Horrible service! Ordered 2 drinks and they only made one! Got back in line and ordered a drink with Boba and they forget to add the Bona so they give me the boba on the side! Why the fuck do I want the Boba on the side!! This drink is sealed, so I asked if they could open it and put it in and they just said to open it and put it inside! So sorry I even tipped them because they did not deserve it!! They messed up twice and never took ownership of their mistake or tried to correct their mistake for their customers!! read more

This place never disappoints. I've tried a variety of their drinks, and they are pretty much slap. It's very cozy inside, so I always take my drinks to-go or order them to accompany my food on DoorDash. The staff are usually pretty friendly/helpful. It's a cute little place. read more

Gotcha Tea - Strawberry Matcha - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Got the matcha einspanner and it's def one of the better matchas in SD! It was also decorated super cute, staff was friendly! read more

Gotcha Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

My go to boba place in SD. It's a cute little shop with good teas. I often get their coffee milk tea or rose milk tea and they are always good. This used to be the only place I knew that had cherry milk tea but they stopped carrying it :( Good selection and the price is reasonable for the size. I've been to boba places that charge the same and give you less. Service is quick. Couple of notes: not a lot of seating so if it's busy you might have to get it to go. I don't think they have AC cause in the summer it gets pretty warm in there. Lastly, all their seating is short. If you're over 6' like me, it's not super comfortable and I bang my knees on stuff all the time. read more

I was interested in trying their matcha einspanner because it looked delicious on instagram. I arrived to the shop and parking was easy which I love since that's not always the case for boba shops in the area. When I arrived there was a short line but our order was taken within a few minutes. The service was great and the barista was very knowledgeable about the sweetness of their drinks. Gotcha tea also has oat milk which is a plus! I ordered the matcha einspanner and it was ready in about 15 minutes. I tasted it and it was pretty good. I would recommend mixing the drink fully to get the full flavor of the einspanner. It was a solid 3.8/5. The matcha could have been a bit stronger but it still tasted good. Overall a cute and good place to try and if there's an option to make the matcha stronger, I think the drink would have been a 5/5. The cream of the einspanner slightly dulls the flavor of the matcha. read more

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After what seems to be another change to this shop I came back to try the highly recommended matcha einspanner along with the latte version. I think they both are good drinks, very creamy and a nice light sweetness to the cream top. The matcha stands out and is delicious and nutty. The coffee in the latte tastes strong. I'm upping my previous review to 3 stars but I would say this is a solid 3.5 from these drinks alone. I have yet to try any of their other ones, especially their teas and boba. The ambiance wasn't my favorite, it was full of labubus and claw machines which just feels gimmicky to me but is not a huge deal breaker. I only wish the actual store was kept cleaner because it seemed like most of the walls and floor needed a good wash. The service was fine, staff was nice, and overall not a bad place to revisit. read more

Gotcha Tea - Matcha einspanner and einspanner latte - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

I needed matcha in my life ASAP. I was craving, so many spots just didn't know where to get my fix. Thanks to my matcha girlies on yelp, I was able to find Matcha Eispanner! Great service, very cutesy cafe ambiance, amazing taste. I did less ice & sweetness w/ egg pudding *chef's kiss* love it, definitely will be ordering again. read more

Gotcha Tea - Matcha Eispanner - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Super cute vibes in this shop! There's cute decor and claw games. Service is fast and friendly. I love their matcha, especially the strawberry matcha. The new mango matcha is also very good! read more

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The cutest cafe ever- I ordered their matcha latte and matcha einspanner. Their matcha latte tastes really good, it has a grassy-like flavor with a balanced sweet flavor. The matcha einspanner has a nutty, pistachio-like flavor which differs from any other. I also tried their Lychee tea but it was a bit too sweet for me. Overall I really liked this place since there's easy-access parking and it's a great spot to hangout or study. read more

