Caroline S.

overpriced but good quality tea. i'm not the biggest tea fan but the white peach oolong tea was actually very good. it was sweet and floral kind of reminded me of chicha san chen. however, we ended up paying close to $25 after tax and tip for a tiny pot of this with one free refill at that point just go to chicha san chen or heytea lol. they let you smell all their tea before you order which i thought was nice. the milky oolong smelled really good as well (also sweet and did smell like milk!) so i would want to try that if the price was lower but everything else smelled exactly as expected. the seating was very cute but i think the service was very mid. they never refilled our water even though i watched them refill everyone else's water :( wouldn't come back i think there are comparable third spaces in the area where you don't have to pay as much lol

Josephine L.

There's a super popular Asian-infused bakery from my home city that's called Duo. People schlep for miles to the suburbs where it's located just to get a bite of their entremets, croissants, and other gluten creations. I've been, and it's worth the trip for sure. So when I went to NYC's Duo Cafe, I was kind of hoping it would be worthy of the name, even if it was in no way related. It kind of was, if one can ever fairly compare a full-on bakery to a teahouse. At least, both are clearly Asian in origin and Asian in flavor. My friend and I shared the thick, creamy Black Tea Basque--which imparted just the right essence of camellia sinensis, and the even creamier Sweet Potato Basque--which conjured up fond memories of roasted sweet potatoes from my parents' toaster oven. We washed it all down with a pot of Milky Oolong, and it was the perfect way to while away an afternoon catching up. The prices were a bit steep for my liking--$14 per cake slice, $18 for a pot for two--but that's the Manhattan tax for you. Seating isn't abundant, but there are enough two-tops and a couple of four-tops to seat maybe 20 people in total. Just come early on weekends or don't count on people leaving the narrow space during peak hours.

Tiffany C.

I'm so torn with my review on Duo. After eating dinner, a friend & I were in search of a sweet treat and happened to stumble upon this tea/dessert shop and just had to try it. Upon first entering, this small restaurant is so cute and aesthetically pleasing, lined with a few tables and an easy to read dessert menu plastered on the wall. Once seated, staff brings an assortment of tea leaves for you to smell and take your pick. Our favorite which we ended up getting was the milky oolong - a fragrant tea that truly smelled and tasted like your favorite milk tea, without the added lactose. We truly loved this tea and it's primarily the reason for how high this rating is. The dessert itself in my opinion lacked. Though all is Asian inspired, we kind of felt as if it was oriented towards western tastes. We opted for the Dessert Stories - a sampler of what we thought were going to be their most popular picks - without really paying attention to what everything included was. Upon receiving the sampler and comparing it to the menu image, it seems like at their own discretion they decided to swap one of the items with another - so beware if you are expecting it to be exactly how it is on the menu. Caramelized sweet potato: I was expecting so much more from this, and was truly disappointed. This tasted like a plain baked sweet potato, the caramelization did not provide any extra sweetness and it felt as if it should have been brulee'd a bit longer. This feels more gimmick-y than anything, as I typically eat a baked sweet potato for a meal, and now it's a fancy way to get people to eat it for dessert with it tasting exactly the same. Pistachio Basque: This was extremely rich, and after a few bites it becomes too rich to continue eating. The pistachio has sort of a peanut butter flavor and texture, but overall this tasted like straight cream cheese. Sweet Potato Basque: Tastes like mashed sweet potato, so nothing really interesting here Duo Matcha Cake: One of the favorites, where the matcha flavor was pronounced and the cake itself had a strong, bitter matcha flavor and wasn't too sweet. You honestly needed this after eating multiple slices of cheesecake. But again - nothing special about this, I've had similar tasting options elsewhere. Black Tea Basque: Another favorite, the milky cheesecake paired well with the tea and it tasted like a sweet milk tea drink. This one was fun! Black Truffle Basque: This 1000% does not belong on this sampler and felt so out of place. After multiple bites of sweet cakes, this one was fully savory and almost felt like you needed a cracker to spread this on. We were so confused trying it - it isn't necessarily bad, it just doesn't match the dessert plate we were given and just tasted like savory truffle cream cheese. After all the dairy (ironic in an Asian-inspired dessert shop since many Asians are lactose intolerant!) the tea was much needed to help wash everything down. There was one waiter for the establishment, a kind man who explained their tea options, and when serving the tea he directed us that after 5 min of steeping it would be ready. This definitely was not the case for the milky oolong - 5 minutes in and the tea was way too light, so if trying this one aim for more 10-20 minutes for the perfect strength. I do love that we could ask for more hot water to have continuous tea throughout. All in all, we loved the tea, but didn't love the desserts as much. I love the idea of incorporating Asian flavors into the desserts, but definitely feel like there are other shops that accomplish this better!

Giang P.

Stumbled upon this hidden gem in the Noho area and I must say their cheese cakes were so good! I didn't get to try their tea set so I was sad but I got the cheesecake to go. Got the black sesame and the pork floss, seaweed, and salted egg yolk basque cheese cake. I highly recommend getting the latter. Such an interesting take on cheese cake and a traditional Chinese bakery item. The sesame black cheese cake is super light, I would say it was more like a mousse. I will definitely have to come back next time to try out other items.

Alan T.

