Tea House Chinese Restaurant

We went to the weekend brunch.
The food does have a reasonable variety but the the quality is just OK level.
They enforce a 16% tip and when we ask about it, an Asian waiter refused to explain with a very strong and disgusting attitude.
Not worthy of going anymore just because of the waiter.

I’ve been to the Plymouth Teahouse several times and this one University Ave one just a few. Always great. Missed the Sunday buffet by a little, which looked interesting. Everything we had was excellent; too many to recount. The waitress made several suggestions, and the ones we took were delicious. The tea comes in large pots and the service was attentive. Yum!
A row of parking on the University side of the hotel parking lot was barely adequate for how busy the place was. I never did get the wifi to work, even with the password taped to the cash register and help from the staff.

I tried this place for the first time this past weekend since it was highly recommend from a friend. Jorge was our server. He seated us in the gorgeous booth that had pretty drapes and tiny pillows. We could have privacy if we wanted to by pulling the drapes together which is a nice option to have. I don’t know any restaurants that gives you this option. So I think this is very unique and different. Jorge was very nice and friendly. He recommended the dumplings and serano pepper beef and I listened and ordered those items. It’s a good thing I did, they were delicious! Jorge was really professional and made sure my table was well taken care of. He would check in on us a couple of times to make sure we had everything we needed. The food was stellar and so was the service, a must go to restuarant!

I’ve been here once before with family but I came here most recently this past Friday for a friend’s post-​graduation dinner. It was around 5 pm so the restaurant wasn’t busy yet. Either way, we had a reservation and were seated immediately.
Location is good, close to the University of Minnesota campus. They have a free parking lot!
Aside from their regular menu, they also have happy hour. Decent list of food choices ranging from $ 3-​$ 5.
We had a large group so I don’t remember everything that was ordered but here’s what I do remember /​what I tried:
HAPPY HOUR
— Spicy Calamari — actually spicy! good flavor, not too salty
— Scallion Pancake — crispy but lacking flavor on it’s own, good with the sauce that it came with
— Spicy Szechuan Dumplings — not that spicy, good flavor but a bit sweet
ENTREES
— Ma Po Tofu — someone check the sodium level in my body because I’m pretty sure it’s above normal limits after this dish. The meat was so salty and the sauce was tangy and spicy but not flavorful. Overall, it was a disappointing dish.
It wasn’t a bad experience but Tea House wouldn’t be my go-​to Chinese restaurant.

Just OK really…
Waiter got one of the dishes wrong and was not very prompt about returning to the table to check on us.
It is authentic for these parts. Asian people do actually eat here… it’s not just a Chinese buffet!
Prices are reasonable, parking can be a pain.

Tea house is my to-​go Chinese restaurant. I will say it is the best around UMN campus. You have so many choice! You can also tell they put a lot of effort on decoration which is very modern Chinese style. I am a big fan of their Sunday buffet. I always eat too much for buffet.
They have some choices of noodle which is good for just couple people. It is also good for big party of people. They have couple bigger round table. The line can get so long sometimes and the wait time for food is long.

I went there for the weekend lunch buffet and felt disappointed for two reasons.
(1) The cost per person and the level of food do not match. They provide lots of dumplings with small amount of filling but large bready or flour portion. Flour is cheap. They should charge the buffet accordingly based on their ingredients.
(2) Even when the food is not dumpling, they provide a lot of cheap or common stuff such as chilly-​sauce seasoned noodles, soybean milk, stir-​fried bok choy… etc.
I visited another branch store of Tea House in 2011 and was fascinated by the beef roll they provided for weekend buffet. But, I did not find it present in this Tea House during buffet period (but they do have it for order). Overall, I won’t recommend the weekend buffet in this Tea House. It’s not worthy. I rather visit there and just order individual dishes.

