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Location
825 Russell Blvd. #22
(At University Mall)
Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 11:30am - 12am
Thursday, Friday: 11:30am-2am
Saturday, Sunday: 12pm - 12am
Phone
(530) 297-5150
Owner
Autumn Field, LLC
Established
2002-04-29
Payment Method
Cash, Visa or Mastercard
Website
OldTeaHouse.com

The Old Teahouse is an energetic Chinese restaurant with a decidedly Taiwan flair. It's open late, serves tapioca drinks, and draws in lots of students from the dorms. They may not answer the phone.

Walk up to the register and pick up one of the two menus. One menu is devoted entirely to the drinks, one side in English and the other side in Chinese. The other menu is devoted to food with English translations and some pictures. Also check out the boards near the cash register as there will be items listed that aren't on either of the menus. They only take cash here so remember to come with paper money.

Food orders can take 10 minutes to be cooked if there are no other people ordering and upwards of 30 minutes if there are a lot of people ordering. Entrees cost about $6 to $8.

 

 

Inside the Old Teahouse (2006). Some of their wonton soup.

The Old Teahouse has the "Buy 10 drinks, get one free" cards so ask when you order. They're nice and stamp for each drink. It should be noted that your free drink can only be a regular sized tea drink (with the option of tapioca), although for 75 cents along with the filled-out card they will upgrade to large.

After eating, remember to bus your own table (there is a bin for dirty dishes near the front) or else they'll yell at you.

There are three TV's dangerously close to one another, positioned on the same wall. There is a fourth (on another wall) just for good measure. Of the three TV's, one is a widescreen. They usually play Asian-language music videos and sometimes play foreign language films, mostly Cantonese, the occasional Mandarin, and the even rarer, Korean film. They have HK magazines in a stack near the entrance to flip through. This is as close to Hong Kong as one can get without leaving Davis. The food orders take a while, so don't order right before they close.

Their level of shadiness isn't exactly "playing frisbee on the Quad on a sunny day". There have been a number of complaints about rudeness and shortchanging. They also ask for your paper receipt when you receive your order, which possibly might cause problems for some.

Their patrons note:

  • They are often out of tapioca
  • They have great fried rice
  • Try the Honey green tea No Milk No tapioca
  • The tea prices are great, the food prices are overpriced (if you think around 6-7 dollars for a meal is overpriced). Other patrons believe the exact opposite to be true.
  • The food tastes bland and cornstarchy.
  • Try the red grapefruit crush with boba but avoid cranberry.
  • Add pineapple and sweet and sour sauce for 50 cents.
  • Service can be very slow. (usually it is the kitchen that is slow)
  • Check your change and food to make sure you got what you paid for. (definitely, because sometimes they're busy and mistakes are frequent)
  • Wontons, potstickers, soups, crispy chicken, calamari, fried tofu, chicken wings, baked goods and appetizers take an average 15-20 minutes, and if yours is done sooner, consider yourself lucky. The fastest is fried rice usually
  • Late night orders of Popcorn Chicken (which is awesome when fresh) may be previous batches of Popcorn Chicken refried to warm up, you can tell by its touch of charred taste in your Chicken.

Some time in November of 2006 they added a large illuminated advertisement for an SUV inside the store.

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Menu Cover

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2009-01-14 00:38:20   They're vegetarian food isn't that good, in my opinion. I've been there a couple of times, and each time my vegetarian meal was basically just cabbage and noodles in a broth. It didn't really taste like much. I could have made that by myself and not have paid $9. —AmanpreetSingh

