Sorate

"It’s time to drink tea, wear sweaters, and dodge viruses, and there seems like no better place to do so than Sorate, a Japanese teahouse with Italian influences in Soho. At this tiny, earth-toned spot on Sullivan Street, you can drink genmaicha at a counter, and eat a lunch box that might include prosciutto and black sesame tofu." - Will Hartman, Willa Moore

"Sorate serves quality matcha and a handful of other teas like gyokuro (an umami-rich green tea) in a tiny, serene setting in Soho. It’s the brick-and-mortar counterpart of owner Silvia Mella’s online shop. All the tea is sourced from a generations-old farm of sencha tea creator, Nagatani Soenon, in Uji, Kyoto. The matcha here comes with options: warm and hand-stirred in front of you; iced; latte; and sparkling. A limited food menu includes six kinds of miso soups (like fried tofu skin and dried scallion) from Miso Maru, and wagashi pastries (like black sesame mochi macarons and yuzu pound cake) from Patisserie Fouet. Tea master Keiko Kitazawa, who had mentored Mella, hosts a traditional Japanese tea ceremony occasionally." - Caroline Shin