I was out visiting family this weekend in Aurora and wanted to experience flavors outside of the normal steak house or Italian restaurant, while staying light. We found 9Bar and immediately saw food combinations worthy of trying. The restaurant is nestled in a business's park near other options and the freeway for easy access from nearby towns. When you enter, it is immediately appealing with early jazz music and visually appealing decor. The hostess/ server was extremely attentive and answered all our questions about various flavors and combinations. Through our experience we found her to be pleasant and helpful. The food was prepared with great flavors. The depth of spice and sweetness in the Bao sliders was perfect. We sampled their calamari and soup dumplings which were seasoned perfectly. Thank you for the experience. read more

Wanted to try some Korean food. Doordashed it, and it was worth it. Great flavors - Fair prices - Great packaging read more

See all

Had pretty good boba tea and sandwiches at this small Asian restaurant in Aurora. If you like K-Pop you'll like this, and if you don't then you still might like it. 9 Bar may be limited in space, but it makes up for it with big taste. Everyone seems to most like the teas, but there's food. The prices are pretty good it seems. Came at lunch. It's a pretty cramped place. There's only a few tables. Bad for groups. It's about $6 for a tea. Has plenty of non dairy choices. The Oolong Milk Tea is made with coconut milk. Customers getting teas often get these to go. Only those also getting food seem to stay. Because we were hungry we stayed to eat. It's about $8 for the Faux Slider. This is a burger made with a veggie pad, and topped with cilantro, cucumbers, peanut crumble, pickles, and sriracha. A lot more food choices. There's appetizers like pot stickers, and there's rice bowls with choice of protein. Good teas and also food. It's located on Orchard Road in a plaza with a Panera Bread and close to other chain restaurants. There's some pretty good options for vegans and vegetarians. read more

9 Bar - Oolong Milk Tea With Coconut Milk, And Faux Slider - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

- good food, good service, good ambiance - no reservation was made, I don't think one can be made - would return for food and drinks! Stopped by for a pre movie date dinner and was delightfully surprised with everything! Good service with the kind staff, good food, and good drinks! I had gotten the Curry Shrimp Rice Bowl for my meal. The curry was flavorful and plenty of sauce for each bite of rice, with lots of vegetables in the mix to give it different flavors and textures to chew on. The shrimp was crispy and tasty, and I could from the breading it was all done fresh to order! It was a tasty meal with the steamed broccoli and soft boiled egg too. I found there to be a lot of rice with my meal that I had long finished my crispy shrimps and there was still plenty of rice left. I consider myself a good portioner, but the ratios of meat to rice seemed too off for me to handle. Despite this, I still had a decent amount of rice left and left plenty full, so I think just reducing the amount of rice in the bowl is ok, no need for extra shrimp! Not pictured, but I got the Purple Oreo with Tapioca and it was a tasty drink that had good oreo chunks and was not too sweet! My girlfriend ordered the Fried Chicken Rice Bowl for her main plate. The chicken was cooked well and served juicy, and had nice simple seasonings to make for a simple, yet tasty dish. Alongside the chicken chunks, the soft boiled egg, steamed broccoli, and pickled radishes added some additional flavors and textures to make for a good overall meal. Same as my food, there was also a lot of rice that it was served with, but finishing the meal and feeling stuffed made us feel the leftover rice showed there was just too much rice being wasted. My pookie had gotten the Cloud Thai Tea and it was a pretty drink and nice to see a blended thai tea drink that isn't too common! This was a delicious meal with fresh tasting food and good boba drinks that made for a good start to our night! I really wish that the next time we visit, less rice is served with each bowl as it really just feels like a waste to have so much excess. It was also nice to note the complimentary scallion pancakes that we were served to munch on while we waited for our food... this may have added to us filling up easier, but I still stand with my excess rice statement! Overall an enjoyable meal that I was gladly return to! read more

9 Bar - Fried Chicken Rice Bowl - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

See all

Food was delicious and service was great! Nice portion and beef ramen noodle was really good! Highly recommend! read more