I liked the experience I had at this cafe! It's not a big place, but coming in around 9, it was too busy. However I still recommend coming In earlier though, so you can slowly take your time. When you come in, they bring a tray of all of their tea options. Giving you a chance to smell each one. I ended up choosing the milky oolong tea. I also got 2 cakes - their matcha cake and their sweet potato cake. Originally, I came in here because I was interested in their matcha cake, but surprisingly, I ended up liking the sweet potato cake more. Although they call it a matcha cake, it's more of a matcha cheesecake. For the sweet potato cake, the sweet potato flavor definitely comes through! I also liked the ice cream that's pared with it!

Megan Y.

A very busy but cute chinese tea house! I came on a saturday afternoon around 4 PM, and there was a short wait for a table for 2. They let you smell the different teas before choosing. There's also a rotating menu of the different desserts. We chose the white peach oolong tea and the pistachio basque. The cheesecake was very creamy and pistachio forward. I also really enjoyed the sweet potato creme brulee. The rest of the desserts and snacks didn't really stand out too much, but I liked that everything wasn't too sweet. Servers were very attentive at refilling our waters and teapot. They have a strict 90 minute dining policy, so don't plan on staying too long.

Mia H.

This Chinese tea house is a hidden gem in the East Village! A cozy spot with a natural interior, this is the perfect place to catch up with a friend or go for a solo, peaceful treat. Service here is great. When you arrive, you're given a basket of tea leaves and you get the choice to choose one or a couple of them to sample. All of them were so fragrant and there was a good variety of them of choose from. My friend and I got their sweets tea set with their milky oolong tea and both loved it. The sweets tea set came with melon, dried fruit, cookies, and a bruleed sweet potato. Everything was sweet, but not overwhelming--the perfect pairing for the milky oolong. It was so peaceful and the perfect spot to enjoy your tea while chatting with a friend!

Will N.

Very unique cafe experience. Open late as well so it's an easy option for post-dinner plans. Got lucky to grab a table for 4 but I do imagine it may be hard during rush hour. I love the basque cheesecake sampler. Got to try a little of everything. Worker was enthusiastic and friendly, despite being the only one in front of the house. We got refills for the teas too, so you definitely get your money's worth.

Austin K.

You can call to put yourself on the wait list and they will call/text when ready. The 4 of us got the dessert stories: hojicha basque, black truffle, pistachio, matcha, sweet potato, in order of preference. The black truffle was almost savory with the prosciutto on top - it would have been too much by itself but I liked it as a balance against the others. It also comes with caramelized sweet potato and vanilla ice cream. We got the 3 tea tasting flight with a cookie (supposed to be green tea but they gave us the regular one, which was still good). We got milky oolong, white peach oolong, and herbal which were all appreciated but the herbal did have a strange taste to me. Unlimited hot water to keep refilling but 90 min table limit. I'd come back to try some other things - (black sesame cheesecake, seasonal flavors). Loved the experience here.

Jiamei L.

My friend and I ordered the osmanthus taro basque cheesecake. It was lightly sweet and the flavors blended beautifully. I'd definitely like to come back to try the flight or some of their other flavors. The overall experience, though, had some drawbacks. When we first walked in, we were told the brighter tables in the front were already reserved and we were seated further back. The deeper into the café you go, the darker it gets. While I think the intention was to create an intimate atmosphere, it ended up feeling a little too dim for a dessert spot. After we sat down, we were given the tea menu. It was fun to be able to smell the different teas, but the prices felt very high which was about $19 for two people. For comparison, tea at a dim sum restaurant is only about three dollars per person, so the markup was hard to ignore for me. Overall, the cheesecake was excellent, but the atmosphere and pricing made the experience less enjoyable than it could have been.

Cynn M.

I loved this tea/dessert shop! Very intimate space, lovely ambiance, but a bit on the pricier end. I came here on a Saturday afternoon and it was not too busy, though seating is a bit limited! They let you smell their selection of tea leaves before ordering. We ordered the tea set ($42) that came with a tea pot, some sweets, seasonal fruit, sweet potato. We swapped the green tea cookies for a slice of the black tea basque cheesecake (+$6 I think). The cake was so tasty, very dense and creamy with a lovely black tea flavor. The sweet potato was also tasty, it has a brulee top which made it very fun to eat. I wish it was a japanese sweet potato though, it would go so well with the brulee top! The walnut cookies and hibiscus flower were just alright, I wish we had ordered the cake set instead to try the different flavors of cake they had. We got the milky oolong tea, which was so good! I wanted to buy the tea leaves for my own home. I would definitely come back to do that next time! The waitress was very sweet and helpful, she answered any questions we had about the food and was very attentive!

Melisa M.

loved this place so much! It was pretty small and not that many tables so make sure to make a reservation! the pistachio basque cake was sooo good!! We got to choose between a couple of different teas and I forgot which one we got but it was super yummy and one pot was enough for two. Will definitely be back especially in the cold months!

May H.

Cute spot for some tea and small bites. It's aesthetically pleasing and they have a variety of tea selections to choose from. Snacks weren't too outstanding but it is a pretty cute spot overall. Seats are limited and it tends to fill up after 1/2ish. Laptops are restricted on weekends and after 5pm on weekdays. 90 min dining limit is encouraged. The barista played some good Chinese bops.