Koala T Café

Months ago I had started a draft to correct my previous review, so I’ll start off with that. I appreciated the owner getting in contact with me about my experience. I received a complementary order of the Thai tea and I must say their boba has gotten a lot better, but it’s not necessarily the best I ever had.
Forward to now … They manage to correct my order that one day, regardless they are still inconsistent — food, boba, menu, HOURS.
I personally was a fan of the koala fries but now they’re no longer on the menu. First they were a regular item, then a late night item, and now extinct. So sad

I have been here a few times (not to mention back when it was only a boba truck), and I have to say I’m a huge fan. While I haven’t tried any of the food except for some delicious fries, I love the rose milk tea boba. The taro and almond milk teas are also good. Sometimes milk teas are a little sweet in general for me so I’ll usually ask for 50% sweetness/​sugar. It’s convenient location near UCLA is a huge plus so you don’t have to go all the way to Sawtelle when you want good boba. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because I was once told I couldn’t sit at a table unless I ordered food. I know that sometimes people bring all of their schoolwork and monopolize the tables all day, but it’s a bit annoying that I couldn’t sit with my friend and enjoy my drink. That’s only happened once, however, so I’m not sure how strict of a policy that is.

They have the worst «lemonade.» If you can even call it that. It is some flavored crap. The only thing it doesn’t taste like is lemonade. Their boba is not bad. Their prices are ridiculous. There are much better options out there. If you want to throw away your money, by all means go to this place.

Drinks are ok but the food… Lawddddd.
I got the minced pork bowl, my bf got the wonton soup, and my sister got some tofu dish. The minced pork was whatever… the temperature of my food wasn’t hot, almost like it had been sitting out for a while. The minced pork had a strong flavor to it kinda like already marinated meat that was bought at a store or something lol. The wonton soup was grossssss! Not even the broth was good. The wontons tasted horrible!!! They were like frozen wontons that weren’t even soft and had a powdery flavor to it… yuck. My sisters tofu dish was alright. You can’t really mess tofu up but it wasn’t all that.
The drinks were decent. I got a foam jasmine tea and it was pretty good. The foam was kinda flaky looking which was weird. My sister got the Milky Way and that was really good! The lychee green tea was okay it definitely needed more sweetness because it tasted kinda bland.
Overall, my experience here was not too hot. I FORSURE don’t recommend anyone to get food here when there are better food spots surrounding this place. Drinks were alright but would be the last place I come to if I wanted a drink, jusssayin. They get the drinks and food out pretty quickly which was cool. I found it kinda weird that they don’t offer some items on their menu until late at night. The koala fries looked so good but they didn’t even have it. Such a disappointment!

Whenever I’m in Westwood, I always stop by Koala for boba. It’s become a ritual. And I’m in Westwood a lot.
We usually get the passion fruit lemonade boba, less ice and the lychee lemonade boba. I love how there’s a variety of teas and lemonades. The boba consistency is chewy yet soft. The lemonade is tart and sweet.
The service is pretty quick.
I heard this place was created by some Bruins, so it’s gotta be good.

Pretty decent boba. There honestly isn’t anything special about this boba and it doesn’t stand out or anything. Just think your average chain boba quality. Best in the westwood area in my opinion though (got a stomach ache from another store). The staff are friendly and pleasant to talk to though! I showed up once in a koala onesie and they gave me a discount. The store is very cute and a great place to just hang out. Also offers a lot of space and seating which I like a lot.

Wow I don’t know what the hype was about this place because all the food I got here with a friend was… so mediocre. We got the mongolian beef and the mapo tofu — the mongolian beef was super tough and weirdly chewy like rubber and the mapo tofu was… nothing close to what it’s supposed to taste like.
We also got two drinks, the milk tea and the lychee slush, nothing was wrong with them.
If you choose to come here, I wouldn’t reccommend trying the food.