2009-02-10 23:23:15   I just got back from OTH with my friend just now, and I just felt like writing a review. I ordered a yotea (yogurt) green tea with grass jelly, less sugar. If what I got was less sugar, I have to wonder how much syrup they use for a regular syrup flavored tea. Quickly has the same problem though, the default recipe is just way too sweet. Also, the grass jelly had a strange texture. Not quite sure how to describe it...like jello with too much gelatin and too little water... =/ It was also way too sweet for grass jelly, and lacked the herbal taste that makes grass jelly so distinctive and yummy. I tasted my friend's thai milk tea...I think they got it to compete against Quickly which I find funny. Anyway, it had a really strange aftertaste, but that went away after the first two sips :P For food, I wanted to try something completely random, so I decided to try their fried buns with condensed milk. I expected a couple of small buns that had some sort of custard filling, deep fried, and drizzled with condensed milk. When I got my order, it totally was not what I expected. I'm not sure if the non-chinese people on here will get it, but they were literally regular sized "man tous" tossed in the deep fryer, and then put over a bed of lettuce in the box. They gave me 4 full sized deep fried mantous...the box felt like it weighed 5lbs. I was starting to get excited, this was hella food for 4 dollars! I try a little piece, and in my first bite, I literally felt a GUSH of oil rush out of that tiny piece. There had to be a tsp of oil in there. No joke. Not only that,the bun was not sweet at all, it completely lacked flavor...except I think they used the same oil they fry their popcorn chicken in =X mmm popcorn chicken flavor with condensed milkkk...tasty! Anyway, I decided that the dish was inedible and started to play with my food. I took a bigger chunk, and pinched it and I was disgusted to see a *stream* of oil gush out of that bun. It seriously was like they took a sponge, soaked it in oil, then fried it, and served it to me. NASTY. My friend ordered some curry dish with beef and potatoes and stuff, it was pretty tasty, and she got a decent amount of beef :)

To sum it up, I recommend the yotea green tea, (its better than the one at Quickly), and that beef curry dish my friend got. The grass jelly and thai milk tea was just okay. And the fried buns were just repulsive. lol it IS kind of my fault though...pretty stupid (not to mention unhealthy) choice XP —jfong252

2009-02-11 16:44:36   I've only been here a few times, but it's not bad. The food is alright, but depending on what you order, it can be really greasy/oily. I don't like the service, though. They can be really rude. —fszeto

2009-03-19 18:01:17   Bottom line: Don't talk smack about your customers to your coworkers IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMERS, because you never know if the customers can actually understand what you're saying. Yes, some of us that are Asian who order in non-accented English (and use Americanized terms like "boba" as opposed to "zen zhou nai cha") ARE fluent in Mandarin with a good grasp of Canto.

It's just plain rude, and that is the reason why I'm not returning to the Old Teahouse.

Food is decent, but service sucks. —sugarpop

2009-03-20 12:45:58   Went today at 11:30 a.m., well after the place was supposed to have opened. It wasn't. In fact, no one was even in there. What's up with that? —condemned2bfree

2009-03-30 03:35:39   I agree that the service here could use some work, however I will return because the food, price, and convenience makes up for it. —DannyT

"2009-04-08 18:20:20"   The service really needs some work. People who work here are very rude to customers. However, I will return because of their yummy rainbow jelly and fried wonton. =] — thtly

2009-05-04 16:29:07   The food can sometimes be good and sometimes be salty. Overall, I love their rainbow jelly, it tastes good with any drink. The customer service is pretty bad, can have some adjustments. —thtly

