If you like to gamble with quality of your bubble tea, this is your place! You bet right, and you have one of the best bubble tea's in PDX...but you come on a bad day, and they might "crap out" with a terribly weak, watered down tea (I haven't figured out why they have such variation)! Sadly, you have a ~1 in 3 chance of getting an AMAZING, above average, or disappointing drink. and if you ask them to beef up the flavor a bit, they say it's not possible, suggesting it's all premade (maybe melting ice in the mixture dilutes it by the end of the day?) :-( That being said, the shop itself is FANTASTIC with an awesome atmosphere: huge area for reading, studying, hanging out, + free internet computers, plenty of local papers, usually decent staff. If they can make their quality consistent, I'd seriously make this a 5-star joint, but when it's a hot day and you're craving some good taro tea, a bland watery drink is worse than nothing at all! read more

Fat straw is so wonderful! The staff is so kind and the sandwiches and boba are consistently lovely. This is my absolute favorite place to go for boba in Portland. It's a fantastic family owned business that you must try! read more

Lavender Milk Tea + Taro Milk Tea. I have not had a crappy bubbletea until i visited this place. (Not your typical boba place) Tapioca was really disappointing. The milk tea wasn't great, tea flavor was weak af. It wasn't sweet at all. I hate wasting money on food and drinks, this place got itself a spot on my black list. read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We absolutely loved their drinks as much as we loved their cute design. The establishment itself is GIGANTIC with plenty of tables and comfy couches for studying or hanging out with friends. The menu is cute, written with colorful chalk on blackboards, but with so many words, it did appear cluttered. After some contemplation, we chose the original milk tea and jasmine green milk tea, both with crystal boba. Unlike most boba places back in the bay area, Fat Straw doesn't allow adjustment of sugar and ice levels (or at least the cashier didn't mention anything whilst we ordered). While the cup size is bigger than typical places, the prices do reflect that with both cups totaling $11. However, the money was well worth it because both drinks tasted great. The original milk tea had a nice roasted flavor that was deep, but the milk helped to elevate the sweetness. As for the jasmine green milk tea, the taste of jasmine was prominent, but tasted amazingly refreshing. The crystal boba in both cups were crisp, sweet, and perfect. For our first boba spot in Portland, we were mighty impressed with the quality. Hopefully we can make time for round two! read more

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Good boba and really good COVID safety protocols. They made our drinks quickly while we waited outside, then served us at the window.

Great experience! Best boba and Tea selection ive found since Cali. The drink menu is HUGE and their boba selection is vast. The young lady who assisted me had great tips when i ordered my drink, i had never been and she suggested i go with half sweetness which was PERFECTION. BUYER BEWARE! They dont let you sample any of the boba options - so of you're a first timer in the world of bubble tea, you are going to have to just jump in and try what sounds good and hope for the best. For those who are familiar with Boba - the pearls and lychee jelly are DELICIOUS! Tje boba is just sweet enough and perfectly cooked, the lychee tasted so fresh and real not at all artificial. I ordered Peach Black Tea and Passion Fruit Tea, yummmy! Will be returning for sure read more

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I love their section of bubble tea, but every time I visit the service declines. This morning one of the girls working was scowling the entire time. It just sets bad vibes and makes everyone feel awkward and unwelcome. read more

Fat Straw - Window seating - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Their website states "Our iced milk bubble teas are made with tea and coconut milk and contains no dairy and are Vegan." This is untrue. The associate at the front informed us the Taro milk tea has whey and there are others that are not as well. I am not vegan but I am allergic to milk. read more