3.5 Stars
We came here because we had a buy one get one free coupon. I ordered a small milky way, and my friend got a large almond boba. The service was fast. The restaurant is fairly spacious and clean. The boba itself was pretty sweet. After a while there was so much crushed ice that all the toppings and flavor was gone. The ratios are pretty off, but the drink was pretty good. For the coupon, each drink costed around $ 2, which was a good deal. I think my favorite is still Coco’s in Westwood.

The Koala fries are more expensive and it doesn’t taste as good as before; however, it is still good. It is now priced at $ 8 and I’m not sure if I will be ordering them again. Their boba selection is definitely more on the fruity side. I got a lychee boba. I think it was OK but definitely not bad. The atmosphere became less of a restaurant feel since their second opening. It started to feel like a café again and people can study again.

Loving the new changes to Koala T.
Even though they’re closed on Mondays, they’re open late every other day which is super nice if you’re looking for a nice place to sit and chill with your friends.
I still don’t like their drinks too much, but this is a great place to study! Never obnoxiously loud, plenty of seating, great lighting, and WiFi!
With the new menu, they now serve Taiwanese entrees! Haven’t tried them yet, but I heard it was really good. The food items I usually order are all on the «Late Night Menu». These items are served from 9:30PM to closing AND THEY’RE SO GOOD. Drunk me would definitely come here if it was open even later.
Highly recommend the Koala Fries ($ 7.95), which comes with BBQ tri-​tip, pico de gallo, guacamole, shredded cheese, sriracha mayo, sour cream, cotija cheese and green onions over skinny french fries. Another good option is the Popcorn Chicken ($ 6.95) which comes with its own sweet and sour sauce.
Overall, great place to hang out but nothing to blow you out of the water. Check it out if you’re up and need some late night munchies!

Their boba tea flavors are a lot more varied than their competitors around the area so that’s a plus. However, in my honest opinion I feel like their boba balls are a little off for some reason, but I can’t really say why that is. It doesn’t deter from me being a customer here, perhaps that’s just the way their boba balls are supposed to be. I also really liked he popcorn chicken, and they are really generous with their portions as well! I didn’t expect so much but it was appreciated. The service is better now, the cashiers are a lot nicer and more abled than they were when they first changed management. I believe they only serve snack at night time, no meals. It’s a good study spot as well with wifi as well but finding outlets isn’t as accessible.

Service always frustrates me here — something always inevitably always goes wrong with each visit, and though the problem is usually fixed with a smile and an apology, can I please have one visit without a wrong item; a down Five Star system, bussed but still dirty table, an unreasonably long wait for food, or…
But the food keeps bringing me back. It is surprisingly good for a college student café grub hangout.
It would be 4, even 4.5 stars, if management cared more and actually paid more attention to front of house training and execution. But I’ve been there enough times to see the manager (owner?) hear the issues and completely ignore the problem as if he didn’t hear it (regardless of whether he was being complained to directly or not, a caring responsible manager considers all problems as ultimately his problem.)
Oh, well… as long as the food remains good and the service remains earnest…

I just came here for lunch with some friends. We ordered separately in the front. I got the garlic beef and so did one of my friends. When all of their orders came, I realized that we had been waiting for my order for more than 5 minutes. I go to the front to see what’s happening and there was a mix up in the kitchen where they thought they only needed to make one order of garlic beef. When they realized their mistake, they made no apologies and just sent out the dish.
Customer service is nonexistent here. There seems to be one server who apparently hates his job because he had an attitude and didn’t seem to want to be there at all.
The food is crazy salty here. None of my friends finished their plates because it was too salty. It seems like they just douse their sauce with salt.
Definitely not returning.

Milky Way is a solid boba selection, though it is on the sweet side. Will be back to try more flavors.