Gotcha Tea - Matcha einspanner - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Cute little spot with decent drinks. Workers weren't exceptionally friendly, but were nice. There's a parking lot, so parking shouldn't be an issue. I ordered the Matcha Einspanner and I did think it was quite pricey. Half of the cup was cream top and the other half was matcha. There was also a ton of ice, so in reality there was barely any matcha in it. Ratios were off, and for the price I would've liked more matcha. read more

Gotcha Tea - Matcha Einspanner - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Why would a tea place be open and half there menu not available? No boba till 11 stopper byes beware. I exited the freeway just for boba. Disappointed read more

Gotcha tea is such a cute place! Got the matcha here and it was good. Definitely recommend it. read more

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This place is cute and clean. Great customer service. I got the brown sugar drink and it's great. It's not too sweet. I came early when they first open so the boba was not ready yet. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to wait so I changed to crystal boba Also the signature drink is good. I will come back to try different drink. read more

Gotcha Tea - a view of a coffee shop - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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So I used to go to this place a few years ago and it became my go to spot, but i hadn't been there in a while. When I found out they had new owners, I was sad but excited for new drink options. The cafe was nice, cozy, bright and welcoming. They had games you and your friends could play (ex: Uno no Mercy). Cute tables and a coach to hold wonderful conversations. And a couple of fun claw machines with cute prizes. Customer service was good as well. They answered my questions and were super helpful in narrowing down which drink they thought I would like best. Two of my favorite drinks so far would have to be the Hot Honey Lemon Tea and the Hot Corn Milk Tea. They also have snacks like macaroons and waffles. And pricing is reasonable. Would recommend if you're looking for a cute place away from Convoy, where you can actually hold a conversation with someone and not have to yell over the music. read more

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Good double matcha that is strong and not too sweet, but they have a weird habit of forgetting to substitute oat milk. Maybe 20 % of the time it's regular milk. Not sure why it's such a consistent problem here read more

the matcha einspanner was amazing! the decorations were adorable and made for cute pictures!

We live close by and parking is easy, which is honestly the only reason we've kept coming here. But this is now the fourth time we've stopped by and been told they're out of boba. At this point, it's beyond frustrating. It's like a chicken restaurant running out of chicken. One time, okay -- things happen. Twice, you start wondering. But four times at various times of the day? That's just bad management. The employees are always nice and apologetic, but I'm not sure if the owners are telling staff to only cook a certain amount of boba each day or if the employees themselves just aren't cooking enough. Either way, someone needs to step up and fix it -- because customers shouldn't be showing up to a boba shop with no boba left. There are other boba spots just down the street -- a little further for us, sure, but at least we're guaranteed boba at a boba place. read more

Ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee with ube foam-delish! Service was great! The one who took our order was very sweet and gave us recommendations as it was our first time. Place was so cute! We even played Uno and stayed a while! read more

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A friend and I came for their soft opening (new management). We got a hot honey jasmine milk tea with boba and house special milk tea. They also gave us a free croffle. The flavors of the tea are super aromatic! The 50% sugar for the house special milk tea was still relatively sweet, but both drinks were really good. Also the croffle was nice and mochi-like, while slightly crispy. The workers were so sweet and quick to answer questions. One of them told us to let them know if we wanted any adjustments to the drink. The interior was super cute; decorated with trendy PopMart figures, and there were claw machines as well. Seating is limited but comfy! Not a space for studying though. read more

Gotcha Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

We always come here when we're in San Diego to get our Boba Fix! It's always super yummy and they offer milk alternatives like oat/soy/almond. They redid the place and it's super cute here now! The service is always quick and they're always super nice. I truly love the renovation of the tea shop! The addition of claw machines is super fun and cute! I had to play to get me a cute Kuromi or Pokémon keychain plush but I failed twice. read more

Gotcha Tea - Paris Milk Tea & Black Sugar Boba w/ Milk - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Love this place!! I tried their new double matcha and it's AMAZING. (Actually tastes like matcha and not just milk) I got less sweet and you can tell their Matcha quality is great. They farm their own tea as well! Staff was friendly and the place is cute :) Definitely worth the money, for sure going back read more

