Honeyberry

Decent shaved ice.

I still wouldn’t touch the boba served at Honeyberry, even if you gave me a 10ft pole to poke it with. However, they’ve recently started serving Taiwanese shaved snow. it’s the first of its kind here in Berkeley (unlike the multitude of boba places that have popped up), which makes me a little more forgiving. If you’re craving a cold dessert that’s not ice cream or frozen yogurt, the creamy layers of Taiwanese shaved snow hits the spot. There’s seven different flavors: mango, pineapple, green tea, strawberry, milk, chocolate, and taro. My favorite one so far has been the mango, but I wish it was made even creamier!

Milk teas, smoothies, gelato, shaved ice, and other desserts that make this place quite a treat for many. They even have freshly brewed tea!
We came in with the intention of getting shaved ice and that’s exactly what we got. Their alternative options were a bit distracting, but in a good way. I almost got one of their milk teas (black, jasmine, earl grey…) considering not a lot of other places offer the variety they had, but in the end I did manage to hold back and stick to the plan. The Mango Shaved ice was okay. None of the ingredients stuck out in particular. Too tangy for my taste. I’ve had better blends elsewhere.
I’m still looking forward to coming back to try their milk teas and/​or the smoothies. What the heck, while I’m there I might as well taste a bit of their gelato ~

Didn’t plan on coming here but we are suckers for shaved snow and boba drinks… which is exactly what the sign said outside.
But first I just want to address that they aren’t called HoneyBerry anymore… at least that’s not what the sign outside shows. It has a nice logo saying TASTE. But inside you can see HoneyBerry on the wall décor so you can tell the switch must have been recent. Plus it was nowhere to be found on Unilocal so I picked HoneyBerry…
We decided on shaved snow, a mango one to be exact. Topped with strawberries and mochi. The only highlight was the soft mochi. Otherwise, I’ve had better shaved snow in Sacramento.
Their drink menu intrigued me though. They offered many different types of tea for the milk tea. Usually it’ll just be black, green, or chai. They have 8 types here! I wish I ordered one of those instead of wasting stomach space & money on the shaved snow… If I’m ever in the area again, I’ll come try the Japanese roast milk tea!

This review is for the SNOW CUPS!
I have tried the majority of the flavors, the best two are definitely the green tea and the milky one (tastes like condensed milk!). The gelato on top of the green tea one is really good. I come here all the time with my boyfriend and we share one of the snow cups.
It’s basically shaved ice with really good flavoring, some fruit, lychee jelly, red bean, and ice cream. Sometimes there is cereal or a cookie on top, depending on what flavor you ordered. These are amazing desserts and they’re also really photogenic.
I like the environment of the store because it is never crowded and they have games that you can play while eating (like Connect Four).
I wish they weren’t always running out of the plain roti buns, though. I have always want to try one because they smell so good but whenever I come, they’re sold out of them. I have tried the cream cheese one but didn’t like it that much.
Overall
* Get one of the snow cups.
* Bring a friend to share it with.
* They have games you can play while waiting for your food!
* Come early in the day if you want a plain roti bun

Ok, I don’t think Honeyberry is amazingly awesome or anything even close.
However, I do enjoy their large selection of desserts and think their execution is good enough with so many hats to wear (dishes to make?).
A singular place where you can get your shaved ice, your boba, your roti buns, your waffles, ETC ETC. The list just keeps going. The place is also low-​key, opens relatively late and I’ve only had good service!
So– if that you’re in a need for that sugar high, run yourself over to Honeyberry, order way more than you could’ve eaten and then partake in the sugar high!
Enjoy!

This review is for the MILKY SNOW CUP and for their ORIGINAL HONEY BREAD.
First of all, YUM! It was my first time trying those two things and it did NOT disappoint. They have Happy hour deals from 2 – 7 pm Mon-​Fri, and we happened upon a $ 3 off Honeybread deal as a celebration of Fat Tuesday.
Their milky snow cup consisted of: shaved ice with condensed milk, red beans, strawberries, bananas, mochi, a cherry, and a chocolate wafer stick. (Somehow I feel like we were gypped of nata de coco (coconut jelly) atop it, because as I looked through Unilocal pictures, I saw ‘em, but didn’t see ‘em on ours! *angry face*
Nevertheless, still really yummy!
Their Honeybread though… you choose your flavor gelato and then depending on the kind you order (we ordered original), it came with whipped cream, some fruits, drizzled with honey and chocolate syrup, along with a small scoop of gelato and a chocolate wafer stick. I gotta hand it to them, they make it really well and the bread is nice and chewy and warm… droolz, I could probably finish a whole (if not a half) by myself!
Anyways, their Happy Hour deals:
Mon– Buy 1 drink (Milk/​Fresh tea), get one free
Tues– $ 3 off any Honeybread
Wed– Single scoop Waffle Gelato $ 4.95
Thurs– Buy 2 roti buns, get 1 free!
Try it for yourself! I’ll definitely be back to try their other varieties as well as their waffle gelato! (I’ve tried the roti bun before too, but it’s been a while since I had it, so I can’t vouch for it at the moment… I will update this though!)