I moved out of the area and came back the other night to get some Koala fries since it was my favorite item from Koala Tea. I also ordered the minced pork bowl because I was interested in trying one of their new items.
For some reason, the fries were not as good as I remembered. I felt like there were less toppings and the meat was overly marinated, so it tasted drenched in sauce. The minced pork bowl was also pretty mediocre… Despite being super hungry, I could not finish the bowl because it was soooooooo salty! I literally felt like I was eating spoonfuls of soy sauce.
I really hope the food improves because it doesn’t seem like the restaurant is doing too well after the re-​branding…

tldr: mediocre food, less than stellar service
Not a pleasant experience for me all around, whether it came to food or service. Pretty disappointing considering that I found the ambience quite pleasant and cozy.
Right off the bat, it took a while for their front people (ie. there was no one there) to get me seated even though the place had a lot of empty seats. They seem to be busy with something else, definitely not assisting other customers. But I thought I would let that slide.
I wanted to try their supposedly «Sichuan» cuisine by ordering one of the items in their main menu. Decided I was going to order their «Sichuan style» braised beef. However, after ten minutes of waiting, the waiter comes back and tells me that that item is unavailable; new stock of meat had just arrived via delivery and it would take at least an hour to prepare and be available.
OK, I said, let me get another item instead. Again, he says it’s unavailable. In short, most of their items in the main menu was unavailable at the time being and I would have to wait at least an hour; I can order items from their «Bowl specials» — only those were available. I was seriously considering leaving at that point, but my friend had already ordered his and the food was already in his table, so out of courtesy I just decided to get one of their bowls. But that encounter certainly left a sour mark.
I ordered a side of soy sauce egg to go along with my bowl. My bowl arrives, no egg. The waiter says it should be coming in a bit. I eat, have a nice chit chat with my friend. Half way done with the food, still not ready. Finished the last bit of rice in my bowl, still no egg. I tried to understand the dilemma with the main dish items, but I don’t think it should be this bad for a piece of egg.
With regards to the food, if the bowls we ordered (I ordered their slow braised chicken bowl, while my friend ordered their minced pork bowl — I had a chance to try that one as well) were representative of the food they serve, then it is definitely mediocre. My chicken definitely did not look or taste like braised chicken. More like meat (which was rather dry) topped with some bland sauce. And it was definitely not made fresh, perhaps reheated. I also tried my friend’s minced pork and it was noting special at all. No depth of flavor whatsoever. The only good part, I suppose, was that the portions are big for the price they charge ($ 5 at the time of writing). Perhaps you do get what you pay for.
Due to this whole debacle, the manager decided to have our food on the house. Still, that does not excuse what had happened and I certainly left the establishment dissatisfied, and not really looking to come back. I give them 2 stars only because of the portion size, and the place looks like a relaxing spot to do some studying. Other than that, try somewhere else.

TL;DR: Okay drinks, upgrade from Boba Loca.
This place created some high expectations with their truck. It seems like they went in a different direction with their café, however, offering more food choices than drinks, it seems.
I ordered the Milky Way, which is a half&half and condensed milk slush with caramel, boba, and pudding. The concept is pretty unique, the execution was pretty meh. The initial sips of the drink were sickly sweet, with the caramel and pudding pooling at the bottom. Once you’re finished with the boba and pudding, however, you’re left with a bland tasting milk slush that just takes like frozen milk. It wasn’t sweet or good any more so I threw the last bit away.
All in all, definitely a good change compared to Boba Loca. However, if I had to order boba again, I’d get a fruit tea drink. Their green tea from ~3 years ago was delicious, and I feel like you can’t mess that up too much.

This place is a tough call.
As far as the food goes, strictly speaking, it’s mediocre. Dan dan mein in particular is pretty far off the mark, with overly soft noodles and none of the proper delayed burn that it should have. The beef noodle soup has overly soft noodles and not enough flavor, but the texture of the beef is pretty close to correct. Popcorn chicken is pretty awful, while the fried chicken wings are the one good dish– very, very good.
However, service is surprisingly decent and you have to consider the location– around here there’s no Chinese food worthy of the name.
Taken in that context, it’s not too bad.

