Mouthwatering Bubble Tea in Chicago

Teamo Boba Bar

★★★★☆ 4.2 (37)

"It was like 7 bucks for a cup. Taste average. The price tag is probably for the vibe, gold and cute can/cup, pink napkins.A very girly store. And most of the customers are girls.This place sells like all asian/boba things. The boba drinks for one.They also sell boba plushy. Mochi donut (don't know if they're good tho). Coconut pudding- we were gonna get it but they're like 7-10 bucks, yikes. And fresh thai coconut.We had to give this place a try cuz they keep showing up wherever we go in chicago."

Bubble Maki

★★★★☆ 4.4 (16)

"Felt like trying some new sushi out and Bubble Maki hit the spot that's for sure!I was especially hungry and ended up ordering 3 rolls. Im definitely a texture eater so having the two crunchy rolls was a great choice. I especially enjoyed the crunchy Avocado Tuna roll.Two other things I have to mention other than the rolls are actually the sauces. They're delicious. I definitely enjoyed the Sriracha aioli the most. It's a great level of spice and creaminess. It's nice to have something a little different than the usual Wasabi and soy sauce.The little touch that made my day was the pickled asparagus. I've never had it before but it was a nice change up.Definitely will be coming back!"

Tasty House1

★★★★★ 4.7 (106)

"My sister recently told me about an Asian restaurant that was absolutely fantastic. She told me that I needed to check it out as soon as possible and that I would absolutely love it. The name of this restaurant is Tasty House #1 in Carol Stream.We ended up going on a Sunday night. The restaurant was completely packed, which is a good sign of a restaurant that serves good food.The owner remembered my sister. He was extremely friendly to her and her family and was happy to meet me. I already had a very good feeling about this place. The level of customer service was fantastic.The main dish that this location is known for is Pho. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle dish with herbs and meats.I went with the make your own Pho. I added brisket, Vietnamese meatballs, and chicken. While we waited for our main dishes, we also ordered egg rolls and spring rolls. The eggrolls and spring rolls were super fresh and delicious. One thing that you definitely need to try when you go here is their hot chilli oil. It is the best hot chilli oil I have ever had. There is a heavy flavor of garlic and the spice is not too spicy.They are also known for making fresh fruit drinks and Boba teas. My favorite flavor is taro. It is a purple potato/Yam that is sweet and delicious, something you need to try.The restaurant seemed to be getting busier as we sat and the owner was very busy serving tables, while one of his workers made fresh fruit drinks for the entire little league baseball team that suddenly walked in. All of this chaos and they never missed a beat.Our main dishes arrive at the table. The Pho came with a side of bean sprouts herbs, such as cilantro and mint amongst other items to add in to your Pho.The broth was so rich and the noodles were perfectly cooked. I was in heaven.We all ate until we were completely full. Six people and the bill was under $200 to eat like kings and queens.I definitely cannot recommend this place enough for you to check out. You will not be sorry. When you stop in please tell them the Chicago Food King sent you.I give a rating of 9 out of 10. This is definitely a place that you need to check out."

OverLay

★★★★★ 4.8 (6)

Matcha Cita

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (17)

"Cute, Instagramable matcha spot. It's located in the Studio Three so after your workout, you can grab a matcha, smoothie, or some grub. The woman who made my matcha was friendly and nice. I ordered the hot matcha horchata. While it wasn't the best matcha I've had or made, I liked it. It was a bit gritty (from the rice I assume?), but a good whisking will alleviate that. I recommend watching some of Veggiekin's IG videos on how to make matcha for some help.Anyway, it was still a good vibe. I worked on my planner while sipping on my matcha. If I'm in the area again, I definitely want to try some of the food items on the menu!"

Hello Jasmine - Lincoln Park

★★★★☆ 4.1 (155) • $

"Love to have a restaurant with a full selection of delicious Taiwanese drinks and food. One has to be warned before they make a visit that portion sizes are between generous to quite large, so it's important to bring a large appetite or friend when you're making a visit here. Since everything is so good here, it'll be hard not to try to finish everything you get (for example, the popcorn chicken is a box of all meat, and the bento is packed quite tight and can easily be shared between two people).The drinks here are done quite well, exactly to the special order of ice or sweetness that you desire. This is with high quality ingredients and the boba has the right amount of chewiness to it. The popcorn chicken was tender with a good crispiness to it and the salt and pepper wasn't overwhelming. The bento box is a fantastic way to try lots of different Taiwanese favorites and snacks at the same time including the tea egg and Taiwanese sausage. The pork rib was marinated well and quite crisp. Overall, great food and drink make this a spot I'm excited to visit again in the future. I was very glad to see everything prepared in such an authentic way and to see a menu that's different from what you see at other boba cafés nearby."

