Reviews of Bubble Maineia (Restaurant)

Danielle

Would not recommend this place. Food is prepped in the microwave. And place is understaffed causing a line to build. Also the bubble tea can't be made vegan which is disappointing. Overall many other places in portland that are much better

Tarah Blakeslee

Best boba in Portland, trust me I've tried it all. Most variety and lowest price as well, super friendly staff. Go enough and they'll remember your order :)

Philip Andresen

Bubble Maineia has good food, and good bubble tea but lacks severely in interior appeal. I would happily take food away and maybe sit and sip a bubble tea but I find the dining experience to be rather uncomfortable. There's no real sound isolation and the chairs and tables are pretty shabby. The lighting is rather harsh too which only uglifies the already sub par space. The staff is nice as far as I remember and again, the food and tea are both great. One additional issue is the hours of this business are a little tricky and on multiple occasions I have been unable to grab dinner with friends due to their closing time.

Hunter Goodenough

Best Bubble Tea in Portland!

William Ahrendt

Great food and polite service.

Jebreel Samples

Came here and was initially greeted very rudely by the cashier. She got my order wrong and added chicken to my vegan option, when I went back up to the counter she rudely snatched the plate out of my hand and rather than preparing a new plate, they picked out the pieces of chicken and replaced them with tofu. The other order was burnt to a crisp, basically inedible. Drinks are good but overpriced.

Rachel P.

Only bubble tea in portland :)

Ivan Elliot

I started coming here about 5 years ago when I first moved to Portland and have very rarely been disappointed. Their prices are very decent for downtown and it's a great spot to sit and work on you computer if you need to (bring headphones, though. It's rather echo-y). They're partnered up with 2dineIn now too, so delivery is an option. Their menu can seem overwhelming sometimes, but the staff are very friendly and helpful, so if you feel lost you can always ask them questions. To my knowledge, they do not yet offer low carb food/drink items, but I hope they eventually do!

Tammy Lavorato

Good food, great service.

Monica Sok

Bubble tea is awesome. Pork buns awesome. Other food horrible.

Da Chen

I’m Chinese, and I love Taiwanese food. Went there excepting to have some authentic Taiwanese or Chinese food, but they really didn’t have any. It’s really just for white people. I’m just joking lol. You get what I mean. The ice cream is good tho.

xxmelinaaxx x

Peach strawberry slush with extra "pop" has been my go to for about 8 years.

Zachary Goater

Pros: Plenty of options for under ten dollars, a wide array of Taiwanese treasures, and more drink options than you can handle. Grab a pork bun and a bubble tea and walk around the city! Cons: A staple of the under-18 set and "hipsters", it can often be noisy.

Joe Messina

Nice place with Bubble Tea, Slushes, other drinks and great asian food. Try a steamed bun!

Milojah Milojahstein

Delightful, especially enjoy the curry soup and pan fried ramen.

10 10

The bubble tea was okay. Food was plain tasting and small portion sizes for the price. Overall wouldn't recommend.

Emily Smith-Kuzma

I've been coming here since I moved to Maine about 6 years ago. I come back because the curry is outstanding and the bubble teas are perfect. If you like a savory curry with a good amount of spice, this is for you. Vegan when ordering the tofu option. The veggie and red bean buns are a nice addition to your meal.

Mike Moran

Great selection of tea. I got the Ginger coconut iced tea with boba.

Esley Leda Sonnikson

This place is cheap, yummy and fast. I've enjoyed everything I've tried from warm soup in winter to frozen treats in summer. The steamed buns are very yum :)

Clara Jacobs

One of my favorite places to go when I go into town. Good tea and food

Robert Buchanan

Great food right downtown. We often come here after attending a Sunday matinee at Merrill, or something else which might bring us downtown.

Matthew Bosk

Great place to grab a quick lunch, the steam buns are delicious and made ready to go! The Lo Mein or Rice meals makes for a great take-out dinner.

Korali Rosalina

Delicious bubble tea with a large food and drink menu!

Junior Curbow

I love this little place. The bubble smoothies are the very greatest. Fast and friendly service. Located on the waterfront. Enjoy!