Koala T Café’s new revamp of their entire restaurant has ultimately been a huge disappointment. Located in the heart of Westwood close to UCLA, this place has been nicely refurnished for a more restaurant feel compared to the original, more casual spot it used to be. With the remodel came a new menu of traditional Chinese Sichuan dishes, but food here is not very authentic, and, more importantly, just not very good.
Koala T Café used to be a more casual restaurant riding on the Asian-​Mexican fusion idea with items like Koreanized tacos and their amazing Koala Fries with anything you want in a burrito plus galbi beef all on top of some fries. When I saw that they x-​ed all of this to change to a more traditional Chinese palate, I was pretty sad because the original menu was pretty good (those Koala Fries!!!). But then again, I thought that getting my Chinese fix without driving an hour would be a nice compensation. So I came back to try again.
Sadly, the food is very one-​note and smothered in an abnormal amount of red oil. I ordered their beef noodle soup and it was just plain gross when I tried to drink some soup but got a spoonful of oil instead. Yeah, Sichuan dishes are famous for smothering their dishes with spicy hot chili oil, but the whole thing was pretty bland. There’s also something off with their noodles in lacking the right chewiness and being too soft. Beef was good, albeit a little fatty, but still acceptable. I’ve also tried their Zhajiang noodles and Dan Dan noodles. Same problem of questionable authenticity (esp with the zhajiang noodles) but their Dan Dan noodles was better tasting. Boba drinks are not as bad, but could be a lot stronger in flavor and felt a little diluted. Good quality boba though.
So no, no more Koala Fries and most of the pictures here are pretty misleading because they are mostly of their old menu. I might come back in a few months to see if they were able to fix their problems, but as of now, the search for a more local Chinese fix continues.

We had a really good time at this café on a Saturday. We ordered their dumpling soup in chili oil and their Mongolian beef. Everything was amazing. The dumplings tasted fresh and they were appropriately hot, given that I have had authentic hunanese before.
The Mongolian came with two scoops or rice and many vegetables. We had no issues with the pricing or portion size. Our lychee jelly tea and Vietnamese coffee were also very nice.
I’d recommend this place to someone who wants to study all day long since there are plenty of laptop outlets.

This was a sad attempt at turning a boba store into a fully functioning restaurant. The food at this place alone is 2stars, probably closer to 1.5. I would rank mr. Noodle which gave me food poisoning better than koala T. The braised chicken bowl was pretty much flavorless and I stopped eating after three bites. My friends clay pot was absolutely disgusting. It was doused in a pool of chili oil. There was virtually no taste to it either except for the odd herby taste, and I’m not talking about the herbs used in hot pot.
To make the experience worse the service is unacceptable. Which is the reasoning for a 1 star review. This is a failed attempt at becoming a restaurant because to be a fully functional successful restaurant managers and their employees should understand how to resolve customer complaints. When we told our waiter the problem with the clay pot all he said was «oh, sorry.» With a blank face and walked away. And for the duration of our meal he avoided our table. No comp, no real apology, no offering of remaking the dish or even adding more broth. Any person in the restaurant business would know the professional way to handle the situation. We didn’t ask for a free meal nor were we rude in anyway, but our server blatantly just didn’t give a sh*t. He was also training a new server all the while this happened so great lesson you’re teaching your new Employees KT.
Koala T, I’m sorry but this is my first and last time dining here. I will also advise all my Unilocal friends to not order food dishes here.

Overall: Come here for Americanized Chinese food. It’s decently done, the drinks are good, and the service is good. It’s more of a 3.5, but I like to round up when I have the chance.
Food: 3.5
Fish Fillet in Black Bean Sauce: The fish was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The sauce was good. The rice was a tad too mushy for me.
Wonton Soup was disappointing. The noodles resembled thick spaghetti and the wonton wrappers were undercooked. My friend best put it as an undercooked Ravioli without the cheese.
Sides: My friend made his meal a combo, which gives you a veggie egg roll, salad, and soup. The egg roll was crispy but it had very little filling. The salad was alright. The soup was ok but it tasted tomato pastey.
Lychee Green Tea: I recommend this when you’re feeling some tea because it’s not too sweet. Just remember to actually mix the drink unlike me haha
Service: 4
The staff is pretty accommodating. They’re also super friendly, and they’ll chat you up if you give them the chance.
Ambiance: 4
It clean and well lit. I imagine it’s a good place to study with your friends. You can eat and drink while working.