2009-06-16 21:49:27   I'm a graduating senior at UCD and have lived in hong kong for half a decade. Some people here need to get one thing straight - OTH is TAIWANESE-oriented, NOT HK. I agree that they serve SOME dishes that you might find in HK-oriented restaurants, but they're nowhere NEAR what an HK'er would consider an HK restaurant to be. That being said, the MUSIC is ALSO primarily Taiwanese, NOT HK (Jay Chou, anyone? Mandarin, anyone?). Having said that, I adore OTH and like it for what it is. If anyone here's looking for something HK, the closest thing that Davis has right now is QUICKLY in North Davis, inside the Savemart complex (davis wiki it if you don't know where it is). As an HK'er, QUICKLY provides much more of what an average HK'er would expect. To finish off - BOTH places are has its ups and downs, and I don't mind the occasional "rudeness" that happens in OTH. Most of the servers are college students like all of us - give them a break. Do you work retail or stand in front of a cash register 9 hours a day, dealing with 17 retarded customers outta 30 total every hour? You don't, so you don't know how it is. Y'all go to OTH for their food and drinks, you don't go there to be to be served. Go to Olive Garden for that shit (though I doubt you'd find tapioca there). Oh wait, you don't even pay tips, so wtf are y'all expecting? Got a problem with their customer service? Go to their owner and explain it yourself and let them know what's going on. No offense to anyone here, but I thought I might get that off my chest before I get outta Davis, 4 years is almost up. Good luck to y'all. :) —AnthonyLam

2009-07-02 09:45:16   I live close to the OTH and I have a major sweet tooth so I frequent them often for milk black tea. I also enjoy the popcorn chicken and a few other items.

—ColinDoyle

2009-07-30 00:54:41   I used to dislike this place a lot. I don't frequent it all the much but I'm definitely not opposed anymore. I was really turned off by the service but now it seems much better (though, I have pretty low standards: just a basic acknowledgement and maybe a smile, non glacial speed, accuracy, and a thank you... that sorta thing, nothing over the top or contrived... whatevs). I don't get the drinks because that was the biggest problem before but I do like what i've had of the food. On another note: I heard that the workers are divided in shifts by dialect, I assume Mandarin and Cantonese, but maybe more? So for example (just an example) in the afternoon Mandarin speakers will work and in the evening Cantonese speakers will work. True? Commentary? —hitobito

2009-09-02 20:14:26   i do not like the service, my friends are always complaining about rude employees, so i've been boycotting this place with them, we always scream "LET'S GO TO QUICKLYS" just to make OTH mad lol —emme

  • The funny thing is, Old Teahouse can have about as crappy service as they want and it's not really going to hurt their business. I would wager that at least 75% of their customer base is freshmen who walk over from the dorms. And every fall they get a new batch of know-nothing freshmen who like the idea of walking up the street to get boba and fried foods late at night. —jsogul

2009-09-27 19:26:05   I havent been there for a while. I went there around 1pm today and the service was great. The workers were just chatting in Mandarin and from what I heard, nothing about customers. My drink was good and my food came out quickly. I think i'll visit again. —kkash

2009-09-30 12:28:33   I just went there on monday for lunch but i didn't experience anything bad. It was packed but the cashier was very patience with my questions, the drink maker was extremely fast and my drink came out great. Great improvement. —AvilaVoom

2009-11-24 20:25:40   This place is THE WORST CHINESE FOOD RESTAURANT IN DAVIS!!! I know three close friends who have all gotten food poisoning from this place, it is ridiculous that they haven't been shut down. The food is overpriced, especially when you are paying for bacteria filled garbage. You want a good atmosphere and great tasting food? Go to Hometown Chinese Food, that has become my new Chinese restaurant of choice.

—Jslice

This is the worst worst place in davis to have some food. Drink is okay. Just okay. It should have been shut down by the county long time ago

—Philanthy

2010-02-02 20:32:45   Usually I check my order but I was in a hurry, which was a mistake. I ordered a Watermelon blizzard and got Watermelon milk. I ordered a Black Pepper Beef entree and got a Black Pepper Chicken entree. I wish I could say this is the only time they have screwed up my order but it isn't. If you go doublecheck your change and your food. This happens quite a bit. —Ruff