David Fiorenza

Got the Thai boba tea. Comes in one sweetness, which is pretty sweet. Used to NYC boba places that let you customize your order (sweetness, addins, etc). The tapioca was cooked very well. I'll stick to my boba from NY.

A L

This place is dank

Charity Avila

One of the only places around to get bubble tea and it's definitely worth it. They also have great little appetizers as well as spicy ramen dishes.

Neil

Very neat place to get dessert like beverages. Delicious and fun. Good atmosphere and friendly staff.

Debjanee Protyasha Nandy

The bubble tea was amazing. The curry was not that great.

Scout McLeod

I love their steam buns and the mango pop boba bubble teas!

Hilsa Parinding

Paid $8 for their “stir fried ramen” which taste identical to the Indonesian instant stir fried ramen “Indomie goreng” Or “mie sedap.” These cost $0.25 at your local Asian market. Throw some eggs on them and you’ve just saved yourself $7

Jon Decker

I wish there was a shop like this closer to the Westbrook downtown strip, but it's definitely a good shop for bubble tea in Portland downtown and the green tea bubble tea is amazingly floral and tasty. I wish they also sold frozen lemonade, because it's seriously lacking in the local frozen drink selections.

Katina Dionne

Perfect place for lunch.

Hannah Barr

The ambience is underwhelming but the coconut bubble tea is delicious (and dairy-free!!) and the steamed buns were goooooooood. The chicken was good but needed a little something to give it a real umph, the pork steamed bun on the other hand - YUMMMM.

Gillian Brosnan

Bubble Maineia is my savior. Their $2 pork buns have come to my rescue numerous times as a college student. They’re delicious, cheap, and filling. I’ve been a regular there for over a year now. I love that they sell bubble tea both hot and iced, so I can enjoy it any time of the year. There are of course some things on the menu that aren’t quite worth it (I was disappointed by their Lo Mein noodles, they lacked flavor) but if you stick to their pork or chicken buns, dumplings, or curry, this little place will quickly become your savior too.

Jessica Shvakhman

The bubble tea is amazing! Taro is wonderful..and all dairy free!!!

Acro Greymark

Very good dumplings. Honey Dew bubble tea was delicious and sweet and it was an overall good experience. Wouldn't mind regularly eating here.

Colin Becker

Great food, friendly staff, always willing to help a guy on crutches.

Nelson Mondale

Great bubble tea however there may be a lack of variety but definitely order the pork buns - very good

Nicole M

Yummy pork buns, OK boba, as I've had better, awesome service.

Elizabeth Rovito

This has become my favorite place to go for a lunch/dinner break! Wonderful staff and great food.

Quang Vu

Food felt reheated.

Daniel Christie

This place is so excellent. Perfect curry and delicious beverages. Yes please.

Sol Martinez Guevara

These folks have been around for a while. They are consistent and meticulous about their service. It is always a good place to just sit down with a couple friends or enjoy a dinner for a solo date.

Jade Adele

They have really good food and tea! It was a bit misfortunate that we were booked for Empire Chinese Kitchen so we had to get food fast but it was so worth it. You can actually add bobas to any drink you get! They have so many flavors. I loved it.

Jacob Morin

It's alright the service is slow

Tom Rioux

Awesome bubble tea, very quick and tasty.

Tennis Atheist

Not fancy but good bubble tea

Jeremy Dean

Needs more veggie options, but pretty tasty noodles.

Eben Baker

Bubble tea and buns,other food is good but expensive for what it is.

Daniel Marquez

I didn’t get to try this food. This review is just based on my experience with the service. We came in at 6:20, got to the counter to order when the employee said “So sorry to do this” before putting out the kitchen closed sign. The door sign said they closed the kitchen at 6:30 while the restaurant closes at 7. Very rude because she could have made the food and then closed the kitchen probably still before 6:30. An unfortunate circumstance.

Casey Pyburn

Amazing food and tea!

Chi Yu Yang

No need to tip! It's self serve! Bubble tea and macha monster were awesome! The beef noodle soup was only alright because the noodle and soup were very bland. However that beef was awesome and super flavourful! I wish they did something as nice for the soup!

