Quickly

I think this is the only boba place in Santa Cruz so it’s where we ended up. This is probably the worst quicklys I’ve ever been told. It didn’t look very clean and the food and drinks took 20+ minutes! The drinks and popcorn chicken were ok. The only thing that was actually good in my opinion was the takoyaki. I probably wouldn’t come back here if I didn’t have to.

Never before have I heard from a quicklys that it is too early for popcorn chicken at 12, but that is what happens here. When you have such a popular item it is baffling why it is not offered the whole day. Having to drive through Santa Cruz traffic and find parking just to be told they wernt offering popcorn chicken is the worst. Don’t come here and go to Betty’s noodle house which is right across the street and a lot better. Also bad service here at quicklys and owner is very mean and only likes you if you speak Chinese.

They don’t play kpop music here and I don’t see there commeercial like other places do. I’m happy that it came to S.C. but they are limited in selection atm. I know where I will be almost daily, instead of going over the hill for this.

Was so bummed when Boba Cruz closed… Where to get my boba fix in Santa Cruz? Today was my first quickly experience. Only tried one of their basic milk teas and the Thai tea snow so far, but both were yummy. Prices are cheaper than Boba Cruz and service was quick. I’ll be back!

Boba is usually a hit or miss. Ordered thai milk tea one time and it tasted like medicine. Obviously didnt make it right. Egg puffs and popcorn chicken are on the menu but they arent always available which is really annoying. Items are on the menu but most of the time they dont «have any of the ingredients in stock.» It usually happens every time I go there…

I’ve tried out a couple of Quickly locations over the years and they’re all pretty much the same — large menu selection, friendly service and staff and decent and inexpensive boba. It’s nice for us college students here in Santa Cruz to have another option for boba besides from Boba Cruz or Pacific Thai. Place is average, snacks are tasty, and drinks can sometimes be a hit or miss. Not too much to complain about.

Nothing special with this Quickly’s except EXPENSIVE popcorn chicken. As usual, the menu is the same. The plus side, like the others, free WiFi. That’s it.

I’ve tried several Quickly locations, and they’re all pretty much the same — decent & inexpensive boba.
This one’s great because it’s downtown & right across from the Catalyst. I came here yesterday before a show, and it was nice to chill here for a bit while I waited for doors to open.
I got the strawberry jelly drink with boba, and it was only $ 3 for the small! Very very decently priced. It’s not the best boba I’ve ever had but for the price, you really can’t complain. I do feel like they use a lot of syrups though, and it can seem artificial. Also, they were out of moffles when I was there which was a total bummer, because it’s hard for me to find moffles nowadays!
The service was fine, and I got my drink quickly. (Whoa pun not intended). The restroom is for customers only, and you do need to ask for the key.
This whole joint is very average, and nothing to complain about.

Avoid this place at all costs, the owner would not serve an eight-​year-​old kid because he could not understand him. The eight-​year-​old is autistic and the owner speaks very little English. He pointed to the sign that said ‘we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’ and told him to leave.
Needless to say his mother quickly went inside and asked what happened. He explained the situation and asked her to leave as well. Garbage company, garbage service and AS A CHEF, GARBAGE CONDITIONS. Not sure how they’re still open with the health department.
GROSS, RUDE AND A GIANT LACK OF COMPASSION FOR OTHERS.

Quickly’s has never been my favorite for boba but when I’m craving asian food and don’t feel like going to restaurant it’s the easiest option. I visited recently hearing that Quickly’s would have new snack options but for some reason this location rarely has snacks besides popcorn chicken. Don’t know what I was expecting at this location because most of the time the snack portion of the menu is covered with a piece of paper, save two or three items.
They did have takoyaki, a popular japanese street food, which was new so I ordered it. It took at least 15min for my order to be ready which meant they didn’t start making it for a while because takoyaki only takes about 5min to cook. It was sunday night so it was a little busy and they had 3 – 4 girls working, so I guess that couldn’t be helped. The takoyaki itself was pretty heavily seasoned which I liked, especially after adding a heap of spice on top lol. You’re given eight pieces in a box. Overall it satisfied my cravings.
Drinks wise, I find all Quickly’s to use a lot of syrups and their flavored drinks are too sweet so I steer clear of stuff like Passion Fruit Tea even though they’re my favorite, because I know they’re better at places like Eggettes. What’s good is their jasmine milk tea, and earl grey milk tea. They have a good tea variety. I’m still disappointed in their lack of snacks, which is what Quickly’s is more known for.

Apparently this place is popular among SC college students. I went in three times and the boba pretty decent. They have over 50 flavors. Great place to go if you just want something to drink or don’t have much money. Drinks cost 3 – 4 bucks.

The old guy is so rude we bought two drinks and bc we had two outside drinks with us he made us leave and wait outside in the rain. They’re also so racist to anyone who isn’t Asian. All of them are so rude all the time and there’s no reason for it since as a customer we give them our hard earned money. Horrible no one should go. Also one time they messed up
Our order and wouldn’t fix it unless we paid for another drink.

When I came here when they first opened, everything tasted so watered down. However, they have drastically improved on their boba making skills.
Since this is the only boba spot in Santa Cruz, I come here to satisfy my boba cravings. Everything I have tried so far is pretty good, but I definitely recommend their Passion Fruit Slush with Boba. Overall, this place is great and I am thankful that Quicklys has opened one of their chains in this area.