Overall the food was pretty good, not my favorite of ramen shops I have eaten at but overall tasty, and the amount of food for the price is great. Restaurant itself is clean and a good atmosphere, service was good which is always a plus. Recommend at least trying this place out if you're in the area! read more

9 Bar - Chicken noodle ramen bowl - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Great Atmosphere - Tasty Cuisine! I'm puzzled as to why this restaurant is often so quiet; it truly is a hidden gem in Aurora. One suggestion I have is to offer bento boxes in the evening as well, even if it means an additional charge. Service is always fast and most everyone is very friendly. read more

See all

Decided to try 9Bar during Aurora Restaurant week. $19.99 Prix fixe menu of Chicken Gyoza, Shrimp Tempura, Crab Rangoon appetizers, Pork Belly Ramen and Fried Chicken, served with Tonkatsu Ramen and Mochi Ice Cream for dessert which was a pretty good deal. Also they have a pretty decent looking bar where they have a good selection of Boba shakes & teas. They also serve cocktails but most interesting is that they have a very nice selection of Japanese Single Malt Scotch, they even have Yamazaki & Hakushu. Overall, the food was very flavorful but I found the pork belly meat was rather thick cut which made the bite too fatty. I mentioned this to the server (she might also have been the manager) who said that totally understands because some customers have mentioned it before. She told me I could have requested for the meat to be cut thinner. Well, maybe next time because I was not offered that option when I ordered. read more

The good was amazing first soup that was so good the broth the cook is amazing I feel bad for him because he is the only person working in the tiny kitchen and trust me I know how it is to cook in a kitchen had works in a restaurant before and nursing home in the kitchen and it is extremely hard I am so impress with his talent The service was ok the bathrooms can do a little better The ambiance is nice this can work for a night date it does give you does vibes I will be coming back although the price on the pork belly too high and needed to be churchy read more

9 Bar - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

I was craving ramen and I decided to pick this place, sadly I will not be coming back Ramen was bland and too salty for my taste read more

Fun place with complimentary scallion pancake & giant screens playing k pop videos. The food is all good, but some if it's better. My favorite entrees are the pulled pork rice bowl and beef noodle soup. Pumpkin tempura is weird and delicious. The dumplings and takayaki both meh. I don't drink but the margaritas look amazing. I am always happy when I leave this place. read more

Tried out 9Bar in Aurora last week. This was our first time there. Located in a strip mall off of Orchard Road. Decor was an eclectic mix of odd art work with a cool lion painting on the back wall. The place is small with maybe 8 2-top tables that can be pushed together. The service was good. Our server was friendly and attentive. She initially brought out some complimentary scallion pancakes. They were basically fried batter with some green onions in it. They were fine. I wouldn't order these off the menu. I ordered a taro latte with tapioca and the bbq pork rice bowl. My husband ordered the pork belly ramen. My latte was good but too sweet for me. I drank about 1/3 of it and couldn't drink anymore. The tapioca was fine. My husband said the pork belly in his ramen was very good and tender, but the noodles were weird. Not exactly sure what he meant and I didn't want to try them. My bbq pork (char siu) rice bowl was barely okay. There was a small amount of bbq pork. It was very dry and tough. I had to choke it down. Two over easy eggs took up much of the bowl and I didn't remember the description even saying there were eggs on the bowl. This probably should've been called egg rice bowl with bbq pork. I wouldn't order this again unless I was having a self-loathing day. I don't have those so I guess I will never eat this again. Pictures are attached of the giant drink outside, the inside lion, and both bowls. Weird pink lighting inside, so items have a pink tinge to them. I am on the fence if I will ever go there again. My guess is no because there are much better places to eat. I would say try it once and make your own conclusions. read more

See all

Really great shakes! Reasonably priced and after every 5 shakes they give you one free. Don't forget to punch your card.

