What a hidden gem that I can't wait to go back to try! A little more than a hole in a wall, but it's a small place meant to grab and go. Their menu covers the basics and then some. All your usual milk teas but they have some great tea combos that all sound great. All of us tried 5 different teas - tea blends, strawberry, lychee, yakult, popping bubbles, lychee jelly, and boba. We covered everything and then some and we ALL loved our drinks. Customizable sugar and ice levels. Super friendly, quick as they could to turn out 5 custom drinks that went beyond pouring pre-mad teas, and great prices for what you get. Highly recommend, something for everyone's taste without an overwhelming large menu. Can't wait to come back and try some more. read more

Came here to get bubble tea while I was in the area, and got a fruit-based drink and it was exactly what I needed. Not too sweet either. Overall solid bubble tea, with chewy fresh tapioca, and fair quality tea that I enjoyed and would have again if I was in the area. It's also a fun vibe, as the place honors hypebeast culture and showcases a lot of sneakers, hence the name so this place is quintessentially NYC. Come by if you're in the area. The boba competition in the city is tough and it's hard to stand out, but this place is solid. They also have some interesting flavor combinations that I'm excited to try. Wishing this place luck and success! Perfect addition to a food crawl through Chinatown if you're planning one, especially a good stop to highlight hypebeast NYC aesthetics. read more

This is a hidden gem in the Lower East Side. They make pretty good boba but I want to talk about the interior. The nostalgia in here is amazing. Everything looks like it was personally selected. The the curation of this place is sick. I got the Grapefruit Delight. I was skeptical of trying it because I thought it would be tart but it was actually smooth. No tartness at all. With amount of lychee. Not to discredit how good the boba but this spot is fire to me and I would just chill in here if I could. Whoever did the decor needs a raise lol. Shout out to my guy Kenny great service and hospitality. read more

Solely Tea - Grapefruit Delight - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

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Bubble bubble! Bubble tea! Quick on the go bubble tea! Location: it is located in Eldridge St in Chinatown, the store was small and me and my friend would have not thought it was a bubble tea place. Lol Service: they are both nice, they ask us with if we have any questions about the menu. Food: Me and my friend both ordered ROSE BLOSSOM: it's Assam black tea with a hint of rose and sweet lychee and boba. To be honest when he handed it to me, I was looking for the milk! I didn't know its not a milk tea lol.. but anyways it was actually good. It resembles like the sweet tea of Mcdonald's but way better. You can taste the rose and the sweetness of lychee. The boba was chewy and not hard. Price rating: 4 out of 10. It is so cheap other than other bubble tea place. I will come back here to try other flavors! Will definitely ask for milk tea next time! read more

Solely Tea - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

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Shoes... omg, shoes... (These shoes rule. These shoes suck. These shoes rule. These shoes suck. #IYKYK) ...but you know what doesn't suck? The boba! It's a very small boba shop with affordable pricing and a collection of Nikes to admire, and you can even see all the shoe boxes in the back. Everything is flavored with syrup so they're known for their fruit teas here. Sadly they do not have any non-dairy milk options, so it's not vegan friendly in that sense. I went with their Star Girl (Rose, Lavender, Early Grey Tea) and subbed out the star jelly with boba. Drink was as expected, refreshing, and hit the spot on a hot day. Since the shop is so small, it's very much a grab-and-go kind of place. read more

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Guy that made my drink was nice and welcoming! Greetings and salutations. And the drink was GOODT! Nice little vibe with some old school music playing. I like venturing to out of the ordinary non-chain, off the beaten path spots. read more

Solely Tea - Our Pina Colada with lychee jelly and strawberry popping - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

Solely Tea is a tucked-away, interesting experience. I, like many others, passed by it thinking it was a sneaker shop. But after giving the eclectic interior and wild menu options a shot, was pleasantly surprised. It's not the best boba tea I've had, nor is it likely the best boba tea in the area-- after all, you're in Chinatown and you have so so many options to choose from. That being said, the owner was quick and friendly, and there were a variety of very interesting flavors offered. The Star Girl was the perfect mix of my favorite flavors, although for most people all the drinks will run on the sweeter side. read more

Solely Tea - Star Girl - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

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I came here after a pretty heavy dinner and was looking for something refreshing so I googled the closest bubble tea spot. Solely came up first and I'm so glad I popped up. The spot is beautifully decorated with bright colors, sneakers and cool art. It was a one man show with friendly and efficient service. The spot has plenty of seating which other bubble tea spots in the area normally lack. My fave thing besides my slushy drink here was the tunes! They had afrobeats and dancehall bumping the whole time we were there. I loved the vibes here and hope you visit again. read more