Te’amo Boba Bar

★★★★☆ 4.4 (223) • $$

Queen Sheba

★★★★★ 4.9 (26)

"I couldn't find the place at first. It's right across from the post office with the entrance facing the street rather than the parking lot. It's the most quaint tiny little store front.Very tasty and clean food. The bread loafs were huuuge and I ate the entire piece given how light and fluffy it was. The owner/ chef was warm and welcoming.My only complain was that some of the ingredients (onion?) were sharp and filled the small space, which was a bit uncomfortable for my sinuses."

Shang Noodle & Chinese

★★★★☆ 4.1 (265) • $$

"What a great place to have some authentic delicious Chinese/Taiwanese food, in the heart of downtown Evanston. Whether you're a student, or not, definitely take the trek to Evanston to Shang Noodle & Chinese, where the food won't disappoint, the service great, and the overall dining experience being top-notched.We order the famous Jjajangmyeon (Noodles in blackbean sauce) which if you look at Yelp, there are dozens of photos of it; a crowd pleaser for sure. If you're looking for a great chicken dish, with jam-packed flavor, spice, and the perfect breading, definitely try out the dry red-chilli chicken. We topped off the fantastic meal with some pork belly soup.Our server was great... letting us two, pull together two tables, due to the amount of food we ordered. Our waters were filled constantly, and we were checked-up on several times.BATHROOM REVIEW: There is a mens and womens private bathroom. In the mens, it was extremely clean and spacious and contained a urinal, toilet, and even a chair to chill at, if you're all about having a conversation in the bathroom, or just wanted to lounge in a bathroom. No judgment here. Well, judgment with the bathrooms, as that's what I do. Sit or squat? Sit!"

Ume Tea

★★★★★ 5 (7)

"was intrigued by the free samples outside and it did not disappoint! I got the oolong signature milk tea and it was so good! Highly recommend :)"

Viet Taste

★★★★☆ 4.1 (107) • $$

"I was on vacation in this area and wanted pho. Found this place that was open late. There was a huge parking lot. The place is huge. I like that there was large tables to accommodate large family gatherings. I ordered spring rolls and they were good but the sauce was not a peanut sauce. I was a little disappointed. My husband ordered a strawberry smoothie that was really good. The pho was really good and portions are generous. They only accepted cash so something to consider. Overall okay experience."

Ton-Ichi Ramen

★★★★☆ 3.6 (27)

Thai Spoon & Sushi

★★★★☆ 3.8 (334) • $$

"Absolutely amazing food!! Great portions and cheap pricing. Might be my fav casual Thai place. This is an absolute GEM and everyone needs to try it! Service is also quick!"

Ume Tea

★★★★☆ 4.4 (126) • $$

"Very cute boba shop with so many places to take pics if that's your thing. I saw this place on TikTok earlier this week, so when I spotted it today, I had to stop in and see if it lived up to the media hype. Place your order in the kiosk and wait for your drinks. It was very busy day but my order still only took about 10 min. There are only about 4-5 tables, so grab one quick. I got a Passion Fruit and Watermelon Green Tea and really liked it. It wasn't overly sweet which I prefer. But 24oz is huge for me. I could only finish about half since I still had lunch to eat. Our drinks were about $10 each. For some up-charges you can get specialty cups and/or plushies. I only wanted my drink, but it's a really cute idea."

Mambo Wings

★★★★☆ 3.8 (4)

"Fresh food, made to order. I got the 5 tenders in spicy and fries combo with a super fruit green tea. Tea is so refreshing with real fruit in every sip. Might be a texture thing for some people but I like it. Tenders are good and seasoned, glad I got spicy and not hot spicy because the spicy is actually spicy and not white people spicy! Workers were nice, I think I met the owner, she was very kind. They gave me more than 5 tenders which is always great. They have a kiosk for orders but you can also place your order with one of the workers. Small place but I ate in my car so no big deal! I will be back, I want to try more of their teas!"