This review is strictly for the drinks my daughter and I had and also for the service. My macchiato green tea was delish and so was my daughters brown sugar boba that was recommended by the server. Love the decor, the place smelled amazing and the staff was great. They all had smiles on their faces and were so helpful. Will definitely come back to check out the food. Super impressed by the service. It's nice to be greeted by everyone with a smile and a warm hello. Check them out!!!! read more

See all

Phenomenal place with delicous food, fantastic drinks and a great overall vibe! The owner and his team are all about quality food/drinks and the customer experience. They love to be creative with the menu and are always coming up with new tasty treats. Forget the chain restaurants. Check out 9 Bar for a great culinary journey. From Rice Bowls and Ramen to Sliders (Bao) and Korean Corn Dogs, you won't be disappointed! Their creative drinks are not to be missed! read more

See all

Amazing dim sum from day one--fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. What really set the place apart when they first opened was the personal touch. The boss would come over, chat with guests, and genuinely care about our experience. Great food, great vibes, and a place that felt welcoming right from the start. read more

When I first saw the signage and then read an article about background of how this restaurant came together, I could not wait! Typically to get a variety of Asian foods you have to go to other suburbs (my opinion only!). So I've been so happy with the development of more Asian stores and restaurants in the Aurora area recently (check out Park to Shop near fox valley mall too). Ordered food to go, and the full menu is not available just yet. But no worries, there are plenty of items to try! Since I was ordering for myself and didn't want to totally pig-out (although leftovers ARE awesome) I ordered their pork belly rice bowl, scallion pancakes and a mango milk tea with tapioca. Wow, the rice bowl portion was very big, so thank you leftovers... I enjoyed the scallion pancake but I think it's one of those appetizers best had fresh in the restaurant. The mango milk tea (ordered half sweetness) was really delicious. Great drink for a hot day if you're just a little hungry, the tapioca helps satisfy. Definitely will be back to try the milk teas and dishes! And to experience eating in the restaurant! Staff was so friendly, greeted you at the door. Ambience was really cool too! Come check out and support our local Aurora businesses! read more

See all

We ordered the fried chicken lunch bento box and the wonton noodle soup. I also got the passion fruit tea with lychee jelly. The noodles were overcooked and the broth was underwhelming. It tasted like they took the water you cook the noodles in and used it for the soup. The fried chicken was ok if you like a heavy dose of star anise spice. The highlights: The fried scallion pancakes (served as a free appetizer) The wontons in my soup The kabocha croquettes in the bento box The passion fruit tea (although it is pretty expensive) The low lights: The sauce in bento box. Awful. The noodles and soup (extremely overpriced) Never put green onions on top of white rice. The restaurant is very cute. It was empty except for us on a Friday lunch time. I think that was pretty telling. The service was fine. I think they need to focus on serving fewer things and do them well. This whole Asian fusion thing is working against them IMHO. read more

Disappointed in the limited variety of drinks. They should expand their drinks menu and add multiple sizes to include instead of keeping it just one. If you're looking for a casual place to talk with friends, don't go here. They focus on serving dinner than having a casual sit down drink. Scallion pancakes were dry too, but I've heard that their food entrees are decent. The place is nicely decorated- on the times that I've visited this place it's mostly empty or half full. I like going to busier places, so if you like or don't like having a lot of people near you take that into consideration. The drinks didn't really taste fresh, instead, it tasted like syrup with juice. Very very sweet. I do prefer lighter drinks similarly to the ones at JoyYee. This place may not be right for me. read more

9 Bar - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

You've got to check out this place - it's fantastic! We have frequented this place since it opened 2 years ago. The atmosphere is so vibrant and the staff are incredibly welcoming. Shortly after we were seated, our server gave us complimentary fresh scallion pancakes that were warm and crispy - so yummy! We've worked through the entire menu, but the Pork Belly Ramen, Seafood Ramen, Crispy Chicken, Pork Belly Bao, and Korean Corn Dogs are our top picks. You can't miss out on their Thai Tea, Passion Fruit Tea, and Alcohol Asian Mimosa & Drunk Passion shots from their awesome shot tower - they're incredible! Plus, Johnny, one of the owners, is so chill - he even joined us for shots! This spot feels like an extension of our kitchen as we've brought so many friends here, where we can kick back & enjoy fantastic food & the company! read more

I live pretty close and I drive by this place almost every day, I always thought this was just a tea shop, and I decided to go in one day and was really good. Food is really good, great flavor portions are good and taste nice. Service is fast, place looks clean and comfortable. The only think I didn't love was the green tea I order, tasted like perfume. But every thing else was great! I will go back for sure! read more

