Tea Palace - CLOSED

stantoncarlisle

Awesome place for Tea-Aholics 20th November 2008

1 found this helpful

Don't be fooled by the refined tasteful purple front, the freshly pressed table-clothes or the traditional look of the waiters. This a place of total, absolute indulgence - for any Tea Connoisseurs, that is. The prices are almost as high as the quality. Some of the Japanese Green teas trot out at over £10 a pot. There are some awesome Green Teas here - the White Monkey is subtle and excellent. Cheaper but robust and uplifting is the Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong Tea - great taste, buzzy and fat-burning. Refined tea drinkers on a quest for the adventurous might enjoy the fruity but nifty White Snowbuds. The cakes are all homemade looking and I've seen Sloaney types munching their way through a two-tiered cake trays of them. The cafe has the feel of an old-fashioned english tea-shop, like the kind you'd read about in Somerset Maugham. Who-ever put this place together is a tea addict/fanatic with a discerning taste. The tea menu is amazing and wide-ranging. The overall quality of the brews is fabulously high - they follow rigorous Oriental methods. On the whole its pricey but well worth it.

cpque1

An alternative tea place 7th October 2007

2 found this helpful

Surprisingly this neat little joint tucked away in the streets of notting hill really lived up to its reputation. The place was deceivingly quiet when we walked in on a weekday for lunch (perhaps because it was near the peaceful zone of surburbia) but people slowly trickled in afterwards. Slightly clinical in approach, but I could only imagine it was intended that way. Tea is their pride and joy hence the ultra preened image to emphasize its place on a pedestal. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food served, given how much attention, talk and menu space is devoted to tea. Lunch was a platter of very clean and crisp flavours (surprisingly rare), perhaps brought out by the clearness in quality of the tea? and the prices were fairly reasonable for lunch. Also expect full stories and histories of tea, and an array of tea flavours you never knew existed, but regardless, tea palace is a delightful find, perfect for weekend brunches with the ladies.