Bambu Snacks & Coffee Shop

 

8

6

owen s.

Sunnyvale, CA

I absolutely love Bambu! I've been going here for years and I never tire of it. I like that they use real (fresh) fruit and taro... none of that powdered stuff. Their coffee is awesome as well. The pearls are never bad, whereas with other places, it's like they're giving you old pearls that have been laying out for some time. This is the place to go for all your pearl drink needs. On the plus, the lady who works there is always so nice and ready to greet you when you come in.

I know they're going to add snacks to their menu, which concerns me a bit. I hope it doesn't affect the quality of their drinks.

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2

12

Arnold W.

San Jose, CA

Bambu is one of the closest pearl tea places to me if I don't want to go all the way to Fantasia in Milpitas... the other being Barcode, in the same shopping complex, but doesn't even come close in quality to Bambu.

As for the drinks, they're pretty fresh and not too sweet, as long as you don't find a screw in your smoothie (-1 star).  No, it didn't happen to me, but the friend of an old coworker that was sitting at the table next to me had one in his drink.  He was too nice to even request another drink.. and he actually kept drinking it so I guess that's a testament to how good the smoothie was..

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1

50

Don V.

San Jose, CA

Bambu is excellent, I feel like all the fruits they used are freshly blended right there. It's a real nice atmosphere. It's extremely clean and you can put in phone orders which is convenient. The reason why I gave it a 4 star and not 5 is because it can be a bit pricey

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10

95

dominique l.

San Jose, CA

the interior is definitely nice, and this is like the only vietnamese owned pearl tea place i know. haha. they even sell vietnamese che desserts and stuff.

i had the mango iced tea while my boyfriend had the mango smoothie.

the mango smoothie was good, but nothing mind-blowing, and my mango tea, i felt had too much tea flavor vs. mango flavor.  my boyfriend said the it was too "tea-ish." haha. i agree though. the tea flavor was too strong.  the good thing though was that there were 2 huge chunks of mango in it!  but it was hard to eat since i had to open the cap and eat it with a spoon!

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6

13

Michelle L.

San Jose, CA

Passion love smoothie:
Tasted like Jamba Juice's carribean passion with a kick to it.  I agree with Rj S.... definitely a five star smoothie.  I love the smoothy-ness texture of it unlike an Icee.

Cantaloupe milkshake:
Also a decadence.  Tasted natural, not artificial.

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4

64

Miss H.

San Jose, CA

I like that they put chunks of lychee in the lychee milk tea.  At the counter they had a sampling of other stuff you could put into your drink instead of pearls.   A worker wheeled in a cart full of various fruits (that he just purchased from Ranch 99 next door?) to replenish their supply, so they must make their stuff fresh.  They didn't have mango when we went because it wasn't in season.  The girl at the counter (she calls the owner aunt in Vietnamese) is friendly and all smiles - a rarity at most Asian places.

We waited pretty long for our orders though.  They should look into putting some snack food on the menu.

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7

131

Sylvia H.

Fremont, CA

Thank goodness for my friend for introducing me to this place!!  The drinks are cheap, yummy, and they use fresh fruits! I ordered the mango milk tea with mango jelly and it was soooo freakishly delish! It was only $3 too! There were at least 5 humangous chunks of fresh mango in the drink and a bunch of floating mango jelly. I love the fact that they didn't use powder at all...well, at least I don't think they did. If they did, it was at a minimum where I couldn't even notice! My two other friends ordered the lychee milk teas with lychee jelly and their's looked good too. It had entire lychees in the drink! Normally, at least at Fantasia, they only put chopped pieces.  Also, the decor to this place is very cute...looks like a Fantasia but with more color.  I'm definitely returning here again!! I feel so ripped for all the times I have turned to TapEx and spent over $3 for just regular milk tea...WTH is the extra 50 cent charge for tapioca? That's crap.  But, I'm ashamed to admit that I'll most likely be drinking more of TapEx's overcharged and not so great drinks because this place is a bit far from home. Why must you be sooo far :(

** UPDATE 4/19/08**
This place is so good I had to drag the bf here to try it for himself. We made a quick stop here to order a lychee milk tea with lychee jelly and a mocha frap with tapioca.  These two drinks were just as good as the mango milk tea and the lychee had plenty of big lychee pieces and jelly in the drink too! I'm loving the consistency of their drinks. Also, we saw some people ordering Halo Halo (fillipino dessert drink with jello, red beans, crushed ice, etc) so we asked the cashier about it since we didn't see it on their menu. Apparently they have a secret menu..not sure how you can find out what other concoctions are available though. I guess just request anything not on the menu and see if they can make it happen?? But for sure Halo Halo is one of those drinks you can get that's not on the menu...it looked very good. Def gonna try that next time! BTW, they have stamp cards too..get 10 stamps (1 stamp per drink) and your next drink is free ! The cashier won't tell you about it so you gotta ask yourself.

