Bamboozle Tea Lounge

Fresh, simple, and delicious! This restaurant is an awesome alternative to the same ol places you’d normally go. Try it out & I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Bamboozle tea lounge hosted my baby shower last weekend and we were beyond pleased with everything! The staff was very friendly, Lynn was great to work with, and the setting was ideal. It’s a cute and trendy location in Channelside, and they decorated with onesies hanging from clothespins, which the guests loved. The food was beautifully prepared, fresh, and really good. I would highly recommend this venue to anyone for a baby shower or other event!

Well definitely more of a artsy/​hipster place. Staff not overwhelmingly nice just kind of we have to be here attitude. No table service here, walk up order type of joint. Seating arrangement is bizarre. I like the weathered antique look of the tables and chairs but nearly none of the furniture matches and is not particularly comfortable. Phở was «meh» it was ok not great pretty bland. Portions pretty small for phở. Prices are good especially for this area. Unfortunately channelside is dying a slow death, hopefully some new stores will revitalize this area. They are dog friendly which is cool and they have bowls and things outside for pets. But this place defiantly has identity issues. Is it an art gallery? Is it a lounge? Is it a vietnamese restaurant? Or a pub? Your guess is as good as mine. My opinion would be stick to one thing and be awesome at it, but I’m just an average joe.

Prices are a bit high for Vietnamese. I know of a excellent veitnamese restaurant by USF that offers more phở that is better seasoned for the same price. However it is conveniently located near my apartment. The service is excellent. And the wraps are to die for. It’s a little gem in channelside not to be missed.

This little Vietnamese restaurant and tea lounge has such a welcoming, «home-​y» feel. The furniture is very eclectic but everything mix-​matches so perfectly. I stopped by for a mid-​afternoon pick me up of taro boba tea. I have to say, it was the best I’ve ever had and completely satisfied my sweet tooth. I saw some of the other menu items people around me ordered and everything looks very authentic. They also have board games so that’s pretty cool.

Closest place for vietnamese sandwiches in south tampa. Great little hipster asian café. Cool environment and décor AND they have board games. I just wish they were open late night.
I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich and it was great. Generous portion of pork and all the usual veggie toppings (pickled carrot and radish, cilantro, and jalapenos). The bread was nice and toasted. I like the bread they use because it is not super thick like other places will make them. I’d rather taste meat than bread. However it didn’t seem like the put any sauce (i.e. mayo). Either that or they didn’t put enough to notice. Also they are very pricey for just a vietnmaese sandwich. The sandwich was good, but definitely nothing special or worth the price. Nevertheless I guess if I have to drive up to Waters ave to the next closest place and back it would cost the same.
I also got an avocado smoothie. I will definitely be coming back for these. Great consistency and they use fresh avocados. And they didn’t skimp out either. And this was priced reasonably. I have yet to try their other drinks, but most likely will in the near future.

really cute and quaint place to visit and eat if you are by the channelside!
Pros:
–inexpensive
–great tasting and healthy food
–quiet
–quaint
–MANY & GREAT selections of tea and other foods
Cons
–okay honestly there is one con but it just really bothers me: flies, I had 2 flies around me while eating, although the that’s not even bad and they were never really near me, it was something that just really bothered me (I know silly)

Bamboozle is a good place if you are looking for a Vietnamese quick fix and you are too lazy to drive north to Waters Avenue. If you don’t live within walking distance of the Channelside District, there is a parking lot conveniently located right behind the restaurant. This location serves a more limited menu than its sister location in downtown Tampa with the traditional Vietnamese items such as phở and bahn mi.
Prices are a bit higher here than at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant, but that is to be expected due to its location. My favorite here is the Baby Noodle Salad with the pork or the beef (Bún Cha or Bún Bò Xào.) The salad is made to order with vermicelli noodles, green leaf lettuce, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots, mint, bean sprouts, crushed roasted peanuts, roasted shallots, served with Bamboozle’s zesty chili dressing.
The Bamboozle Rolls are huge and stuffed with your choice of protein and vermicelli noodles, green leaf lettuce, with selected veggies. These are tasty but are quite messy because they may fall apart. The Baby Phở Boats are a phở quick fix for me. I find the phở broth to be bland and needs a bit more seasoning.
Eric and the other staff members are very friendly, efficient, and attentive. Bamboozle is very small and quaint, with minimal seating. The restaurant is all windows, so be aware that during the warmer seasons (because we only have hot and hotter here in Florida) the heat can be unbearable. I hope the owners eventually invest in some window tinting, otherwise you may want to dine here when the weather cools down a bit.

