Okay tea. I don't appreciate their complaints about minimum wage, not cool for employees. They have a sign announcing their prices went up because minimum wage went up. Pretty obnoxious if you ask me. read more

My husband had the beef curry bowl and loved it. I had the teriyaki veggie skewers. I had asked about ingredients and this was awesome: they had a binder on-hand w/a short list of ingredients in each dish. Perfect! I wish every place would do this - the staff don't have to know what's vegan or even what vegan means! When I asked, they could just hand me the binder and let me do the checking. Awesome. :) My bowl was great - plenty of veggies, tofu, rice and sauce. If anything, maybe slightly heavy on the sauce, but I tend to like things lighter so that could just be me. This is a really nice option for an affordable, simple, outdoor lunch. :) read more

Tea Pavilion - This is the teriyaki vegetable bowl. - Japanese Near Me - San Diego, California

Just stopped by. Amazing tea! We had iced Blue Lady and Berry. Both amazing! We had the beef teriyaki bowl and the curry bowl. The teriyaki one was good and the curry one was average. Definitely a lot of food for the price. I had to buy a bag of the loose leaf Blue Lady to go! read more

They sell to go japanese rolls mochi and other japanese snacks. Though its more like a to go japanese store the drinks are good and bomb but the rainbow rolls are expected to not have a good quality. The mochi is bomb and really good af. read more

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Was working at the organ pavilion here at balboa park and decided to try the tea pavilion cafe. There was a decent size crowd so I thought why not. I ordered tea and a chicken teriyaki bowl. Although the the chicken was delicious the rice was mushy and wet. But other then that I couldn't complain. The view was nice as was the atmosphere. Would come again and try a different tea and enjoy the ambiance. Until next time read more

Tea Pavilion - Tea at the tea pavilion - Japanese Near Me - San Diego, California

I tried the vegetarian green salad with Tofu and Thai iced tea. Both were really good. The salad portion is enough to satisfy an average hunger. They have a patio seating outside the garden which can be busy sometimes on a weekend. So first come first seat basis. Its a self serve place with not a great deal of options in the menu. read more

That teriyaki bowl was the bomb.com. Definitely will be coming back here customer service was 10/10 especially from the girl with curly red hair:) read more

+3 Stars for the good food. -2 for the service I ordered grilled chicken curry and asked for 2 waters. What me upset was.... The cashier charged 2 water bottles that cost $5 total ($2.50 each). She assumed when I say 2 waters, she put in water bottles (cost) instead of cups of water (no cost). So I asked for a refund for the water bottles from another worker up front but they did not allow the refund for some reason ( I couldn't hear well since she spoke softly). In conclusion, the cashier made an assumption instead of asking for clarity. On my part I also assumed instead of being clear I wanted cups of water. The no refund allowed... shows the greediness of the workers or the place (trying to boost up sales in such an unmoral method). I was unhappy with the service that almost killed my appetite for food. Not everything was bad but I prefer an honest service. :(( read more

Love their tea and they had good food. The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Will definitely keep going back.

Don't go here. Food quality not worth the wait. They are out of things on a daily basis. Not 2pm but out of Japanese potato salad, soba, sushi, and at least one type in each category (sandwich, bowl, etc.). Ordered a California crab sandwich. Comes on wheat bread. They're out of the potato salad it comes with as well as the avocado the sandwich is supposed to have. Crab salad tasteless and not that fresh. They seem severely short staffed too. Poor cashier also making all the drinks. read more

Great place to eat at and enjoy the indoors! Make sure to get the CURRY chicken it is the bestttt

Yes they have quality tea her, but they do not have water hot enough to brew it properly. They are not knowledgeable about tea and they don't care. Not a very good tea experience, not a very good service experience. read more

Hello. While the food at this particular Cafe is "meh out of 10", it is a great spot for tea. The tea selection is numerous and the sipping view is optimal. Although your contemplation of the peaceful trees and bamboos can be obstructed at times by noisy families and larger parties. Seating at the park can be limited, and the Tea Pavillion tables are prime resting realistate. Still, I keep coming back for more. I can't quit you, you beautiful tea house. read more

