Samovar Tea Lounge

Love the tea, the food and the ambiance. They offer an excellent British afternoon tea, with scones, cream and jam. They have a wide variety of teas of course. This location has a small outdoor seating area and a really relaxed feel. It's the type of place where you go with a good book on a rainy afternoon and just sit and drink tea and read for hours.

Many of the teas are very high quality, but most things here are EXTREMELY overpriced. This was fine for a while, because the relaxing atmosphere totally makes up for it in value, and the food is superb. However, if you spend any amount of time as a regular at these stores you will start to recognize how the very nice people you get to know are treated like company assets rather than human beings with feelings and lives. Samovar's claims to "ethical" business are shaky at best, and I do not patronize this establishment anymore.

A great place to meet to have a good conversation. The food is also delicious ( highly recommend the jook and the egg bowl.) The tea is outrageously priced however, which is the only reason I docked a star. As a card-carrying Chinese person, paying ten bucks for a pot of tea is like throwing money out the front door while your ancestors watch in horror.

Ideal for someone who enjoys a cup of tea in a cozy environment. The tea selection is great here, and the service is wonderful. I ordered a pot of tea and read my book without feeling rushed. The ambiance is nice, with wonderful aromas and pillows all around.

The gluten free duck waffle and Greek yogurt is amazing. The selection is incredible and I love the cozy atmosphere. Plus the staff here is on point. When I'm in the city this my "to go" place for delicious food and tea.

I want to love Samovar, I really do. They offer a large selection of teas that are delicious, rare, fair trade, everything tea lovers would want. But you can't just pop in for a cup of tea to go; it's a long, drawn out affair with a $10 steeping pot that requires 4 people to drink. I realize this is a cultural event, and is likely meant to encourage us to slow down, but it's highly unpractical most of the time. The food is just so-so, though definitely worth trying the full "tea service" experience once. For all of my griping, I do love the 12-oz green matcha shake (which you can take to go), but at $8 it's a rare treat. On sunny days, the sidewalk tables are great for watching people walking down 18th Street on their way to a Dolores Park picnic.

On a nice day you can sit on the terrace and drink fancy tea with the city rising behind you and perhaps a little jazz drifting up from the park below... I'm no tea officianado but the blood orange tea was different and tastier than any tea I've had before. The squashed dumplings were kind of amazing, and the whole thing together makes this my new favourite place in SF though mainly because its so completely different to everything else in SF.

Small tea place, but way overpriced. $25 for tea service of a tiny teapot with no refills and mostly forgettable food and fruits. Decor is kind of cool, but not worth the price. If you do go here, use a Groupon or a Google Offer. I used a Google Offer for 20% off an order of $25 or more.