9th Sweet Cafe

Mediocre milk tea that isn't customizable. It is what it is - serviceable, but not what you'd ever crave. There's a reason why this place is empty all the time even though it's right next to Swan's Market. Haven't tried the food, but I can tell you that the milk tea and slushies are all pretty darn sweet. The prices are also more expensive than SF milk tea, which I don't get at all. My guess is that this place will be out of business within a year. Look, if i-Tea is two blocks down, why wouldn't you? Your drinks do get made more quickly here, but that's because the tea isn't brewed fresh, and I'm pretty sure the cream is powder. Haven't had their low-calorie, low-sugar ice cream or their bagels, so I can't speak to that, but I know I'm going to be making the two-block walk down to i-Tea next time.

9th Sweet Cafe can be easily read 9th Street Cafe which it isn't. coffee isn't the attraction here. in a roundabout way, sweets may be. depends on ur focus.

menu: polly ann ice cream, gourmet wraps, bagel sammies, tea, juice, smoothies, fresh tea, milk tea, etc.

drink: caramel milk tea. (3)less sugar, less ice
-still a little sweet but nice tasting
-heard whirling, blending sound, not the typical shaking in a milk shake canister

eats: shanghai spicy cold noodles.(3.95)
-fresh carrots and cucumber slices and cold noodles.
-spicy sauce really hot, chili pieces a nuisance, sticks to teeth.
-noodles slightly mushy a day after i bought it.
-wonder if a jajang mein version available
-good value for a snack, not totally wow though.
3.5 stars

drips:
-friendly service
-looks like a family run operation.
-polly ann ice cream is great also.
-would look in the referigerator on the left for cheap eats availability.

Stopped in here wandering through Old Oakland for lunch. Was very quiet - was another woman sitting waiting, but she left and was chased by the server out to her car, very odd.

Ordered the Chnese tofu wrap whch was vegan without modification. It was OK tastiing with plenty of vegetables (incidentally, I count tofu, i.e, beans, as vegetables), but it was leaking before I got back to work, and proved incredibly messy to eat. And at $8 was a bit overpriced.

Sorry, too messy. Won't return.

9th Sweet Café is a newish boba shop in Downtown Oakland, which is perfect, because my colleagues and I have been craving boba for the longest of times during lunch.

LOOK: The café itself is very new, modern and clean and the staff are really nice and friendly. There are a bunch of little tables and a big screen TV, perfect for hanging out with friends or eating in on a long lunch break.

FOOD: The menu at the moment is a little small, but understandable since they are so new. I ordered the boba milk tea and my friend ordered the roasted rice milk tea. I ordered my drink 50% sweet and it was perfect, not too sweet, but rich, milky and yummy. The pearls were also soft and sweet.

For the price, they give incredibly generous portions too, I definitely could not finish my drink, it was way too much, a real steal for $3.75!

It's definitely not as good as my favorite place Chatime, just a couple blocks down, but still pretty decent.

Overall, I am really excited to have 9th Sweet Café opening up in the neighborhood - it's awesome that they offer boba, and I'm looking forward to them expanding their menu further and offering yummy, cheap eats. They seem to also offer spicy Chinese noodles for $3.95(?)! And I am dying to try that out some day!

So, definitely check out this place if you are in the area and need boba. They are also offering $10 off all online orders! So definitely take advantage of the offer to try them out!

9th SWEET cafe, a cute little cafe on 9th STREET. Hah, the name is absolutely adorable. Aside from the name, the place itself is very cute. The seats and tables are very clean and the decor is fairly modern. They also have wifi and large tables which are good to work on.

The drinks, I would call myself a boba connoisseur because I take my boba quite seriously. The boba itself is soft and chewy but not the best. You could say that it's basic boba and it doesn't add anything to the drink. The drink however, is really good. I got the green milk tea and it's a tasty drink. I don't know if the drinks can compete with the bigger stores (like chatime, sweethear, itea) but they open at 9:30 its nice to know you have that boba fix before 11am.

I would definitely recommend this place if you want to get your money's worth. $3-$4 a 24oz drink. Not bad!

The cups here have to be at least 20-24oz right? Glad this place caters to my drink size indecisiveness with one size for $3.75 on the teas. Now if only this place had some popcorn chicken. Oh well.

*edit: Lady working says they're moving to a different spot downtown, sounds like I have to walk a few more blocks to Chinatown from now on =[.

Nice little spot for a sweet dessert drink. I haven't tried the food, but the juices to smoothies were great tasting. This place compliments the eateries in the Swans Market as I tend to rave for something refreshing to drink.

This is a great little neighborhood snack shop. While the menu is a bit limited: for example, they only serve drip coffee but it's strong and hits the spot with one of their breakfast bagels or wraps. They also have smoothies, fresh juices, ice cream, and Milk Tea with tapioca balls. They do have wifi and spacious tables if you like to sit with your laptop and get some work done. The family who runs the shop is always friendly and accommodating. I think this place is a nice addition to the Old Oakland neighborhood.