See all

We guessed the owner is Taiwanese, as the flavors were pretty authentic! We did our best to try a little of each thing on the menu. You also get a freebie scallion pancake to start! The ground pork rice bowl was so good. It passed the lu rou fan test The Taiwanese fried chicken app was missing the traditional fried basil but it was still bomb. Love the small detail of serving with the wooden pick like they do at the Taiwan night markets We got the bao flight - sunrise, colonel, pork belly. The pork belly was the best one, but they were all good. They are big!! When these came out we were worried we would be too full to try everything we ordered, lol. You def get your money's worth. The wontons in the wonton noodle soup were so good. Good broth too. Noodles were average. These wonton would be sooo good served with chili sauce like Din Tai Fung. We also ordered the lychee green tea. I ordered it at 25% sweet, which was perfect for me. I always appreciate when they can customize sweetness. Next time I'll try it with their boba and see if it passes the QQ test! We didn't try the corndogs, but the kids next to us did and they were getting some decent cheese pulls, lol. Will have to come back! read more

See all

I recently had a craving for Taiwanese popcorn chicken and was about to go to Lisa's Night Market only to find out that it had closed at both the Niles location and Aurora location. I was excited that they had opened 9 Bar instead but it is super far from us. I came on a Saturday evening with family and we were able to snag a table but the restaurant filled up pretty quickly. We were given a plate of scallion pancakes on the house for dining in. We shared an order of crispy chicken which was well seasoned and the chicken was also juicy. I had the minced pork rice bowl while hubby had the black pepper chicken rice bowl. The portions were pretty big but it was pricier than I had expected (the lunch menu prices are more reasonable). We both enjoyed our rice bowls and it was more than enough to share with our toddler. She was throwing a temper tantrum and the owner was nice enough to give her a stuffed boba plushie to calm her down. Overall, the food was enjoyable and the atmosphere was fun. Would consider coming back if we were in the area! read more

Korean corn dogs made fresh when ordered. Everything is delicious. Must try a rice bowl and the ramen. Ingredients are fresh. The scallion pancakes were given for free snacks. Will need to come back to try the Bao Sliders read more

See all

This place is amazing! The noodles are super good! The sliders are also really good! They give you this appetizer in the beginning and it's so good! read more

Here's the deal, you can't wait for good Ramen to come to you! You got to go out there and find it. Checked out 9 Bar today and it was worth it. I tried three things on the menu, wonton noodle Ramen, scallion pancake appetizer, and a Matcha smoothie, they were all delicious. The scallion pancakes were pretty good but the wonton Ramen was absolutely delicious. The Matcha smoothie did not disappoint. Service was great and the atmosphere was beautiful. It was a little pricey, but I will definitely go back again. read more

See all

Came by on a whim after hearing that Lisa's Taiwanese night kitchen closed. Vibe of the insides is very cool (14 year old approved), food was made quick and delicious! read more

9 Bar - Pork belly rice bowl and lychee smoothie with boba - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

This place was not for me. Be aware that it is expensive. The food/experience is not worth the price, in my opinion. I ordered the black pepper chicken and soup dumplings. The chicken was literally a bowl of rice with a few slices of chicken and a weird tasting sauce - for $18.95! Excuse me? Included in the bowl were 3 stalks of cold broccoli, and half of a cold marinated egg. I can't understand the thought process of the cold broccoli. The food was lukewarm and the chicken tasted off. I was afraid to eat it. But the most upsetting part is the SOUP DUMPLINGS DID NOT HAVE ANY SOUP IN THEM. They were just dumplings. They tasted okay, though. My son had the beef noodles and coconut boba. The beef was tender but heavy on the Szechuan seasonings (my son liked it). He said the boba was too sweet. The service was great. No complaints! They did ask a few times if I enjoyed my food but I didn't want anything for free and I didn't want to complain. I wanted to support a local business. Try it for yourself you might like it. read more