2010-02-02 21:27:20   The goods -Food decently Tasty (if cooked properly) -When they mean Spicy its at least decently spicy -the tapioca Drinks -its right next to Gamestop -Flavors of the Tapioca Drink - The Popcorn Chicken The Okay - The smell when you come into the restaurant -The Chinese Videos on the TV's - the Tapioca Drinks could have been served with larger portions -Magazines in the store (Some decent, some bad, some from next door!) - The Service tends to favor people who speak Mandarin or Cantonese The Bad -The Seating could be a lot larger - 90% of the place is filled up which leads to the following :No place to sit, no tapioca, and you have to wait for your food to come out longer - Their Fries they taste like water inside of a fried sack -(This is true for most Chinese restaurants) the bathrooms could be a lot cleaner and larger i mean 1 person at a time —DarkArchon

2010-02-28 12:34:38   Why are the people there so rude. This one girl was totally rude. I was merely asking if they take debit and she was like "cash only" with so much attitude. Sorry that I failed to see your paper (which I saw after I've already asked her). She could've said "Oh sorry we only take cash" but no it was a straight up "cash only". My god this place is great for newcomers. —HyeRin

2010-03-01 21:40:33   Favorite place for tea. Beats Quickly IMO. Food is ok. It's pretty inconsistent, especially on busy nights. I think people there are friendly. Because of cultural and social differences, they may come off as "rude" but I'm sure don't mean any harm. Most typical chinese restaurants are like that. With that said, I never had problems with their service. Definitely recommend it for tea. —samly

2010-03-07 03:53:00   I don't know why people eat here. The one thing that a Chinese restaurant need to do well is making rice, but they can't make it to say their lives. The rice always comes out undercooked and raw or it comes out overcooked like thick porridge. Food always comes out greasy, over salted, undercooked, yet it takes forever for them to make. It sucks that this is the only place in Davis to get some Chinese food and drink. —sajohnson

2010-04-27 09:38:41   ***HEY EVERYBODY** If you come here just for the boba (bubble milk tea drinks), then DON'T! You can go to HOMETOWN CHINESE FOOD which is located by Zen Toro and across the street from uncle vito's pizza and THEY ALSO HAVE THE BOBA TEA DRINKS! They also have food that won't cause you to throw up all night! —JSlice

2010-05-04 21:13:41   I always love chinese food. but THE OLD TEA HOUSE have a worst chinese food that I ever had. It's no taste. —Phimpha

2010-05-26 09:44:19   it doesnt matter if the food is greasy and makes you throw up, or the boba drinks suck ball, they still get tons of businesses. so save your time and leave your comment somewhere else. —lazifocker

  • Isn't sucking balls (through a straw) sort of the point of boba? -jw

2010-05-31 18:22:01   lol yea. apparently a lot of people love sucking balls —lazifocker

2010-06-03 17:02:23   i use to go to old teahouse like everyday when i lived near it.. it's the closest Chinese food place and it's a little similar to mom's cooking.. tho i feel like this place taste better xD The tea stuff are overprice. Go to quickly instead. But the food here is amazing. so i recommend it. —Hollen

2010-06-07 02:27:32   I've been addicted to OTH for years and am a regular customer there. For all the complaints I've seen on here, holding true to daviswiki secretly being a complaints forum, I've never had any of the problems mentioned.

- I've never experienced any sort of racism, always been greeted with a smile and good service overall. - My bill, change, and orders have always been correct, even when it's busy. - I've never found the food to be unsatisfactory. - I've never gotten sick after eating there. - As far as pricing relative to Quickly, it's only about $1 more and I find that the flavors used are considerably better. If you don't mind the rather artificial flavors then Quickly is worth the dollar in your pocket, but I prefer OTH.

All that aside...

My favorites are the pudding milk green tea (so worth the lactose!) and popcorn chicken. The chicken I order medium to extra spicy, depending on my mood, and it's delicious, hot, and generously portioned. I'm not sure of the spices used, but whatever it is it's very hot and FLAVORFUL, unlike hot wings and the like which are just heat, and at the very end there is just a touch of sweetness. I also like the #67, though I'm not sure why. Something about all that salt and the egg and rice is so good. If you see my other reviews you'll note that I'm never a stickler for tradition and I find that this holds true here, much to my benefit.