If you don’t have a mouth full of sweet teeth, stay away. This place is your one-​stop shop for all that is sweet and carby.
Froyo? Check. Gelato? Check. Boba bar? Double check. Waffles? Uh-​huh. Famous ROTI BUNS? This is the place. They even have tiramisu. And did I mention patbingsoo? Now that Espresso Experience is gone this is the only place you can get your Korean shaved ice fix in Berkeley.
Wait. What is a roti bun? I guess the closest thing I can liken it to is a Chinese pineapple bun, but airier and crispier with a coffee glaze on top. Great with or without filling. If you haven’t had either, go visit an Asian bakery. And they’ve taken a leaf from CREAM’s book and have started to make roti bun sandwiches with gelato for filling. Usually they’ll heat these up for you when you order so you get the full-​baked goodness.
The staff are pretty patient and pleasant, but for the most part leave you alone when you’re not ordering. The tables and benches make for a nice place to bask in the perfume that is the scent of baking roti buns while chatting with a friend (or scarfing down your food alone — no shame!). Having only tried their roti buns, gelato, and coffee (shaved ice at a different location) I won’t pass too much judgment, but it seems their fare is pretty standard for a sweets shop. Nothing blew my senses away but it’s enough to satisfy whatever cravings you might have.
$ 0.50 is added to your bill if you use card unless you hit the $ 5 mark. And they also have Happy Hour specials for every day of the week!

This review is for the milk tea section of Honeyberry.
I’ll give Honeyberry two stars because 1) the service here is excellent, and 2) it’s cool that you can choose and fill your own toppings for the milk tea.
That being said, don’t order the milk tea here! I had 2 – 3 types of milk tea here on a few separate occasions and thought it to be below average each time. Each flavor is premade in pitchers. I thought they tasted somewhat powdery and were also too sweet. You can find much better (and cheaper!) milk tea just around the corner, so don’t cheat yourself!
The reviews for their snow cups look excellent though, so I may come back and try those another time.

Cost: $ 19 total for a roti, 2 large desserts, and a large bubble tea.
No at 6pm on a Saturday (except for a fresh roti). The guy at the counter was super friendly.
* Chocolate butter roti — 3.5 stars
pic:
cross-​section:
I like the thick, slightly crisped layer on top. The inside was super soft and fluffy. Good but not amazing. I wish there was more filling. The «chocolate» seems to be a few tiny chocolate chips on top.
* Waffle sundae — 3 stars
pic:
I tried a bite of my friend’s. This seems like an overly dramatically presented dessert, with most of the volume coming from the immense amount of whipped cream and almost too much chocolate syrup all over. The strawberry definitely wasn’t ripe enough; too hard and sour. The waffle seemed a little hard. Good — you’ll get what you want if that’s ice cream and a waffle — but not amazing.
* Green tea snow — 4 stars
pic:
This reminded me of all those great dessert places in China! The green tea’s flavor had a good balance of bitter and sweet. Once again — the strawberries, not quite ripe! But all the components were there for that great Asian dessert, especially the red bean. The ice cream just melted a little too fast!
* Chai bubble tea (large) — 4 stars
pic:
The self-​serve boba/​aloe/​etc section was awesome, though my bf went a little crazy with it. The boba were soft and fresh. The chai was great and he really enjoyed it.