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Got the mango one. Pretty solid boba. Got the regular sweet which is quite sweet so would recommend less. read more

Solely Tea - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

[NYC BOBA TOUR STOP #45] *My other stops on the boba tour: https://www.yelp.com/collection/4dXTAnFqPHD1D8obaInTZw/nyc-boba-tour SHOES. SHOES and boba. When I first saw this boba place pop up on my google search, I thought I was being lied to. But you know what. I'm always talking about how I want something new and different and the shoes & boba combination definitely qualifies as new and different. Given that this place's name is "Solely Tea" I sincerely wonder how many people come by for shoes and how many are only there for the boba. It's a small store, but they do have a whole wall of shoes and a back corner for boba. I know it's supposed to be a seamless combo of the two, but I am left feeling somewhat puzzled. I would have appreciated some more throughlines between the concept of shoes and the concept of boba. Right now it feels like a bubble tea store and a shoe store couldn't afford individual rent, so they just decided to split the space. Which is fine, but I don't think that was what they were going for, and I just want more STORY. More PLOT. Ya know? We ordered (rating): Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Boba (3.6/5), Mango Berry Refresher (3.5/5) They have most of your typically ordered drinks along with a whole menu of specialty fruit drinks. Because those were their specials, I thought maybe I should go for one of those, but I let my friend try one of those while I went for the brown sugar milk tea with boba instead. I thought my milk tea was standard in terms of other black milk teas you'll find out there, but it was good and creamy which I love. The boba was smaller than they usually are, and these little guys were extremely firm. We love a firm boba, but these were so hard to the point where I'm positive some of them were undercooked because they hurt my teeth when I bit down. Despite how hard some of them were, though, they retained all of the brown sugar flavor that they put inside! The main thing we found through both of our drinks was that both were too sweet. Mine was a brown sugar drink that I got with less sugar, and it was still too sweet. And I believe my friend was not able to adjust the sugar in his Mango Berry Refresher, and the popping boba also probably didn't help since I've found popping boba just makes all drinks sweeter. If you tend to get lower levels of sugar, I'd definitely recommend asking for less sugar here. I feel like I wasn't able to get a full image of this place yet. Like, the painting has only been partly painted in my head, so we'll have to give it another try! read more

Solely Tea - Mango Berry Refresher, Brown Sugar Milk Tea - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

We stumbled into this adorable store near the Chinatown area and were immediately attracted to the interior. I have no idea if people actually buy shoes here, but you always could if you want to! I know nothing about shoes but I think they were pretty nice. There was one staff manning the place, which is a standard hole-in-the-wall size, and was friendly to chitchat with. I will say their sugar levels are on par with places like Jazen tea in that they could use a good solid 50% to not be overly sweet (at least for my palate). The fruit peach tea was very thirst quenching for the NYC summer and the boba was chewy. Lychee jelly was additional sweetness if you're into that. Not super impressed by the flavor profile, but it did the job. Definitely stop by to see it for yourself! So adorable. read more

Solely Tea - Milk Teas and Fruit Teas - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

This spot is a hole in the wall. Walking in, you wouldn't realize it's a bubble tea shop. It's a really fun environment- the decor, the tea flavors, the vibe, the way the guests (I think they were regulars) were joking and vibing with each other made for a really enjoyable experience. As an avid bubble tea drinker, I was impressed with the flavor options. I ordered the drink with "Lady" in the title (I forgot the full name ). It was refreshing and I drank it in less than 20 minutes. I'll definitely come back! read more

Approaching my mid-30s, I feel like a bit of an old fogey discovering the newest developments in milk tea. Good ol' bubble milk tea was popular even when I was a high schooler, but the innovations in flavors and toppings continue to amaze me. Cleverly named Solely Tea, the self-proclaimed first bubble tea shop + shoe store, represents the innovation in this genre. Never mind that there were kids probably half my age hanging out at the place. We decided to try the raging berry specialty drink, as I was interested in a fruity beverage with Yakult, a childhood indulgence, and strawberry "popping" boba. The drink was too sweet for my taste, but it was indeed very fruity (albeit in an artificial way) and produced novelty with the bursting boba. The staff was very nice and flexible, adding a few regular black tapioca balls at my request. Overall this was a fun drink and even more diverting experience that made me feel both slightly young and much older than my age. read more

Solely Tea - Raging berry - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

Super fast service. Fresh tender boba and good choice in flavors and variety. Very friendly staff

