Used to go here all the time when Kim was owner and then Helen. The place has gone down hill ever since & I am sad to write this review, since I have been coming here for 15 years. First, I walked in on a Sat morning at 11am - and 1 person only was working - she told me to wait 5 min for another person to do my nails. I waited 20 min then asked where is other person, and they came in 5 min later. So I waited 25 min for someone bc there was 1 person working on a Saturday!?! The lady that did my nails did an average job, did not speak English at all, nor did she understand how I wanted the shape of my nails. At the end, I was instructing her about how long my nails needed to dry & that she had to put alcohol on at the end to rub them (bc I got gels). Lastly, their gel manicures went from $22 to $25 to $28 and now they are $35. A big increase for not getting anything in return. In fact I got someone that was slow and average. I highly doubt I will ever return to Teke's Nails again. It's no wonder, they are empty & other salons close by are filled with people. read more

On the recommendation of another Yelper - I made an appointment for the Best Wax in town. I was able to get an appointment almost immediately, and the employees were very nice though weak in the mastery of the English language. I had my eyebrows waxed and was very pleased that the effort took no more than 10 minutes. My esthetician showed me the work afterward in a hand held mirror but the lighting was very bad. I smiled, paid and went home. Only to discover that the waxing was executed rather poorly. She managed to shape the brows but missed a lot of blond brows and strays. I then broke out the next day along the wax line - something I haven't experienced in years. Lesson - Teke's could be acceptable if you have the time and the foresight to really check the work and be sure to wash with your own cleaser as soon as you leave. read more

I like Teke nails, it's a quiet place on the end of charles and cambridge street. I find them to be sweet, efficient, professional, and nice. They take the time and care for each little area of your hand for the manicure. If I still lived on the hill I'd go all the time. read more

I had gone here with my cousin before dinner. It was Friday night right after work, but we were seen immediately and I have to admit, they were pretty friendly. They were superquick with their manicure and it was pretty good. A lot better than some of the other places I've been to. I think if I had gone there when it wasn't so hectic and have constant stream of people coming in, the manicure would of been great. One thing I have to say is, their hand dryers is awesome! not those skimpy ones you get everywhere else, this was like run on diesel fuel or something! read more

best best best manicure in boston! i can't believe this place hasn't gotten crazy crowded because of word of mouth. my friends don't go anywhere else. they don't use thinner in their polishes (which most places do to cut costs for the salon and drying time for the clients), which means your mani will last a week and your pedi for at least three. the staff is friendly, chatty, happy, and the services are cheap. they remember repeat visitors, they're accomodating with your quirky requests (i ask them not to force my cuticles b/c my nails are weird, they always comply and sometimes remember without a reminder), and will open new polishes if your chosen color is sticky. they also do a great polish change, and their manicures are so excellent that's all you need sometimes. it's clean, affordable, they run the place like clockwork, and i love the owner. don't bother with reservations. just walk in, say what you need, pick your colors, and sit and wait - although they'll usually be waiting for you! read more

I called ahead to have a nail removal done as well as a pedicure. the lady in the phone quoted me $36 total and then when I showed up at the salon she decided that the new price was $48 for the nail removal!!! How did the price change that much in a matter of hours? She stated telling me she thought I said something different on the phone when I was very clear about what I wanted. they didn't even apologize for the confusion. Terrible service and 0 customer service skills. read more

How can I say no to a $10 manicure and there's NEVER a wait? I stop here whenever I'm in the area for a quick mani that's not so expensive that I feel guilty about a random pamper stop. Seriously....$10!!!! That's what they charge for just a "polish change" at other salons. read more

I love it! Highly recommeded. I work In boston and I get a manicure weekly quickly and efficiently by these lovely ladies that know me by name when I call for my appoinment. Of course I am a repeat customer, would you go anywhere else if they did a horrible job? This place is great, but it does get busy and the price you can' t beat. read more

they always do a wonderful job and despite the fact that it falls into the "cheap" category it is certainly a class above. the women who work there go to great lengths - even putting your sock and boots on for you in the middle of winter... its always crowded - make sure you get there early on the weekends. tip: razoring is $2 extra read more

I love Teke's. I have been going there for two years. When I first started I had tips. I finally got sick of them and took them off. I hadn't gone back for a manicure in about 6 months but when I went in they still remembered me. They commented on how much nicer my nails looked without my tips. The ladies are very nice and take good care of you. Location is great, you can't go wrong being on Charles Street. It' s cheaper than a couple of the other nail salons in the area. It's also a great place to people watch. I was in there one night when a local news anchor came in - I apologize I couldn't tell you which one. Definitely try out Teke's! read more