This is one of the cheaper spots around balboa Park to eat. The food is decent if you're starving but nothing super special. It seems they've adjusted their tea prices since some people wrote their reviews. The lines were pretty long for this place and food took a while to come out. A lot of people seem to be camped out on the seats outside so seating may be scarce. read more

RUDEST STAFF ON EARTH! Especially the curly-haired one.. AVOID HER ! I prefer miso soup... which was served to me at ROOM TEMPERATURE. And when I went back up to the counter to ask why my soup was cold... the curly-haired girl stated to point she fingers at me ... instead of talking to me. And when she did.. I asked her to heat up my soup.. even in the microwave... she said it won't do anything .... but the worst part.... SHE WENT TO THE KITCHEN AREA... exposed to the public ... AND STARTED TO BAD MOUTH ME TO ANOTHER KITCHEN STAFF AND EVEN STARTED TO CALL ME NAMES .. for EVERYONE... including the customers ...to hear! And when she handed me the soup... she even rolled her eyes at me! SHE NEEDS TO BE FIRED. No one that rude should work on customer service... ESPECIALLY IN A SAN DIEGO LANDMARK! read more

Came here with my friend for lunch. We waited an hour for our food. Spent $40 for curry chicken udon, teriyaki chicken rice bowl and some potato salad. The curry chicken udon was the worst I've ever had in my life. It was a watery mess, missing the green onions, barely any noodles, and the chicken was dry and in long strips. The worst thing I've ever eaten and I'm pissed that they charged me $40 for this BS. read more

A great stop for authentic Japanese food but be prepared to wait in line for 15+mins to place an order and another 10+mins for your name/ number to be called. There is always a wait here during the weekend. If you're not in a rush and don't mind waiting for food its good here to grab a bite for lunch. Also they have a great selection of teas and they also serve coffee. read more

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Stopped off during our tour of the park. No one in line and the menu looked good with reasonable prices. So we ordered. What we didn't expect was for it to take 35 minutes for a sandwich. I got the crab sandwich. It was good but the ciabatta bread was cold and hard. I'd recommend getting it on wheat bread. I wouldn't return based on the service and lack of execution. read more

Considering this is one of the only places in Balboa Park that serves food it is extremely over priced and down right awful. We ordered a teriyaki rice bowl with tofu and veggies and the sauce was of a jell-o consistency. We wanted our money back or for them to remake which they did. All in all it was terrible. Rice was bland and mushy. Very disappointing. We also ordered a tuna sandwich which was extremely salty. It was served with mashed potatoes and they were stone cold. Who serves cold mashed potatoes? Or as a side with a tuna sandwich? I just couldn't believe that all these people come from all over and this is the food we are served. Do yourself a favor and bring your own snacks/plan ahead or just go somewhere else. Side note, I know they specialize in tea but we were hungry and the kids don't drink tea. We got bottled water. read more

If you are in need of a quick yet tasty snack prior to viewing the Botanical Gardens or The Museum of Man ( 2 of the many places to see at Balboa Park ) then this is a place to get a very good Curry or Teriaki Bowl Dish of protein and carbs. =============================================================== Marty opted for the Chicken Bowl-Large chunks of Chicken Teriaki in Teriaki sauce, Potatoes in bite sized chunks, diced celery, add some Soy Sauce drenching the firm, sweet White Rice in a bowl the size of a catelope-$7.95. Also, with a nice cup of Peppermint Tea ( many varieties ) really made this a filling meal. Marty was not even able to finish the meal that is how much of this fare was offered up! However, I opted for the Beef Curry Bowl with tender nicely sized chunks of Beef, Potatoes and celery in a very mild yet flavorful Brown Curry & Soy sauce also drenching that tender sweet White Rice-$7.95. I finished 95% mine off but left the rice behind as I was drinking Alkaline water level 3 and did not want to swell up to the size of Chaz Bono! And, many other offerings are offered up too with generous portions ( like ours ), very pleasant staff at the helm of a very clean & well run ship. Take a break in Balboa Park and be prepared to wait on the week ends as this eating area inside and out gets a good sized crowd of devoted diners! Go on, not at McDonald's but you get the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_ibxFa2l4k read more