Hokkaido Ramen House

★★★★★ 4.6 (117) • $$

"This was good ramen for the burbs. It was a bit of a drive to the Hoffman Estates location. However, we were able to get seated with no wait. If you check in via Yelp, you can get a free appetizer of crab rangoon. We also ordered chicken karaage, tonkotsu shoyu ramen, and black garlic tonkotsu ramen. Food came out surprisingly fast. The staff was good at taking away the empty plates and bowls. Chicken karaage was good. Chicken was juicy, crispy, and cut in good size bite pieces. Crab rangoon was okay, I mostly tasted the cream cheese, I felt like there wasn't much imitation crab meat in there. Tonkotsu shoyu ramen was delicious. I enjoyed sipping the rich, flavorful pork broth. Pork meat was nice and tender. It broke apart easily. Noodles were chewy and good. It's a tasty ramen for the cold weather. Black garlic tonkotsu ramen, I liked the broth more than the shoyu. I found it addictingly savory and had a longer lasting impression on me. Prices were reasonable. Sufficient parking."

VinTea

★★★★☆ 4.4 (59) • $$

"I've been twice now. The place itself isn't unpleasant but not much to look at. It's nice enough. The front door doesn't always close properly so depending on the weather you might want to sit far from it. Even if it's cold, the people who work there are not. They're very nice and eager to serve. I have had the grilled pork vermicelli bowl with egg roll, the grilled pork bahn mi and I tried the mango milk tea with tapioca pearls. The vermicelli bowl was good. I've had better and worse. I would like more fish sauce and I'd like it with less chili. You can always add more at your table so I don't want extra in it when it comes to me. There's plenty of fresh vegetables and peanuts which is really a bonus. The worst part was the egg roll. They fry these up in advance I think and mine was cold and a bit stale. It's probably a good roll fresh. Not sure. The bahn mi was excellent. I like their rolls. They're perfect. Delicious sandwich. I also really enjoyed my tea. I have no idea what milk tea is. They told me it was nondairy. It's not too sweet. It went really well with my bahn mi. What should I try on my next visit?!"

Snow Dragon Shavery

★★★☆☆ 2.7 (73)

"Snow Dragon Shavery is a fun spot. Especially now that we have hot summer days and warm summer nights.On our visit, we brought my friend's niece and she was so excited by the colors and all the goodies. She loved her ice cream and cotton candy. I loved the macaron cookies.I thought the store was kept really clean and organized. It's bright and colorful. And the staff was very friendly and helpful. They were very patient with our little one who had a tough time making decisions on which sweet treats she wanted.Overall, it was fun to try. I think tourists and locals will enjoy a little bit of shavery too!"

Wentworth Seafood House

★★★★☆ 4.3 (177) • $$

"Our party of 4 returned here for a Friday lunch.  It's been 4.5 years since I was here, and I really didn't remember it, but they have a comfortable and airy space.  It was fairly busy at the time but service was quick and attentive. We had an 8 item lunch comprising of 6 dim sum items and a couple of entrees (a chicken feet and spare rib rice and a mixed mushroom rice noodle dish). Pricing is reasonable and quality is decent although the rice in the pot of rice was ordinary white rice and not flavorfully cooked clay pot rice."

Thai Garden

★★★★☆ 3.7 (358) • $$

"I don't think I have anything bad to say about Thai Garden. The food is gorgeous, the service is fast, and it's incredible portions and the cost is just right! If you go for lunch, you get a healthy portion for the right price. I love their Penang or their Basil Chicken. It's not bland and they can create all the spice you want, as little or as much as you like it HOT HOT HOT! Their white rice is not overly dry either. They're very fast, too! You're in and out in less than an hour for lunch, which is great because sometimes I need to get away and don't have all day. It's really a great and clean environment. I love coming here."

