Urban Ritual

For a while there, I used to hear my friends talk about Urban Ritual in SF more than a little fondly. Despite all of that praise, though, I have to admit that I never managed to make my way to their location to try them. So, of course it makes perfect sense that my first time trying them (as well as the next two...) happened to come at this location in San Mateo instead! What can I say? I guess my boba-crazed friend was right whenever she would say that the mood for boba and milk tea always hits harder when we're not in The City.Like nearly every other milk tea shop in the neighborhood, Urban Ritual is fairly small in stature (although, they they manage to squeeze in a few tables). Yet, unlike so many of their nearby competitors, the menu here is legitimately one of the most unique I've seen. Even Teaspoon, which is a (past) favorite that has a for more interesting menu than the likes of TP Tea, can't compare. At a glance, the collection of drinks here may not seem very extensive, but there's a good amount of creations to choose from that all sound terrific. They also have the option for you to create/customize your own "basic" milk tea, but it'd be a shame not to try something different, like their Black Sesame Rice Ball, Matcha Toffee, Mango Sticky Rice, or Strawberry Pandan Corn Milk!-- BLACK SESAME RICE BALL - Drinkable Mochi, Black Sesame, Rice Milk...$6.50All of their drinks looked great, but this one stood out the most! The "drinkable mochi" is exactly - almost like a gooey pudding, but gloppy and with a slight chew. It also served as a nice contrast against the black sesame and rice milk, which wasn't exactly creamy, but had a nice thickness and nuttiness to it.-- MATCHA TOFFEE - Matcha Green Tea with Classic Milk and Bite-Sized House Made Toffee Brittle...$6.75While I liked all three of the drinks that I tried, this just might have been my favorite. It wasn't intensely sweet like I had feared it would be (save for the sips with a bunch of the brittle) yet there was still enough buttery sweetness to add a richness to the otherwise classic sort of matcha latte flavor.-- RICE RICE BABY - Genmaicha Green Tea with Rice Milk Topped with Toasted Rice...$6.50I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but it was pretty solid! Not only did the toasted rice add a nice crunch, but it also reinforced the roasted element in the tea's flavor, too. As for the green tea and rice milk, it was something akin to a matcha latte, but not as sweet nor with as much body.Inevitably, at some point, another new, shiny sort of boba shop will open up and join the many existing options around 3rd Ave. However, unless they find a way to improve on what Urban Ritual does and/or offer something similar, but better, I can't imagine this place not ranking among my absolute favorites anywhere. That is, unless the one in SF turns out to be better!

I got the rice rice baby last time I went because i usually like rice tea. It was really good, i love the toasted rice that adds a crunch and gives texture variety to the drink. Unfortunately that drink is seasonal, but I would definitely come back to try their other drinks. My friend got the mango sticky rice which she was raving about and it was good, mango is not my thing but I can see it being good for other people especially if you like mango sago. The service was great. It was in downtown san mateo so parking could be difficult. Inside of the store is also quite small and loud so next time I would probably take it to go. Price is pretty consistent with today's insane prices for boba. I do recommend this place for anyone wanting to try interesting flavors of milk tea instead of the more basic ones

My favorite boba place messed up my order :( I ordered a crème brûlée milk tea, sub regular milk for soy milk for extra fee, and they didn't add any milk or soy milk at all. It was just a crème brûlée tea, not milk tea. Tea was very bitter and watery. Toasted sugar bits were also burnt and bitter. Crème brûlée itself and boba was very soft and chewy.

I got the black sesame rice ball, perfect pear, white grape yuzu, and chrysanthemum tea. The black sesame was a 4/10 The mochi was really good, but the drink itself was very watery.The chrysanthemum was very strong, so would only recommend if you really like flowery drinks. The perfect pear was great, really just tasted like if you juiced a pear! Very refreshing! The white grape yuzu was very disappointing and had pieces of yuzu in it which I didn't love. The flavor also was not great.

Wanted to try the strawberry pandan corn milk but they couldn't adjust sweetness for thar drink. Ended up getting the perfect pear. I got it less sweet and turned out to be pretty bland. Hubby's milk tea was ok and just lukewarm instead of hot.

Urban Ritual is one of my fave spots in SF and their quality holds up at their San Mateo location as well! I love trying their seasonal drinks - this time it's a strawberry pandan corn milk - and highly recommend their matcha.The drinks always come out quickly and there are two tablets for people to place their orders. All of the staff seem busy making drinks so there wasn't someone at the register, although you can see all of them working behidn the counter so I'm sure they'd be able to answer questions.I do wish this location were cleaner. The tablets have always felt grimy when I've used them and there isn't a great place to wait for your drink to come out. There's a narrow hallway in front of the counter but it gets crowded quickly. There are seats inside, but I recommend taking your drink to go anyway for these reasons. Overall, love the drinks!

I would say this place is more like a dessert shop than boba shop simply because all of their signature drinks are extremely sweet. The crème brûlée has always been my favorite however I tried a new drink yesterday. It's a strawberry pandan corn milk (oat milk) and it was delicious. This place doesn't do any adjustments to menu items, but they have great options available. Service was friendly and they have a bunch of small tables and seating inside.

Have come to know Urban Ritual, first in the Hayes in San Francisco. Am beyond thrilled to find them closer to me in downtown San Mateo.Love that when one asks for less sweet the drink is... less sweet. In fact, even the fully sweetened drinks tend to be less sweet than other places. Love the ease of ordering at self ordering station and how easy it is to navigate the system.Love love the Asian inspired selections as well as the milk alternative and add-on choices.Parking is a slight issue as only street metered parking or in the Caltrain station or other parking lots. I hate to pay for parking when just jumping out to get a drink. Best to take a friend to jump out while driver waits on the car. Otherwise, street metered parking easily found. And I think the last time I only paid... 75 cents to park?Will I be back? You bet your matcha I will!

Service was quick. Seating limited. Strawberry pandan and corn milk boba tasted exactly as described. Crème brûlée milk tea was perfect sweetness (not sickeningly sweet as one may think), with wonderfully creamy pudding and shards of burnt sugar. Very delicious. Only downside is the Boba was a bit on the soft side.

Small little shop that has rotating seasonal drinks as well as some classics. The quality of their drinks is good, but they tend to have very sweet drinks (specials). The staff is friendly, but all of the items are ordered via kiosk. The only reason I knocked it down a star is because I would prefer that option to do customization with the specials.