Chances are, you live in San Diego because you enjoy great weather, and you like being outdoors. When the sun is shining down happily on America's Finest City, you'd be remiss not to spend your day outside. Balboa Park, though a bit touristy, is a great place to stroll around. Lush greenery, historical structures, the occasional tweaker, dread-heads playing bongo drums, etc....If you find yourself milling about and your tummy starts grumbling, do yourself a favor and stop down at the Tea Pavilion. It's not really a restaurant...it's more of a Japanese cafe. The menu is pretty straightforward, but it's delish! Sushi, curries, noodles, salads, Japanese candies, exotic teas and more! Personally, I enjoy the red curry rice bowl with salmon and the soba noodle salad with tofu and carmelized walnuts. The salad is made with this ginger dressing and it's SO refreshing! The perfect meal for a day at the park. Plus, if you get full and feel like gettin' a little squirrily, you can grab a drizzink at the Prado next door. Lot's of funny looking blue-hairs to stare at. read more

Outdoor seating, great service and food. Huge selection of teas. Reasonably priced, great location. Hidden oasis. Unfortunately the day we dined here there was a man walking around the tables asking for money which kind of put a damper on my meal. We passed him on our way in and he got aggressive with me when I continued my conversation instead of responding to his request for money. I will go back but I hope that the park can do something about people asking for hand outs. He pretty much stood right in front of our table while we were eating. Made me uncomfortable. He held a sign saying he was hungry. I witnessed 5+ people hand him $ bills (in under 10 minutes) and he only sat down to enjoy a meal that a fellow diner offered him. Once he was done eating he stood back up with his sign asking for money to eat. read more

I'm giving this place one star only because they charge their customers a 3% surcharge to cover their cost of wages and benefits for their employees. This is crap. If you can't afford to pay your employees, then don't employ people. read more

If you hate tourists, stay away - this place is crawling with them! I personally don't mind them much at all, and it's one of the small but many sacrifices we pay to live in this gorgeous city. Yeah, the park is seemingly always busy, but it's the little gems like the Tea Pavilion that break you away from the museums and history for a quick snack and a much needed Thai iced tea. I can only speak for the drinks, which are delicious but the food that comes rolling out looks impressive to say the least. The prices are affordable and the patio is packed with content stuffed faces. Seems like a good sign to me! I'll be back for a quick lunch on an "off" day. read more

Having brought a few friends down to see the hometown this weekend, of course an imperative stop is Balboa Park. After a romper ride in the Science Museum (yay for museums that let you touch everything!), we'd definitely worked up a hunger, and astronaut ice cream was NOT going to cut it. Prado was lookin a little pricey and we weren't looking for a huge meal either, especially the day after Thanksgiving. Well domo arigato, Mr Friendship Garden, because your tea pavilion was quite the little blessing. Filled with decent-priced yet delish rice and noodle bowls along with salads, Japanese snacks and a gorgeous assortment of teas, we just about went crazy trying to avoid buying everything. Not to mention, for some reason my obsession with soba noodles in soup broth seems to piss off some of the more traditional Japanese restaurants, but looks like this tea garden is out to please. They let me have soba noodles IN broth AND covered with curry chicken. Again, bonus points for places that know Veronica has two fighting knomes in her brain who can't ever decide on one thing, so they just give me BOTH. Woo! Hooray for greed! My friends also loved the Udon soup and the teriyaki bowl, and consensus was the chai tea was also darn tootin tasty. Oh, and the spectacular Balboa Park views weren't anything to complain about either. So, hooray for the tea pavilion! Good eatin, good prices, good views, and good lookin out for greedy knomes. read more

Great Location in Balboa Park for a quick, inexpensive lunch. Staff was friendly and said hello when I came in. The cashier Ali was friendly and helped me select my hot tea. I enjoyed the chicken teriyaki bowl & jasmine pearl hot tea on the outside tables overlooking the Japanese Friendship Garden. Worth the wait (15 minutes), line moves quickly. I will be back on my next trip to Balboa Park. read more