Gotcha Tea - Double Matcha - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Went during their grand opening! Felt like the staff were still figuring some things out in terms of efficiency but the staff were friendly and patient despite the busy hour! The rice paper salad (about $14) was tasty but really spicy imo! I got a 2 out of 7 spiciness and I still found it really hot. Croffle was yummy especially with the cream. Really liked the eggspresso, loved the foam. The matcha espinnar was also great! Very matchy and creamy. I would say their coffee drinks taste better than their milk tea/boba drinks. I would come here for the coffee and less for the boba milk teas. read more

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This is a small quaint shop! It's a very quiet place and it's nice to just chill in the chairs there. Comparing their boba to something like Tastea or a more mainstream brand, the consistency is softer. There was only one person working at the time but the service was still fast! Mom's Favorite - 9/10 Paris - 7.5/10 read more

Gotcha Tea - Paris and Mom's Favorite - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Very good milk teas, service is fast enough, small language barrier but no big deal. The decor is pleasant and scents in the air incredible, lol! Honey Milk Tea 5/5 Have had other variations and they range from 3.5-4.5. Boba 4.5/5 hit or miss, today it was great. Other times less fresh. Coffee Jelly 5/5 just perfect, love 'em! Overall I would recommend them if you are in the area. About as good as Kung Fu Tea and other top shops without the hype. read more

Gotcha Tea - Honey Milk Teas. - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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DO NOT PLAY THE CLAW GAMES! I can't stress this enough!! They are a ripoff, the claw is weak and drops everything. Besides the claw games, the boba and service was great. The boba is perfect. Ordered lychee tea (0% sugar but still very sweet and refreshing), Vietnamese coffee with sea salt (so smooth), and black sugar milk with boba (boba was great quality and drink was perfectly creamy/sweet). I would definitely come back here and would give this place 5 stars but the claw machines are a ripoff. DO NOT PLAY!! read more

Gotcha Tea - Vietnamese Coffee with Sea Salt cream, Lychee Green Tea, and Black Sugar Boba with Milk. All yum! - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Gotcha café is highly popular among fans in Taiwan. I was excited to give it a try with a friend. I really liked the ambiance. It uses the cute animal as a main theme. We were really impressed by the ambiance. It's centered around an adorable animal theme. You can relax on the sofa with cozy cushions. What a delightful experience! I ordered the Taro boba tea, my go-to whenever I visit a boba tea spot. They use top-quality ingredients, ensuring the boba tea is super fresh and delicious. I can even customize the sugar level to my liking. Plus, they offer an extensive range of flavors to choose from. The service was exceptional. When we wanted to take a few selfies in front of the wall art, the manager went above and beyond by coming out and turning on the big light for us to capture the perfect picture. I'll definitely be back soon. Everything here is superb. read more

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I love the taro smoothie here! It tastes very fresh and tastes like actual taro (probably because it has fresh taro). I come here at night and it is pretty empty and quiet. Parking can be crowded because of the other occupied restaurants in this strip mall. I usually only see one person working here and making the drinks at a time so it can be slow waiting for your drink. read more

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i love gotcha so much. it's my go-to spot for matcha. trying matcha here made me get addicted to matcha after a past bad experience with the drink. the place is really cute as a "pop-mart" boba spot! it's amazing read more

