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    The Alley

    4.1 (47 reviews)

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    THE ALLEY ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - The Alley

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    Maggi W.

    I was pleasantly surprise by the drinks at The Alley. I came with family for dessert after dinner in the WoW plaza on Westheimer since it's pretty new and wanted to check everything out. The interior is clean and and spacious where it can accommodate large group and a long line. The drinks came up fairly quickly when we went as it wasn't crowded. The cashier was helpful when asked about the drinks as we were deciding what we wanted. We ordered 3 drinks: 1. Ube Taro Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk - 4/5 Nothing special but good as expected from a Taro boba drink 2. Mango Frappe - 3/5 This drink had greentea jelly in and it was slightly bitter from the tea taste and might not be appreciated by everyone. 3. Yogurt Grape Lulu - 5/5 This was our favorite, the yogurt really stands out with the right amount of tartness and sweetness. The grape taste is similar to the Japanese muscat grapes. They have another location in Bellaire and I will be trying out that location also!

    Linda H.

    Great location! Clean space. Great service and love all the options! The cashier was so patient with my husband and I. She took the time to explain all the options and customizations. It was extremely nice of her! Will go back! Plus we got a free item to try because we ordered two drinks!

    Junel I.

    I had an opportunity to visit a boba shop I have grown to appreciate due to the quality of the drinks. Also a logo that is synonymous with an animal with antlers: The Alley. Surprisingly this month, I had visited all the locations in the city and to me, this is location number 3 out of 4. To my surprise, I had an appointment around the area and needed a place to stop in close by and found the shop was 2 minutes away. One thing I notice is this location is really spacious. The layout is unique with various types of seating. Drink wise I was looking for something refreshing and decided on the passion fruit green tea with boba and coconut jelly. That was what I expected and a nice light drink versus the brown sugar milk tea offerings. Overall, I known The Alley to be a favorite of mine recently. From all the locations in the city, this one was one that stood out. I did notice there were food offerings and not just the typical quick bites like Taiwanese popcorn chicken or chicken wings & fries. Maybe one day I will give it a try. The person the front that took my order was friendly. Also I appreciated the small heads up on what the drink typically comes with and if I wanted to make any adjustments? I am not picky and keep it as is. Always a solid visit no matter what location and letting other boba shops know to respect and "Fear the Deer." Haha

    Mango LuLu
    Angela A.

    At this point I've visited two of their locations, the one in Katy and the one off Westheimer. My go to is now the Mango LuLu! Very good combination of a mango slushy with coconut milk and crème. I switch the crystal boba out for brown sugar boba. Love the modern look and cleanliness of both cafes. The location on Westheimer had a bit of wait after I ordered my drink. That's the only reason I gave 4 stars instead. Go check them out.

    Menu
    Caroline N.

    THIS IS MY FAVORITE ALLEY LOCATION (and I've tried many)! Opened 9/28/24, this was the first location in the country to offer a full food menu. I've tried the truffle fries, crispy popcorn chicken, and Yakiniku donburi rice entrée - these were all reasonably priced and fairly good. (I say "fairly" good as in better than I'd expect for a boba shop but obviously not comparable to an actual restaurant specializing in these foods). I'd happily purchase the fries and chicken again. While I'm impressed by their extensive food menu, I'm a boring "normal" milk tea person. My favorite drink by far is the vintage cassia milk tea (with snow foam and boba), which I have YET to find at any other Alley location! The cassia tea base gives the drink a chocolatey flavor that's not too overpowering. The snow foam (really just the Alley's special name for cheese foam) adds decadence. This is my favorite milk tea of all time. It has a beautiful interior with ample seating and charging and wifi - perfect for socializing or studying. There is bright white lighting but also plenty of natural sunlight, especially during sunset. So long as this place continues to serve the vintage cassia milk tea, I will definitely keep coming back.

    The establishment.
    Sarah E.

    This was my first time visiting this establishment for lunch with a friend on a Friday at half past noon. It was not busy, well staffed, organized, bright and clean. Table tops were spotless and cushions on the booth seats were displayed uniformly. WiFi connected easily and quickly. A family with three young children were ordering when we got in line but the wait wasn't long. There was plenty of room at check out and throughout the restaurant for their baby troller. The cashier was friendly, had a positive attitude, was patient as I changed my drink order twice and repeated our order for confirmation. The food was good, prepared swiftly and served in a to-go plastic box for pick up at the counter. There was another group of 3 friends meeting for lunch and a group of 6 who had laptops, books and notebooks spread out their table, so accommodating to any need. Ample seating and parking. I did not notice plugs around my table but I had no need for one so was not looking specially for one. Clean bathroom.

    Anna S.

    My friend & I stopped by The Alley since we were in the area, and I noticed they had some unique options! We came on a Friday afternoon, so the area was quiet, and compared to the original Katy location, the Westchase one had ample seating. Another interesting thing about this location is that they serve food, unlike the Katy location, so next time I return, I'll be sure to try some of them. I ordered the Rosey Peach milk tea with 50% sweetness and brown sugar boba. Although 50% is a good amount of sugar for me, the brown sugar boba was a good additional sweetness, and I loved how warm & chewy the boba was when I received my drink! The rose-peach flavor was very prominent. However, I didn't really taste the tea and was hoping there'd be a good sweetness-to-bitterness (from the tea) ratio. Similarly, I tried my friend's Cassia milk tea (a caramel flavor), which tasted more caramel than tea. This could depend on your taste buds, but as expressed earlier, I do like a balance between milk and tea flavor. I would return because they have several unique options, but my drink tasted more like a rose peach milk drink rather than rose peach milk TEA. Perhaps this could be fixed by lowering the sugar levels next time. Also, the price isn't bad for how much I get, which is a plus!