Location: I love how there are multiple locations of Fat Straw. There are two, one on SE Hawthorne and one on NW 23rd. The one on SE Hawthorne is my favorite since it doesn't require me to pay for parking and there are not a lot of individuals walking (since it's at the end of Hawthorne street). Food: They have banh mi and bagels. They also have a variety of pasties such as cookies. Customer Service: Customer service is good. I definitely like the customer service at the SE Hawthorne location better than the NW 23rd location because the workers seem nicer when they are taking your order. However, there seems to only be women/girls who are the workers, rather than men/boys. Not sure what this is about. Positives: I like their bubble tea a lot. They also use coconut milk, which is nice since I am lactose intolerant. Negatives: Even though both locations got renovated (new floors, new tables, etc), both their locations still need more renovation in regards to the layout and decorations. Their bathrooms are especially gross. Also, they always leave the front door open, making it really cold. Ugh. Price: The price is fair compared to other bubble tea places. But they recently changed their bubble tea prices from 4.50 to 5.00 dollars. read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I really wanted to like this place, since I think this is the only spot that I know in Portland that has been opened for 15 years! I came across their truck at SF Supermarket's parking lot, and the owners were super sweet. I ordered an Original Milk Tea with boba and Taro Milk Tea. In the menu, it said that they make their milk teas with coconut milk, so I was excited to see how that would taste like. The Original Milk Tea lacked a strong black tea flavor, and tasted more watered down. It wasn't sweet at all, and I mostly tasted coconut milk with a hint of black tea. The boba was chewy and warm though. The Taro Milk Tea sucked. I barely tasted the taro flavor, and tasted mostly the coconut milk. It wasn't sweet at all either. My mom also disapproved of the Taro Milk Tea, since she drinks any Taro Milk Tea. read more

Fat Straw - Original Milk Tea, Taro Milk Tea (ig: @ouitsfood) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I have been patronizing Fat Straw since 2006 (they opened, I believe in 2005). It is a lovely place to hang out with friends and the teas and boba have always been of consistent quality. The interior is quite nice with a cozy "back room" and a raised front section where you can bask in the envy of passing pedestrians while sucking up boba in a biodegradable straw. However, it bugs me that I've been going there for 14 years and I don't think the owner has ever recognized me, nor have any of the staff. I started going to Boba Dawg a few blocks west on Hawthorne and Gus (pronounced GUH), the owner, now pretty much knows my life story, **because he asks". So I stopped going to Fat Straw, even though the interior of Fat Straw is much nicer. I think the tea is better at Boba Dawg and the cups made of a thicker plastic and I feel welcome there. More importantly, I feel recognized. Yesterday, on the way back from a bike ride, I stopped at Fat Straw because it was convenient. We were surprised that the original milk teas with boba tasted likely they hardly had any tea in them. When I got home, I called them. An employee answered and said, "I'm sorry. We're actually closed." which is a personal pet peeve of mine. (Why answer if you are not open?) When I said that we just purchased two drinks and that they tasted weak as if there was hardly any tea, what do you think she said? "I'm sorry. Come back by and we'll make it right!" Not a chance. "Hmm. We've never had that complaint before," was her response, which sort of just left me standing out in left field with my phone in hand. I'm sorry that I won't be going back to Fat Straw anytime soon. I don't want a refund or retribution or anything. Just to be recognized as a loyal customer and not as a total stranger. If the tea was good, I would be tempted, but the tea was not good and there are three other places less than a 1/2 mile nearby with much better tea and actual human interaction that does not resemble the courtesy of a fast-food drive-through window. That said, the tea at Fat Straw, while not as socks-blowing as The Brew Dr. or even quite the match for Boba Dawg, is still better than many places I've patronized and maybe they were having a bad day. But neither the owner nor the staff has ever cultivated an relationship with me to feel obligated to give them a second chance. read more

My favorite boba place of all time, even after living in 2 other cities, LA and Miami, and trying lots of other places in Portland. Fat Straw offers more flavors, milk tea and fruit tea, than anywhere else, has consistent taste, and offers numerous alternative milks that are always blended smoothly. I wish I could have a Fat Straw everywhere, and it's a must for me whenever I'm in town! read more

Great selection of tea flavors and additions here in a fun little spot. I'd be here all the time if I lived in Portland! Recommend the jasmine milk tea (though be prepared for a STRONG floral Jasmine flavor), as well as the honey lavender for a more mild taste. Good boba, too! read more

Fat Straw - Soooo many options!!! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Lavender bubble tea. Enough said. The only other place I've found lavender bubble tea is at Townshend's, but honestly... I like Fat Straw better The flavor is more prominent, and they give you a lot of tapioca and lychee! I will be going to Fat Straw from now on. (although the 23rd location since it's closer to my house) read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I am a huge boba fanatic and I am always wanting to try a boba drink when I'm in a new area. Since I'm visiting Portland, OR I decided to check out this place since it's only about a mile from where I'm staying. They have a variety of drinks ranging from iced, traditional milk tea and smoothie. They also have some bagels and they carry Banh Mi. I got the matcha green milk tea. It was kind of chalky from the tea and wasn't very smooth to drink, it left my mouth a little dry. The staff though was nice and friendly and the place was clean. read more

