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Pricey . The atmosphere is nice inside but a little bit uncomfortable. The seating is a crowded and close to customers passing through. Something that put me off most was that they have this massive artificial tree hanging over the entryway inside. It was coated and covered in plumes of spiderwebs. I don't remember if I actually saw any spiders but I just remember me and my friends being extremely disturbed and wanting to leave quickly. (This was over a year ago). The cups are really cute and aesthetically pleasing. The actual boba is pretty good. Especially their basic milk tea. I forgot what I tried last time I went but it had little crunchy bits that turned soggy and felt like I was slurping sugary cereal that was left out too long. I prefer Now Tea because I like what I've gotten from them more. But overall good experience and I would recommend.
Another new bubble tea shop in Waterloo! Surprise! The Alley is one of the more popular chains however, and had a popular location in Toronto. The location is great, as it is right in the plaza near Sweet Dreams! The decor of the store was very warm and chic, with wooden accents everywhere, artisan lights and a big tree! A comfortable place to hang out and chat with friends for sure! Tried the Alley Trio drink, which was milk tea with tapioca and I believe coffee and rainbow jelly. The drink had a fruity undertone which was refreshing, and made the drink seem light but flavourful! Not much to differentiate from other chains in my opinion however to justify the slightly more expensive price point, but is worth checking out once in a while!
After seeing countless photos of The Alley's drinks on Instagram, I finally came by here on a Friday night to see if it's really worth the hype. The line was almost out the door so we had to wait quite a bit to order. I ordered the deerioca fever which you can choose to have with soy or fresh milk. I opted for soy to save myself from a tummy ache. It was a 10 minute wait for the drink. When it was ready, the barista gave me instructions on how to drink it since it was my first time trying it out. Interestingly, the bottom of the drink is warm and the soy milk was ice cold. So it's best to drink it without stirring or mixing first. Then after awhile you can stir and taste. The brown sugar tapioca tasted fresh and was a good complement to the soy milk. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and the deerioca is the perfect balance for when you can't decide between having a hot or cold drink. Pricing is decent as well - it's worth it for the aesthetic and quality. Will definitely be back for more!
My family and I came here with my sister, on our way to dropping her off at the university for the spring school term. My parents stood in front of the menu for a while, seriously deliberating - sensing that it was their first time there (haha we were actually asked if it was the case), the staff kindly offered a sample of the Royal No. 9 Milk Tea (cold). After 5 minutes of choosing, we finally ordered and enjoyed our drinks! The staff (all student part-times) were very friendly and helpful - great customer service! We got the following: Iron Goddess (hot and cold), Royal No. 9 Milk Tea (hot), and Deerioca (with normal milk). The hot Iron Goddess was with normal sugar levels, and the sweetness was further enhanced. It has a nice prominent tieguanyin (iron goddess) tea taste. Though milky, it's actually a great taste. I particularly enjoyed the colder version (we got it with less sweet); that said, I still found it a little too sweet! I wonder if it's possible to get something between no-sweet and little sweet... My drink was the Royal No. 9 Milk Tea; I ordered it hot with less sweetness level. Oddly enough, I still found it super sweet! That said, it had a wonderful floral fruity flavour that we couldn't quite place... we had thought it was osmanthus, but looking it up, it appears to be blueberry! I did find it a little too milky, and would have preferred a stronger tea flavour. I still loved it though, and would order again! I had tried the deerioca before, but with soy milk, and therefore found the soy milk flavour to be overbearing. This time, we got it with normal milk - but then it ended up tasting like plain milk! My sister really disliked this drink; she found it to be milk with sugar, and didn't end up finishing it. Although the Deerioca is one of The Alley's most popular drinks, it's one of our least favourites! I would definitely try The Alley again, but not the Deerioca. I'll stick to their tea-based drinks, thank you. Unfortunately, their drinks are super overpriced, so this will be a rare treat in a blue moon!
So excited that Waterloo finally got an Alley! First of all, the aesthetics and overall quality of the pearls and tea is high and consistent. The price is average-high but the uniqueness and quality of their drinks are worth it. TIP#1: FREE WIFI (pw: thealleywaterloo) TIP#2: Get The Alley app to start earning points! (10points/drink & 100 points = free drink) I came on a Friday night and the line-up was long but the wait wasn't too bad at ~15min. I love how there's little canisters of the tea leaves so you can smell it first before you order! So far I've tried: BROWN SUGAR DEERIOCA W/ SOY MILK (4.5/5)- I've never had or seen anything like this before! So swirly and pretty! My friend that just travelled to Taiwan went with me and got the regular milk deerioca (which was better than the soy IMO), and confirmed that it was just as good as the black sugar bbtea in Taiwan! It has a unique natural sweetness to it (no need to adjust the sweet level) and the tapioca pearls had the same type of flavour while having a perfect amount of chew. ROYAL NO.9 BLACK TEA (4.5/5)- got this at 'little' sweetness with tapioca pearls. I LOVED how I got just a hint of the blueberry flavour that wasn't artificial at all! This was another unique and delicious flavour I'd come back for. Overall, I frequent the dtown Toronto location often and I can confirm that the Waterloo one tastes just as good and has a more spacious lounging area. I'm looking forward to trying their Sweet Dew & Iron goddess next time~
So watered down (half sugar, less ice). Ordered February 5, 2022. I don't know if it's this location or just an off day but I usually love this drink.