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5

11

rj s.

Santa Clara, CA

The Passion in Love smoothie alone is worth all five stars. Not to mention the service is fast and friendly. None of the other boba drink chains can even hope to compare.

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4

49

Joanne S.

San Jose, CA

Great way to get your buzz for the day!

I've only had their coffee and tea drinks and get them without tapioca or pudding in them, so I can only rate them on the drinks themselves.
I love their regular milk tea and jasmine milk tea. They actually taste like brewed tea with milk rather than the overly-sweetened milk teas I've had at other places that taste like they came out of a can or bottle.
They also make a great vanilla latte and although I'm not much of a mocha fan, I love their hazelnut mochas.  So far, the only mocha drink I've ever liked!  And they use good coffee, not the generic stuff.  Gotta find out what beans they use so I can stir up my own at home!
Good, friendly service.  The only downside is that it's located in a strip mall with several other  businesses and a Ranch 99 market, so sometimes parking can be tough, especially on the weekends.

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0

35

Brian S.

San Jose, CA

My rating should be more along the 3.5 line, but here's my take on it...

Cute cashier girls. 3 of them that I encountered so far are extremely nice.

The drink itself is good... but for the price you pay for the iced drinks... they fill it up with 3/4 ice, so essentially you're only drinking a little bit with boba. That's pretty much the turn down of this place.

If you can, try requesting without ice or go for their warm drinks. Gah the hot drinks burns me, so watch out for that!

One more thing worth noting, is that their coffee jelly cubes taste pretty good too - add it to your drink.

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4

21

Emily L.

San Jose, CA

I don't even know how to explain it.  It all started in February when I felt the need to find a new pearl drink place, because all the places I have been to in San Jose (Tap Ex., Q-Cup, Lollicup, Sweetea, etc.) were starting to get more disappointing as time went by. So, I thought I'd search "pearl drink" on yelp, and bam. Bambu Snacks & Coffee caught my attention. I read some reviews and found myself to liking it. I mean, look at the rating. A vast majority on this page has given it five star ratings, so I thought, "What the hey, this place might actually be good."

I got around to going here about a week after reading the reviews. Coming into the shop, everything looked so clean and "warm." The employee (which I'm pretty sure is related to the owner) was incredibly friendly.

I ended up getting a Jasmine Milk Tea w/ Pearls for only $2.75. In comparison to other places, that is one good deal. Their pearls were soft and chewy, the drink itself just got to me. I loved it.

Ever since then, I've been bringing my friends and family here. I've also tried Thai Milk Tea, Taro Smoothie, and Green Milk Tea (btw, I'm glad they can distinguish between Green or Jasmine because usually, other places have only Jasmine & consider Green as the same thing. IT'S NOT.) which were all satisfying to my taste buds.

Oh, one more thing. I was waiting for my drink during their lunch rush hour this one day and as I looked around I noticed how the place reminded me of nature and ... bamboo. Weird, I know. But point is, the aura and look of their store matches their name perfectly. That's something else that I love about this Vietnamese establishment.

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2

12

T. M.

San Jose, CA

One of the FEW Vietnamese owned places with GREAT service

It's sad how asian people can't do business, and i really respect the people here because they are all very friendly.

you can all me bias all you want, but Passion In Love smoothie alone deserves 5 stars..I love their mango dazzle too and frequently get tworn between the 2.  I'm a stingy spender but I rarely ever regret spending money here.

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11

87

Shannon T.

Fremont, CA

Wow, what a delicious hazelnut mocha frappucino, seriously delicious.  I normally don't drink them even.  Maybe I forgot how yummy they are...

Service was quite nice here too.  I like the young girl at the bar.  The only thing is the internet wasn't working the day I came but she actually apologized for it and tried to fix it.  Good service at a chinese establishment?  I will always give it 5 stars.

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5

52

Mikko A.