Scott Kelley

The staff were incredibly nice; prompt and friendly. The food was amazing: we tried the pork buns and pork dumplings, as well as the scallion pancakes. It was all truly delightful to eat, and I couldn't recommend it any higher.

Jen George

The food is fabulous! So are the bubble teas. There is a bit of a waiy for the food, but it is worth it. You order your food and then go back up to et it when they call out your order. (They call out what food you ordered, not your name.) You will have to park away from the building or pay exorbitant parking garage fees at the parking structure next door, as the metered streetside parking is usually full during the day. I prefer to go here on foot.

Matt Johnson

The strawberry shake was great.

Nate

Bubble Maineia was really good. The bubble tea was filling and delicious, and the hot tea was great too. Outstanding decorating.

Keri Woodbury

This place is amazing! First went with a friend because she wanted to try bubble tea. They have so much more. You can get hot/cold drinks, appetizers, full meals. And of course the newest craze bubble tea. They also have a great variety of tea mixes and different types of Boba.

Brendan O'Brien

Go to place for Bubble Tea in Portland. They let you mix flavors too. I'd recommend strawberry-chocolate combo. Decent prices that they've only raised 25 cents since I started going here 5 or so years ago.

Jennifer G

My family loves it here. We've been coming for years. Food is great, the best bubble tea you'll find and we love Nancy! My favorite is strawberry taro bubble tea. If you like spicy, highly recommend the chicken curry lo mein and beef stew soup! Chicken steam buns...YUM!

Desiree Young

Has a decent pork bun here for cheap.

Christian Slazas

Good, but definitely expensive for the amount of food you get...

Justin Gray

I'm always happy with my experience here. Absolutely love the bubble tea.

Mariem Ghoula

Service is terrible

Elise Adams

Spicy pan fried ramen and passion fruit smoothie with mango stars from Bubble Maineia is a solid favorite meal. The staff is friendly, the menu diverse, and the bubbles so fun.

Jordyn Curley

you have to wait a bit for food, but it's delicious, the bubble tea is not the best though, very watery.

amanda gil

Great food good prices

Denise Libby

Great food!

Chelsea Stephens

Favorite place for pork buns

jean justino

Fast, quick cheap and tasty! The right choice for a quick meal on a budget. It’s attached to a nice coffee place so you can grab a cappuccino afterwards

griffin gribbel

I love this place. They make the best steamed buns in Portland and they serve them with a special kind of hot sauce that they make in house. It's the best sauce going! When you go here you're going to want to order at least three steamed buns because one is never enough. Also, their beef wonton noodle bowls are outstanding as well. You can't go wrong here.

Sam Parker

Pork buns. $2 a piece, perfect snack or need a pick me up. Could easily get many more dollars a piece.

Ada Wilkinson

Amazing wonton noodle soup and black tea

Íris Björk Óskarsdóttir

Dropped in there with my husband looking for lunch. As we were starving we were sold by the writing on the windows that said "noodles" "steamed buns" and "bubble tea". We had the spicy beef noodle soup that was delicious, just the right amount of heat. Spicy fried ramen that was really good. Had some fried pork dumplings and a selection of steamed buns. Great flavour and good prices. Minimal service but who cares when you're hungry and the food is good.

joeindalecio

Came from Guam and my wife and I absolutely love Bubble Tea. We came here specifying for that and in my opinion, it’s not so good. They might just make it differently here, but if you don’t like watery Bubbly Tea, then maybe consider trying a different place out. The food was fine I guess but it was small for the portioning. Aside from my criticism, the service was good.

Black Kitten

Pretty good tea, quick.

Derek Viger

Delicious Taiwanese food.

grashopp k

The customer service it's terrible here. I thanked multiple employees and none of them responded let alone smiled or acknowledged me. It's a wonder they've been in business this long. If you want quality bubble tea served with a smile then go to Dobra Tea on Exchange Street. To top it off, i just found a bone in my chicken steam bun!!