Lots of options! My daughter has been obsessed with popping boba so we tried this place and she loves it. So many options to choose from ! read more

Solely Tea - Mango slushy with strawberry popping boba - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

I was visiting from out of town and stumbled upon this tea shop in Chinatown. I love love love this spot! Anytime I come from Maryland Soley Tea will be my new favorite spot in Chinatown. Soley Tea is just such a vibe! The bola is delicious and there are so many options on the menu. The #1 thing is that the customer service was the best I've received in NYC in a long time. Kenny the owner is such an amazing person with an amazing shop! MY FRIENDS AND I WILL VISIT AGAIN AND AGAIN! read more

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Located in Chinatown, I wanted to explore this place for a while. It's a small shop with limited seating and a chill ambiance. The staff is pretty friendly enough to help you with the order. I went with Mango yakult and mango popping boba. They added a bit more ice to the drink which is always a technique to reduce the actual quantity. The drink though was medium sized, finished up quickly and yakult never felt like yogurt which is good but was definitely refreshing! I then took out the ice and finished off the mango popping boba which was stuck in the bottom of the glass. Overall a good experience, but would definitely try out their milk tea the next time! read more

Solely Tea - Mango yakult with mango popping boba - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

At one point in my childhood, I was the biggest shoehead. I remember making my mom drive me to footlocker in the early AMs so I could line up for some Jordan shoes lol. Now, i'm just taking L's on the snkrs app and buying shoes second hand. Solely Tea is sneaker shop that also has boba. My bank account is running a lil dry from it being Christmas szn, so no shoes today. The menu is pretty simple and has your basic milk tea flavors with a cool looking lemonade drink. I opted for the taro milk tea. It's a no frills kind of boba shop so I was not expecting a lot. I enjoyed my taro drink and it was reasonably priced. Shout out to the owner who was extremely friendly. If you're looking for some cool kicks and some basic boba, Solely Tea has you covered! read more

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Serving boba in a cup with a lid is criminal and messy. We all know it should be a press and seal top or it will leak all over, like mine did. read more

Solely Tea is conveniently located near the mall and other food spots. So it makes for a really good choice after heavy, savory meals. We opted for the China Mac, which is a Passion Fruit and Lychee Yakult slushy, with lychee jelly. It is super tasty and refreshing, but do yourself a favor and get less sugar if possible, because this drink may taste overwhelmingly sweet. I do wish they had more milk tea options, but their specials all seem appetizing, and should do the job if one's looking for a refreshing drink. read more

Solely Tea - China Mac (lychee yakult) - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

This place has the most delicious boba tea flavors, great quality ingredients, unique types of tea (slushy, yogurt teas, etc), best prices, and excellent customer service!!! I highly recommend it. Kenny, the owner, is super friendly and is a sneaker head. He has tons of specialty sneakers, exclusive releases, and stuff that I don't know much about! Lol. I'm not into sneakers like that but my kids are. It's a nice place with cool colors and set-up. read more

Solely Tea - Pacific lemonade with popping raspberry boba!! - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

Very good and clean and yummy, worker was super friendly and nice. We had a hard time finding the store bc it didn't look like a normal cafe/boba store but once you go inside it is very clean read more

I normally don't drink bubble tea, but their pina colada is amazing! Got my husband, the bubble tea drinker in our family, the big green apple. It's definitely a new favorite spot for bubble tea. read more

Solely Tea - Pina colada - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

was confused at first because i thought it was a shoe store, but it's a very cute boba place! i made my own drink with strawberry lychee slushy and boba, and it was pretty good! the flavors r made w syrup so it's a little artificial but it's super affordable for new york prices :) read more

Solely Tea - Slushy - Shoe Stores Near Me - New York, New York

The signature teas Eddie and Jimmy teas were so delicious. The bubbles were perfectly QQ. We met Eddie the Tea that was named after. He was super cool and we loved the vibe and friendliness of the place. Truly enjoyed the Teas. Will go again! read more

Atmosphere is great it is a sneaker shop as well as tea & boba, customer service is great and delicious drinks. If your in the lower east side/ china town check it out. Vibes are immaculate read more

Got some sleek sneaks and delicious boba. Very helpful dude running the shop. They use these great cups for the boba. One side you sip so you don't get the boba and the other has a place for a straw. Very reusable. Great customer service. I wasn't even in the market for shoes when I came in but I love what I got! read more

I thought this place was a hole-in-the-wall sneaker shop until they handed me a drink. It was a delicious drink. I need to come back here sometime soon. read more