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Was drawn here by the fact that this company began in Taiwan and that they farm their own tea. I've found the boba shops in SD to be pretty unimpressive. Either the tea is good but the boba is not or vice versa or it's just all bad. Was pleasantly surprised by the tea here. Out of the 16 SD boba shops I've tried so far - 4 have been okay. This place is one of those 4. Not sure why their packaging has changed. But the branding from the soft opening a year ago looks a lot nicer than the current cups and sealed lids. Jasmine oat milk tea is my go-to. The jasmine green tea here had a pretty nice flavor and aroma, no bitterness. The boba was a nice size, cooked pretty nicely so it was soft and kinda chewy. Wasn't overly sweet but could've had better flavor. There was also a good boba to tea ratio and I had enough boba til the end of the drink. My husband had the fresh taro milk tea with organic coconut milk. You could definitely taste and feel the texture of the real taro. We appreciated that it didn't taste like artificial taro. It was good. The passionfruit green tea had a good perfumey aroma/flavor. A little on the sweet side though because the drink is flavored with a passion fruit syrup. It's nice that the syrup has some real passion fruit in it but I would prefer if it were no syrup or less syrup and more real passionfruit. The house made macaron. I think it's nice and cute that they make and offer their own French macaron. But I've had many French macaron in my life at various French patisseries and unfortunately this does not do French macaron justice. It was firm, dry and crunchy when it's supposed to be more moist, chewy, slight shell on the outside but melts in your mouth as you chew. We got the durian macaron and not only was it not a good macaron, the flavor was so artificial. I do not recommend the macaron here. The teas and boba on the other hand. I really did enjoy my drink and would come back again. read more

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Takes a long time to make matcha. Taste was ok. Probably wouldn't be back. A few places to sit inside

Have a board meeting at an adjacent restaurant and arrived early. I was hoping for a coffee place to kill time and catch up on emails. Found Gotcha Tea and it's like between 3-5pm and pretty chill. I was pleasantly surprised that they served coffee and ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee. I liked that I could choose the level of sugar and ice. The server was courteous and I let her know I would be on my laptop for a bit and she kindly shared their wi-fi address. The coffee was to my liking. I am a BTS Army but not familiar with k-pop. The server confirmed I was listening to k-pop. It wasn't too loud for me and matched the vibe of this cafe. I am having a pleasant time catching up on my Yelp reviews and thankful I'm early ad not stressed over traffic. read more

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We used to come here years ago and it had been maybe 3-4 years since we last came here and unfortunately, the quality has gone down quite a bit with the new ownership. I ordered barely milk tea boba and a strawberry smoothie for my husband. Mine had no taste of tea, it tasted like watered down almond milk. I took a couple of sips and it was so awful so I ended up returning it and got a refund. Honestly, it was the worst boba tea that I've ever tasted in my life. The smoothie was basically sugar water. I know it's a lot a smoothie so I don't expect them to use fresh fruits but it was a tiny bit of frozen strawberries with lots of sugar, strawberry syrup, and ice. I asked her to be thick so she just added more ice at the end but not strawberries so it ended up tasting water down. This place used to be busy on the weekend but when I was there, there was as no one else. It's too bad that they couldn't keep the same quality, will be going to elsewhere for boba now. read more

Gotcha Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Tea was alright and interior decor was very cozy, but unfortunately the service was unfriendly. The shop was empty but the staff seemed to rush our order and was curt and unhelpful when someone in my group asked for recommendations. They weren't to the point of rude but just slightly off putting. Honey lemon black tea, winter melon milk tea, and chrysanthemum tea were decent but nothing too special. read more

Gotcha Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Congratulations to Gotcha Café's Grand Re-opening Weekend March 1st & 2nd! I must say, it was quite a GRAND event! They had a raffle with a $3 off coupon consolation prize to use before May 25, 2025, complimentary hot Croffles with or without whipped cream, complimentary outdoor flower stand to make your own bouquets and a logo tote bag with logo tumbler to the very 1st 50 customers. I ordered an ube smoothie, Mom's favorite (a highly recommended drink from customer #2), and the purple yogurt rice drinks which all were made very well with their flavors being on point. It's a very cute boba shop with various crane arcade games, cute decor, tables and chairs to sit and enjoy your drinks or food made to order that you can enjoy. The staff works hard to ensure your drinks are made properly using their own farmed tea. I highly recommend this boba shop if you are in the Clairemont area. Their Grand Re-opening was a complete success! read more

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My fav matcha spot, I've been craving matcha and this is it. i will always be back for it read more