Just outside the gates of the tranquility of the Japanese Gardens in Balboa Park sits the Tea Pavilion which is a lovely spot to grab some refreshing lunch and set a spell on the adjoining patio at a table under an umbrella. The food here is all Japanese food including cold soba noodle salads, and steaming bowls of udon soup. The broth on the udon was perhaps a bit too strong, but I couldn't care less, as the surroundings were so nice. Grab some edamame and some tea, and let your mind calm itself down. If you're lucky, someone will be playing the organ next door at the world's largest open air organ park (who knew there was such a category). read more

Yay! I FINALLY got to try the Tea Pavilion Cafe! It has been closed every single time I have come to Balboa Park. Yesterday, the gods smiled on my tea-seeking taste buds and let me experience this place. They have a nice tea menu here; I don't drink a lot of tea, but I found it to be pretty extensive (more varieties than Starbucks, haha). My husband ordered a Moroccan mint tea with ginger mixed in, and I ordered the vanilla with pieces tea. My husband had a sore throat, so the very nice girl working there recommended the Moroccan mint, and she offered to mix in ginger. I'm not sure how many mix-ins they offer or how that works, but I know now that you can at least have ginger added. The ladies working here were very kind and helpful. They knew which teas to recommend, and they didn't roll their eyes or cop an attitude when we asked questions about the teas, unlike the employees at some of the coffeehouses I've visited. My husband's tea was soothing, but he couldn't taste any ginger in it. My tea was nice, but it still had that bitter tea taste. I could smell the vanilla, but I couldn't taste it. I ended up pouring some of the raw sugar packets into my tea. (I felt so horrible! It seemed like sacrilege!) I didn't get to try any of the food items, but I really want to next time! I love miso soup. Tea Pavilion Cafe is supercool because they sell fun snacks like Botan Rice Candy, where you can eat the rice paper wrapper and it dissolves in your mouth. Talk about childhood memories! They also offer tempting snacks like yogurt-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered banana chips, trail mix, and Pocky. If you happen to come to the park when Tea Pavilion Cafe is open, stop on in! Oh, and if you have a sweet tooth like me, grab a handful of honey packets to snack on as you walk around the park! read more

I was walking around Balboa Park, and it had been about an hour when hunger struck me bad. I swung by the Tea Pavilion expecting to snag a bagel and a cup of overheated green tea to go, and was completely surprised when I saw the menu. I ordered the vegetable curry, which came with curry-marinated skewers of japanese eggplant, grilled tofu, potato and other stuff served over rice. Cheap and delicious and QUICK! An earlier reviewer mentioned that the food here is probably more akin to take out fast food you'd find in Japan, and that is probably an accurate assessment, but it doesn't mean that it's not tasty [and it's definitely NOTHING like American fast food!], and in Balboa park, it's kind of a steal, too. I ordered the Sakura green tea, and it was - as suspected- overheated... dudes! don't use boiling water on green tea! The tea menu had tons of options though - I'd recommend opting for an herbal since those can't really be destroyed by boiling water... Compostable cornstarch utensils, a nicely shaded patio outside overlooking the canyon between the friendship garden and the organ pavilion; fast, friendly service; delicious meal. What's not to love? I'll definitely head back again next time. read more

I love coming here to get a refreshing drink as I walk around Balboa Park. They have a nice selection of drink items and food selection is super yummy! My only drawback is that selected specials of the day are the only available iced tea- if its not a special it is made hot (and their tea is extremely hot) which during a summer day isn't as appealing. read more

Although I've lived in San Diego my entire life and have visited Balboa Park numerous times, I'll be honest and admit that I've always avoided the Tea Pavilion Cafe. After spending the afternoon people and dog watching at Earth Day, the bf and I thought it might be fun to see what actually goes on behind these doors. All in all we were amazed to discover their variety of teas, snacks and the fact that this whole time they've been serving curried rice. On a beautiful spring day, the Soba Noodle Salad with Tofu was a refreshing surprise. read more

