Imperial Tea Court

Great for a cozy snack while here on a Saturday morning (if you’re here for the farmers market) I had the lotus wrapped sticky rice pork belly & the baked veggie egg roll- both were tasty, and the baked egg roll definitely tasted baked vs fried (less oily) I enjoyed both and will stop by again for tea & a snack. Great little place to have “dim sum” on the go.

This was a very nice “pick-me-up”. The tea server was so knowledgeable and explained the process of brewing tea perfectly. The snacks served with the tea were delicious.

love this place! our family comes here every time we come up to San Francisco. we’ve come here for years and years and they never disappoint! the noodles are so amazing! the workers here are always so nice! 10/10! i will always recommend this place!

Sooo good. Had the hand crafted noodles and the dumplings. Highly recommend. My kids said these were the best noodles they had ever eaten.

Hand stretched noodles and chicken dumplings were so yummy, and the yellow tea was very good too. The lady that served us was so nice as well.

Their char siu baos are GREAT (bbq pork buns). Literally the only GOOD Chinese place I’ve been to in the city. Granted it’s this one item but still Only ordered from the takeout options. Didn’t love the chicken bun (it was good, but I don’t love them to begin with) or pork belly sandwich (too dry)

This was one of the greatest dining experiences I've ever had. Our waiter was amazing and very attentive, and went above and beyond in showing us how to make dragon well tea with a whole set of teapots. I don't remember the guy's name but he was awesome. Plus the dumplings were great. I'll be coming back if I visit the area again.

So the tea and the tea rituals are fantastic, it's such a great experience for being in a very touristy spot. I wasn't a super big fan of the dumplings that were offered here relative to the nearby Chinatown. Honestly, if you're here, just walk like 10 minutes to Chinatown and find a nearest dim sum place. I had the aged yellow tea and holy cow it's one of the best tea I have ever tried. You essentially get like 10 refills on it which is definitively worth 15 bucks. The waitress was pretty nice in showcasing a tea ritual and we did our refills with gaiwan. It was a good experience to understand how tea ritual works as opposed to just using a french press.

Located in the bustling Ferry building farmers market, this is one of the few sit down restaurants at the ferry building. Best known for their home made hand pulled organic noodles served in a tasty broth (vegan options also available), be warned that the servings are large so don't fill yourself up with appetizers. What I love about the broth is that it is not salty as broths sometimes are and comes with a lot of veggies. Their tea selection is great too!

Excellent tea, great staff, tasty food. We had the steamed bun, very puffy.

My wife and I love coming here after work when we're both in the city. They have some of the most delicious tea and fantastic service. I always order the iced Lychee Black. Light, refreshing, and delicious without being over the top sweet like other iced tea. My wife ordered the Lychee Blossom (pictured) and it's quite aromatic and floral and has a very nice taste. 10/10 would recommend coming here if you're visiting SF or even just a local looking for a nice spot to hang out and have some tea, a nice conversation, or finish up work.

I can’t review the atmosphere or the service, but the food I got was great! I got the Dim Sum Sampler (takeout) but all vegetarian, which they were super accommodating about.

The store ambience was luxurious and allowed me to think that I was in China. Therefore, I got tea and tea cookies from this store. The tea cookies were exceptionally delicious, so I and my European friends almost finished it while we were walking around mission bay. I highly recommend you to purchase match tea cookies! I love it! The Chinese staff were also kind and nice!

Our best dining experience in SF so far. We had 3 different teas and had a lovely tea ceremony experience with the manager explaining each tea, how long to steep it and what sort of taste to expect. We also had a sampler of spring rolls and shu mai plus a yummy pork bun and sticky rice. Very enjoyable.

Nice place to have quiet conversation and enjoy a wide range of premium Chinese tea.

This place is THE place for dumplings and, tea, and (my favorite) hand pulled noodles. The hand pulled noodles, which we got with pork, were so fresh and chewy and umami. I am a chef at an Italian restaurant and I know my way around fresh pasta. If you're a noodle fan, you are in the right place. Liked being able to, as a table of three, get a sampler of dumplings so we could all try some of each for a very reasonable price. The atmosphere is super nice and very relaxing and service was great. It's a must if you are going to the Ferry building.

perhaps the best tea house in Silicon Valley. extensive selection of tea, along with small cookies, etc. Great place to sit and talk for hours.

12-4-21: Came here for lunch on a Saturday. Place was crowded. Happy that they checked my vaccination card 👍. Ordered an Anxi Tie Guan Yie oolong tea to start and was treated with a show by the server as she rinsed and prepared my tea. I really liked my tea and took some dry leaves to go! Ate a noodle soup dish, char sui bow, and sticky rice wrap! Everything was really good. I will definitely be back again for more delicious food!

Old world style Chinese tea house nestled in the Ferry building. Great tea selection with super knowledgeable and accommodating service. Excellent snacks and small dishes. Go during happy hour and you can clean up. Two tea cups up 🍵🍵

Steamed BBQ pork buns and Earl grey and lavender tea! It was a great quick bite and tea! The servers were helpful and nice, the food and tea we're delicious! You can also reuse your tea leaves while in the restaurant (they show you how to pour and not make a mess). I'll be going back!

