Tea Pavilion — Restaurant in San Diego

Went today to visit Balboa Park and found this place close to where we parked. The location was beautiful and serene. My kids loved the location and wanted a quick bite to eat. It was a cool morning, so a warm tea sounded great with food. After ordering our food, I discovered that a 3% surcharge was added; I was a bit upset but it was not a deal breaker at that point (it would have been great having the warning sign placed near the register...its off to the side). As I waited for my food, I noticed that they had two microwaves running at the same time. I was wondering if this was the food my family was going to receive. Sure enough, when my number was called, the food in the microwave was our food. The rice is steamed in big pressure cookers but the chicken (and probably other meats) are heated in the microwaves. The food tasted like bland cafeteria food with gloppy teriyaki sauce. My son was halfway through eating his bowl when he found a hair in it...this totally ruined his appetite. At this point, we just wanted to leave. To try and get rid of the after taste, we asked for a cup of water and were refused. I have never gone to a place and have been refused water. After spending $50 at this place, which was not worth it, I would not recommend going here. This money could have been spent at a better location...which there was a...

This was right next to the Japanese Garden in Balboa Park. We were cold so we decided to get tea. When we saw they had food we ordered as well since it was lunchtime. :)

They offer so many flavors of tea. I wish they have a big board listing their offerings. We didn't see the list until we were at the register ordering so we had to pick something quick. I read slow so I saw Cherry Sakura and just ordered it. My husband didn't even bother and just order Green Tea Latte lol. I would have ordered the green tea latte as well if it didn't already have dairy... They should offer non dairy options. Didn't have pics of the tea since they were in white cups hehehe

The food menu is small but was surprisingly good 😀

The Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl was good! Not super salty like most places.

Beef Curry Rice Bowl was good too. Tender pieces of beef.

Since there is no indoor space they have tables outside. Would have been fine any other time but we were in Cali when it was cold and rainy LOL. So the food got...

Food is tasty, but the crowds make it hard to enjoy. The ordering space is very tight and crowded. Our drink order was forgotten about amidst the other orders, so we were standing there for a long time while other people who ordered after us got their drinks. The iced matcha latte is made with sweetener and it becomes lukewarm very quickly. They had kombucha on tap which was really good. We ordered the Japanese potato salad and the soba noodle chicken salad. Both were refreshing but they put takoyaki sauce on the potato salad and I wasn’t sure why. Be prepared with a back-up order in case they run out of what you have in mind. People filter in and out of the outdoor seating frequently, but you might have to take your food to another area if it’s too crowded. Prices are pretty high too. I recommend visiting this place on a weekday or at a non-busy time to...