The New "Zen" Samovar Tea Lounge @ Laguna and Page St

Well I finally went to the new Samovar Tea Lounge in Hayes Valley located at 297 Page St at the intersection of Page St. x Laguna. It's kitty corner to the Zen Center which makes the location so appropriate. I met Karen Hsu from Grandiflora there for lunch to catch up.

If you've never been it's a real treat. The menu isn't inexpensive but for the quality of the food I think it's a good value.

This is what I had for lunch that day: Japanese Maki Bowl with Smoked Salmon (or tofu), steamed kale w/ ume marinade, Wakame Seaweed Salad w/sesame-miso dressing, cooked carrots, seasoned brown rice, toasted nori, Seasonal Pumpkin Soup and Ryokucha Brown Rice Tea.

The pumpkin soup was so good! 

Karen had the same meal with the organic Chai Tea.

And she ordered 2 Cherry Oat Scones w/ Devonshire Cream & Jam for dessert. I declined sampling them because I've been trying to cut back on my desserts lately... Then she forgot them in my car when I dropped her off after. I got back home and found an email from her informing me that I now had to eat them. So I did. They were great.

As far as locations go I did enjoy that this tea lounge is in a more residential neighborhood, but that made the parking more difficult to find. If you go on Wednesday be sure to note the "No Parking from 12:00 to 2:00 on most of the streets in the neighborhood due to street sweeping. All in all I'd definitely go here if I'm in the neighborhood but if I were between this location and the one at Yerba Buena Gardens I'd probably go to the YBG location. Easier parking in the Mission Street garage and the gorgeous reflecting pond there is such a serene environment when you sit out on the patio on a warm summer day.