This place takes forever to do your nails but they do a really thorough job. When you have hours to kill on a weekend, that is when you come here and you'll have a great mani / pedi. Nail prices are competitive to all the nearby salons but their waxing prices are better. If you aren't going to a high end nail salon, this is definitely a good one in that lower tier bucket. read more

Pretty damn good manicure for only 10 dollars... and on charming little Charles Street? Check out Teke's for a quick, nicely done mani/pedi...and the girls that work there are really nice too! Plus if you're really poor you can get a polish change for 6 bucks... those who don't know the therapeutic qualities of nice nails are missing out! Though I haven't gotten anything waxed there, my friend has and she said it was pretty nice aka not too sketchy at all! If they got new nail dryers, they would get 5 stars! read more

My review is for a brazilian wax. Never have received a mani or pedi here. Just the best valued wax I've had in Boston. I heard by word of mouth that Kim does waxing ($30 for a brazilian!!). When I lived in Montreal I saw a woman who charged $22 for a brazilian that never took more than 15 min (actually it usually took less than 10 min. I know. Ridiiiculous.). This is the best comparison I've found in Boston. Kim does a careful wax in less than 30 min, and she is very talkative and sweet. She always asks me if I have a boyfriend (my reply: "nope..this is just for myself...or maybe someone who isn't exactly a 'boyfriend'...too much?"). This isn't a spa folks, so there's no relaxing music and mood lighting and soy ginger this-that wax and goat's milk after-wax lotion or what not. It's not the most sanitary, and you will have traces of wax on your legs afterwards. When it's done you emerge from the back room and walk past the elite Beacon Hill dwellers to go about your day just as before, but with no hair down there. Oh, and the best thing about waxes here is that the schedule is so flexible! I often just call the day of, 3 or so hours ahead. I'm so glad my friend told me about this place! read more

My favorite nail salon in Boston. I stumbled upon this place over a year ago and have been coming here ever since. I live in the Back Bay but am always willing to make the trip to Teke's. They always have the newest season of colors from OPI as soon as they come out and a great selection in general. There are 5 chairs in the front and two in the back and they just upgraded the massage chairs. Great service - the cute little old lady who owns the place always asks me where my friends are, how I'm doing, how's school, etc. It's sweet that she remembers all the details about her regulars. I always get a mani/pedi and they are so accomodating if I am with friends and we want to sit together. Some of the girls do a better job than others, but overall it's a great mani/pedi and all for only $33. The place does get quite busy sometimes, but they do take appointments. For a nail salon, they are open until 8:30 every night so if you want to avoid the crowds (usually around 5 when everyone is getting out of work) then I'd suggest going a bit later if you have the time. read more

I've been going to Teke's for YEARS and YEARS. Consistently good pedi & mani. Sometimes I go with a group of gals and we bring wine and cheese. The staff is very accommodating and I've never had a bad experience. I love Teke's! read more

This is a standard Boston nail salon: Vietnamese manicurists, OPI and Essie nail polishes, $25 pedicure, etc. Two things sets this place apart. Let's start with the bad - the place is weirdly set up. It's really narrow, which makes for awkward movement when you try to choose a nail color or wait for the bathroom. On the plus side, I love that the nail technicians use a razor to get rid of the dead skin on the bottom of your feet. They even change the razor in front of you. read more