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I visited gotcha tea after finding my original boba destination unexpectedly closed for the day. I was drawn in by the fact that this chain originated in Taiwan and that they grow their own tea leaves. The drinks were delicious, but unfortunately the service, while nice, needed some work. The shop was bustling but not crowded when I arrived, and the person taking orders was very friendly and nice about us taking a long time to decide. I deliberated and ultimately decided to get their signature milk tea with grass jelly, half sweet with less ice. I specify my order now because it becomes important later. There was a bit of a wait to get my drink, which didn't bother me as it looked like there were only two people staffing the place. When I got it however, I found that all of the "settings" were wrong. Instead of grass jelly I got boba, instead of half sweet it was 100% sweet, and instead of less ice it was regular ice. Now if you're me, you're probably thinking like I did, did I get someone else's drink? But no one else I noticed had gotten a signature milk tea, so I'm pretty sure it was in fact supposed to be mine. I only noticed the grass jelly mixup at first, and let them know about the mistake. The guy was really apologetic and fixed it for me. It wasn't till after I left that I realized the sweetness and ice were wrong as well, so I unfortunately couldn't get them fixed. Now onto the drink itself. I tasted some of the boba that was mistakenly put into my drink and I found it to be over cooked and gelatinous. The brown sugar taste was nice though. The milk tea had a really strong tea flavor and actually had black speckles, which I realized were little tea leaf bits, floating throughout my drink. I wish they had strained better but I appreciate the proof of real tea. It was pleasantly creamy, but the 100% sweetness, which was given to me by accident, was way way too sweet. 50% or less should be better. Overall I gave three stars because of service issues. The tea seems promising, if overly sweet. I'd definitely skip the boba but their grass jelly was solid. The guy at the cash register actually almost messed up my friend's order as well, but she was paying closer attention than me to the order on screen so was able to catch it. I'm definitely planning to return and try their oolong (they were out of their most popular oolong tea when I visited) but you best bet I'll be staring like a hawk at my order before I pay next time. read more

Gotcha Tea - Signature Milk Tea with grass jelly - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

I guess either they burned the tea or brew it for too long. Cause the after taste is so so freaking bitter. -1000/10 read more

Gotcha Tea - Green thai tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Unfortunately the worst boba tea I've ever had. First of all, boba was cooked for too long that it's no longer chewy. I love boba because of the chewy texture. It looked like the boba is cooked and stored in their instant pot. Which is fine, but having the boba cooked for too long or leaving in the hot pot for too long makes the texture gummy. The space itself is cute and clean. Couch and chairs for seating, unsure if they offer free wifi. Parking wasn't an issue but shared with other restaurants and shops next door. If they can get their boba right, I would like to come back. read more

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Went there yesterday for the first time with my lady for some boba , went there since it was a Popmart type of place and had labubus and my girl likes those things so surprised her going there, we got taro and Thai tea slush boba and it was worth it, staff was friendly and great, place is a little small so can't really sit if it's busy and parking is a battle too but it was still worth it tbh read more

these past few weeks, i've been consistently ordering from gotcha tea whenever my sweet treat cravings need to be fulfilled. the staff have maintained efficient and friendly customer service, as well as the tastiness of their drinks. in my opinion, the matcha drink items are delicious. i've tried the matcha einspanner, strawberry matcha, and the plain matcha (with an additional topping of cheese foam). it's not too sweet, nor too bitter. they're also willing to accommodate whatever preferences you have, such as adding more sugar or ice, or decreasing the sugar or ice levels. i usually order with regular sugar and less ice. as for the other drinks i've tried, such as the strawberry yogurt, purple rice yogurt, paris milk tea, and the thai tea, well.. they all tasted great!! not too sweet, but still addictive to drink. my personal favorites are the strawberry yogurt (light and non-artificial tasting), the paris milk tea (containing an eggnog-like topping and oreos), and the matcha strawberry!! i would definitely recommend trying this place. it's a cute hangout spot, with tasty drinks and great staff!! i'll definitely be taking my friends here in the future!! :) additional notes: whoever's in charger of the playlist has great taste.. old bts is so peak!! read more

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