Izzy Diamond

Tofu Curry is incredible. Often busy and takes them time to prepare food but it's always worth the wait

J HM

I've never been to Taiwan or wherever but the food seemed very authentic. I got some curry noodle thing. The noodles tasted very good, maybe homemade. The chicken was a little dry. The curry was one dimensional but tasted like a Japanese curry should. I got taro bubble tea which was very good in both the flavor and the consistency of the bubbles. I want to go back and try more things.

gabby rose

Loved the taro milk tea and honeydew milkshake

Joseph Kuzma

Great food, great tea, great service. Also, there are several vegan/vegetarian options on the menu so everyone in your entourage is likely to find something they like.

Mark N

Really good bubble tea with nice dense bubbles. Hot flavorful wonton soup. Loved it!!

Sean McFeely

The flood and bubble drinks are really good.

Keith Brown

Their food is super good and you get a great amount for the price. Easy to miss but totally worth looking for it.

Dio

Very good food and drinks

Rachel Cormier

Love it here! The staff is awesome and the food is amazing! Minced pork over rice is life!

Gabriel Cutter

Best boba ever! Pork and chicken steamed buns were delicious and equal in high quality and deliciousness to the pan fried pork dumplings. Awesome overall and I wish there was one of these restaurants back home!

Dilys Goh

Had the curry chicken rice which was so so. The honeymilk tea is just green coloured water. I told the staff that it taste nothing like milk. She said there's no milk. I asked why is it called a milk tea then? She said that's just the way it is and proceed to tell me that it's imported from Taiwan the way it it. Unfortunately for her, I used to live in Taiwan and I told her that milk tea in Taiwan doesn't taste like that. She said there's nothing she can do. Better off spending the money at MacDonald's.

Colin Martin

Pork buns 4 life dude

Lyndsay Fuller

Wonderful Bubble Tea and Pork Buns.

Cindi Bonet

Love their Spicy pan fried ramen

Rob Sharkey

Great bubble tea. We try to stop in whenever we are nearby.

Calvin Smith

Bubblicious... Coconut milkshake, mmmmmm

Lucy Rich

I called to ask the price of boba, the rat had the audacity to tell me there was different sizes in a rude way I was done I hung up and said bye poo that’s on PERIOD

Andrew Elegante

Great buns! I've been craving them and my eyes lit up when I saw them on the menu. Inexpensive and filling

Don E

A Bubble Tea is a must need when you're walking around Portland.

Sophie Howe

Just had an encounter with a terribly rude staff member who yelled at me in regards to the bathroom code. I would never return here again if it weren't for the good food. I'm with a friend who has been here many times and says every time the employees are rude and unfriendly. The staff next door at bagel works were much kinder. Very upset about my visit.

Stella Bean

Their bubble tea is amazing. I go there nearly everyday & I love it!

julian Butler

Bubble tea is always fun!!

spencer critchfield

Cheap food and bubble teas!

Jon Wu

First boba place I've found in Portland. Ordered the Jasmine green bubble tea, they use non dairy creamer. Tea was alright but the boba was a little undercooked. Some were really tough.

Nick Alvarez

I've been there three times and each time was spoken to very rudely. I can't say enough about how horrible the service was. The prices are also a bit high for the portion size and quality

Nathan Lilly

Amazing, lived in Okinawa for a few years, this place is as close as it gets to authentic. I will return frequently!

Angelica Castro Andrade

Nice open space and food was insanely delicious. Quick service and friendly staff!

Sophia Alexandria McLeod

Delicious and prompt

Raven Griffin

Affordable, authentic food.

justin caputo

Yeah just shut up and go, steam buns rock and they are under 2 bucks.

Danielle F.

Great place for bubble tea. Lots of flavors including taro. I wish they had red bean, but the variety is still good. They use square, so receipts can be emailed, which is very convenient. The bathrooms are shared with the bagel place next door, and you need to make a purchase to get the passcode.

Jackie Kang

Bubble tea was good enough considering it's a rarity out here in Maine. However, there aren't many flavors, the option to choose sweetness, nor how much ice you would like. The environment was cozy enough, prices were cheap enough for the food, and service was nice. At the base, its bubble tea was 3/5 but the place as a whole makes up for it.