As a note, yes the kitchen can be quite slow. I personally don't mind it, I just plan ahead. I give myself some time when I go, sip my tea and read a book or something. I think because of the setup people expect the food to be instantly ready like fast food, but it's not. I've never felt that the kitchen was TOO slow, maybe I just have more patience because I know the right food is worth waiting for. —KBathory

2010-06-30 17:41:29   I'd have less to gripe about this place if it were offering hastily prepared Chinese food but alas, it takes forever for an order to come out. If OTH at least served-up fast Chinese food I would forgive them for the mediocre taste (and oftentimes bordering on inedible) but their long wait times leave no excuse for such stomach wrenching food. Truthfully, the fried rice is better than most Davis Chinese joints but that highlight aside, everything else on the menu is a palate-offending, artery-clogging, sodium enriched tour de force. Indeed, that OTH can cook-up such ill-tasting food at such a high health hazard is an applaudable feat.

The bubble tea is average at best and does not tread far from the offerings hawked by similar proprietors; in other words: a sugary blend of milk, tea, tapioca, ice, and questionable food service standards. Though this reviewer will admit that they do prove refreshing on those often sweltering Davis days. —blastoff

2010-07-16 17:12:46   I sadly don't go here anymore because I ordered a new flavor of tea that I did not end up liking and staff would not make me another drink. Anywhere else I've been, if you don't like something, they'll make you something else, no questions asked. I was so disappointed that I left my drink on the counter and took my tip back. —JasperD

2010-07-19 01:34:46   Average place for Chinese food in Davis. However there are better alternatives such as Quickly's which offer some pretty decent food which surprises me because I'm not used to Quickly's serving actual meals. Sometimes the workers here messes up your drink like mine (Almond Milk Tea was very powdery) upon request they gave me a replacement, but it wasn't much better. Very close place to campus dorms, popular place for freshmen. —FlamingLight

2010-08-20 00:22:11   Just got my oder of popcorn chicken.. got home and found out that it tasted oddly different than other orders I've made. I figured they were re-frying old cold batches of popcorn chicken that people did not order which attributes to this slight burned taste in the chicken.

Lesson learned: DO NOT BUY POPCORN CHICKEN Late at night!! —ClarenceL

2010-09-03 22:56:21   @JasperD I'm not such a fan of the OTH services either, but I think a store can be seriously ripped off if they let you order again for free just because you didn't like your first order(given that nothing was wrong with the food itself). Don't you think? —susiekim

2010-09-06 20:27:41   @JasperD i think susiekim is totally right about the whole drink thing you were complaining about. if there was nothing wrong with the drink then they shouldn't be making you a new one. its just unfortunate you chose a drink you did not like. for example, if you went to jamba juice and ordered sumthing different and you turned out not liking it, theyre NOT gonna make you a new drink for free. You would have to buy it.

@"people complaining about service" People need to stop complaining about the "bad service" at oldteahouse. Give them a break. They're college students JUSt like the rest of us and you guys have no idea wut its like working there having to deal with TONS of customers. (and im pretty sure we all know its a shit load of customers considering the fact thats theres always a line and its always fucking busy). And as for the "slow" service, im sure theyre working as fast as they can and working as accurately as possible (cuz who would wanna remake the order?) unfortunately for the employees, the huge lines sometimes causes tickets to back up which leads to this 'slow' service. —aznfruitsmoothe

