We were excited to try Samovar when visiting San Francisco in April. The Yerba Buena Gardens location was convenient for us as we were shopping in downtown.
Photo: Interior
Photo: Menu with engraved metal cover
Photo: Menu on tea descriptions page. I got the Bai Hao (Taiwan) Oolong Tea
Photo: Ice water in metal tumblers, tea tasting set with my Oolong tea in the covered server, and hot water in the cast iron teapot. The iced tea is the Schizandra Berry "chilled" tea, which was very tart and indeed tasted like an "elixir" as mentioned in the menu descriptions
Photo: first brew of Bai Hao (Taiwan) Oolong Tea & brewed tea leaves. I enjoyed at least 5 brews of these tea leaves. The tea tasting set was a nice touch, but would splatter and spill on the tray and table.
Photo: Platter of Tea Sweets. $17 was steep (unintentional pun worked in to the post, yay!), but we enjoyed the sampler of the sweets.
When we first arrived we were confused as we were not greeted promptly. Our server was attentive during the first half of the visit and refilled my teapot with water several times. It seemed as if we visited during a staff shift change as there was lots of exchange between staff. Also, an employee lingered at the tea bar on a lunch break when we first arrived (see photo 1).
This location seemed popular, but not too packed and had a sunny & tranquil patio seating. However, we opted for indoors as it was very windy this Spring day. Otherwise, patio seating would be ideal.
Overall, we were pleased with our experience as we were out-of-towners looking for an indulgent afternoon tea. However, the pricey food and drink would deter from frequent visits. The service and atmosphere were comparable to Chado Tea in Los Angeles, which is where we're based.
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