Outstanding food and tea here, surprisingly as good or better than what we've been sampling in Chinatown proper. It was the best green tea we've had, even 3 steeps in with the table service, and the hand-pulled noodles with vegetables could not have been more perfect.

Vegetarian noodles with beef and extra spicy.... I've only ever have beef this good when my mom cooks her caldo de res. I was honestly mind blown to how amazing it was. I keep telling everyone about this place because everyone needs to try it! I can't wait to come again!

It was very cool to see a place so dedicated to tea, while somewhat pricy, it is a must have if you enjoy tea and the presentation of it. I had the steamed buns and the seasonal vegetables which were delicious.

James Freeman

Excellent tea, great staff, tasty food. We had the steamed bun, very puffy.

Wasim Wadhwani

My wife and I love coming here after work when we're both in the city. They have some of the most delicious tea and fantastic service. I always order the iced Lychee Black. Light, refreshing, and delicious without being over the top sweet like other iced tea. My wife ordered the Lychee Blossom (pictured) and it's quite aromatic and floral and has a very nice taste. 10/10 would recommend coming here if you're visiting SF or even just a local looking for a nice spot to hang out and have some tea, a nice conversation, or finish up work.

한승수

The store ambience was luxurious and allowed me to think that I was in China. Therefore, I got tea and tea cookies from this store. The tea cookies were exceptionally delicious, so I and my European friends almost finished it while we were walking around mission bay. I highly recommend you to purchase match tea cookies! I love it! The Chinese staff were also kind and nice!

Andreas Ramos

perhaps the best tea house in Silicon Valley. extensive selection of tea, along with small cookies, etc. Great place to sit and talk for hours.

Kelly Burton

This place is THE place for dumplings and, tea, and (my favorite) hand pulled noodles. The hand pulled noodles, which we got with pork, were so fresh and chewy and umami. I am a chef at an Italian restaurant and I know my way around fresh pasta. If you're a noodle fan, you are in the right place. Liked being able to, as a table of three, get a sampler of dumplings so we could all try some of each for a very reasonable price. The atmosphere is super nice and very relaxing and service was great. It's a must if you are going to the Ferry building.

Megan Y

Our best dining experience in SF so far. We had 3 different teas and had a lovely tea ceremony experience with the manager explaining each tea, how long to steep it and what sort of taste to expect. We also had a sampler of spring rolls and shu mai plus a yummy pork bun and sticky rice. Very enjoyable.

P L

Nice place to have quiet conversation and enjoy a wide range of premium Chinese tea.

Ken Wong

12-4-21: Came here for lunch on a Saturday. Place was crowded. Happy that they checked my vaccination card 👍. Ordered an Anxi Tie Guan Yie oolong tea to start and was treated with a show by the server as she rinsed and prepared my tea. I really liked my tea and took some dry leaves to go! Ate a noodle soup dish, char sui bow, and sticky rice wrap! Everything was really good. I will definitely be back again for more delicious food!

Mario Dos Campollo

Old world style Chinese tea house nestled in the Ferry building. Great tea selection with super knowledgeable and accommodating service. Excellent snacks and small dishes. Go during happy hour and you can clean up. Two tea cups up 🍵🍵

Maria “Luisa” Puentes

Steamed BBQ pork buns and Earl grey and lavender tea! It was a great quick bite and tea! The servers were helpful and nice, the food and tea we're delicious! You can also reuse your tea leaves while in the restaurant (they show you how to pour and not make a mess). I'll be going back!

Matthew Ecclestone

Outstanding food and tea here, surprisingly as good or better than what we've been sampling in Chinatown proper. It was the best green tea we've had, even 3 steeps in with the table service, and the hand-pulled noodles with vegetables could not have been more perfect.

pd_0126

Vegetarian noodles with beef and extra spicy.... I've only ever have beef this good when my mom cooks her caldo de res. I was honestly mind blown to how amazing it was. I keep telling everyone about this place because everyone needs to try it! I can't wait to come again!

Santana Ayala

It was very cool to see a place so dedicated to tea, while somewhat pricy, it is a must have if you enjoy tea and the presentation of it. I had the steamed buns and the seasonal vegetables which were delicious.

Very nice ambience and friendly staff! You will get served quickly if you choose to dine in and the food is just about what you would expect. I think that it is very important to note that this place is centered around their tea, so definitely try that over their food selection if you are in a pinch. Their pork buns are good, other dim sum samplers were also good.

Really nice tea selection! We didn’t get anything to eat but very much enjoyed the tea and their knowledge of it. Person in front of us in line took a really, really long time so maybe if there was some system to address others if there’s one of those they’d be better off, but who knows - that’s also part of the joy of this place is that they know their tea so well and can talk to the customers and explain different types etc

skye

Very nice ambience and friendly staff! You will get served quickly if you choose to dine in and the food is just about what you would expect. I think that it is very important to note that this place is centered around their tea, so definitely try that over their food selection if you are in a pinch. Their pork buns are good, other dim sum samplers were also good.