  • I'm sorry but you're wrong. College students only make the drinks which is always fast and easy, the slow service for the food is made in the back by non-college students. Also just because it's busy, it doesn't give employees an excuse for their crappy customer service. —ClarenceL
  • @aznfruitsmoothie: I haven't personally had a bad interaction with an Old Teahouse employee, but I felt compelled to respond to this comment. Whether or not they're college students "just like us," is completely irrelevant. Maybe some of the other commenters don't know what its like having to work with tons of customers, but I do (going on three years worth of experience). There's tons of people lined up and making lots of noise? Tough shit, get over it. Put on a fake smile, greet them and kindly take their order. Nobody gets a free pass for being rude just because they're college students. More important than their being students, they're ADULTS and they're getting PAID to work the cash register and deal with noisy customers. They are old enough to know how the customer/employee relationship is supposed to work, and shouldn't be held to different standards just because they also go to UC Davis. —sososharp

2010-09-13 15:55:46   I like that Old Tea House provides students with late night food at good prices, but I personally have gotten food poisoning TWICE from this place (don't ask me why I went back the second time), and I will never eat here again. I realize that some people are more susceptible to getting sick than others, so I would just suggest a "try at your own risk" mentality. It all tastes good going down, but if you're unlucky like me it's not so good on the way back up.

The drinks, on the other hand are very yummy! I would suggest heading here for a milk tea, slush, or anything really. I prefer Old Tea House over Quickly when getting a drink, and I'd recommend the Lychee Slush if you're looking for something new! :) —AshleyMatson

  • More about Food Poisoning
    • Imply all you like, but profuse vomiting and diarrhea beginning a few hours after eating and continuing for about 24 hours sounds a lot like food poisoning to me. But hey, I could totally be wrong. If this is the case, their food is just so disgusting it causes me to have profuse food poisoning-like symptoms. :3 (/rant, bitch, moan) —AshleyMatson
      • I believe you got food poisoning, maybe you just have a weak stomach. The times I've eaten here, usually getting popcorn chicken or salt and pepper squid its been great. -NickSchmalenberger

2010-09-19 04:27:00   @clarenceL. Ok well do at least agree with me about the drink thing I said about jasperDs comment. —aznfruitsmoothe

2010-10-08 22:50:00   In response to Sugarpop, thank you for your review. It's good to know that the employees aren't extremely rude to ONLY their Caucasian customers. They are certainly that whenever I come in and politely place an order (which is quite rare due to their attitude). —YesItsMe

2010-10-13 13:46:25   Went in to try and get food today, found out their opening hours had changed from 11:00 am to 11:15. That's fine enough, but there wasn't an employee in the building until at least 11:25. There were four or five other people lined up outside waiting to get some food, and everyone bailed for greener pastures. If they want to change their hours, that's their business, but a restaurant should at least be open for the hours listed in their front window. If I didn't like their salted fish chicken fried rice, I wouldn't go back. —sososharp

2010-10-22 13:25:45   You know, I haven't had a particular bad experience with the customer service either, but I have gone enough to notice that a lot of the times the customer is at fault. Just the other day I was behind this girl in line that ordered 3 drinks, had the order repeated to her after every drink she said, then the order was repeated over again after she finished ordering. When they got their drinks they complained that they had ordered something else as one of the drinks and the worker wouldn't remake the drink for them, and the customer decided to make snide comments on the side. I side with the worker on this one, and if I had to deal with a bunch of similar people, I'd probably go crazy. I'm not making excuses for workers that are rude, but this is just one interaction I've seen. I'm sure that some workers are at fault and some workers are not, and remember that not all workers are created equal. But just remember that maybe you should treat others how you'd like to be treated and they just might do the same to you. —TAPSisCRAP

  • Of course nobody should have to put up with complete bullshit just because someone is a patron. I'd definitely be on the employee's side in that situation, too. Clearly the customer didn't know what the hell they were doing, and they shouldn't get a refund just because they screwed up in placing their order. But at the end of the day, the customer does have a little more license to voice his/her attitude and displeasure because that is just the reality of the situation. —sososharp
    • I'd just like to point out that nowhere in this does it say that the drink was in fact what she had ordered. Is it impossible that between the order being taken correctly, and the drink being prepared there could have been a mistake? —MM

