Sweetheart Cafe

315 9th St, Oakland, CA

★★★★4.4(104 Google reviews)

Crema's Take

This Oakland gem deserves way more buzz for their exceptional milk teas, especially the brown sugar and taro varieties that reviewers call life-changing, plus surprisingly stellar popcorn chicken that rivals what folks have had across Taiwan. It's a genuine mom-and-pop operation where the owner's warmth matches the quality of their creative drink menu—think pina colada smoothies alongside matcha and fruit teas—making it equally perfect for a quick grab or lingering over boba with family. Fair warning: their in-person pricing runs higher than online, but the care that goes into each drink and their honest, spotless approach to the craft makes it worth the visit.

What to expect

Family friendlySignature drinksQuick grabSpecialty drinksTraditional drinksMatcha & teaLight foodSlow sit

Google Reviews

makaveli
★★★★★3 months ago

their brown sugar milk tea was the best i ever had. their boba is amazing. they have vegan options for milk tea. the boss is super nice also. update: their taro milk tea and pina colada smoothie is delicious as well according to my dad and bf. the brown sugar milk tea is still bomb and boba is fresh

Jenn
★★★★★8 months ago

This place is SO SLEPT ON! This review is only for the popcorn chicken. Ever since I moved from SoCal to the Bay Area, I’ve been trying to find a popcorn chicken spot that meets all my requirements: has to have basil, use chicken dark meat, super crispy, fresh, consistent, and reasonably price. This is THE SPOT! And the pricing is so good especially in this economy. Half size is decent portion for $7.55 and Full size is $10.25. The service is as good as it gets - people generally do takeout. You order on the monitor outside or can do mobile order, and they’ll text you when your order is ready, which really helps if you’re struggling to find a parking spot. Parking is typical in Chinatown - it’s usually bustling and packed but no one is going to give you shit if you emergency park on the street haha. The inside of the place has some snacks and candy. You CAN sit down and eat there but it’s not the best dining spot and there’s a lot of clutter. In my opinion, drinks and boba are pretty mid. It does the job but nothing amazing. My go-to spot for popcorn chicken though ❤️

Mean God
★★★★8 months ago

I am regular customer but this is my first time to buy the fruit tea drink. Unbelievable that one costed $6.65 without topping because I checked on their website is about $4. If I knew that much I better prefer order from I-Tea. I just bought today from I-Tea only $6.50.

Lily L.
★★★★★a year ago

Very honest and clean mom and pop shop. One of the best popcorn chickens that I've had in my life and I've had a lot of different ones in Taiwan. Love how they always include the fried basil as that's the soul of this street dish. Also love their Barley tea creama, so perfect for the hot weather. Generous amount and fairly priced. Will continue to support the business! (Regular sized rose/oolong/barley tea creama is on sale now for $3.45! Not sure how long the sale would last)

Justin Xiao
★★★★★a year ago

We ordered drinks on our walk around Chinatown. They have a great selection of drinks that you order at the entrance through touch Street. Not only do they have the classic teas they also have smoothie and I got the avocado shake. The building which the store is located in is architecturally significant. They have seating inside but no bathrooms. They also sell asian snacks.

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