TBaar 茶霸 North Bethesda/Rockville — Restaurant in North Bethesda

TLDR: Fantastic milk tea and soft serve. Come for any of the milk foam teas and weekly rotating soft serve sundaes.

Vibe: 4/5. Tbaar is tucked away in a strip mall just north of downtown North Bethesda. There is ample parking throughout the complex, so getting in and out is a breeze. It is a small storefront consisting of a 3 table dining area, the main bar where you order and a single shared bathroom. Nothing fancy, however perfect for grabbing a quick after dinner dessert or carryout.

Service: 5/5. The entire staff at Tbaar we're great! With this being our first time visiting, the staff was very helpful in answering any questions we had as we navigated the menu. We went around 8pm on a Saturday night which is considered their busy time. However, Tbaar was able to get our order out in about 5 minutes which was impressive.

Food/Drinks: 5/5. Some of the best milk tea I have had in Maryland. On our visit we opted for the strawberry green tea milk foam and it was unbelievably refreshing. The strawberries were very ripe and the flavors blended perfectly with the floral notes of the jasmine green tea. Also the creamy yet salty milk foam added a nice balance to the fruity nature of the drink. We decided to also try their rotating soft serve, with this week's flavors being vanilla and Nutella. We went with a swirl cup of both with ground cinnamon toast crunch bits as the topping. The Nutella was much more subtle than anticipated which was a plus for me and it blended well with the creamy vanilla. The ground cinnamon toast crunch added a nice textural component and a nice touch of cinnamon in every bite. Tbaar also serves onigiri rice pockets in flavors such as spicy chicken, brisket and spam. We had just finished dinner and we're too full to try these out, but they looked fantastic and definitely worth the...

Had a chance to check out TBaar on New Years Eve! There were a few folks inside enjoying their drinks. Looks can be deceiving! From outside, it looks like a tiny place! Once you get inside, there's a handful of tables. But once you pass the counter, there is another room with a communal table and plenty of seating for a group. They've got a bunch of games available at the counter to take to a table and play.

Service was friendly and helpful with suggestions. I got the Just Beet It which was a blend of veggies and citrus. The carrots have it just the right amount of sweetness! Note though... With the juices, it's going to be close to room temp instead of chilled since there's no ice. Friend had the Dragon Fruit smoothie. Tasty. Could definitely taste the dragon fruit. A bit pricey but if you factor in that dragon fruit is $5 each at some stores, it's reasonable!

Got the brown sugar milk tea to go for my niece. Asked for it with 50% less sugar and less ice. It looked great when we left the store but the car ride home shook it up a bit. Oops! But my niece liked it and said it was great, but could still be less sweet.

Will be back to try other drinks! I also want to check out their version of the crepe cake. They've got matcha and mango...

cups do not come with sealed lids and they do not shake the drink before serving it, and don't suggest to stir it first. They act like you're the moron when you ask about this, as though getting a shaken tea in a coffee cup is how this has always worked. I wonder what they think the machine they have that shakes up cups is for? This would be fine if the cups were a reasonable size, but they fill them up entirely. That's nice that it's full, but not practical. The brown sugar tea was basically non-drinkable because all of the sugar syrup is at that bottom (where the straw sits) and very quickly sinks back to the bottom by the time you've finished cleaning the syrup off the sides from having to mix your own drink. Beyond that, don't bother telling them you'd like less sugar, that's apparently a funny joke to the staff. I get that it's silly for me to order a sugary drink with less sugar, but it would be nice to actually get something that I don't have to worry is going to make me sick. I had to throw this $7 drink away in the end, and it reminded me why these "tip before service" machines are such a rip-off. I couldn't even tell if I got tea or a cup of...