Don't bring your toddlers here (ages 1-4). It says they have a toddler area... LOL they have a smart bridge, some mushrooms, And a bear... all not worthy of playing on. read more

i ordered black pepper chicken rice and they gave me ramen :/ i order out once a week and i was looking forward to this all week only for them to mess up my order it wasnt complicated. read more

9 Bar - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Super delicious broth in the wonton, chicken and veggie soups. The ingredients here are clearly very fresh and good and there's a lot of skill behind the counter. Feels new, but the enthusiastic staff makes it fun to be part of it. We'll be back. read more

Hooked on 9 bar! My husband and I are frequent orderers of 9 bar and love, love, love it. I've personally tried a corn dog, almost all the bao several times, a few rice bowls, the wonton soup , crab Rangoon and soup dumplings. My favorite go to for an entree are the bao- they are heavenly. Every time I have them I can't believe how incredible they are . I have a similar affinity for the crab Rangoon and soup dumpling appetizers. The wonton soup is incredible on a cold ( or really any) day. Some of the rice bowls seem a little heavy on rice and light on meat, and yes it is pricey but so worth it in my opinion. We've never had issues with food not being hot and made quickly. I love this place , love that they're near me and hope they stay. read more

My toddler and I recently got some bubble tea from 9 Bar after passing it on Orchard Rd a few times. In search of a new bubble tea place closer to home than the Fox Valley Mall, on a whim, we stopped in. While I'm assuming this isn't a regular occurrence, as my toddler and I approached the door, a man opened the door and tossed his bubble tea right out very nearly hitting both of us with the beverage. Sadly, that was my first impression, but my kid's' heart was set on a smoothie boba drink. So we still went in. I thought it was interesting to see it was mainly a Korean fusion restaurant that offers a variety of boba teas, smoothies, and coffees. The menu for the boba teas is okay, but I was expecting more variety, so I was underwhelmed. My kid got a mango smoothie with mango boba and I got a caramel milk tea with tapioca. We waited about 7 minutes after placing our order until it was ready. We took it to go. The presentation of the drinks was great! They both looked very enticing. So my toddler drank a few sips and said she didn't like it. I chalked it up to being a toddler until I tried it. It tasted chemically with sugar. It wasn't very good. I didn't pick up mango flavor at all and we eat mangoes often. My caramel milk tea tasted watered down, bland, and not very sweet. I didn't detect any caramel notes. I will say that the texture of the tapioca was great and the portions on boba and drink are generous. It's just not the best tasting bubble tea in the fox valley area. I hope they are open to adding more boba tea options and trying different recipes for the teas so they taste like what they say they're supposed to taste like. Bottom line: they have potential, but right now that potential ends at aesthetic. read more

See all

Absolutely Amazing!!! Servers are very attentive and friendly! There are SO MANY drink options! And for those who can't have dairy they have coconut milk which I absolutely love I am obsessed with their pork belly bun! But honestly every time I come I try something new and it is always so GOOD!!! Also the atmosphere and the aesthetic is so cool! Such an awesome spot!! read more

Outstanding service. Great product, great prices. First timer asked for diabetic drink options. I was given flavorful option choices. I took 2 different drinks and was happy with both! Cozy atmosphere, looks good for sit down and take out. read more

Food and service was great! We have stopped there twice during our travels and enjoyed it each time. read more

This is my second time here and everything was excellent. Nice atmosphere with courteous staff. The soup dumplings are my favorite, but I haven't had a bad thing yet. read more

Very fast, really friendly people, pretty solid place! Scallion pancakes were nice and crispy, same with veggie gyoza. Crispy chicken was 10/10, peppery and juicy. I like a sauce to dip in so we asked for ketchup and spicy mayo. Only miss imo was the colonel bao. Passion fruit tea and lemon tea were great drinks! Would come back again! read more

9 Bar - Crispy chicken and veggie pot stickers - Bubble Tea Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

See all

They have great drinks to try! I haven't tried much but the place inside is so nice ! I would have a better review if I stayed longer but had a emergency but other than me trying the teas and smoothies that's the best part of this place.! read more

Great service. Great food. Great company. Quality and fresh ingredients were obvious. Highly recommend.