WARNING: Cash only unless you’re spending more that $ 5.
This review is only for their Roti Buns and Snow Cups!
First of all, I don’t know why anyone in their right mind would come here for a milk tea fix when there’s other places such as Sweethearts, Shengkee, and Moccacino. This place is definitely for the Snow cups and roti buns!
Honeyberry is a really small place, with 3 – 4 tables. The staff who work here are extremely friendly and nice (they’re usually college students too). (I think the boss actually owns Tako Sushi too).
The Roti buns are baked fresh every 15 minutes, and they will reheat it just for you. They’re extremely soft and moist! Think of biting into really really fluffy bread with a thin cookie top. Both the chocolate and the Cream Cheese Yogurt Chip have filling in the inside, making them pretty sweet. I personally really like the Regular Roti Bun, which doesn’t have the filling.
The Snow Ice/​Snow Cup is pretty standard. It’s basically shaved ice that has been mixed with condensed milk before freezing. Compared to other Snow Ice’s I’ve had (Class 302, Snowflake), this is nothing special. The price can also be pretty expensive for the portion size (~$ 6). HOWEVER, remember this is the ONLY place near UC Berkeley with Snow Ice, so even if it’s pretty average, this will be the place to go to if you want some good snow ice.

I think the concept of self-​serve toppings for boba is really cool because some people want a variety of different jellies and types of tapioca. That being said, the price is too high for the cup size and their roti buns are very bland.
Also I guess I’m confused as to what to classify this place as, since they sell boba, frozen yogurt, gelato, pastries and probably a million other things. I’m just really confused…

— good for its boba buffet
— haven’t been back in a month or two since it opened, but when i went there was only milk tea, and they didnt have like a tea only option — although i believe that has changed now?
— their green milk tea is still pretty yuuuuummmy though
— ROTI BUNS!!!
— i’ve tried their banana split, but apparently their backroom is really hot, and our whipped cream melted by the time it got to us. ew melty whip cream.
— ROTI BUNS!!!
— their gelato selection is okay. nothing too spectacular.
— ROTI BUNS!!!
— minimum charge for cards — so beware!

Ambiance: Even though most Berkeley boba places have janky and claustrophobic seating, this place has comfortable and clean seats and tables. It still doesn’t have that much seating but at least it’s more spread out.
Food: My boyfriend and I ordered the shaved snow and I also ordered the chai milk tea. Both were really good, and the presentation of the shaved snow was really pretty. For the milk tea, you basically pay a set price for it and then you get to choose however many/​much toppings you want in it, which is kind of fun. The shaved snow was soft, flavorful, and not too sweet. I will definitely be coming here again.
UPDATE: I came here for the second time a few weeks ago and the boba (the actual pearls) was way undercooked and inside they were still chunky and hard. I had to spit them out. So now I have to reduce the rating to 3 stars. :(
Service: The staff was really nice and cheerful. The place is very clean and the food came out pretty fast.

ROTI BUNNNNNZZZZZ.
So yummy! I don’t go to UCB, but I am from Santa Clara, and in SC, there are so many Honeyberrys! Roti buns are everywhere. If you go, you MUST have the roti bun with the chocolate cream inside. It’s the better one! I haven’t tried the yogurt one yet, but those are good. It’s like a warm fluffy goodness that melts in your mouth.
Honeyberry PMT’s aren’t very good usually. I’d rather settle for better somewhere else. But roti buns, roti buns, roti buns! So much noms in one bite. :)

First of all I would like to thank Matt Gs review, I would never been informed Honeyberry made its way to the East Bay. Based on all the hype its true, yummy delicious desserts. I was kind of disappointed that their menu was not the same as San Mateo’s, but I’m hoping as time situates itself they will add more.
Honeyberry in Berkeley offers, Boba, distinctive Roti Bun’s, unique deserts, froyo, banana splits, snow cups, and gelato ice cream. With a few options I wanted them all but truly wanted their waffle w/​green tea & hazelnut gelato which they didn’t have, only in San Mateo =(
I ended up with a plain fresh warm Roti and a milky snow cup. The Roti bun was exceptionally delicious. Very light, and melts in your mouth. I could of ordered a dozen but I’m really trying to maintain my figure HAAHAH (not today that is) Milky snow cup-​very thin shaved ice like powder, filled with red bean, strawberries, bananas, mochi, and coconut sport aka macapuno. Being Filipino it really was HALO-​HALO but the shaved ice was so thin and honeyberry’s version tasted better. Serving was huge! can feed 3 people, if you asked me. Robust flavors and a satisfied customer, what more can I want?
Can’t wait to go back!