Sarah Baja

I tried the taro bubble tea. It was ok. It was chalky and just tasted like sugar. Boba balls were soft but not sweet at all. If you’ve had good bubble tea before - you’d know this place wasn’t good after one sip. Also be aware that yelp and google both say that they close at 9:30 on Saturdays. Their hand written hour sign on their door says they actually close at 8. Please update your hours online.

Jessica Bulley

Loved the buns, loved the tea, loved the tofu curry noodles. Very vegetarian friendly.

DeeJay DeEnay

some of the food here is awesome for the price, just have to know what to look for, not a fan of bubble teas but their vanilla green tea chai was amazing

Becca Task

Spicy pan fried noodle dish is so good!

Ross Faye

Great buns, bubble tea, and dumplings.

Diyanah Bani Hani

When my husband and i travel to bigger cities, we always look for good boba places. This place makes a GREAT taro smoothie, it's a must

Angel Simoneau

Been going here for years. Their steam buns and bubble teas are fantastic and I love the curry chicken over rice. My only hope is that they bring back Shaved Ice for Summer.

Wesley Skop

Great bubble tea options. Very good cheap eats as well.

Bub Bradford

I absolutely love bubble tea, so I may be biased, but my my experience here was delightful. The service was fast, and the tea was great, and I would definitely go there again.

Richard OBrien

Food was fast and delicious, and prices were very reasonable.

Liam Mccabe

Great smothies, and to my knowledge they're the cheapest in Portland, but do not taste as such

Tak M

Drinks are really sugary. Can't comment on the food.

Autum Hodge

Love it!!! Nothing bad to say. Great food and drink amazing service and atmosphere

Ryan Dubay

Bubble tea is great here!!! The rest... Is ho hum... but come for the tea!!

Lee D

1st time in Portland, visiting for the day. Searched for Bubble Tea and found this place. Extremely excited to find such a place with so much Taiwan style food in Portland. Happy to see many of the dishes I used to have while in Taiwan! Bubble Tea is fantastic!

Sean Cook

Good food, lots of choices, BUBBLE TEA! Not many places to get bubble tea around here but this place serves good bubble tea in like 4 or 5 flavors if I recall correctly. I went with a group and my meal was mediocre. But everyone else I went with their food was both delicious and looked really pretty presentation wise. So I guess just think about what youre getting before you order.

Stephen Salstead

Great place!

mr mr

Check out those steambuns!

G Whitis Wing

Drink menu is hard to beat. Awesome, delicious choices. Curry bowl is a favorite.

Shoebopadoo

A super cute shop in downtown Portland they sells great dumplings and yummy authentic bubble tea!!!

Sonny Mullins

Great curry

Vin Conti

Incredibly poor quality bubble tea

Kaitlin Mosher

One of the best places for bubble teas.

Frank

This is a comment based on three personal visits. The only thing I would recommend is the Bubble Tea. I have to say it's a very disappointing place. The price is much higher than it should be. To my surprise, so many visitors still love this place. If you have ever tried the real Taiwanese food, and compared the quality and price, I bet most of you will change your mind. No such bad taste food could be found in Taiwan!

Sincere Jamaica

Bubble tea is so fun and imaginative. Such a treat to come here. Their daily specials are something to consider. I like the spicy pan fried Ramen!

Aidan Gordon

Good location

Christopher Emery

Don't bother trying to call ahead to place an order. They do not answer their phone. Two days in a row and never spoke to a soul.

Deighton Lewis

Great bubble tea and steam buns. Very reasonably priced as well

Sabastion Simmons

Had curry chicken lo mein was very good definitely will be back again soon

William Higgins

Drinks and food suck..

cody ballweber

Great selections and reasonably priced

Alaude Vongola

Awesome place; delicious food, kind service, good prices. The bubble tea is perfection and the steamed buns are a great choice for good food at an affordable price. They're my favorite place to eat in Portland and allow me a meal even with a college student's budget. Seriously give this place your business, you'll definitly enjoy it. I recommend the steamed pork buns and a thai bubble tea, it's a personal favorite

Ivan Marrinson

cute! I love the meat buns. Shove two of those buns in my mouth every day if I could!!!

Kristopher Kleva

The bubble is good