From Michelin Star-awarded restaurants on the Strip, to hidden local favorites, food is something Las Vegas excels at. As such, Vegas is also home to a plethora of boba spots. Yes, social media’s favorite drink in all its chewy, slushy goodness. With spring break looming and the weather warming up in the coming weeks, here are some of Vegas’ boba favorites.
You can’t mention boba in Vegas without bringing up No. 1 Boba Tea, the first boba shop in town. What began as a single shop in 1998 has since branched out into more than 11 locations in two states, with 12 locations throughout the valley. A local staple, No. 1 Boba Tea’s menu features milk teas, fruit teas, slushes, and a large selection of various toppings, resulting in a plethora of drink combinations for any craving. Its Water Street location in Henderson even offers various quick bites like spam musubi and bao buns.
If you’re looking for a boba shop with a more low-key atmosphere, look no further than Cloud Tea, located on Flamingo Road and Buffalo Drive. Established in 2018, Cloud Tea offers regular teas, milk teas, fruit teas and smoothies, along with its signature “cloud cap,” which is sea salt cream usually accompanied by a stenciled design made of matcha powder. Its proximity to a high school does mean it’s a little busy in the early to mid afternoons, but since it closes at midnight, Cloud Tea is a great spot to study into the night.
Infused Tea Lounge, located on Tropicana Avenue and Fort Apache Road, is another notable boba spot worth checking out. According to its website, Infused Tea Lounge specializes in, “handcrafted tea with modern technology and fresh ingredients to pair new flavors with tea.” Infused Tea Lounge also has a seasonal menu featuring limited-time drinks, making each visit refreshing simply depending on the season. Its staple menu items, like fruit teas and slushes, are staples for a reason, as they never fail to satisfy a boba craving. With fruit and freshness at the forefront, each drink at Infused Tea Lounge is as tasty as the last.
Perhaps the boba shop most frequented by UNLV students is Brew Tea at its University Gateway location. Brew Tea also has locations in Enterprise and Green Valley, making the shop another local favorite. Offering milk teas, hot and cold teas, slushes, lattes, and a variety of toppings, the flavor and drink combinations are almost endless. Brew Tea also offers mini boba, a uniquely-sized variation of traditional boba that’s worth ordering at least once for the novelty and taste of it.
“I like going to Brew Tea because their milk teas are very diverse, and they have an accommodating atmosphere. They go out of their way to make sure their customers are satisfied,” said UNLV student Miklo Alcala. “My go-to is a winter melon milk tea.”
Living in a food-centric city like Vegas can make one forget that some of the best spots around town aren’t five-star restaurants, but rather local, low-key favorites. Especially when it comes to boba. Versatile for any craving or mood, Vegas’s boba spots offer a unique drink experience unlike any other, and it’s the focus on quality, consistency, and atmosphere that has solidified Vegas’s unbeatable boba scene in my books. In fact, I’d say Vegas’s boba scene has gotten the perfect boba experience down to a tee.
