Restaurant Review: Samovar Tea Lounge

By Eliza Sarasohn

December 07, 2009 at 3:29 PM

At its three locations around the city, Samovar Tea Lounge has mastered what many restaurants aspire to but which few achieve. More than just a business, it’s a lifestyle. Denizens here aren’t just cooks, waiters, baristas, and regulars — they’re “Ambassadors” on a “mission to create peace through tea.”

Samovar’s approach involves sourcing small batch, organic teas at fair trade prices from artisan family farmers, educating the public on the benefits of tea, and promoting traditional tea culture through the restaurants, events, and extensive Web site, Samovarlife.com. While the globally-inspired menu offers choices from dinner to brunch, small plates to dessert, the star is the tea, which Samovar implores you “sip slowly, filling you with calm and vitality.”

This overriding philosophy can sometimes render Samovar an ill-advised choice for the impatient or time-challenged diner. But for those with occasion to linger, there’s perhaps no better spot in the city.

On the Menu

Owner

Jesse Jacobs, Diehard Devo-tea

Harried dot-commer turned blissed-out tea evangelist, Samovar founder Jesse Jacobs is a living, Ommm-ing example of the brew’s calming, centering benefits. He shares his enthusiasm via regular tea salons and tastings, and on the highly informative Samovar Web site.

Ambiance and Decor

Now and Zen

Visiting Samovar for the first time, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into a spa or perhaps a temple, complete with devoted aspirants in black scurrying back and forth among the Zen statuettes, bamboo, and burbling fountains.

Yerba Buena Location

Antidote to Urban Overload

Samovar’s eco-centric, Asian-influenced design is perhaps most dramatically showcased against the hectic hustle bustle surrounding its Yerba Buena location. Smack dab in the heart of the city’s financial and hotel districts, Samovar Yerba Buena would make for an elegant business lunch or romantic break from sight seeing.

Beverage

Samovar Masala Chai Tea

Contrary to Starbucks, true Chai tea is not a cloying mix that comes straight from a box or powder. Samovar reinstates this ancient tradition by slow brewing Masala Chai, a creamy, spicy infusion with just the right hint of sugar.

Beverage

Samovar Russian Blend Tea

According to Samovar’s menu, Tolstoy fueled his creativity by drinking Russian tea from the samovar, the traditional tea dispenser from which the lounge takes its name. Samovar stews its smoky, rich Russian-blend in a shiny samovar in the center of the dining room, where guests are welcome to help themselves to bottomless refills.

Appetizer

Squash Dumplings With Dipping Sauce

The sweet squash plumping these handmade dumplings is perfectly offset by a salty sesame soy sauce that packs a zingy hit of heat. The dish accompanies the Chinese Duck or Veggie Stir-Fry or can be ordered alone as a small plate.

Entree

Moorish Platter With Halloumi Cheese & Veggie Kebabs, Mint Salad, Dolmas, Chevre-Stuffed Dates, Mint Tea

As the menu beckons, “dismount your camel, unroll your rug, start the fire, and chill out beneath the starry desert night.” Samovar bases its Moorish tea service on the traditions of North Africa’s nomadic Berber tribes, complete with a pot of mint tea blended with cardamom, peppermint, ginger, green tea leaves, and black pepper, and sweetened to your taste.

Entree

Japanese Maki Bowl (Tofu or Salmon), Soup, and Ryokucha Brown Rice Tea

A hearty sampling of clean Japanese flavors, the Maki Bowl pairs wakame seaweed salad with sesame-miso dressing, seasoned brown rice, steamed kale with ume marinade, toasted nori, and a soup blended from seasonal vegetables, accompanied by your choice of tofu or salmon. Paired with the cleansing Ryokucha Brown Rice Tea, the meal nourishes without weighing you down.

Entree

Ginger Quinoa Waffle

IHOP-enthusiasts might waffle over whether or not this healthy interpretation meets their definition of the butter-bombed Belgian classic. But for those seeking a lighter spin on an old favorite, Samovar’s Ginger Quinoa Waffle, available before 3 pm, is a satisfyingly spongy, robustly nutty, nutritious indulgence.

Dessert

Fudge Matcha Brownie With Green Tea Mousse

For those seeking a mid morning or late afternoon hit of something sweet, Samovar obliges with a selection of inventive tea-inspired treats, like the Fudge Matcha Brownie with Green Tea Mousse. While the dainty brownies are more fudge-y than Matcha, there’s no mistaking that vegetal tang in the tea-whipped mousse, which sports a shade as authentically green as the leaves from whence it came.