The Short Version:
Bubble tea kiosk inside this mini food hall in Old Montreal. I was shocked that in this touristy area I was able to score a bubble tea for $3.99. It was good too.
The Long Version:
I love bubble tea and always endeavour to try new bubble tea places whether at home or on vacation.
One Babo was founded in Montreal, QC. I only later learned (after my visit) that it used to be called One More Thé, which was famous for its fat and short cups. I had bubble tea at One More Thé when they had a location in Les Cours Mont-Royal and I enjoyed it. Anyway, the One Babo location I went to no longer uses short fat cups, but just regular cups and they are paper which is the trend these days. Great for the environment, so I support, but less photogenic for sure, lol. The straw was plastic so it pierced the lid easily and I didn't make a mess which I always do with paper straws.
I ordered at the ordering kiosk and was surprised to see they had promotional drinks for only $3.99. Well, I was all over that. Haha. I looked at the different varieties and they had a dragon fruit tea with green tea popping boba, which is what I got. I wanted zero sugar and less ice but there wasn't an option to indicate this at the kiosk, but the staff member said I could let her know the modifications and she would make it accordingly.
When you say no sugar here, it truly is no sugar! I have found that at most bubble tea shops their base tea is already somewhat sweet so even when I order no sugar, it's still sweet, but not here. The tea was completely unsweetened even a bit bitter. My bad, lol. The popping boba added a splash of sweetness, but in the future, knowing what I know now, I will get a quarter sweet.
I still enjoyed the drink and it had a potent tea flavour which I liked.
Service was pleasant and the staff pointed out to me that the print on the cup was an Old Montreal landscape since their location is in Old Montreal. What a nice touch.
This location is inside a mini food hall called Le Coin Gourmand. Other businesses in the food hall are Hectare Cafe (a Carribean coffee shop), Mel'Oui (a sandwich shop) and Quan An (a Vietnamese restaurant). In addition to bubble tea, they also sell food.
I'll need to return to try their food and check out the other businesses (my husband did get a coffee at Hectare Cafe while I was at One Babo, but I want to try their Haitian pastries). Oh and I'll gladly try another drink at One Babo. Hopefully they continue to have some at promotional prices, lol.
Review #211 (2025) read more