There's a new challenger for the king of bubble tea in Waterloo. The Alley has all the workings necessary to usurp the BBT throne - great decor, amazing location (close to campus), innovative and delicious drinks, and great service. The Deerioca drink is their signature order - iced milk/soymilk/matcha tea sitting on top of warm tapioca beads drenched in hot brown sugar. The drink is presented beautifully, albeit a bit small in size, and mixing the drink blends the flavours wonderfully. I highly recommend ordering this if it's your first time. Their traditional BBT tastes great as well, and come at a reasonable price. Consider ordering the Royal No 9. Occasionally, the server will have free samples of new tea flavors for you to try, so take advantage!
This Alley shop location is super convenient in a plaza (with a large parking area!) with many other boba and food shops around as well. The Alley is one of the more pricer boba spots though. Averaging maybe $6-7 and portions maybe seem a bit smaller than other places for their regular sizing. Quality is excellent though, really rich milk tea flavour and quick service at this location. I really enjoy the shop itself, loads of seating for both individual and larger groups. Really earthy aesthetic with a large table at the front with a tree in the middle (actually a pretty good high top table to work from!)
Went to the alley to see what all the hype was about. The restaurant is very aesthetically pleasing and definitely a great place to hang around. The decor is just so nice. One thing that was a bit confusing was that there we no descriptions of the drinks on the menu. So you didn't really know what you were getting if you ordered the "iron lady". I had their milk tea which came with tapioca and jelly. To be honest, I still think other bubble tea places in the area taste better. I couldn't really taste anything in the milk tea, it was a bit watered down and the taste of the jelly was very overwhelming. With that being said, the bubble tea was still very good and totally worth it at the price point. The cozy environment and unique drinks will definitely have me coming back.
If you love Hong Kong milk tea, the Royal No. 9 is definitely a must try! It's the perfect balance of milk and rich tea. In my opinion, the alley is quite sweet so if you're not much of a sweet tooth, I definitely recommend to get it at minimum sugar or even no sugar. Staff here were super nice and the interior decor is super Instagram worthy! Great experience !
I would say The Alley has the best bubble tea in Waterloo but it's also the most expensive. A regular drink with tapioca will be almost $7!! Their royal number 9 and jasmine milk tea are my favourites here (any milk tea is good from my experience though). The store used to have nicer decor but these days it's not the best place to hang out.
This place is so pretty! Bbt is unique and really good too! If you have a sweet tooth I definitely recommend trying their signature derrioca bbt! The brown sugar makes the boba extra sweet and delicious! I really like chewing on tapioca and jellies so my usual order would be "the alley trio" where they put 3 different types of toppings in. Another recommendation is the "royal no. 9" bbt. The tea is so refreshing and different from other places (it's the one in the photo!) On top of the unique bbt, the place is very aesthetic! There is a mix of brick, wood, and greenery that surround this shop. It really makes a statement. It's definitely a memorable bbt shop. My only complaint is that it's too small. The line can sometimes be out the door. It seems like they share the store in half where the other side sells snacks or some kind... Very much not affiliated with the alley though. The servers are really nice all the time and seem to enjoy being there. Very kind and polite! I've been here 4-5 times already and half of the time I was offered a sample of the tea. Small but very nice gesture!