Fat Straw - Matcha green milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This restaurant was okay. Setting-wise, it had that Portland vibe that I dig. Service seemed slower than it should have been, and their banh mi sandwiches were pretty average. There are many banh mi places up and down Hawthorne and scattered throughout Portland; I'm not left with a desire to hit this one up a second time. read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I've been going around Portland trying to find places with great boba and decent food (i.e. more than just finger foods or snacks). This Fat Straw location gets 5 stars for not just delivering those essentials but also providing friendly service from the staff, accommodating my need for milk alternatives (yes to oat milk!), and also NEVER messing up my no-mayo request on their banh-mi sandwiches (I have an egg allergy). They are also our goto Postmates group order at work. I only wish they had more food options aside from sandwiches and bagels but I totally understand you can't have it all! There are a few more boba shops opening up soon but until we can test them out, Fat Straw is our go-to spot. read more

I can't resist good boba! The women working here were super nice and helped me decide what I wanted. They had quite a few options for boba. I ended up with a strawberry boba. It was so good! Best boba I've had in a long time. read more

Fat Straw - Strawberry boba tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I don't know if it's fair that I minus one star from Fat Straw based on my own personal expectations from a bubble tea place, but that's what I'm doing. Sorry. So, I usually expect bubble tea to be a dessert type of thing- a "sweet treat", so to speak. Fat Straw uses a very mild coconut milk in their teas and it seems their mixes are very low sugar, as well, so when I got the matcha milk tea, though delightful, was mostly that powdery no-sugar matcha. My man's almond milk tea was also super low-sugar. Just be ready for that! It's tasty for a regular midday drink, but won't satisfy an extreme sweet tooth. It was full of high school kids, so that's cool; good place for not sugar-hyping them. read more

I went here today and had the best drink: avocado smoothie with boba! It uses fresh avocado, coconut milk, and sugar. I asked for something that was decaf and not from a powder and it was what they suggested. If you haven't had an avocado smoothie you should definitely go for it! They have a great lounge area and people are welcome to stay, chat, and even play cards. They even provide free water which is nice! I only took a star off because their toilet looks like it hasn't been cleaned in over a month! read more

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I love bubble tea! And the kids I nanny also love it, so we usually go here after making a stop at the library. I can only give 3 stars because of the customer service... It's ok, but no one really attempts to say hello, or ask if they can take our order or make friendly conversation. Over the past couple weeks, I've been in there a few times with the kids, and the service has been the same... It's almost uncomfortable trying to order, because the workers seem to be in. Their own world, which may be just what I am seeing, but it's been pretty consistent. Other then that, the bubble tea is good. And the kids really like it, so I'm happy! read more

Friendly staff and quick service. Clean establishment. I was in the mood for milk tea. There aren't many boba places but happily found one not too far from the downtown area of Portland. We ordered two Thai teas without boba, to go. They were delicious too! They take credit cards which is good considering most boba places require cash only. No parking lot but there is parking on the street. read more

Fat Straw - Two Thai teas - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This is by far my favorite bobba place in town. The bobba taste amazing and service is fast. All the girls working there are so sweet!

I have never had bubble tea like Fat Straw bubble tea. I like bubble tea so much that I'm willing to accept sub-par drinks just for the sake of having some... but now that I've discovered this little place on Hawthorne (as well as their new and just as good location in NW) I know that nothing will ever be the same. It takes a lot of self-control not to go every day. Sometimes, I want to go twice a day - sometimes, I buy two drinks before I leave. The varieties are actually all distinct - they aren't just sweet with a hint of synthetic fruit flavour. A lychee drink tastes different then coconut, and honeydew, and mango. I always get both tapioca and coconut jellies - the mango jellies are another good choice. I tried a banana with mango jelly, and it wasn't my favorite, but it was interesting. My favorite is pure coconut, because it mixes all the best aspects - young, fresh, creamy, and toasted. Coconut bubble tea with coconut milk, tapioca, and coconut jellies. Once I tried an experiment - I concocted a custom bubble tea using the least appealing ingredients on the menu: red bean flavour with sour apple jellies and custard. You know what? IT WAS AMAZING. It is my most fervent belief that if you selected bubble tea ingredients through dart-throwing or some other suitably random method, you would never be disappointed. My one proviso is that I prefer to the cold ones to the hot ones - but that could be just me. Also, they have food - at least once a week, my breakfast/lunch consists of a bubble tea and a pesto bagel covered in humus. Mmm, so good! The tapioca is actually surprisingly filling, so consider bubble tea as a snack! As if that's not enough, they've got a great interior, a little mini internet cafe, a nice back room (which I'm considering using for future client meetings) and a sort of quiet, comfortable atmosphere. One tiny negative: card payments are charged extra if they're below $5, and all the bubble tea is below $5. It does, however, give you an excuse to buy an afore-mentioned bagel, a second drink to save for later, or a voodoo doughnut, which they also carry... EDIT - protip: if you just order the 'original' milk tea, you get it almost immediately, because it doesn't take any time to prepare. Also, it tastes delicious with coffee jellies. read more