AWFUL BRAZILIAN WAX. Do NOT go here for a brazilian wax. I wanted to get a brazilian wax for cheap, as I had a lady in Seattle I went to who did a great job for $25. This place was listed for $30, so I made a same day appointment and went in. I was led to a waxing room with an older Vietnamese woman, and she did not leave the room to let me get undressed. It was very very unsanitary - bits of hair all over the room, not swept, and the scissors she used to trim my hair had broken handles and were dull. But most concerning in terms of cleanliness, the wax was from one pot that she obviously used and reused on each customer, with the same wooden stick. The room was also so hot; apparently the A/C was broken, so it was sweltering in there. For the waxing itself, normally you get into a few different positions during the wax in order to get all the hair, but she just worked on me from above, which was inefficient and weird. The wax was too hot, but I didn't realize this until later, when I investigated afterwards, why it felt so painful, more so than the usual tenderness after waxing - and I discovered BURNS. Yes, burns, because she went over areas twice with the wax, which you should never ever do. The burns make it hurt to walk now :( She took a painfully long time - 45 minutes total - because she kept waxing little bits of hair, like 1"x1" bits at a time, and stopped to poke and prod around a lot, and then stopped to tweeze after every single time she pulled up a small strip of hair. WTF? While I was being uncomfortably poked and prodded with her fingers and tweezers in silence, I wondered "does she even know how to do this? is she licensed?" You should never wonder that when being waxed. Also betraying her lack of knowledge of what the hell she was doing, she managed to get wax all over her own fingers, and stop to clean them up...what sort of waxer manages to make a mess of my skin and her own? She had long hair which she did not tie back, and it got in her face, so I also wondered if she could properly see what she was doing. You're supposed to complete a brazilian wax in 6-8 smooth, quick strokes, and get as much hair as possible in each, so that you don't prolong the pain for the customer. 10 concentrated minutes of pain is much preferable to 45 minutes of drawn out pain, interspersed with needless tweezing (especially because she didn't even get all the hairs! when I got home, I had a mess of leftover wax and missed hairs to clean up). You're supposed to tweeze at the very end, to get any strays, not after every single tiny strip of wax! When it was time to pay, I did not want to leave a tip. I didn't want to pay at all for such an awful job, but I needed to leave and I was in pain and did not feel like arguing. However their credit card machine was malfunctioning and it took them 4 tries of running my card for their system to work. Now I am worried they have charged me 4 times for one wax...honestly I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case because everything in this establishment seems either broken, unclean, or unprofessional. I am so upset and regret going here so much. I am in pain and burned, with delicate areas where the skin was ripped away. I fear I will get an infection because of the burned areas which were exposed to wax that was used on different customers. Please do not go here. I had seen one good review from a previous Yelper for a brazilian wax at this place and I went. I wish there had been more than one review for the brazilian wax, because it was a terrible experience. read more

I went here this Friday per the recommendations of folks on this website. It was a great experience. Efficient and inexpensive ($33 for a mani/pedi). Also, I've put my nails through the ringer this weekend (I've been working on a bathroom project) and the polish held up through all the work. All and all, a great find. FYI...this is a cash-only business, so show up with your yuppie food stamps ($20 dollah bills, y'all :-). read more

They have no idea what they're doing. Don't waste your time. I had to ask them to stop mid way of putting tips on.

The manicurist stayed a full hour after closing time on a Sunday to take off my acrylics and give me a manicure. She was extremely thorough and even though it was 9:30 by the time she finished my nails (and they closed at 8:30) she offered me a massage! My nails look super cute and she did a great job with the cuticles. read more

I've been a very loyal customer of Teke for the past 3 years- pretty much going there once a week. In the recent months, management has changed and things have gone downhill. The new manager is very unfriendly and has hired all new technicians who follow her lead. Yesterday I went in for a quick polish change but found that now they no longer even file your nails when you get the service... Something I've been getting for 3 years. She then went on to do a very sloppy job of painting my nails and rushed off to the next client who seemed to be a friend of the manager. Seemed weird and they were pretty rude about it. Needless to say, there are two or three other options on Charles st that I will now be going to. (Lauren's nails is great and is only a few blocks down the road) read more

BEST PEDICURE I have ever had. Friendly staff who worked hard on my feet & took their time. Comparable to most salons, $40 for a gel pedicure & $25 for regular. Clean, cute salon on Charles Street in Beacon hill, will go back! read more

I thought that Teke's was great. I walked in and was seen immediately. They did two thick coats of paint and they really took the time to make sure my nails were dry. The ladies are very nice and I felt comfortable the entire time. read more

I've been going to this salon for several years and they always do a decent manicure/pedicure. Not great, but good enough. However, this afternoon I called to see if they were open and would be able to accommodate a walk-in mani/pedi. The woman who answered the phone said yes and told me to come in right then. When I arrived about 10 mins later, I rang the buzzer to enter the salon and the same woman I spoke to earlier comes out, opens the door only slightly and says "I'm busy now. You come back in one hour." When I told her I couldn't come back in an hour, she simply shook her head and said "Come back in one hour." and then slammed the door in my face. Aside from being completely unprofessional, her behavior was utterly bizarre. Needless to say, I won't be going back and would recommend everyone else avoid this place as well. read more

This is not a great salon. Recently they raised prices over 20%. The water is often too hot. Also, it is not state of the art. I will not be returning. read more

Ehh. Not so great, after having had a manicure & pedicure at Cambridge Nails the previous week, it was quite obvious that this manicure was subpar. The woman was quite diligent, yet the paint chipped the following day. I'd say the manicure was below average - it should have lasted for at least 3 days by my standards. read more

Place was clean and friendly. I asked for a french pedicure, using a light pink polish and something was lost in translation. I got just pink polish. I didnt say anything because at that point, I couldnt be bothered. It looked good, they spent a good amount of time and used the razor on the bottom of my feet(which I think makes a difference). Prices were ok. $25 for a pedicure. I normally spend $ 20...but not in Beacon Hill. I chose this place over the downtown spots because the reviews were mostly sketchy on those places. It was worth the extra 10 min walk. read more

