-Very relaxed, zen atmosphere.
-Good prices for food
-Fair tea service prices and excellent/professional tea serving
-Clean, quiet, friendly
-Service is not exceptional, but is good

Drank the Phoenix Oolong
-Very fruity, evolving to floral
-Delicious

We went here when we were visiting San Francisco. Loved the tea and the staff were very helpful. The atmosphere was quiet, but a little TOO quiet for my taste. There wasn’t much ambiance, but we had a great time resting there with tea after walking all over SF. The best thing about this place is the knowledgeable staff. They answered our questions and showed us some different options for service. Very nice place.

**Oh, I should add that we went to the Ferry Building Tea House location and had the Gaiwan Tea Presentation.

Excellent tea, friendly and helpful staff, nice food that goes really well with some of their teas, and outstanding ambiance. I live a little over an hour away but for a while was going here weekly just for tea and dumplings.
They have surprisingly broad hours and are open into the evening, which is very convenient if you are meeting from distant locations. I actually don’t think I’ve found a better place for a date, but I keep tea close to my heart so the shared interest factor sort of skews my opinion.
Parking can be a little rough, but it is worth parking several blocks away either at a grocer or bordering the residential neighborhoods.

The tea house gives you a really great opportunity to try a gaiwan or full service of some of the more expensive teas at a very reasonable price and comfortable pace and atmosphere. The staff are generally knowledgeable and helpful with recommendations but don’t try to upsell particular teas. It is a foodservice atmosphere, not a seller’s platform.

It’s a shame the original ITC in Chinatown closed. This location is far better than the one in San Francisco’s Ferry Building.

-Very relaxed, zen atmosphere.
-Good prices for food
-Fair tea service prices and excellent/professional tea serving
-Clean, quiet, friendly
-Service is not exceptional, but is good

Drank the Phoenix Oolong
-Very fruity, evolving to floral
-Delicious

A really charming place! Situated comfortably in the Epicurious Garden on Shattuck Avenue, the Imperial Tea Court is a great place to try Chinese tea in a calm and beautiful atmosphere. Inside, a little dim-sum restaurant with hanging lanterns and beautiful tea-wares on display. Outside, a lovely garden with a zen-feeling, and plenty of seating on a sunshiny day. They serve their tea with a traditional gaiwan service (which the servers are happy to explain to you if you’ve never experienced it before), although they do have iced tea available too.
It’s a great place to go for a light lunch of dim-sum (try the shrimp dumplings – they are divine!) – but of course the real flavor of the place is in the tea. They have quite an impressive selection. So far my favorite is their superior puerh, which is deep and earthy. I’ve also tried their phoenix oolong (delicious, of course) and their orchid oolong (which really tastes as though you’re drinking a flower). Every time I go, I find something new I love about the Imperial Tea Court. I can’t recommend it highly enough.