Bad food, bad service. The staff seemed unhappy and the bubble tea wasn't even that good.

Bubble Tea in comfy cafe If you love Bubble Tea and some funky ones like pomegranate black tea, strawberry milk tea and taro milk tea, you'll love this cafe. It reminds me a lot of the Tea Zone in the Pearl but parking is much easier to find around here. They also serve Stumptown Coffee but definitely try their imaginative and tasty teas. This is a great place to chill out with your lap top since they have free Wi-Fi and a lounging room with comfy couches, which is so relaxing, especially on a rainy day. If you're hungry, definitely try one of their bagel sandwiches. Tip: Feel like something cold? They serve wonderful strawberry and mango smoothies with real fruit chunks. read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Every time I come here, the girls at the counter are so kind. There is usually a line but somehow they always make my order in 10 min or less. I don't know how they do it. As a food service worker myself, I really appreciate the experience I have at Fat Straw every time. Please make sure you're tipping these folks, they're working so hard! read more

I feel like the quality of this location has gone down. The taro milk tea use to be so flavorful and rich, but now tastes watered down and somehow has a grape aftertaste. The music here is also pretty loud for a cafe. read more

This has been the first and only boba/bubble/milk tea place that I've tried and enjoyed. One of my first jobs as a tween was at boba shop where they used creamer for their milk teas which used to make me sick if I had too much. But this, with their more natural ingredients of coconut milk vs creamer, I find myself craving Fat Straw more and more. If you ask nicely, they'll be happy to let you sample several of their available teas. I generally prefer the black or jasmine milk teas myself. Classics. Oh, and they actually know how to do pearls well here. None of that stiff center. Just a mildly sweet, soft but chewy for your mouth feeling pleasure. Great price for the size of beverage! Their Vietnamese sandwiches are pretty good too. A bit pricier than I'm used to. Nothing like back home, but definitely do-able! Highly recommend :) read more

Fat Straw - Green milk tea and Banh mi - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Craving some boba tea after some poke and found this place down the street! Upon entry, I was a little taken back because I didn't expect the entry way setup to be like that lol but after ordering our drinks, I noticed that the place is pretty large. I got the raspberry coconut smoothie with boba and the lady got passion fruit watermelon (I think? Lol) with jelly. I liked mine for the fact that it wasn't too sweet and hit the spot for my palate. The lady's was good too. She's a hater and said mine tasted like a candle. I should've kicked her out of the car! ;) Friendly service and yummy boba tea. Will be back! read more

The first time I had bubble tea, it was over a thousand miles away in hot and sweaty Arizona. Not knowing what to expect, the texture of the boba was enough to turn me off of bubble tea for the next several years. Little did I know that one could make bubble tea in several different ways, and that there were more things than boba which could grace a bubble tea. Fast forward to 2008, and a reluctant visit to Fat Straw with a friend. I told the boba-rista that I was looking for something refreshing, and she suggested a Strawberry Lemon smoothie. Noting that one could add jellies instead of boba, I asked her to put lychee in as the "bubble". The result was a bubble tea of beauty, grace, and refreshing sweet-tartness. I had seen the light - now I knew what the hub-bub was about: the magic is in the bubble! I now visit Fat Straw regularly to get my bubble tea fix, and love that one can stay and study (or have a business meeting) in the back room, or just pick up some delicious bubble tea and get on with one's day with equal ease. read more

Fat Straw - Orange Strawberry Smoothie with Lychee Jellies - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