TSAôCAA

★★★★☆ 3.9 (248) • $$

"I was looking for a shaved snow/ice place and this one seemed to fit the bill. I'm honestly quite surprised there aren't more places around Chicago serving this type of dessert. This store has a small free shared parking lot outside with limited spots. Portion is huge and meant for sharing. I went with a peach and mango combo. The fruit tastes very sweet and fresh, with syrup drizzled on top. The shaved snow is very light and creamy and there's a surprise bit of red bean sandwiched underneath the layer of fluffy snow. It's the perfect antidote dessert for a hot steamy Chicago summer day."

Poke Burrito

★★★★☆ 4.4 (141) • $$

"Ordered a fantastic poke bowl for delivery!! It felt very appropriately sized for the price. But more than anything, it tasted SO fresh and like the ingredients were very high quality. You could just tell. And love how many topping choices there are, and how you aren't charged extra for just avocado. I will be coming back!"

Tsaocaa

★★★★☆ 4.1 (12)

"I'm a huge fan of Tsaocaa Chinatown and Lincoln park! So when I saw that there's another location in Chicago, I had to show my support! I always do a rotation of fruit tea or jasmine green milk tea. Today, I ordered my standard jasmine green milk tea and bubble waffle. My friend ordered the iced muscat grape green tea and pork sung bubble waffle. The taste is similar to all the other locations! I did have an issue with the flavor of my milk tea but they corrected it when I mention it to the staff member. So they're very attentive to the customers request! The inside is very bright and cute. They have a plushie wall which is great for photos. They also have a cute painting wall which I used for the photo!"

Daboba

★★★★☆ 4.4 (88) • $

"We got the gold pearl green milk tea. Looks like everyone's favorite at this place.It was good. Pretty solid. Comparable to good boba places outside of Chicago.The drink was good, balanced flavor and not too sweet. The boba balls was soft and chewy. Delicious.The place is located on the 2nd floor, so it may not get as much foot traffic as downstairs. But the place is big with lots of seats and decor is nice. Staff was nice and fast."

Top Tao Tea

★★★★☆ 4.3 (130) • $$

"Great boba spot in Uptown! Workers were friendly, easy ordering system, and our drinks came out timely. Boba was tasty and the cups our drinks came in were so cute! Pro tip: order 25%-50% sugar since these drinks do get sweet! They have a lot of seating (mostly booths) and an area with a pretty flower backdrop. There's some board games at the front of the place, so you can spend some time here!"

Amber Agave

★★★★★ 4.5 (20)

"A perfect addition to the Wicker Park neighborhood! I've seen them at a few event pop ups and excited to see them open up their own brick and mortar! It's filled with friendly staff and great snack and drink options. Came opening day and everything looked great! There's plenty of free parking on the surrounding streets so that wasn't an issue. There are kiosks to speed up ordering which was very nice. There's plenty of space with comfy seating and multiple tables. It looks like they partnered with a few local Asian owned businesses (for pastries and a drink collab) which is always a plus!When ordering your drinks you can choose your sweetness level (for most of the drinks) and choose toppings. Highly recommend the fruit teas and purple roots! Definitely worth checking out!"

Mycha

★★★★☆ 4.1 (45)

"Good drinks. Taste fresh. Made daily. I love when drinks are cold and have no ice. Got the Vietnamese ice coffee and Jasmine milk tea.Direction: block 37, go all the way downstairs to the pegway(blue line / red line lightrail), look for the yellow amazon locker, Mycha machine is next to it."

KURIMU

★★★★☆ 4.1 (336) • $$

"Came to this place in Little Italy that has ice cream. It has a pretty small but good amount of flavors. KURIMU has a few locations, including this one close to UIC. Has kind of an Asian theme going on. The prices are okay as far as quality. A pretty limited amount of flavors. It's got a few interesting ones. These go beyond the typical chocolate and stuff. Asian themes are as expected. It's about $6 a scoop. Certainly that's kind of a lot. This is high quality though. Last time had a non dairy flavor. The regular flavors include mango and purple yam among the more unusual. Good Asian style ice cream. It's located on Taylor at Racine. The only bad thing is it's limited for vegans."