9 months ago
5 years ago
The Alley, Waterloo ON Today's choices are right up our Alley we got a mix between Tea, Milk Tea and Snow Velvet All of us were feeling different things and the Alley had so much to offer. LeftSnow Velvet Earl Grey Tea The snow velvet just brings the drink all together Once mixed all together, it is a drink you can down in one go Sweet drink all together! MiddleDeerioca Matcha This was a very nicely blended drink with brown sugar boba at the bottom It is filling yet satisfying for any day Expect a slightly bitter taste with the Matcha as well Right Iced Jasmine Green Tea If you're looking for something less sweet, this drink is right for you. It's still refreshing on a hot summer day, a little sweet and a little bitter. read more
4 years ago
I love the bubble tea it's always with the best taste. The staff are very kind and the place is clean. read more
4 years ago
Pricey . The atmosphere is nice inside but a little bit uncomfortable. The seating is a crowded and close to customers passing through. Something that put me off most was that they have this massive artificial tree hanging over the entryway inside. It was coated and covered in plumes of spiderwebs. I don't remember if I actually saw any spiders but I just remember me and my friends being extremely disturbed and wanting to leave quickly. (This was over a year ago). The cups are really cute and aesthetically pleasing. The actual boba is pretty good. Especially their basic milk tea. I forgot what I tried last time I went but it had little crunchy bits that turned soggy and felt like I was slurping sugary cereal that was left out too long. I prefer Now Tea because I like what I've gotten from them more. But overall good experience and I would recommend. read more
3 years ago
Another new bubble tea shop in Waterloo! Surprise! The Alley is one of the more popular chains however, and had a popular location in Toronto. The location is great, as it is right in the plaza near Sweet Dreams! The decor of the store was very warm and chic, with wooden accents everywhere, artisan lights and a big tree! A comfortable place to hang out and chat with friends for sure! Tried the Alley Trio drink, which was milk tea with tapioca and I believe coffee and rainbow jelly. The drink had a fruity undertone which was refreshing, and made the drink seem light but flavourful! Not much to differentiate from other chains in my opinion however to justify the slightly more expensive price point, but is worth checking out once in a while! read more
After seeing countless photos of The Alley's drinks on Instagram, I finally came by here on a Friday night to see if it's really worth the hype. The line was almost out the door so we had to wait quite a bit to order. I ordered the deerioca fever which you can choose to have with soy or fresh milk. I opted for soy to save myself from a tummy ache. It was a 10 minute wait for the drink. When it was ready, the barista gave me instructions on how to drink it since it was my first time trying it out. Interestingly, the bottom of the drink is warm and the soy milk was ice cold. So it's best to drink it without stirring or mixing first. Then after awhile you can stir and taste. The brown sugar tapioca tasted fresh and was a good complement to the soy milk. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and the deerioca is the perfect balance for when you can't decide between having a hot or cold drink. Pricing is decent as well - it's worth it for the aesthetic and quality. Will definitely be back for more! read more
My family and I came here with my sister, on our way to dropping her off at the university for the spring school term. My parents stood in front of the menu for a while, seriously deliberating - sensing that it was their first time there (haha we were actually asked if it was the case), the staff kindly offered a sample of the Royal No. 9 Milk Tea (cold). After 5 minutes of choosing, we finally ordered and enjoyed our drinks! The staff (all student part-times) were very friendly and helpful - great customer service! We got the following: Iron Goddess (hot and cold), Royal No. 9 Milk Tea (hot), and Deerioca (with normal milk). The hot Iron Goddess was with normal sugar levels, and the sweetness was further enhanced. It has a nice prominent tieguanyin (iron goddess) tea taste. Though milky, it's actually a great taste. I particularly enjoyed the colder version (we got it with less sweet); that said, I still found it a little too sweet! I wonder if it's possible to get something between no-sweet and little sweet... My drink was the Royal No. 9 Milk Tea; I ordered it hot with less sweetness level. Oddly enough, I still found it super sweet! That said, it had a wonderful floral fruity flavour that we couldn't quite place... we had thought it was osmanthus, but looking it up, it appears to be blueberry! I did find it a little too milky, and would have preferred a stronger tea flavour. I still loved it though, and would order again! I had tried the deerioca before, but with soy milk, and therefore found the soy milk flavour to be overbearing. This time, we got it with normal milk - but then it ended up tasting like plain milk! My sister really disliked this drink; she found it to be milk with sugar, and didn't end up finishing it. Although the Deerioca is one of The Alley's most popular drinks, it's one of our least favourites! I would definitely try The Alley again, but not the Deerioca. I'll stick to their tea-based drinks, thank you. Unfortunately, their drinks are super overpriced, so this will be a rare treat in a blue moon! read more
8 years ago