A neat place to grab a quick dinner in channelside. They have a wide variety of rolls with various fillings and I love the cute little boat their phở soup comes in.

Super cute tea lounge and restaurant. The set up is like a café, lots of small tables, a couch, and a bar top by the window. They have an excellent selection of delicious tea, fresh smoothies (no fruit syrups!), plenty of food, and beer and wine as well.
I have tried their fresh rolls and they are excellent! Lots of options with fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, and meat, Chicken, shrimp, or tofu. They also serve hot phở soup, not the most authentic I’ve had but still delicious. They also serve noodle salads, bahn mi sandwiches, and other house specials.
Decorations are very cute and cozy and the servers are friendly and eager to customize your order to make you happy. Definitely a gem in the channelside neighborhood!

Food was good and the customer service was great.
Like mentioned by some other reviewers this is not the place to go to if you are looking for authentic Vietnamese food but it had its own unique taste. The food was also a bit pricier than I expected. One fresh roll costs about $ 3.75. In most of the other places I’ve been to in Tampa you can usually get 2 rolls or one BIG roll for about that price.
I went at about 11:30 am on a Sunday and the placed looked pretty nice and and quite and a decent place to get some work done.
Overall good experience.

Small, cute café located in Channelside. There’s free parking up to 3 hours along the street, which is pretty sweet considering the area. The food is suppose to be Vietnamese, but honestly, it is probably the most white-​washed Vietnamese food I’ve ever had. Not that it’s horrible, it’s just not authentic. We ordered the phở, which didn’t come with any mint, cilantro, or basil. The size of the bowl is a lot smaller than usual bowls. The soup came with maybe 5 pieces of meat and the broth was pretty bland. I guess if you don’t normally eat at Vietnamese places and know how the food is suppose to taste like, it could pass.
On to the positives, they have a variety of spring rolls (even vegetarian ones). My friend ordered the tofu one and I got the shrimp spring roll. Their spring rolls are decently thick in size. We also tried their smoothies, which I would come here for those alone. I ordered the coconut pineapple smoothie, which was perfectly sweet and refreshing. Just what we needed! The taro smoothie was delicious too, you can never go wrong with taro.

First night back in Tampa from LA! I love Vietnamese food and boba, and the ambience/​location drew me in. Came in at 7pm on a Monday, and the place was empty. Got a feel of the soft music and artsy/​unfinished vibe of this location. Ordered a banh mi and a vanilla-​sesame boba. Boba was fresh and chewy. Banh mi was nicely prepared and tasted borderline good. I’m used to Banh mi having tons more flavor, which is why I say that. Servers were cool, and I can definitely recommend the food.
For the consultants, this place takes AMEX and there is free parking down the street!

I really liked this place! We stopped in before a Lightning hockey game, and I think this will become our norm-​way better food than the arena serves, and at ¹⁄₃ the cost.
You go up to the counter, place your order, grab your soda/​water/​beer from the cooler, and then sit. Food was ready in no time, and it was surprisingly good. I had the chicken phở, and while it definitely could have used more chicken, the broth was excellent. I did have to ask for a side of hoisin sauce — they only had soy sauce and sriracha set out. Still, there was plenty of soup and noodles, and I really enjoyed it.
The place is definitely small, but very cute, with odds and ends couches, tables and chairs, free wifi, and a tv set up for gamers. I’ve heard it’s packed at lunchtime. Very tall ceiling, and tons of windows, meant it was a little warm in there — dress accordingly. We loved seeing the cute dog beds they had outside to encourage people with pets.
Great find — we’ll be back.