Thoroughly underwhelming! We went in with low expectations and were still disappointed.
I got a rose peach tea. It tasted like if you took a cheap rose perfume, muddled some stale artificially flavored peach rings in there, and topped it off with sugar syrup. No bueno — I think I have diabetes now.
The boba was no better. Half of it was entirely too soft, and the other half was so undercooked and hard that I had to spit it onto the sidewalk. Wtf.
Next time Unilocal tells me someplace is only worth two stars, I’ll believe it. Not worth the risk :(

Service:
The cashiers/​workers are fine. If you’re trying to work here (because they’re hiring) it would be beneficial for you to speak Chinese– the manager speaks very little English. He looks a little scary too so when he offered me a job I declined haha…
Food:
Popcorn chicken is good but they give you really small portions compared to ANY OTHER QUICKLY’S. It’s super not worth to pay $ 5 for ~10 small/​medium pieces of chicken (about half the bag) when you know other locations give you a whole bag/​box full for the same price. Also, expect to wait like 15 – 30 minutes for popcorn chicken. I came in on a rainy day and ordered a milk tea + popcorn chicken, the drink came out lightening fast since I was the only person there but I waited like 20 minutes for the popcorn chicken.
Waffles always come out burnt/​over-​cooked.
Drinks:
No small boba anymore! :(They seem to take something I love off the menu every-​time I visit this place. Overall their normal drinks (jasmine, milk, etc.) are fine, but if you try and order something complicated or off the posters they have don’t expect much. I learned my lesson with their sesame milk tea and was so disappointed, take advice from me and stick with the basics.

My friends and I came here because we wanted a cold drink since it was such a hot day.
Thai milk tea (half sweet) w/​boba: TASTES LIKE NOTHING. SUPER WATERED DOWN.
Milk tea w/​boba: actually pretty good
Lemon slush w/​boba: my friend said she liked it!
Peach slush: my friend she said it was really good
So overall, because I was disappointed with my drink, I took off a star & plus the girl who took my order wasn’t friendly when I was asking her questions.
I’d come back for the milk tea w/​boba only.

UPDATE: This is the 5^th time this month that my friends and I have gone to this Quickly and it has been closed before it’s advertised hours. Today it was already closed a little after 9, but on Unilocal it says they close at 10.
To the owner: I understand not wanting to pay your employees if there is not a lot of business. But either change your advertised hours, or pay one of your minimum wage employees the extra $ 8 to stay until closing. Your main expenses are rent and franchise fees anyways. It’s just bad business to close whenever the hell you feel like it.

Quickly is one of the biggest boba chains, so if you’re an experienced boba drinker you probably already know what Quickly’s drinks taste like and won’t be impressed. Still, if you’re stuck in Santa Cruz and you’re thirsty for boba, this is probably your best bet.
Obviously the main competitor of this place is Boba Cruz, so I decided to order identical drinks from both places and try them at the same time. When it came to prices and cup sizes, both were pretty much identical. But when it came to drinks, Quickly’s surprisingly came out on top as the flavor of the drink was stronger and the boba was softer. What tips the scale more is that Quickly offers offers food while Boba Cruz doesn’t, and Quickly is open every day of the week until 10 or 11 PM whereas Boba Cruz is only open Tuesday to Sunday until 8 or 9 PM. Because of this, I can’t help but choose Quickly as the best boba option in Santa Cruz.
When it came to their snacks, all the times I went they only had popcorn chicken and takoyaki. Both pretty much taste like those you’d find at other Quicklys, but this is the only place where you can get this sort of food in Santa Cruz.
Every time I’ve gone the service has been really quick for drinks and they’ve gotten my orders right every time. Sometimes you may need to wait a bit for food items though. They offer free Wi-​Fi too!

In light of the crappy reviews I just decided to try the tea and not the eats. All I have to say is that the boba thirst is real here in SC because there was a crazy line 10 minutes after I got my black tea with pearls… HOLY CRAP.
The service needs some work and they are obviously still working out the kinks.
Once things are on a roll I will be back for the popcorn chicken and all the wonderful things I will no longer have to drive to San Jose for (first world problems)

Boba lovers of Santa Cruz, rejoice!
Today was the grand opening of the first (in my opinion) legit boba specialty shop in the area. Finally some decent popcorn chicken and a supersize menu of options. Even those who aren’t familiar with boba are bound to find something they’ll like on the menu.
I’ve patronized a lot of boba chains in my life. Admittedly, Quickly isn’t my favorite but I’m still really glad that one opened in Santa Cruz. The popcorn chicken is kickass, the milk tea is subtly sweet, and the boba is okay. Everything is consistent with all my other Quickly experiences which is great. I’ll probably be going often. :)
Some minor cons:
The drink wasn’t sealed with a plastic cover. Part of the boba experience is stabbing a hole with the pointy end of the straw. Hopefully they get the sealer-​machine thingy in the future. Also, it doesn’t taste like Quickly in general keeps their boba in syrup once cooked. it doesn’t make much of a difference if you’re getting a sweet drink, but still.