I have a love-​hate relationship with this restaurant due to inconsistent experiences I’ve had eating here. Today is a liv day.
When service is prompt, the food comes out fresh and delightful for a discerning palette. Today, we tried the spicy dumplings, the pan fried chicken dumplings, the orange beef and the pork soup buns.
All were outstanding. The pork soup buns are not in the menu but something you should order. They are served hot and steamy with small soup bowls and a soup spoon to enable you to SLURP the juice as you bite into them. They are served with a soy ginger sauce. The orange beef is perfectly seared, crispy and are not overly heavy or breaded like when they are served in a more Americanized fashion.
Spicy dumplings are consistently good at this location (can’t say that’s true for the Plymouth location). The pan fried chicken dumplings, are crispy with a very light wrapper. If served with a spicier sauce, they would be on par with the other dishes.

Fantastic food! Best wontons I’ve ever had. The Kung Pao Shrimp was amazing and they even made it mild for me. The menu was huge, so it was difficult to narrow down but there were tons of pictures, which helped. They were out of the dish that my friend ordered and offered to make a similar dish that ended up being very good.

We came here after having an AMAZING dinner at Tea House in Plymouth. We were really disappointed that there was such inconsistency between the two locations. We ordered some of same dishes as we did in Plymouth.
Dry-​fried Szechuan green beans: This dish at it’s best should feature fresh plump green beans that are quickly fried until they are wrinkly on the outside, crisp tender on the inside. The version at the Plymouth location was perfect. Last night, we had to send the first batch bake because they were mushy on the outside and tough on the outside. My hypothesis is that they were cooked a little too long. The second attempt was better, but still a little tough on the outside.
House Special Spicy Beef: This dish was a huge disappointment. The beef slices were tough and fatty. The broth was thick and oily with very little ma-​la (numbing hot Szechuan peppercorn taste). There was plain cabbage instead of the preserved cabbage that is customary. The rendition in Plymouth was a revelation, so we were super disappointed.
Scalded Chili noodles: There was not hand-​stretched noodles at the Plymouth location, so were excited to try this. The noodles were springy and stretchy and were quite lovely to eat. The «scalding» chili topping was very spicy with a healthy slick of chili oil, but needed a heavier hand of black vinegar to balance the dish.
Beef Roll: This was fine. It was tasty. Not at all like the amazing beef rolls I’ve had in the 626, but I a’int mad at it. The beef was tender, the hoisin sauce was tasty, the scallion pancake could have been crispier.
The Chili Pot: The highlight of the night. I was kind of apprehensive at first: vegetables, potatoes, spam, tofu, fried fish chunks and giant shell-​on prawns (with just enough of the head attached to keep it flavorful) all masterfully stir fried with giant chunks of ginger, peanuts slices of celery, dried chilis, szechuan peppercorns. This dish made up in ma la what the beef lacked. The individual components, though weird made for delicious eating and oddly, the spam worked!
I have to say, the ambiance at this place was very nice and the service was courteous. I would probably go to another location before I came here again though.

This is probably my favorite Chinese Restaurant in MSP. It’s definitely not your run of the mill neighborhood Chinese takeout. It’s SO much better.
The restaurant itself is kinda cool — some traditional Chinese décor mixed with a modern vibe. Very good service. Outstanding menu selection, with ingredients that are much fresher and cooking techniques much tastier than your average MN Chinese. They have everything from cream cheese wontons and steamed pork buns to tea smoked duck and pig’s feet. And I’m willing to bet it’s all delicious, because so far I haven’t been disappointed once.
My must haves at every visit are generally scallion pancakes & Chung king chicken. Then I try a couple new things to round the selection out. Its always plenty for a meal with my husband and often there’s leftovers for a day or two as well.
I still have to make it over there sometime for the weekend brunch buffet. But in the meantime I might just get some takeout for lunch today…

This review is for their Brunch Buffet.
I’m Asian, I love asian food. I love Tea house Chinese Restaurant! My friend introduced me to this amazing restaurant for their brunch buffet that they offer on the weekends. There are two other branches in the Minneapolis/​St. Paul area, but each Chef has their own control over the menu. This one is supposed to be the best.
There were two main dishes in the buffet that stood out for me. The first was the sliced pig ear. Although it sounds crazy… They are perfectly cooked and each bite is a delightful mix of crunchy and spicy goodness. I haven’t had this dish in over 15 years and was super excited to grab a large serving of this delicacy. The second dish that I adore was the potato noodles. Unlike regular egg noodles, these are a bit chewy and absorb all the flavors of the sauce they are cooked in. I have to say they are the best type of noodle in my book.
Other items to highlight were the steamed pork buns and the rice porridge with chicken. These are pretty standard on a chinese brunch menu and were very well done by the chef.
While browsing the regular menu, there were several other dishes that I would love to go back and try. I’ll have to update this review when I do!