My childhood hangout spot! Always a great place to chill back and study, grab a healthy bite to eat for maybe $7 and ofcourse the amazing Bobba Tea. Definitely ask for 1/2 sweet, wayyy too sweet if you do the full amount. Also when adding jellies or pops make sure to ask for half and half because that also adds a lot of sweetness to the drink when ordering each separately! read more

Fat Straw - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I'm from the Bay and we have great milk tea but this place is pretty good. I'm spoiled with real fresh taro but their taro powder here was made perfectly with very fresh milk and very fresh tea. It tastes clean. Their boba wasn't fresh but it was very clean. The Bay Area is known for being dirty and ghetto and their pearls taste like they weren't kept clean. Milk tastes left out, so even if in California we use better tea, and realer ingredients, the dirtiness of California standards makes this place quite similar. read more

As an Asian I am offended on how bad their boba is. While tastes may vary, I believe there are better options available in that area.

Kiwi with Pineapple jellies!! Talk about hit the spot on a HOT summer day! We've been coming here for years and we've never had a negative experience. Great place to meet a friend for Banh Mi and Bubble tea. You could do homework here or surf the internet on their free wifi. I overheard a young woman saying that, "it's a really good meeting spot, huh? It's my favorite. Not as good as the one place down by the smoke shop." Service is quick and kind! They are very efficient workers and the space is kept clean. On this specific occasion the place was super busy; full of teens, 20 somethings and a few older folks. The vibes is definitely young. Since my friend was loving her Kiwi smoothie I decided to get the Thai Iced Tea with classic boba. Yummy!!! read more

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Great smoothie and bubble teas. They also serve Stumptown coffee! Yum! Casual setting but bright and inviting.

Fantastic meeting room in the back for a reasonable price. The service was friendly and efficient, and the food was well prepared and delicious. I'll book this room again for a future day-long retreat. It's clean, offers free wifi (on a tiny slip of paper) and is in an interesting area of Portland. We had the place to ourselves for most of the day until the afternoon. Even so, it was quiet and private in the conference room. I highly recommend. read more

I'll need to come back here next time to try out the banh mi and snacks, but for the bubble tea, it wasn't anything spectacular. The staff was great and friendly and I appreciated the assortment of games they had in stock that you could play with while hanging out. In terms of the actual flavor of the drinks and the bubble tea I think this needs to be honed or perhaps I need to pay another visit. My drink felt watered down and the bubble was over done (super super chewy to the point your jaw hurts and it takes forever to break it down). I'll try it out again though because I do think there is potential and I'd want to try the sandwiches. read more

Note: Review for milk tea drinks only My aunt wanted some milk tea before our long drive back home so I Yelped for nearby places and headed towards this shop. Very cozy shop with an artsy/hipster atmosphere. Only street parking is available that can be difficult to find at times. As for seating, there's plenty inside as they even have a back room if it gets crowded. Our Order: Fresh Avocado Smoothie Almond Milk Nutella Milk Tea Jasmine Milk Tea Honeydew Milk Tea Coffee Milk Tea Vietnamese sandwiches and milk tea on Hawthorne. I have to admit, I really wasn't expecting the drinks to be any good since I live in the San Francisco area and they have them nearly everywhere. What I loved about this place is that almost all of their drinks use coconut milk and I didn't have to pay extra for it! Major plus in my book since I'm lactose-intolerant and always have to pay the additional fee for either soy or almond milk. I was weary about the coconut milk since I was afraid that it was make the taste of the drinks really weird, but it worked! I had the Nutella drink and it really did taste like the yummy chocolate-hazelnut spread. I took a sip of my cousins' drinks and they were fairly good as well (definitely better than I anticipated). Drinks not as good as the Bay Area or Los Angeles, but not horrible like a Quickly's or Tapioca Express if you're familiar with those chains. I typically don't get tapioca pearls in my drinks, so couldn't comment on the texture of them. The cheery girl assisting us was very patient and gave us recommendations (as well as described the drinks) when we told her we were from out-of-town. She also told us that the coffee was from Stumptown if we wanted a caffeine drink. Haven't tried any other milk tea places in Portland so I have nothing to compared to but just on its own, Fat Staw is pretty good if you have a craving for a sweet drink. Accepts CC read more

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Had the Taro bubble tea blended not too sweet and had a lot of flavor for something that was blended as normally the flavor would be watered down. Overall kind of expensive as it was $5 a drink. read more