2010-12-05 13:56:10   I come to old teahouse all the time, and some employees r slightly rude but Some of them are actually pretty nice. anyone else agree??? lol. —Yogurtlover229

2010-12-14 15:22:02   Long waits and no where to sit, but good food and large portions. I wish it wasn't "cash only" Also their Ice Crushes are way too sweet—JasonS

2011-01-23 17:09:07   Worst service ever. Do not come here by any means. The girl at the register was not listening when my girlfriend was ordering, so my girlfriend had to repeat her order twice and even then, our order was messed up. It took us 20 minutes to get food because they forgot to make one of the items. After I finally got my order, I found out that I was given the wrong item. I tried to politely bring up the fact that my order was mixed up, but instead was told that I got what I ordered (when in fact it was her mistake for talking to her coworkers while putting in our order) and that they would not change my food. Total damage: 20 minutes of wasted time and $20 of wasted money. Please avoid this place by any means... if you absolutely must come here prepare for horrible service, waste of money and time. —tm530

2011-01-28 11:15:18   If you had to repeat your order wouldn't you check your receipt to make sure they got it right? Especially if you noticed they weren't listening? I'm not saying you're in the wrong, but that coulda saved you time too. —TAPSisCRAP

2011-02-17 17:42:09   Old Teahouse rules hella hard! —LaylaMaria

2011-02-17 18:13:59   It's funny that this place has three locations (two of which are in upstate New York) and I have lived in all three towns. I would recommend the pudding blizzard. It's pretty delicious and I haven't seen it at any other tapioca teahouses. —MeggoWaffle

2011-05-18 21:23:50   The place is nice, good drinks, etc. but I dislike the dirty stares you get from the asian costumers if you're not asian yourself. —Weesito

2011-06-15 20:02:37   Two words: Popcorn Chicken! —WengFF

2011-07-03 15:19:24   Their drinks are great. Perfect for the summer. But the service is not so great. I also noticed that they didn't change the sales tax rate, even though California decreased it a few days ago. —LizS

2011-08-14 20:40:25   The only things good here are the beverages. Don't get the food. It's much better (and cheaper) at Hunan's or Red Orchid. —HaydenStephan

2011-08-16 16:23:56   I loved this place as freshman (it was very convenient since I lived in Cuarto). The food is decent and the prices are fair. I love their tea drinks, and the customer service is better than Quickly's service (which is good enough for me).

This place is really popular with freshmen living nearby U-mall, so expect a very long wait to order and receive your food.

Also, the people writing reviews for Old Tea House (and for many other casual restaurants) seem to think that the food there is supposed to be gourmet, upper-middle class food. It's not, so get over your privileged ass or go eat at an expensive restaurant. —PaulV

2011-09-19 17:46:38   This place is WAY better than Quickly, so given a choice between the two I'd definitely say here for drinks.

However, if you're ordering food, stick to the basics (fried rice, etc) because the more complex stuff here is nasty. —sundeimasu

2011-12-15 20:14:39   I ordered Chicken and Vegetables with Pan Fried Noodles. I got a partially cooked brick of ramen, a few pieces of chicken, and some cabbage. Don't eat here. —ChuckSteak

2012-01-05 21:22:21   I thought their meals were priced reasonably and tasted ok. One negative thing about The Old Teahouse is that they use polystyrene to-go boxes for everyone (even people wishing to eat there). There are a whole list of reasons why polystyrene is bad for your health (those who manufacture it and those who eat out of the containers) the environment (It's petroleum based and doesn't recycle well) plus many other reasons - http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html —ConsciousConsumer

2012-02-14 14:48:00   I normally order the milk green or milk black teas and recently, I've felt that the drinks are TOO sweet (never thought I'd say that) and TOO heavy. Finishing a drink is like finishing a meal. I've ordered the Beef Udon here, its tasty, not the greatest but not too bad. —BingL