    Thai Curry Chicken
    Judy C.

    Beautiful Interior! The alley westhimer location was beautifully constructed. Plenty of seating inside and so much open space. Came during the workweek during lunch and got a drink+food combo. Loved the Passionfriut Fruit Green Tea, it was very refreshing. The boba was pretty good and chewy as well. Got the thai chicken curry and it had a bit of a kick to it. The chicken itself was moist and juicy. Also included a small side of mashed potatoes and corn/cheese. Parking - plenty and free within the plaza

    Signature brown sugar latte on left, lychee green tea on right
    Alice H.

    Very pleased by the quality of drinks at this location. I was pretty upset at another location but this one is on point. I love a good lychee drink so had to try the green tea lychee. Based on other reviews, I got 75% sweet, which was just right. I could probably even do full and be ok. In any case the tea was nice and strong and love the chunks of lychee in it. Boyfriend got the signature brown sugar latte (aka brown sugar cold brew) and even though I'm not a coffee drinker, I could tell it was legit and good. I give both drinks 4.5/5 and will return to try other drinks. We walked in around 30 min before close and it was still packed, so glad it's getting good traffic. It was a good space with quite a few tables seems like they serve food so maybe will sit down next time for a meal.

    Mango coconut smoothie
    Kelly D.

    Really clean and quick service. Much bigger space than the Katy location and alot more options (food and drinks)! I got the mango coconut smoothie and it's so good and refreshing

    Queenieko M.

    Came here while on vacation and wish this was at my home. This was the best boba tea I have ever had! Everything tasted so fresh. I ordered the brown sugar deerioca and it was so yummy. Wish I had one now! The service was nice and the staff were helpful in helping with my selection. They also have food you can order and eat in there. The food looked so good. The place was very hip and quant. I would definitely relax here.

    Peach Oolong Tea with Snow Velvet
    Jacquelyn C.

    Got to try this place during their soft opening, and the drinks were good as per usual. We got to try some of the food which was good, but not great. The spicy pepper dry noodles with grill shrimp was spicy and was yummy. It mainly tasted of soy sauce and spice. The espresso pork ribs with rice was flavored deliciously though the ribs were a little dry. The kimchi spam bao was alright and is exactly what it sounds like: kimchi and spam. Nothing amazing about this. We also got the popcorn chicken which was my favorite. They weren't too salty and paired very well with the sriracha mayo. Although I do wish they came with some basil. The service was pretty quick and we were seated promptly. Although they are advertising themselves as a sit-down and eat establishment there aren't very many tables and most of the tables are meant for 1 to 2 people to sit at. Would be a great place to study, but make sure to mention you'll be "dining" in even if you are not.

    Jessica N.

    An interesting change to this boba chain! Instead of the usual popcorn chicken, they added actual entrees and dishes to the menu. I got the popcorn chicken and the shrimp noodles. I could say that the Shrimp Noodles were flavorful and the shrimp was grilled just right. However, I did not like the popcorn chicken. The coating is different from other boba spots and doesn't hold any flavor or crunch to it, but for a boba shop it's okay! My usual go to drinks that I get are the Ube Creme Brûlée which never disappoints. I do think that the whole service and being seated is weird. I would rather have it as a pay, sit, and eat vibe instead of the server coming and seating you. Overall, 8/10.

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    5 months ago

    It's always so dark and not open. Sound like they are about to close the business. Quality and service dropped quite a bit

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    1 year ago

    My is fast service and very friendly . The milk tea is super good! The store is super clean!

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    Ask the Community - The Alley

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    4.4
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    I came in only because I've been really craving a green smoothie and they had lots of juice and…read moresmoothie options! So glad I came by because I really liked their menu for lunch! I ended up getting the Green Smoothie with added Whey Protein and my husband got the Tropical Twist smoothies with added protein as well. The cashier seemed like the only one to be working the front and the phone was constantly ringing so he hadn't started on our smoothies until we came back up to the counter 10 minutes later. No worries though since he started on them right away and they came out fast and SO DELICIOUS! He also gave us Large(s) even though we had ordered medium which was nice because of the wait. Definitely will come back! It's a nice place for a lunch break with plenty of seating, real good music and tasty but healthy food options.

    This place is absolutely AMAZING! 5 star customer service!…read more I tried the tumeric shot, salmon bowl, and a green smoothie.. everything was soooo dang good!!! Best part is, I got a chance to the meet the owner. She sooo sweet and delightful! She explained me to how they make their foods by baking or grilling only. No fried or boiled foods. The smoothies are not made with ice or powder!! Huge plus! You can add protein to your smoothies by requesting it. There is indoor and outdoor seating. Both clean and sanitized, bathrooms spotless. I pray this business does well because they truly deserve it. I honestly can't wait to go back!

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    The Alley - bubbletea - Updated August 2026

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