Imperial Tea Court — Restaurant in San Francisco

We've walked past here a million times, but finally decided to see if it was as mediocre as it looked.

The food here. It's extraordinary how bad it is. Somehow several levels worse than the frozen dimsum you can find at a Costco or Trader Joes. The noodles themselves were passable, but the broth they came in was really sorry indeed.

The tea selection is pretty legit. The tea itself was good. The tea "service" they provided felt even less inspired than a bad applebee's employee, though maybe that was just the particular person we had.

The decor and ambiance are also a bit sad. But of course, the location is unbeatable.

Overall, our conclusion was that if you're there to buy tea, then sure, go for it. If you're there for tea service, then it could be a 3.5 to 4 out of 5. If you're there for food...just no, i'd give it a zero if i could. Meanwhile Harborview is across the street and is a 5/5.

If you're a tourist on holiday, and you'll be stopping by Chinatown, save your Asian fix for there. The average tourist trap in Chinatown is much better than this place. Meanwhile, there's much better food in the ferry building if you're...

I don’t know about the negative reviews but based on my experience I highly recommend this place! I had the braised Beijing (prix fixe menu) and the silver needle jasmine tea. The braised Beijing is alright, the meat was nicely seasoned but there could be a little more broccoli on the side. It’s a pretty basic meal of only one type of protein, vegetable, and carbs (I believe only white rice is available). The spring rolls were excellent! There were a lot of veggies in them and the wrapping was perfectly crispy. Not oily either like most Asian restaurants. The 2 almond cookies were small (~1.5 inch diameter), but tasty nonetheless. I like that they weren’t very sweet.

My friend ordered the same combo but with the hand stretched noodle as the entree. The beef was nicely made and soft. She’s from China and the noodles tasted exactly like the noodles she ate as a child! So I definitely suggest this place for those looking for authentic Chinese tastes. Try the imperial rose dragon well tea. We would’ve ordered more but we...

The Imperial Tea Court is in the heart of the Ferry Building, next to a shop that sells only mushrooms, and a shop that sells really great Gingersnap cookies (Miette's).

But the Imperial Tea Court does tea: teas of all kinds, teas from all places, and etc. It's ok. And pricy.

Here's the deal. The tea is expensive, but good. Very good, and it comes in a host of selections. The ice tea is good, but even more overpriced. The food is not so good. Considering that if you're at the Imperial Tea Court, you're only a few handfuls of blocks from one of the most rich ChinaTowns in the United States, the food is less than not good. It tastes of tourist trap. Even during "Happy Hour," or esp during.

Come for the Gaiwan and Gong Fu tea presentations, avoid the food, and then buy some mushrooms. Or skip all of that, and do it someplace else in town for half the price and...