Teaism Penn Quarter — Restaurant in Washington

Tucked away from all the tourists and chaos of Penn Quarter and Chinatown is a serene restaurant, Teaism. Perfect quiet place to chat for hours with a girlfriend where you won't be hounded for not ordering more food and don't have to talk over music or tourists. There is plenty of seating here, I recommend going downstairs and sitting by the koi pond. Although this it's nice and quiet after work, it's like a zoo during lunch time on the weekdays. The orders are pretty fast, it took less than 10 min to get my food.

Teaism offers a lot of healthy vegetarian (and non-veggie) choices from homemade veggie burgers to bento boxes to chicken curry. You can't go wrong even with the pickiest eater (my bff whose super picky likes the food here). Granted it isn't true authentic Asian food, but decent Americanized version. The prices are decent with good portion size.

The homemade veggie burger is beet based and packed with great flavor. It's not mushy or bland or burnt, just right. I recommend switching out the ciabatta bread and getting the burger on greens or something else. To my dismay, the ciabatta is burnt and had a weird taste.

The Okonomiyaki scallion pancake is very tasty topped with a delicious wasabi sauce and served with a kebab of your choice. I highly recommend the veggie skewer. It has great flavor and the veggies are perfectly roasted! The potato and cabbage are my favorite.

If it doesn't come with your meal (like the veggie burger doesn't, my friend gave me hers in the pic), then I recommend getting the veggie kebab as a side. It's well worth the $5.50. Sometimes, I get a large skewer or 2 smaller ones.

The review falls short of 5 stars due to the poor quality of service and the tea. The service isn't very friendly. I asked upon a tea recommendation and the cashier couldn't help me or make a simple recommendation. This is sad considering "TEA" is in the restaurant's name and the cashier should be knowledgeable about teas. When I received my tea, it was over steeped and had a horrible taste. I'll go to Calabash in Shaw next time for tea.

Can't wait to work up an appetite for the veggie burger, Okonomiyaki pancake, or veggie kebab. I'll just...

A great spot for a quick bite to eat or for settling down to study / work / chat with a nice pot of tea! Sandwiched between a row of the Smithsonians and Ford's Theatre, Teaism is a breath of calm, fresh air in the hustle and bustle of downtown D.C.'s tourist attractions. It's a wonderful, quiet spot to study or have a long chat with someone without being interrupted or feeling rushed by a constant stream of people. The few seats upstairs tend to be a bit busier with guests coming in and out, ordering at the counter, or picking up food / dropping off dishes; however, they have a huge downstairs section with a bunch of seating where you'll be completely undisturbed.

I love how expansive their tea menu is, and the staff is super patient and friendly; they're happy to help you decide which of their many hot / iced teas to go for (as well as list out a number of back-up options for your next visit)! The hot tea comes in a small teapot, and you can enjoy 5-6 cups. If you're in the mood for food, Teaism also has a number of affordable and tasty dishes, including their bento boxes. I'm a huge fan of their Grilled Salmon Bento, which centers on a perfectly grilled fillet of salmon, which pairs delightfully with their citrusy yuzu dipping sauce. It comes with their classic bento sides -- broccoli with another citrusy sauce, miso sweet potatoes, and a hearty scoop of brown rice. The sides rotate every now and then based on the season, but every single one is incredible. To round out the meal, their Hempheart Cookie, despite sounding terrifying, is not only gluten-free, but also delicious -- it's not overly sweet (and has absolutely no hemp flavor), and I love the dried cherries.

All in all, Teaism is a great spot if you just need a quiet place to decompress from all the tourism, chat with a friend, or work / study. They have a fantastic selection of tea, as well as a tasty and relatively cheap selection of food items. Teaism has definitely made it onto my usual rotation of quick lunch spots / weekend stops, and I can't wait to come back and try out more of their...

Great tea shop with a very interesting variety of fusion foods. Being one block off 7th street it's a hidden gem I never noticed before despite passing between Chinatown and the national mall.

The tea is fairly priced, around the same as bubble tea, but bubbles are more expensive at $1.15 vs the usual $0.50. The bubbles are firm, very very sweet, and seem to be soaked in some syrup that tastes different from sugar or honey. The matcha sweet green tea (think that was the name) was too sweet with bubbles and it covered the tea flavor.

They have an option between 3 teas for $3.00 on the menu with free refills. You have to ask for what the daily teas are; they probably rotate from the normal tea menu (one black tea, one tisane, and last I forgot). The soba cha and keemun were both quite strong and flavorful (they really don't skimp on the tea for these).

Although the tea being the highlight, the menu has a lot of international/fusion foods that are unique or uncommon to other restaurants. I highly recommend the "trash or treasure" section of the menu. The seared salmon belly was delicious with a very crisp skin, pickled collard stems were a bit strong and acidic, but pair well with the fattiness of the salmon. All in all a great value considering it's in DC. (From the menus online, this seems to be the only Teaism location with the seared salmon belly. It's sad to see other restaurants waste such good ingredients, but I'm glad it's put to great use here.)

The jasmine creme brulee was also quite unique; there was a subtle tone of jasmine in the creme, which was much creamier than a usual creme brulee. The caramelized crust on top was a bit thick though.

Atmosphere is very nice and cozy with the decor and furniture. I read the lower floor is even better, but it was reserved for a party so I couldn't check it out. A great place to relax for afternoon tea or study, especially with the unlimited tea option.

Will definitely return for a relaxing afternoon and to try some of the other...