“This restaurant isn’t just about selling food and booze – it’s about selling the memories,” Joe Deng, co-founder of the newly opened Limoo Tea Bar, tells me over a glass of spiked bubble tea.

And with the restaurant’s glowing LED-light-filled atmosphere and tasty new-age fusion menu, we’d venture to say this new Allston hot spot is doing just that.

Deng, who also owns LimeRed Teahouse in Amherst, explains that he and his partners, Reza Rahmani (owner of Lit Nightclub and Moti) and Raymond Lee (co-owner of LimeRed Teahouse), built their new restaurant concept with “connections” in mind.

“We tried to build that into our concept, encouraging more sharing than what is traditionally expected from people,” Deng tells us. “We paired the Asian communal tradition of pouring tea or sake with friends with the awesome sharing nature of small tapas and dim sum.”

The concept of a nontraditional tea bar, offering everything from bubble tea cocktails to reinvented “street food,” became a reality as a result of these three local restaurateurs’ mutual love of alcoholic bubble tea.

Deng explains:

To be honest, the idea for Limoo Tea Bar came from a quest for something more. I originally mixed the alcohol with my bubble tea for the sake of taste. It just tasted better than the cranberry vodka I had been drinking all my life. I then discovered that my tea hid the taste of alcohol very well … it toned it down to a drinkable, sip-able drink. My friends loved it, Reza at Lit loved it.

And with that, spiked bubble tea (pictured below) was born.

Trust me, folks – it’s just as tasty as it looks. While visiting Limoo, I tried their Strawberry Green Tea Vodka cocktail and their Watermelon drink mixed with Soju, a Korean spirit. In one spiked bubble tea carafe, Deng tells me there are two shots. But, I can attest that you’ll hardly be able to taste the alcohol.

“That’s what differentiates us from other bars in Boston – we put the taste into drinking,” Deng explains. “We’ve reinvented the whole experience from a drinking culture that just ‘downs it’ to feel something to one where you would enjoy the ride, not just the destination. We think that’s a big deal.”

And while there are plenty of places to find tasty craft cocktails in the Hub, you won’t find cocktail bubble teas like these anywhere else.

As for the food, diners won’t be disappointed with Limoo Tea Bar’s fare either.

Co-founder Rahmani, who also helms the kitchen at Limoo, developed Limoo’s unique new age fusion menu. The burger isn’t your average burger. Served in a steamed bao bun and topped with a fried egg, it’s upgraded street food at its best. And it’s one of Deng’s favorite dishes on the menu – along with the The Gulf Dog, “a refined version of the Middle Eastern street food classic,” he adds.

“Limoo founders are obsessed with street food, but street food is often unhealthy; although it usually tastes amazing, it lacks in quality,” Deng tells us over a plate of steak shawarma. “We use better cuts than most for our meats. We use real fruit for our drinks.”

In addition to the set menu, which diners order from the counter, hungry patrons can also access a “secret menu” at Limoo Tea Bar by simply liking the restaurant’s Facebook page.

But whatever you eat or drink at Limoo, it’s sure to be different than the typical Asian, Mediterranean or Persian fare you find at other restaurants.

“Food tells a story, and I definitely think our food tells something unique,” Deng adds.

All images via author