Teke nails is a great place to go for a mani/pedi in general, but the price they charge makes it the best place to go. I make the trek in from Waltham to have my hands and feet groomed and massaged, and although transportation costs ofset the amount of money I would save from going somewhere more local, I still feel the service I receive there is far better than anything comparable in the burbs. Also, I rarely wait for a chair, and the technicians are polite and friendly. read more

I really like it here. Pedicures leave my feet smooth and soft and the manicures look great! The people are nice and you can't beat $33 for a mani and pedi. It's worth the walk to Charles St. rather than the mediocre places on Newbury. read more

The women at Teke's are all super nice, and for $25 it is a fantastic pedi. I wish they spent a little more time on the foot massage (the best part!) but it's not a spa, so I don't expect it to act like one. Good color selection (lots of Essie, yay) and magazines, and Kim, the owner, is so, so pleasant. A great little find. read more

We walked in on a Saturday for two pedicures and were not told there would be a wait, so we sat down and soaked our feet. There were two women working and only two customers in the salon, so we figured it wouldn't be too long.....Wrong! 40 minutes later our feet were starting to prune and both women had started working on customers who had walked in after us. They were incredibly rude to us when we asked why they hadn't warned us of a wait. Needless to say, we ended up leaving. Definitely wouldn't recommend this place. read more

Came in on Mother's day morning for two mani-pedis and got right in. They were fast, efficient and very reasonable. $35 for the mani-pedi or $25 for just a pedi. Kim took her time and made sure to seal the ends of my nails with a layer of polish. It's only been two days but no chipping at all! This is definitely one of the best regular manicures I've ever had! read more

Came in late and she rushed but still did a good job. A little bulky for acrylics but good job considering it was late. Slightly overpriced though but makes sense ...it's on beacon hill read more

I came to Boston for a wedding and needed to get a manicure and pedicure. I found Teke Nails online and decided to try them out because they do the OPI Axxium gel nails that I use. They did the best job that I've had so far. They fully soaked off the gel that I already had on my nails even though that took about 30 minutes. They didn't rush me or make me feel like I was taking up too much of their time. The woman who did my OPI Axxium nails did such a great job. I have very thin nails so she reinforced the tips so that they were stronger. Usually when I get my nails done with OPI Axxium gel, the gel starts to chip off after about a week and a half. After going to Teke Nails, the gel lasted two and a half weeks and I could have gotten away with them longer, except I had too much new nail growth showing at the base of my nail. If I lived in Boston I would definitely be a regular! read more

Pedicure was wonderful. A blissful foot massage + spa experience. And as a bonus, they painted my nails. :) Not as impressed with the manicure. I get a manicure rarely, so my nails probably need more work than some, but my nails ended up uneven and the paint job was sloppy. Will still go back for the pedicure, but will probably stick with that. read more

Sooo people Teke nails is an excellent stop for a break running through Beacon Hill. You had better call ahead. The pedi includes a hot stone massage and Yen is the girl to ask for. I am a GM for a couple of restaurants in the area and I have tried other places? Hope you enjoy!!! read more

Just a quick review... I had the best pedicure here. I work at MGH and have tried several nail salons in the area... this was by far the best, I got my pedicure a week ago and it still looks amazing... if you are in the Charles MGH area go here...don't go anywhere else. read more

Just moved to the area and I'm glad I already found my leg waxing spot! I think the lady who did the waxing was named Teke. That's what it sounded like. I went on a Monday at noon. I was the only customer. She charged me $40 for full leg wax including bikini line. I had called earlier in the day to make an appt and the woman on the phone quoted me $45, but when Teke saw me she said $40. I guess it all depends on how much hair you need removed. She took her time and did a great job with removing the unwanted hair. I will go back in 1 month to wax my legs again during an off-peak time to ensure that they take their time with me. Only 4 stars because it's not the most sanitary and spa-like ambiance. They do the job for leg waxing, but I wouldn't be caught dead hear getting a Brazilian. That is an area where you need to splurge for the spa treatment. The prices are good and are basically comparable to the other local spots. I only went for leg waxing. read more

Bed bugs. I was bitten at the salon. I have called the City and complained about this place.

Teke's is a great find! I love when Kim does my services but I've never had a bad experience in over 10 years. I still go to Kim for eyebrow/lip waxing even though I no longer live on the Hill. Teke's nail services are beautifully executed, timely, and reasonably priced. I always feel right at home. read more