San Jose, CA

HAHA thanks yelp. Had a great experience here the lady was real nice. she recommended my girlfriend some smoothie and she really liked it. they were watching some vietnamese show too it was pretty funny. they were like playing usher and dancing and they talked about dating and stuff. i guess you had to be there i didnt understand a thing, but it was still funny.  so yeah check it out its good stuff

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11

40

Charissa P.

San Jose, CA

Updated May 7, 2008

2.50 to 3.00 now for Green Milk Tea! oh man! The previous week it was just 2.75 and now this week it's 25 cents more. docking a star cause it got all pricey now. hahaha!

Update March 21, 2008

I notice that it's more busy whenever I'm there. The wait is kind of long but if you call in then obviously, you wouldn't have to wait. The Hazelnut Mocha Frapp with coffee jelly is my favorite at the moment now. It's the different girl on the register from when I was known as the 'green milk tea with pearls'. She's also friendly.
-

One of my favorite places to go for pearl tea. The lady knows me as the 'green milk tea with pearls'. That's the first or second thing she says to me when she sees me. She's very friendly. I love the green milk tea and the coffee drinks here. I order the hot white mocha and I'm more satisfied than with Starbucks and the plus side is I get pearls with it too. I haven't tried their smoothies yet but when I do, I'll do an update.

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0

135

Samson W.

Milpitas, CA

I've tried this place twice and it has become one of my favorite places for pearl tea.  Their pearl tea is very good and is only 25 cents extra, unlike Tapioca Express or Quickly.

The service is excellent.  The young lady is very friendly.

Third and final good thing about this place is that they open at 7 AM, except for Monday.

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0

7

Leilani y.

Fremont, CA

My bf heard about this place and decided to 'yelp' it. Reviews sound good except for one or two. Yelp is suppose to be all real reviews...but there are two reviews in particular that stand out as fake. I'm not an expert, but when you start ranting and raving incessantly about how great a place is without merit, it results in a disservice.

Anyway, enough with my ranting. My expectation was so high, that it was no where near where it was raved to be. The girl was nice so I gave a one star, but I took away another star because their pearls were unusually chewy in my milk tea and my bf had the flan which tasted kind of old.

I dunno...maybe it was an 'off' day for them. who knows...

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2

8

Calvin T.

San Jose, CA

So far, I have not been able to have tastier boba or smoothies. This is the place to beat. The fruit smoothies are quite exceptional. It is not hard to tell that they use real fruit in the smoothies. Plain fruit smoothies such as mango, avocado, or even green bean are true to their names. The boba is also very high quality offering a nice selection of very tasty additives like pearls or lychee jello. If you love iced vietnamese coffee, their's is worth a try. Even the worker admits to making it so strong she can't handle drinking one herself and commends whoever orders one. I live close by, so I am blessed to have this place here.

Edit: I had to come back to this review, and reaffirm how good this place is. The quality is just hard to beat. One example...I ordered an avocado shake, and when it came out it was SO thick i flipped the cup upside down and NOTHING HAPPENED! Jamba juice can never stand a chance! How do we get those "yelpers love us" stickers for this place?

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8

19

Jenn H.

San Jose, CA

i discovered this boba spot last year when i moved in with my (then) fiance (now husband). it's within walking distance from our home. after my first few visits, i declared to my friends that this was "my new favorite boba place close to home." Bambu had decent boba (tapioca pearls) and i was always greeted with a warm smile from the barista. i was also pleased that they offered a variety of fruit smoothies like jackfruit, soursop, and durian (self-proclaimed durian aficionado here)!

i used to frequent boba places like Fantasia, Tapioca Express, Q-Cup, Sweetheart or Quickly. but in the past few months, i've found myself making excuses for side trips to stop by Bambu for my boba fix. i like that you can get hot grass jelly milk tea with boba, and the grass jelly isn't goopy like at other places. i'm also impressed that they make their hot taro milk tea with real taro (not powder). my husband gets to spoon up chunks of taro and boba when he orders this drink. it rocks! there's another boba place in the same plaza, Bar Code, but it's inferior in quality IMO.

the only other place i get excited to get boba from is TenRen's Tea (but that's a different league/story). just my personal opinion, my boba ratings would go as follows:
1) TenRen's
2) Bambu
3) Verde
4) Sweetheart
5) TapEx

Cheers.

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19

22

Margaret P.

Pleasant Hill, CA

This place is dangerous! While I was going to grad school, I moved to a house that was just an exit away. I was first introduced to this place by my then-boyfriend's sister who lived down the street, I believe. I hate her for it, because if it weren't for that one night when she asked me to meet her and her husband, I would've had a lot more money and lot less pounds.

