On Mar. 8, a new boba place opened in Danville, Lilikoi Boba – the second boba place in the town. Inspired by Hawaiian and tropical aesthetics, Lilikoi Boba offers a variety of fruity and traditional teas, smoothies, and treats, enhanced by its unique interior design. 

Ambiance

As soon as we entered the store, we were struck by the serenity of the atmosphere. Though it was empty except for us and the two employees, the colorful walls, the soft hum of the music and the television, and the warm lighting from the firework-inspired chandeliers made the place feel lively and inviting. The inviting nature was largely enhanced by the white and green couches perched at the front of the store. Covered in leaf and flower prints, they tied in with the tropical aesthetic and the green, white, and gray color scheme. They were also accompanied with matching pillows and wallpaper that lined the side wall, which once again showed the cohesiveness of the decor. Perched on this wall was also a green and red neon sign with the phrase “let’s take a Boba Vacation to Hawaii.” Though this could have easily become a tacky decor choice, we found that when paired with the wegner style circle chairs and large indoor plants, it actually added to the tropical aesthetic. 

Service

When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with an open, empty area. The menu was displayed on a TV above the counter while a paper version was taped to the glass on the side dividing the customers from the employees for convenience. Though we took a bit of time to scour over our options, the employees were friendly and understanding throughout the entire experience and took the time to explain all of the customizable options to us. We also noticed that in front of the cash register was a small blue boba Squishmallow™ mascot, which added a cute, personal touch to the area. When we were ready to pay, they let us know that they accept both cash and card, which makes it an easily accessible place for teenagers, many of whom may not have personal credit or debit cards.

Menu

On their menu, they have a wide variety of options ranging from fruit teas to spam musubi. They also had smoothies and kona italian coffee, along with the option to build and customize your own drink. There were an abundance of flavors, types of boba, cream bases, and sweetners to choose from. Lilikoi means passionfruit in Hawaiian, as they offer two distinct drinks seemingly containing passionfruit on their menu (Tropical Delight and Mint Mojito). While they also had mochi donuts on their menu, they did not have them available on Sundays or Mondays, which was a bummer. This wasn’t mentioned or listed on their menu, which is why we were confused when we tried to order it and the worker informed us of their unavailability. Additionally, there were no prices on the menu except for the mochi donuts and spam musubi, which made it difficult to know how much we would be spending on the drinks. Even so, the diverse options available on the menu as a whole made it fun and engaging in the ordering process!

Drinks

We ended up getting two drinks: the Sweetie Strawberry and the House Milk Tea. We planned on getting three different flavors of mochi donuts, however, they were unavailable that day (Monday). The Sweetie Strawberry, right off the bat, was a darker pink shade and less garnished than the picture on the menu; however, it was partially expected. The strawberry drink was topped with a cheese cream and a strawberry slice. Tastewise, it had a pleasant, fresh strawberry taste that was not too sweet. It wasn’t an artificial strawberry flavor either, which was pleasantly surprising. The strawberry popping boba with the regular honey boba inside added just the right touch, the popping boba adding more of that strawberry flavor in conjunction to the drink. The cheese cream on top was sweet, but also slightly salty/savory. It added just the right amount of flavor and richness to the drink, making it more creamy and delicious. It’s a very lightweight and refreshing drink that is perfect for a hot summer day, plus it had an adequate presentation.