2012-04-12 13:25:46   TARO BLIZZARD IS DELISH! —MMegia

2012-06-12 19:41:31   Friend weeks ago just found maggots in his porkchops... Didn't even get a refund cause they took his receipt when he picked it up. That shit is gross —Andyy

2012-07-12 17:20:50   Way to load half the cup with ice. —kg18

2012-08-07 20:42:33   I usually get #34 pan fried noodles plus the popcorn chicken, it's really good. However, it sucks because I would come here a lot more often if it wasn't so busy and crowded but I don't want to deal with the small space. BTW I had a similar experience to "kg18". The guy who made the drinks loaded it with 80% ice and 20% I'm guessing powder in their milk tea blizzard. Tasted bland!! Next time I'm coming in the afternoon and ordering from the lady because she makes the milk tea blizzard better than that guy so I don't feel jipped! —Jujubean

2012-09-26 18:29:38   Would it be to much to ask if this place opened up on time???? Even if it was just within fifteen minutes of what their sign says???? They have the best pearl drinks, but at least 快可立 opens on time, and its cheaper.... —Letian

2012-10-10 21:42:08   I read these reviews before going and so thought to check my receipt and change after I received my order and sure enough, they short changed me a dollar. Also, super bland soup/food. No impressed. —DanPedersen

2013-02-23 00:52:25   I'm a transferred student from LA. I'm surprised to read the reviews here that some people got food poisoning because i was also suffering from a flu-like symptom after i had some food here a couple of month ago lol. Boba tea is just ok. I know a tons of great boba stores in LA, so i cant say here is the best place... Food tastes are very good. Some of them are very addictive. But since i got food poisoning once before, sometimes i feel it risky to eat here. But no pains no gains! —Pokochan

2013-02-24 17:00:33   These guys have pissed me off to no end. I have spent so much time and money there only to be disrespected by the staff to the highest order.

I asked a fairly simple question about their menu and the guy (who ignored me at first) copped a massive attitude and gave me a really sarcastic response. I then asked for a clarification about two products on their menu and his response was, "Can't you read?" I almost hopped over the counter at that point, but I was able to maintain some level of restraint. I asked if there was a manager there and he laughed at me and said that he was the manager. I was done at that point and I could not stay there any longer.

I will be back when I know the owners are there, and I hope this idiot is there. This is just a continuation of what seems to be a growing trend of Bay Area/Davis racists. I guess my white money is no good there?

Fine you won't be seeing any more of it. —D1S4ST3R01D

  • What makes you assume it's racism instead of just rudeness? I'm white and have never experienced racism here. The workers aren't always the friendliest bunch in general, but I've never seen them single anybody out on the basis of skin color. -SM
    • Because I know what Gweilo or Gwai Lo and a bad attitude and laughing means.

2013-04-25 00:21:52   This place is horrible. I did not want to say they were bad at first and gave them the benefit of the doubt even with the reviews i have read previously. ON multiple occasions have they pissed me off. Firstly, they are extremely slow with getting orders out. IF you go in at an obscure hour then maybe your order will take less than 20minutes but expect that to be the minimum wait time. Secondly, the employees often trash talk the customers, and how they complain to much, WE are paying for service we are not recieving at this location. Maybe the fact that an order is taking too long is not your fault but you shouldn't use that as an excuse to talk shit about customers especially when they are standing right there. But what pisses me off the most is that they say they are open till midnight yet they stop serving food 15minutes till midnight. Usually in the restaurant business the hours posted are how long they are expected to stay open. SORRY you should have figured that out when you decided to go into the food industry. POOR service, POOR food quality, the only thing keeping this place open are the nearby freshman DEFINATELY NOT A QUALITY PLACE especially with the way employees behave. Quite frankly I am surprised they even passed inspections with what some of the reviews I have read said. after 4years of putting up with this place for convenience, I am fed up, AND I hope for your sake, you save yourself the trouble of even trying this place out. —pr1nc3ss1vy

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