16% Gratuity included on a buffet. Need I say more?
I will.
Food was awful. Oily, tasteless, lacking identity. They have cumin chicken which tasted like a bad Indian dish prepared by a Chinese who never ate or interacted with any other ethnic race but their own.
The best thing was a pork momo which clearly came out of the freezer. Speaking of freezer the orange juice is also from the freezer and is super diluted.
I asked a server what am I tipping for if I eat buffet and she said «well we come around and bus the tables».
I said in all honesty I can’t tip for this basic service that needs to be done regardless and she got the manager.
I said the same thing to the «manager» and he started calling the cops. Another lady intervened and gave us 50% off. The cops came as we were leaving. I never talked to them.
What did you think the cops would do «make me pay for terrible food»? Not to mention the tipping you need disclose that it is mendatory that is not something you put a sign in an awkward place where no one looks.
The «manager» is clearly not experienced in food service line of work.
WoW
Left super angry.
IN RESPONSE TO PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE MANAGEMENT COMMENT
I did not eat your food because it was terrible. KEY IS «DID NOT EAT»
What is that you then want me to pay for exactly?
Any decent restaurant would have compensated the costumer. Instead your staff made an ordeal of the situation.
As far my «American taste» goes I have eaten food from all over the world and this is by far the worst foo I’ve had for the price. My wife is a chef and by now I think I know a thing or two about taste and food presentation.
If you want to push the issue further and be passive aggressive in yours response I can tell you this won’t help your business.
I will never eat at or endorse your restaurant. At ever chance I will tell people about my experience without any hesitation.

Stopped in this afternoon with four friends for the weekend buffet brunch. We all left with full, happy tummies! It was fun to try a little bit of everything; from the staples to the more adventurous dishes.
My only regret is not going back for a third helping of cold szechuan noodles. They were heavenly delicious! I also loved the fried pork buns.
We were greeted warmly and got seated as soon as we arrived. Since we all got the buffet, we had limited interaction with our server, but he came by multiple times to refill our waters.
I loved the ambiance. Beautiful décor with lots of natural light. I’ll definitely be back soon to try more.

So I ordered Tea House from work one day, it was good, a solid 4 stars.
But, when you can’t go home for xmass, you drink beer, play video games, and order winter comfort food. Since no ramen places were open, we decided to order Tea House. Omg, best decision ever. We tried the eggplant in garlic sauce, double cooked pork, Szechwan dumplings, and Shanghai pan fried pork buns. So good. As the bf says, ‘it was goddamned delicious’. Everything was tasty. The perfect amount of spicy and savory. I can’t wait to check out the weekend buffet.

Came here for lunch as a break to studying for finals, and I also craved for pork soup dumplings.
I had the ma po tofu lunch combo. The ma po tofu was in a bowl, there were rice, one pork egg roll, and hot and sour soup. I also ordered their pork soup dumplings.
The ma po tofu was okay. Soft tofu that will disintegrate in your mouth, covered in chilli oil with grounded pork. It combined nicely with the rice, but I personally did not like it due to being too much on the oily side. Still a decent dish overall though. The egg roll was good. Compacted good flavors, and not like the generic Chinese fast food egg rolls. The hot and sour soup was actually one of the better ones that I’ve had.
I was looking forward for my favorite item from Tea House, which was the pork soup dumplings. Unfortunately, it was way too undercooked. I first noticed this by biting the top of dumplings and sucking the soup. The soup had an uncooked pork taste to it. I looked in the bun, and saw that the ground pork was super pink, and had the aroma of raw pork. I opened another dumpling to make sure it wasn’t just one that was undercooked. However, they both were pink and had raw meat aroma. I waited for about 15 minutes to get the waiter’s attention on this. I asked him if he thought it was undercooked, and he thought it was also. He took it back, and being ready to leave to study some more, I didn’t ask for another batch and was not charged for it.
Later on, he came back and told me the chef actually said it was good to eat, and that it just looked that way because they didn’t use soy sauce. First of all, I’ve had their pork soup dumplings before, and it did not look like that, smell like that, nor did the soup in the dumplings taste like that. I also had the decency to try the ground pork that was left in my spoon to see if it was really cooked. Unfortunately, it was chewy and had a raw pork aroma still. I’m sorry, but I’m just disappointed they thought it was okay to serve undercooked pork soup dumplings and try to make it seem that it was okay.
I was a big fan, but I don’t know anymore.

