong Cha's bogo happy hour deal from 6 to 8 pm every... single... night just can't be beat! As a matter of fact, during these hours, while Gong Cha is busting at the seams on the daily, all other boba shops in town are swatting flies (Chinese slang for having a lack of business).In addition, the elaborate corner location in an older building makes for one of the fancier designs for a boba establishment I've seen anywhere.With that said, normally corner units with the entrance facing the actual street corner are a feng shui faux pas, however... lucky for Gong Cha, there is a outside pillar deflecting all of the negative juju.The high ceilings also provide amazing acoustics, as the beats are always slamming. There is even a TV below the front counter showing K-pop videos.Service is exceptional. The young staff here is always polite and super efficient, considering how inundated they constantly are.Oh, and the drinks? Always on point and consistent.All of these factors combined easily place Gong Cha as the clearcut Gong Champ of Alameda!