With «Tea Lounge» in the name, this place should be better than this.
Bad — seats were very uncomfortable so we couldn’t really ‘lounge,’ and their boba was subpar in terms of both quantity and quality, with plenty of itty-​bitty bits thrown in. Fox Trot was apparently tea of the day for $ 2 and the total still came up to nearly $ 8 for two teas.
Good — good tea selection, friendly staff member who took the time to talk with us and answer questions, and nice music.
Probably wouldn’t go back.

Admittedly, I have a bit of a crush on this place. Fell for its sister site in downtown Tampa but never really got beyond the «Let’s be friends» phase.
Now that its younger sibling has joined the increasingly lively Channel District neighborhood, my early infatuation has taken a more serious turn.
The exterior is inviting, the interior is cozy and the food is fabulous. I would happily order anything/​everything on the menu and then start from the top again just to make sure I could really say which dish is my favorite.
Guests go to the counter to order and there is a posted list of dishes and prices and a printed list with more descriptive detail. Whatever. Just order anything, sit down and enjoy. It is that good.
There are some fun fresh squeezed beverages like the sugar cane juice I sampled and, yes, loved.
Also smoothies, teas, beer and wine. But the food is the real reason for coming here.
The bright, high ceilinged interior is coffee house comfortable and the staff makes you feel like you can ask all of the questions you need and not feel like you are bothering them or putting them out.
This is a definite go to place any time I am anywhere within a reasonable radius.
I know we just met. But I really think we have a connection and can make this a long lasting relationship.

I loved the fresh rolls at the downtown Tampa location, so I was excited to hear there was a second location near Channelside with parking! Parking is free and behind the restaurant BTW. The city is currently completing heavy construction to the roads right in front of the place. Jackhammers and all.
The restaurant is cute and hipster-​like. Board games and books are scattered throughout the place. I loved it. I ordered an ahi tuna roll and grilled pork roll with a fresh coconut to drink. I wanted to try the tea, but when I saw others in the restaurant sipping on coconuts, the craving kicked in.
The rolls were delicious; messy to eat but who cares. They did taste different than the rolls at the downtown location. Still good but I’ll have to try the downtown rolls again to decide which I like better. Coconut was fresh. I wanted to get some work in so I brought my laptop, but the employees could not remember the wifi password. The jackhammers were a bit too loud anyway.

This is walking distance from my office and while I was not as enamored of the Downtown location, I found this location very enjoyable. My co-​workers and I sat outside during lunch and enjoyed our surroundings. I order two rolls: the tofu and ahi tuna. They were both delicious and the sauces were the perfect complement. The portions were just right for lunch and left me full while not overly stuffed.
The servers were very nice as well, so overall, a very lovely lunch!

Already a giant fan of the main Bamboozle location on Tampa Street,
I come here often for 3 reasons–
1– Amazing fresh rolls & phở
2– Easy to get to
3– There is a patio where they will serve you and it’s directly across from the Washington Street Dog Park. That’s where I bring our baby, Stewie.
Armed with dog treats, the Tea Lounge employees come on out and visit, take my order, refill water bowls for Stewie while we wait.
I’ve gotten in the habit of trying the tea of the day and have not been disappointed, not once! Get the White Blueberry if youhave the opportunity. So good.
The food is always consistent and fresh– satisfied customer every single time.
I would like to come one day to sit and hang out inside– welcoming couches with games for customers to entertain themselves and chill out… oh yeah!

We come here all the time! The food is always amazing and so fresh!
The inside is simple but cute with the shade of teal, cream and black. They have mismatched tables and chairs. They have an outside patio/​seating as well. They even have a cute kids table.
For lunch I order the Tiger Shrimp and Ahi Tuna roll and a Tiger Eye Tea iced with honey. The rolls are reasonable from $ 3-​$ 5 depending on what you order. The tea we so good. I did add some of the lemon infused sugar to it and it was even better that way! The rolls were amazing and so filling! I almost count eat half of one! The sauces that they came with were heavenly.
Keep up the good work! We will def. be back!