It may sound kind of weird, but I literally did drive 2 hours up to San Diego to try out this tea place. I was very surprised when I found out it was located inside Balboa Park, which is home to more than a dozen museums and gardens, so the 2 hour drive definitely paid off. It really was a beautiful day, even after rumors of rain and gusty winds, but a couple of hours spent there was very relaxing and it didn't rain at all. Ordered a cup of Orange Blossom Oolong and then strolled around Balboa Park to sight see. Definitely was an adventure discovering all the gardens and trails that exists within this park. FYI, do not attempt to try to the tea when you first get it, no matter how nice it smells. And trust me, the tea spells pretty nice, nice enough for me to stupidly burn my tongue because of it. read more

My hubby and I were getting annoyed, because we couldn't find something fairly quick for lunch. We saw the sign and thought it might be interesting. I ordered the chicken teriyaki rice bowl for $8 or $9. Wow, I was surprised at how much chicken (breast) there was! (3 very moist pieces). I have take out! Yum, yum! Hubby had a curry sandwich and enjoyed it as well. read more

Tea Pavilion - Yummy chicken teriyaki rice bowl! - Japanese Near Me - San Diego, California

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Heck no. Unless you like overpriced instant food. The rolls are the very same ones that you pick up from safeway or the college campus student union shops, except overpriced even more than the college prices. the udon noodles were awful in every way. Taste, texture, everything about it was bad. It came in a plastic container with a plastic cap on it. Seriously, go spend your money on something worthy. They're sold out of a lot of the food by 3 PM. read more

These 4 stars are for the fact that there is FREE water in the corner. Thank you on that hot day! We didn't get to try any of their drinks. We went in strictly for the water. read more

I love their cold soba noodle chicken salad: tender chicken, candied walnuts, all kinds of veggies, some kind of peanutty sauce. Yum! So refreshing and absolutely filling. My husband loves either the teriyaki bowl or curry bowl. My kids always get candy, like the sushi lollipops that have real seaweed wrapping, or Pocky sticks. read more

There wasn't much choice but the service wasn't very friendly. They did not have regular coffee (no filters) or beef teriyaki (they were out) or straws (?). What kind of place doesn't have basic items? When I wanted to add something to my order I was told I would have to wait in line again. I get that other folks are in line, but I had already waited in line. Should I have taken my sweet time to be sure I got everything I wanted? I ended up tossing out the remainder of my chicken bowl, as it wasn't very good. The Japanese Friendship Gardens were beautiful but the tea house was not very good at all. read more

They raised their prices, and it's a ripoff. Udon portion was so small, there were barely any noodles in there. The noodles that were there were broken scrap pieces. Chicken teriyaki was okay, tasted old and way too salty, it's mostly just rice. Overpriced meh food. I will not waste my money by eating here again. Checked my receipt when I got home and noticed they added on a "surcharge", boo! read more

Short version: If they get your order right, the food is decent. But if they get your order wrong. Prepare for a looooooong ordeal. Long version: The good: The curry is decent Japanese style on a bed of rice with pickle on top. The udon and soba are on par with fast food-ish eateries. The sandwiches are normal American style sandwiches, if that's what you expect, you'd be fine. The bad: The people working has no concept of food ingredients and allergy accommodations. My wife cannot have mayo, told them, but the crab in the crab sandwich is already pre-mixed. We waited 20 minutes to find out. We replaced it with a vege sandwich with no pesto. We waited another 15 to find out they can't do it because it was already marinated. I ordered a soba noodle salad with tofu and got a soba noodle soap after 20 minutes. Oh and I overheard the back wanting to reuse a tuna sandwich they made wrongly for a different order (sent out and returned) for a new order. Seriously?! Very poor judgement. Decent food can't save the slow and poor quality of service. Food service is a privilege, they evidently don't take it seriously. Definitely will NOT return. read more

This is such a lovely place to come to and just relax. set in balboa park, this Japanese friendship garden is where I came with my class to further my studies in the Japanese language. the people here are so nice and warming to have you here. read more