At least once a week for who knows how long, I had to get the mango shake with lychee jello. It was the closest thing to the mango shakes I would get in the Philippines (in my opinion, the best mango shakes ever! Hmm.. am I little bit biased?). You know it's fresh if they can't make them for me during winter- mangoes are not available. The amount you get is very filling for the price of what a tall Vanilla Latte would be at Starbucks.

To this day, every time I go back to the San Jose area, I try to make a trip out to Bambu. And everytime I walk in, immediately at the counter, she calls out my order before I finish saying, "Hi": mango shake with lychee jello, no whip cream.

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0

6

CLW C.

San Jose, CA

FIVE STARS*****

Meaning this is the best of the best.

Drinks are cheap, made with fresh everything. It tastes good, friendly workers. There is nothing wrong with this place. (besides they have been playing mr.bean for the past two months)

If you want a drink this is the place to go, I do not know why this place is not filled with people 24/7. It really is that good

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1

19

Monica B.

Santa Clara, CA

Bambu is a little bit cheaper than most other boba tea places, and their drinks are great! For about a dollar less than Fantasia, Tapioca Express, and other places like it, you get more pearls and a larger drink. The staff is very nice and they always make the drinks quickly. An excellent place overall.

I recommend the chai tea, as well as the mango tea because it is not only delicious and sweet, but they also throw in two big slices of fresh mango!

Also, it is good to remember that Bambu is CLOSED on MONDAYS!

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0

3

Rebecca A.

San Jose, CA

Wow!  My first review.  But it is definitely worth it.  I have been on a lychee kick lately, and after reading the other reviews for Bambu, I had to give them a shot, especially since they are right down the street from me.  After trying other pearl tea places, this is definitely the best so far.  As another reviewer stated, they DO put in piece of fruit into the drinks.  I'm at the bottom of my lychee milk tea, and have found at lease 4-5 good sized pieces, almost 5 fruits worth.  Also, the pearls taste like they have been soaking in pure sugarcane, which has left them with a deliciously sweet, yet not overly sweet taste.  When I first got my drink, I thought it had been blended together due to the fact it had a nice froth at the top, and I was getting little pieces of lychee as I drank.  So the first thing that went through my mind way yah! they made it with real fruit and blended it to get the taste.  I'm glad I got my stamp card, cause I know I will be back.  And at $3 for my drink, it sure beats Starbucks, Jamba, or even Peets!

The only negative I would have is the shopping center its in, because it always seems crowded and parking can be difficult.  I lucked out today and found door front parking.

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Elite '08

41

214

Dawn D.

San Jose, CA

I'm trying to watch my spending habits...so the first thing to go was my my non fat lattes from Starbucks  which I replaced with their regular brewed coffee....then I noticed, I was spending a lot on boba/pearl drinks - costing me over $3.00 a pop. OUCH! My boba habit had to go, too! Not to mention, they are loaded with calories. So I'm on a BOBA BOYCOTT...

But here is one exception to this Boba Boycott of mine, and it's Bambu's Mango Mlik Tea Boba!!!

I really recommend their DELICIOUS MANGO MILK TEA with Boba.  It's delish!!  It's not too sweet!  It even comes with pieces of fresh mango!  Imagine that??  A Boba drink with fresh mango pieces? YUM YUM!

I'm glad Bambu is over by my boyfriend's place in San Jose cuz if it was by my neck of the woods (Burlingame) I would probably be there every day! haha!

:)

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1

8

Vanessa U.

San Jose, CA

I absolutely love Bambu! I've been going here for years and I never tire of it. I like that they use real (fresh) fruit and taro... none of that powdered stuff. Their coffee is awesome as well. The pearls are never bad, whereas with other places, it's like they're giving you old pearls that have been laying out for some time. This is the place to go for all your pearl drink needs. On the plus, the lady who works there is always so nice and ready to greet you when you come in.

I know they're going to add snacks to their menu, which concerns me a bit. I hope it doesn't affect the quality of their drinks.

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12

37

henya h.

San Jose, CA

this place is just around the corner from where i work so i drop by every now and then to pay a visit.

i would give them 5 stars but they kind of degrade a little but nonetheless, their drinks are still very good. I always get their almond milk tea with dark brick. the lady who works there is very friendly and always smile when I see her. it makes you feel welcome and wanting to come again.

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