Fro-​yo girl here. Honeyberry locations keep opening and the quality of their fro-​yo keeps getting worse (they should stop serving it). The newest location replaces Tutti Frutti (TF had better fro-​yo). In addition to self-​serve fro-​yo, they have snow cups, gelato, roti buns, milk tea, coffee, iced coffee drinks, and smoothies. There are two self-​serve toppings bars, one for fro-​yo and one for milk tea, but they don’t mind if you put milk tea add ins (jellies and tapioca pearls) on your fro-​yo.
There have 4 flavors of self-​serve fro-​yo and soft serve ice cream and a small toppings bar (mochi, fruit, cereal, candy, cookies, nuts, syrups) for 33 cents an ounce. I spotted some sample cups on top of the gelato case.
Fro-​yo flavors of the day:
* Plain tart
: The texture was way too stiff and icy. The flavor was very sweet for a tart flavor, it also had an aftertaste that reminded me of artificial sweetener, should be creamier and tangier
* Lychee tart: too icy and sweet, wasn’t tangy enough
* Oreo soft serve
* Chocolate soft serve
The pictures of the fruit on the wall reminded me of Tutti Frutti but the color scheme is now light purple and white. They do have a limited amount of seating but all the tables were taken. They don’t validate parking.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-​yo girl.

Yay, more Honeyberrys! It’s like they’re following me around, from the San Mateo location that just opened a few months ago, to this new Berkeley shop that now tempts me daily! This location is a bit smaller than the one in Downtown San Mateo, as there are only 4 – 5 tables, and it also doesn’t have as extensive of a menu. However, all you need are the roti buns and snow cups! What’s different though is they offer froyo here for $ 0.33/oz, but I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t really say much about it. There are the standard toppings along the counter and different jellies for the fill-​your-​own boba drinks.
Also, there is a grand opening special that gets you boba plus a roti bun for $ 3.50!
What we ordered:
— Milky snow cup ($ 5.95): red bean, strawberry, banana, lychee jelly, mochi, condensed milk
— Plain roti bun ($ 1.50)
I noticed that the pricing varies across locations, as the snow cup at the San Mateo store costs $ 7.95 and the plain roti bun is $ 1.65, so yay for cheaper college student prices! Although, I think the snow cup here is a little smaller since it is served in a paper froyo container instead of a real bowl, so you get what you pay for. It’s the perfect amount for two people to share though! The «snow» was soft and fluffy and the toppings were delicious!
The freshly baked roti bun was amazing as well! Super flaky, delicate, and sooo yummy! They’re so light that you don’t feel too guilty eating them!
TIP: $ 5 card minimum or else it’s a $ 0.50 charge!

Honeyberry squeezes less froyo and more other dessert options in this compact space.
music: rock
menu: milk tea, blended and ice coffee, coffees, gelato, snow cups, froyo, desserts, roli buns, smoothies, etc.
froyo availability
–plain
–lychee
–oreo
–chocolate
3iish stars, froyo very firm.
pricing: self serve, .33 cents@ounce froyo and toppings, 15 dry and wet toppings. (candies, fruits, jellies, crumbled cookies, mochi?)
frodrips:
–wellspring froyo dispensing machine
-«green life“customized laminated cups
–froyo firm texture, not soft, on the edge of iciness, faithly balanced flavors, not ovely sugared. froyo rating 3ish.
–wacky wabbit wating: 5 stars, mikey is definitely pro-​choice, bigamy a possibility
in this shop. .
–grand opening special: roli bun & boba, 3.99? not sure. couldn’t understand the sign.
–lots of choices, some qualtitiy questionable, leaving at 3 stars.

On a rainy Easter Sunday, I just stumbled along Telegraph Ave to see a bunch of balloons and a grand opening banner to the ninth Honey Berry location in the Bay Area. This is the first in the East Bay, with the other eight locations are located in the peninsula and San Jose area.
I have only been to the San Mateo location. The new location is much smaller than the downtown San Mateo location. But the new location has frozen yogurt. At $.33 an ounce, you get a choice of four different and rotating flavors; Plain, Lychee, chocolate and Oreo. The topping bar is small too; not too much of a variety. The nonfat plain tasted sweet and creamy. The Oreo flavor has a nice chocolaty taste too. My frozen yogurt:
This location also offers the famous Roti bun too. I got the Chocolate and Peanut Butter flavor for $ 3.00. I am not sure how much of the Roti buns are sold here and University of Cal Berkeley is located blocks away with a large population of Asians in the sector. I am sure the new East Bay location will be fine. The Roti bun tasted okay. My roti bun:
The new shop also offer blended drinks and gelatos as well.
I think more Honey Berry locations are an up & coming franchise and still expanding. Somewhere we will maybe find one in San Francisco.