So excited that Waterloo finally got an Alley! First of all, the aesthetics and overall quality of the pearls and tea is high and consistent. The price is average-high but the uniqueness and quality of their drinks are worth it. TIP#1: FREE WIFI (pw: thealleywaterloo) TIP#2: Get The Alley app to start earning points! (10points/drink & 100 points = free drink) I came on a Friday night and the line-up was long but the wait wasn't too bad at ~15min. I love how there's little canisters of the tea leaves so you can smell it first before you order! So far I've tried: BROWN SUGAR DEERIOCA W/ SOY MILK (4.5/5)- I've never had or seen anything like this before! So swirly and pretty! My friend that just travelled to Taiwan went with me and got the regular milk deerioca (which was better than the soy IMO), and confirmed that it was just as good as the black sugar bbtea in Taiwan! It has a unique natural sweetness to it (no need to adjust the sweet level) and the tapioca pearls had the same type of flavour while having a perfect amount of chew. ROYAL NO.9 BLACK TEA (4.5/5)- got this at 'little' sweetness with tapioca pearls. I LOVED how I got just a hint of the blueberry flavour that wasn't artificial at all! This was another unique and delicious flavour I'd come back for. Overall, I frequent the dtown Toronto location often and I can confirm that the Waterloo one tastes just as good and has a more spacious lounging area. I'm looking forward to trying their Sweet Dew & Iron goddess next time~ read more
8 years ago
There's a new challenger for the king of bubble tea in Waterloo. The Alley has all the workings necessary to usurp the BBT throne - great decor, amazing location (close to campus), innovative and delicious drinks, and great service. The Deerioca drink is their signature order - iced milk/soymilk/matcha tea sitting on top of warm tapioca beads drenched in hot brown sugar. The drink is presented beautifully, albeit a bit small in size, and mixing the drink blends the flavours wonderfully. I highly recommend ordering this if it's your first time. Their traditional BBT tastes great as well, and come at a reasonable price. Consider ordering the Royal No 9. Occasionally, the server will have free samples of new tea flavors for you to try, so take advantage! read more
8 years ago
This Alley shop location is super convenient in a plaza (with a large parking area!) with many other boba and food shops around as well. The Alley is one of the more pricer boba spots though. Averaging maybe $6-7 and portions maybe seem a bit smaller than other places for their regular sizing. Quality is excellent though, really rich milk tea flavour and quick service at this location. I really enjoy the shop itself, loads of seating for both individual and larger groups. Really earthy aesthetic with a large table at the front with a tree in the middle (actually a pretty good high top table to work from!) read more
Went to the alley to see what all the hype was about. The restaurant is very aesthetically pleasing and definitely a great place to hang around. The decor is just so nice. One thing that was a bit confusing was that there we no descriptions of the drinks on the menu. So you didn't really know what you were getting if you ordered the "iron lady". I had their milk tea which came with tapioca and jelly. To be honest, I still think other bubble tea places in the area taste better. I couldn't really taste anything in the milk tea, it was a bit watered down and the taste of the jelly was very overwhelming. With that being said, the bubble tea was still very good and totally worth it at the price point. The cozy environment and unique drinks will definitely have me coming back. read more
5 years ago
If you love Hong Kong milk tea, the Royal No. 9 is definitely a must try! It's the perfect balance of milk and rich tea. In my opinion, the alley is quite sweet so if you're not much of a sweet tooth, I definitely recommend to get it at minimum sugar or even no sugar. Staff here were super nice and the interior decor is super Instagram worthy! Great experience ! read more
I would say The Alley has the best bubble tea in Waterloo but it's also the most expensive. A regular drink with tapioca will be almost $7!! Their royal number 9 and jasmine milk tea are my favourites here (any milk tea is good from my experience though). The store used to have nicer decor but these days it's not the best place to hang out. read more
8 years ago
This place is so pretty! Bbt is unique and really good too! If you have a sweet tooth I definitely recommend trying their signature derrioca bbt! The brown sugar makes the boba extra sweet and delicious! I really like chewing on tapioca and jellies so my usual order would be "the alley trio" where they put 3 different types of toppings in. Another recommendation is the "royal no. 9" bbt. The tea is so refreshing and different from other places (it's the one in the photo!) On top of the unique bbt, the place is very aesthetic! There is a mix of brick, wood, and greenery that surround this shop. It really makes a statement. It's definitely a memorable bbt shop. My only complaint is that it's too small. The line can sometimes be out the door. It seems like they share the store in half where the other side sells snacks or some kind... Very much not affiliated with the alley though. The servers are really nice all the time and seem to enjoy being there. Very kind and polite! I've been here 4-5 times already and half of the time I was offered a sample of the tea. Small but very nice gesture! read more
8 years ago
The pictures of the tea available from The Alley with the different layers are very intriguing. We went to the shop and literally waited outside in the snow for them to open. We were not disappointed! The tapioca is hand made and it took a minute to decide what to get because the normal boba flavors like Taro weren't on the menu. With some assistance we decided on the Trip and the Royal 9. Very happy with the Ice and Sugar level options leading to a less over overwhelmingly sweet tea. Can't wait to return to try the Deerioca. read more
6 years ago
5 years ago
7 years ago
this is my favourite spot for bubble tea in waterloo! the quality of the tea is really great, and i haven't tried anything yet that wasn't delicious! read more
