• 4
• Tao of Tea

I had read about this place on happycow, and here's my The Tao of Tea review. For my trip to Portland I had mapped out a string of restaurants I'd want to visit while here using the happycow restaurant guide, and this was one of them. We had just eaten lunch at the Paradox Cafe across the street and walked across the street to the tea shop and tea room. I hadn't realize that the shop and the restaurant / tearoom were located in 2 separate spaces right next door to each other with separate entrances. We browsed the shop and saw many beautiful ceramic tea ware imported from India. The shop has a rustic and artsy feel. The tea room/restaurant next door smelled wonderfully of Indian spices, like an Indian kitchen. Sure enough, we watched 2 men in the kitchen stirring pots. The food menu features mostly small bites, food to go with tea, and light meals. Mostly Indian inspired. The aroma was great. There is a little fountain on one side and the tables are interesting with large stone pieces as backing - rustic, mellow, fragrant. We stayed for a brief moment before we moved on to our next engagement. Worth checking out when in SE Portland.