09/09/09

Very Disappointing Bubble Tea

by blott84

I went to the bubble house with a friend last friday in hopes of tasting some of their many various types of bubble tea. Thinking since it is called Bubble House, it will have the best Bubble Tea. I was so wrong on that front. First of all, the customer service was lacking, we was standing around the front desk for a good 20 minutes before someone came to the front desk. I got the Red Bean Bubble Tea, and it was bland, no flavor what so ever. I was mad as h-e-double hockey sticks. It was a good thing i only paid 3 bucks for this, if i paid anymore than that I would have been really upset.

• Pros: can add additional bubbles or flavor for an additional .50
• Cons: service was lacking; no flavor in the drink;

03/14/09

Slipping on bubbles

by sansilinsi

This place used to be okay, albeit overpriced, but a recent visit turned me off completely. The dining room was filthy! We went on a late Saturday afternoon. The place was near empty and the staff were just sitting around chatting. It’s not like a big party just left and they didn’t have time to clean up, but it sure looked that way. We saw “bubbles” on the floor when we walked in and they were still there when we left. Their tired fusion food also dropped a few notches from its previous passing grade. The bubble tea, around which they built their business, is probably the worst item on the menu. Avoid it at all cost, and certainly at the ridiculous price they are asking! I know this is not Chinatown, but how hard can it be to make a decent bubble tea? By the way, there’s no “best bubble tea” in Chinatown because they are all good. It’s not easy to mess up a bubble tea.

Let’s face it, as long as a restaurant has a gimmick, wealthy Penn students and visiting parents (especially those from a non-urban background) will eat it up, and the restaurant can count on a new batch of customers every year to sustain the business. But the dining scene in University City is getting more interesting now, and students can check online reviews even when they are already walking down the Sansom Street restaurant block. I hope they find this review and keep walking.

• Pros: location
• Cons: filthy, overpriced

01/15/09

Worse Restaurant in Phiadelphia

by bd231231

Waited 10 minutes for waitress to acknowledge; then left after another 35 minutes when the food did not arrive. They could not make tea because they had NO HOT WATER and this is a TEA HOUSE. I wonder how this place stays in business especially with some of the other restaurants on the block. The food court behind this joint was better and faster.

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: EVERYTHING--SLOW SERVICE UNCARING WAIT STAFF

12/03/08

the only reason to come in is to get bubble tea and leave right away.

by Philacupcake

Been here twice:

Food isnt good. Bubble tea is ok get one with multiple fruits.

The manager/employee tried to get my # -_- and kept annoying/hitting on me.

The female waitress was an a$$. At night tons of random a.a. folk showed up and music was cranked up soooo high i couldnt hear myself think. Not even good music. The place is falling apart. I drank the tea and we left.

09/28/08

WAY OVERRATED YO

by NegroWhippah

DA FOOD AINT ALL DAT.. EVEN THO IT IS A TRENDY HOT SPOT NEAR WHERE I LIVE IM SORRY BUT I JUST GOTTA SAY SOMETHIN

DIS AINT ALL DAT... 4 REAL...

THE CROWD = CACA , THE FOOD = CACA , BUBBLE TEA = MAD MONEY 4 A HINEY INVADAH DRINK??

BE REAL... DA ONLY PLUS IS QUESTLOVE IS IN DA HOUSE DJ'ING AND WHATNOT.. GOTTA LOVE QUESTLOVE, EVEN THO HIS DJ SKILLS ARE KINDA CACA

BOTTOM LINE ? GET A SLOW PERSON AND THIS WILL BE YO PERFECT DATE SPOT

• Pros: QUESTLOVE, HAPPY PEOPLE
• Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE YO

09/07/08

WHAT SERVICE???????

by sundaelover33

I've given this place a couple of chances, and I can pretty much expect the same.......poor service, extremely lazy and unintentive. It's a shame too, I know a lot of people that feel the same, it has the reputation for the food being tasty and the people they hire are completely unprofessional. However, sometimes my friends and I enjoy going to Lee Jones Sundae party, that's a lot of fun. I wish they would find a cooler place for the party.

• Pros: Sundae Party
• Cons: service, poor attitude

08/11/08

A novelty, not the real deal

by Michelle1997

I had high hopes for The Bubble House after marveling at the list of flavors on the menu. I ended up ordering my usual--a Thai iced bubble tea. I was disappointed though because they made it wrong. Instead of using the sweetened condensed milk that makes Thai iced tea so delicious, they used regular milk--bleck. I drank it anyway, because the bubbles were very soft and chewy and I waited all week to try the Bubble House. My friend said that the bubbles are usually hard at BH. Fortunately, they weren't the night we went.

The bubble tea is overpriced and certainly not as good or authentic as it is some blocks away in Chinatown. The Bubble House is more of a novelty. Plus, it's close to two colleges making for a quick bubble-tea fix.

I was surprised, however, at the food. I got the Korean BBQ wrap, and while it wasn't an authentic Korean dish, it was delicious. My boyfriend's fried cheesecake was equally delicious. But, alas, we were there for the bubble tea and it was alright, not excellent.

• Pros: Yummy food, lots of flavors
• Cons: slow service, some flavors are madeincorrectly

06/17/08

Good bubble tea

by Rontu827

The bubble tea is good, but a bit expensive. Dining in the restaurant is not something to do if you are in a hurry. The service is pretty slow, and the food always takes forever. And if you go on Sunday during their house music event, don't expect to get your food in any less than an hours time. The portions are small, but the food is usually pretty good. Don't go hungry, unless you are ordering several appetizers and sides, in which case you'll pay a lot.

Really, just get bubble tea from the counter and go. The only reason I ever go to the restaurant is because they serve bubble tea, but I always remain aware of how long it will take, and how small the portions are.

• Pros: They serve bubble tea. Who doesn't love bubble tea?
• Cons: Slow slow slow tableservice. And overpriced.

06/08/08

Waste of money!

by akofhur22

I have been here three times with friends (each time against my will) and will never be back. This last visit pushed it over the top. We waited for seating, as prompted by the girl at the bubble tea counter, for 15 minutes in an almost EMPTY restaurant! When we got seated, the server brought us water in dirty cups. It was disgusting and undrinkable. She apologized and took 10 minutes to bring us fresh water. We ordered a chicken wrap with sweet potato fries (fries were cold and soggy), a tasteless rice noodle soup ($9 for an APPETIZER sized portion, even though they claim it is an entree) and a red curry with chicken. The curry, though slightly bland, was the best thing on the menu. Despite the lack of patrons in the restaurant, the food still took 40 minutes to arrive. The waitress was very apologetic. As far as the ambiance goes, the whole place seems to be falling apart. For some reason, they choose to hang dying plants everywhere and the tables are crusty, sticky and wobbly. There seems to be crust in every corner, which doesn't bode well for the shape of their kitchen. Go to the White Dog next door instead for a decent meal!

• Pros: loose leaf tea
• Cons: overall bad experience

03/30/08

Horrible

by MorganR

This was a horrible experience. We were seated promptly, however the service was horrific. I ordered my flat iron steak medium/medium-well and it came out almost raw. My boyfriend ordered the crabcakes and asked for sweet potato fries instead of rice. His meal still came with rice and he had to remind her that he ordered the fries. it took a good 15-20 minutes for her to bring out meals back the way we ordered them in the first place. the server never ONCE came back to see how we were doing and it took forever for her to take our plates away and bring our bill. I will never go back there again. I DO NOT RECOMMED IT.

• Pros: cute little place
• Cons: server, food