So I will come out and say that I’m a bit biased here — my father in law is good friends with the owner’s husband.
That being said! I am generally not a fan of Chinese cuisine, nor do I know very much about the different variations of the dishes at all, or what authentic Chinese cuisine even looks like. But Tea House has some damn tasty stuff. A few of my favorites: shoe string potatoes, cumin lamb, the scallion pancake things, steamed buns. Last time we were there my mother in law ordered this edamame eggplant dish that was so good, I think it is my new favorite, I wish I could remember the exact name of it!
It’s a nice place, a bit more upscale looking but don’t let that fool you, it is still a very laid back and casual atmosphere.
A common complaint is that a lot of the dishes seem to have an excess amount of oil in them. I noticed this too, but I’m not sure if that par for the course for authentic Chinese cuisine or not. I don’t think it detracts from the deliciousness of any of their dishes though, so don’t let that put you off from coming to try their food, you won’t regret it!

Delicious late night snack. Got some xiaolong bao and steamed pork buns. The soup dumplings skins were thick as other reviewers but they are larger in size than most. The flavor of the meat and soup was that typical dim sum profile which I love. The steamed buns were so cute and fluffy and filled with 5-​spice flavored meats. I can’t complain since I haven’t had any phenomenal buns in Minnesota (soup/​steamed). It’s close to the university and they were able to cook things up with a friendly demeanor 30 minutes from closing time. For now I’m going to be coming back to tea house for delicious buns~

After coming here for a Unilocal event and trying all their food I had to come back! Emily R. and I went in on a Sunday afternoon during their 3−6pm happy hour. They offer $ 3 bottles of beer and $ 3-​$ 6 appetizers so we started out with $ 3 cream cheese wontons and $ 3 potstickers — both were an excellent deal (originally ~$ 7 each)! Next we decided to split the sesame chicken, which came with a side of rice. Since we told the waiter we were splitting it, he brought out two separate bowls of rice so that was very nice. Everything we ate was delicious! The wontons were warm and came with a sweet and sour sauce and the potstickers were very filling and came with a soy sauce. The orange chicken was excellent and a good portion — we shared it and still ended up each taking home leftovers!
I love the atmosphere here. It is very classy and well designed. It seems very modern but still has the oriental vibe. Our server was very friendly and took good care of us. Plus, they have a parking lot for free!

YES!
When I was in college I spent a month traveling China. Actual authentic Chinese food is nothing like what we have here in the states. Two of my favorite dishes were regional. Peking Duck — which is Beijing’s signature dish and Squirrel Fish, which a Southern China dish. Tea House is the first place in the states that offers both of the regional signature dishes!
Even though I was super pumped about discovering that the Tea House offers my favorite dishes, Leah G. and I stopped in for a quick dinner. Tea House has a great Happy Hour — usual hours during the week but an all day Happy Hour on Sunday! We ordered a pretty standard Americanized Chinese meal. We had the pan fried dumpings and cream cheese wantons off of the Happy Hour menu and split an order of the sesame chicken. It was the best Chinese food that I’ve had in the states. I will be back soon to have my fix of both Peking Duck and Squirrel Fish! I am very happy that I discovered this gem!