Cafes
One Hour
One Hour probably has the best seating of any downtown restaurant or café. So simple, yet so often overlooked; the bean bag chair. I thought they were long retired since going 'out' back in middle school, but alas, they remain in numbers on Spadina just south of College.
One Hour is a new tea house in Chinatown perfectly suited for marathon study sessions. Those days, thankfully, are behind me, yet I can still feel the pangs of soreness in my lower back (and head) when I think of the hours spent in straight-back chairs during exam time. One Hour, owner Han Shao tells me, was designed with students in mind, with both high bar seating and low communal tables with bean bags waiting for recipients at either side.
White walls and pale wood carry the brightness from the front window along the length of the space, creating an open, airy atmosphere with lots of room to stretch out. Han leads me past the bar to the back area, which is stocked with its own collection of tables and bean bag chairs. "We will be using this space for special events, parties," Han says.
Originally from China, Han came to Toronto with the intention of studying and working in architecture, but he soon abandoned those plans in favour of opening up this shop with a designer friend. "One hour," he says, "that's all it takes to change your day. If you spend one hour here, we want it to be the best hour of your day."
Just opened one month, Han is still working out the kinks in his menu, but he tells me One Hour will offer a combination of light fare--snacks, desserts, noodle soups--as well as a variety of traditional Chinese teas. I sip an iced mango green ($3.99), which is cool and refreshing with lots of flavour and slight floral undertones, as I browse some of the other menu offerings.
Tea ($3.99/s, $4.99/lg) is available in endless options including cold or hot, green or black, and classic or slush (+$1.00), and in flavours such as Taro, Almond, Red Bean, and White Gourd. The savoury food options at the moment are limited to homemade beef noodle soup ($4.99/$5.99) and a couple other options, though Han says the kitchen is working on a decadent cheesecake.
Again with students in mind, One Hour is open every day from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., and WiFi free and available. Of course, they had me at the bean bags.
Photos by Jesse Milns
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I would love to check this place out. The iced mango looks yummy!
$4 for a bubble tea is totally the market price not overpriced at all, if you cant accept it, you are free to go somewhere else, i got to David's Tea a lot and their plain brewed tea goes almost to $3. And also keep in mind the big space they offer and unlimited time u can spend there using their internet, electricity, washroom. Unless you want them to start using cheap gross materials for the product then stop complaining or provide them a cheap source so they can lower the price.
I've been here many times and the bubble tea is usually very good. Teashop 168 is fine, but the quality is not consistent. The prices at One Hour are comparable to other bubble tea places in Toronto (168, TenRen's, Chatime, etc.), except with that price you ALSO get the luxury of chilling in a beautiful space with free Internet for pretty much as long as you want.
If I want just the cheapest, best value bubble tea I can get, I'll stop by a 168 and be on my way, but when I'm at One Hour I'm there for the good drinks AND the space itself.
It is blatantly obvious that some are comments posted by the owners/employees so the posters above have a valid point.
Also your point about the prices being comparable to the other bubble tea joints (ie. 168, TenRen's, Chatime) are fairly inaccurate as you guys charge more. I would also argue that the quality is not comparable to places like TenRen and especially Chatime. A valid comparison of quality would be 168 based on the powdery texture of your drinks but that is no way a compliment....
Most BBT places now all have free internet and seating so your argument for charging higher prices is also not valid.
2. The staff are ok...service was a little bit slow. My drink was lukewarm, i ordered a "hot" milk tea. By the first few sips, it had cooled down a lot. I think this is something easily fixable though!
3. The staff was polite. I was just a little bit annoyed when one employee decided to go clean his mop and the bathroom at the back of the store... a little bit unsightly. I would prefer if they had a temporary divider to separate the bathroom from the seating area during bathroom maintenance and take it down (Especially since there are people seated right beside/in front of the bathroom entrance!)
4. The prices are decent!...they are offering free wifi, a great atmosphere, and service at your table...I would say prices are comparable to starbucks.
5. Great music selection!
Overall, I would come back, but it's not a place I would often visit.