Autea Sweets & Eats

★★★★☆ 4.4 (38)

"1. Taro Ball Fruit Iced Snowflakes w Red Bean2. Hanging Pear Milk Tea w Boba & Watermelon Slushy w Conjac3. Braised Beef Brisket Rice & Noodles4. Avocado Banana MilkshakeThe natural comparison is to Meet Fresh who occupied the space before AuTea. Both are similar in the Asian desserts they offer but AuTea also offers hot snacks and entrees. Short answer is I definitely like AuTea more.My breakdown: The shaved snow is better - finer and softer. Hanging pear milk tea was fragrant. Watermelon slushy didn't taste very ripe/sweet. The braised beef in both the rice and noodles was delightfully tender. The rice was short grain, mushy, and disappointing. The noodle soup was excellent - both the noodles and soup flavor. Banana avocado milkshake was good.No issues with service. Employees were very friendly."

TsqCafe

★★★★★ 4.7 (17)

"It's my first time here. They recently opened up and I remember seeing the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce promote their ribbon cutting. The staff here are friendly and efficient. I tried their roasted oolong milk tea -- their drinks come in one size and this drink didn't include boba. I added tapioca as a topping, and they didn't have pudding. When you ask for no sugar it's literally no sugar which I appreciate. I also like how I can see what they're keying in for me at the counter, and there's also a kiosk for self ordering. The ambiance is really cute and spacious. I can see myself studying there if I was still a student. I'd recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for boba, and they even sell street food like popcorn chicken. I'd totally come back to check out other items on their menu, and they also gave me a punch card."

Taipei Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (64)

"Overall Thoughts: The food here is tasty with very reasonable prices for the portion sizes. Everything was flavorful, and came out quickly-- my favorite order was the fatty beef black pepper noodles; it's pretty oily but the flavors and textures are impeccable. It's a small space and seating is limited (just a few hightop tables and bar counter seating). I need to go to their Bridgeport location next, which has a more expansive menu (including hotpot) and seating area! Food I tried:- Fried Egg Tofu Bento (4.4/5): The Japanese egg tofu is great here: crispy and well-seasoned exterior with a soft, scalding interior. The other sides were solid too-- it's an overall well-balanced, filling meal option. - Fatty Beef Black Pepper Noodles (4.7/5): I especially enjoyed this dish: the beef and noodles were packed with flavor (the black pepper flavor is very distinct) and the soft textures paired perfectly together. - Popcorn Chicken (4.2/5): A Taiwanese classic; this was good with a crispy exterior and juicy interior-- no "wow" factor but very solid! It didn't come with any sauce, but dipping it in the egg tofu bento chili sauce was pretty good.- Matcha Belgian Waffle (4.2/5): This is a huge, filling dessert that tasted good but quickly became a bit monotonous/tedious to consume (especially since we were already so full by then). The waffle is soft, warm, dusted with detectable matcha powder, and topped with matcha Pocky sticks and vanilla ice cream. -- Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5Food: 4.4/5Ambience: 4.7/5Service: 4.8/5Overall Value: 4.5/5"

Tsaocaa Lincoln Park

★★★★☆ 3.8 (43) • $

"(Review based on a Oct 2022 visit)First of all, I found it weird that I could only order through the touch screen. I guess I'm not so anti social that I don't want to avoid telling someone my order directly? I had a substitution I wanted to make for a drink but it wasn't immediately obvious how to input that into the ordering system. I had to flag down one of the bobaristas who had to explain how to switch one mix in for another. After ordering our drinks though, everything else went fine. The teas were refreshing and the mix ins were good. Details:- Contactless ordering at kiosk- Sweetness and ice level adjustable"

Pho Plus

★★★★★ 4.9 (8)

"It was late and my son and I saw they were open. So glad we stopped! They are friendly. Pho was AMAZING. Will definitely be back"

Joy Yee

★★★★☆ 4 (9)

"Such a classic place- the staff is friendly- food comes out quickly. The menu is HUGE! A little overwhelming. The spicy pork stone rice bowl was so good and large portion- it had a bit too much rice and not enough sauce/meat/veggies. Brown sugar milk tea was perfection. Would come back just for that"

ParTea

★★★★☆ 4.2 (22)

"What a cute place; perfect for getting ice cream and going for a walk afterwards. The chocolate ice cream was very rich and yummy! Not overly sweet - which is my preference. The vanilla Pikachu was delicate. We ended up getting these adorable waffle eggs! Two plain and two with chocolate! Very creative! The service was great, nice people who seem to like working there!"