We were scenery. I go this snack and drink They are actually pretty good. I do recommend this place.

Imperial Tea Court is a well established cultural Chinese tea house offering the best Chinese traditional tea and cuisines.

Linh Tran

We were scenery. I go this snack and drink They are actually pretty good. I do recommend this place.

It's ok Chinese food. They always have a stand outside selling different types of buns. If you really crave for some Chinese food then go for it else I would suggest save your stomach space and go somewhere else.

Unremarkable with high prices. It's usually empty because it's not that great. Come here for the tea and dumplings, but ignore the rest. Vegetarian steamed buns are not good. They lack variety of flavor and are very bitter, even for someone that likes vegetables. The variety of teas is really good though, and you have a nice selection of desserts.

Got the pork belly sandwich. It was good and worth the $5 but i wouldn’t go out of my way to take somebody here or get it again. Pork flavor was satisfying enough at the price but not great. The bun itself was better, great texture and had some tasty browning in the outside.

The spring roll was dry and didn't have much flavor. The pork belly sandwich was a bit better. I think the best part of the sandwich for me was the bread. Usually those sandwiches have a gummy dough but the texture of this one was light and fluffy.

Came at the end of lunch rush ~1pm and waited 45min to be seated so be careful even on a Monday. Staff were definitely overwhelmed, I’m not mad but it showed a little in the food quality. White tea was delicious though and the servers were kind but really busy, imo wasn’t worth the anticipation and price for a vegetarian. It is really cute in there.

Do NOT get the pocket sandwiches. DO get the pork buns Pocket sandwiches are double the price and no flavor. Super dry and a waste of money.

A stand inside the ferry building. Had the pork belly dim sum and chicken dim sum, both were good, but I liked the pork belly more. The seating is outside (general use tables and benches) with a nice view of the water (visited during covid-19). Price was reasonable, $5 per dim sum.

We were enticed to come here when we saw their bun menu. The lady told us their menu was wrong and said she recommended the BBQ pork sandwich so that's what we got. It was pretty good, but I prefer a bao bun. It was enjoyable nonetheless though. I will say that I think there are other options that are better at the Ferry Building. Maybe it's just what we got though.

Yan Karasik

A stand inside the ferry building. Had the pork belly dim sum and chicken dim sum, both were good, but I liked the pork belly more. The seating is outside (general use tables and benches) with a nice view of the water (visited during covid-19). Price was reasonable, $5 per dim sum.

Jacqueline Telljohann

We were enticed to come here when we saw their bun menu. The lady told us their menu was wrong and said she recommended the BBQ pork sandwich so that's what we got. It was pretty good, but I prefer a bao bun. It was enjoyable nonetheless though. I will say that I think there are other options that are better at the Ferry Building. Maybe it's just what we got though.

We've walked past here a million times, but finally decided to see if it was as mediocre as it looked. The food here. It's extraordinary how bad it is. Somehow several levels worse than the frozen dimsum you can find at a Costco or Trader Joes. The noodles themselves were passable, but the broth they came in was really sorry indeed. The tea selection is pretty legit. The tea itself was good. The tea "service" they provided felt even less inspired than a bad applebee's employee, though maybe that was just the particular person we had. The decor and ambiance are also a bit sad. But of course, the location is unbeatable. Overall, our conclusion was that if you're there to buy tea, then sure, go for it. If you're there for tea service, then it could be a 3.5 to 4 out of 5. If you're there for food...just no, i'd give it a zero if i could. Meanwhile Harborview is across the street and is a 5/5. If you're a tourist on holiday, and you'll be stopping by Chinatown, save your Asian fix for there. The average tourist trap in Chinatown is much better than this place. Meanwhile, there's much better food in the ferry building if you're looking for food.

Cheugly Puffs

We've walked past here a million times, but finally decided to see if it was as mediocre as it looked. The food here. It's extraordinary how bad it is. Somehow several levels worse than the frozen dimsum you can find at a Costco or Trader Joes. The noodles themselves were passable, but the broth they came in was really sorry indeed. The tea selection is pretty legit. The tea itself was good. The tea "service" they provided felt even less inspired than a bad applebee's employee, though maybe that was just the particular person we had. The decor and ambiance are also a bit sad. But of course, the location is unbeatable. Overall, our conclusion was that if you're there to buy tea, then sure, go for it. If you're there for tea service, then it could be a 3.5 to 4 out of 5. If you're there for food...just no, i'd give it a zero if i could. Meanwhile Harborview is across the street and is a 5/5. If you're a tourist on holiday, and you'll be stopping by Chinatown, save your Asian fix for there. The average tourist trap in Chinatown is much better than this place. Meanwhile, there's much better food in the ferry building if you're looking for food.

Gross! Finger nail in the pork bun. They tried giving me a refund and refunded wrong person on top of that. I wouldn’t eat here. Zoom in the pic and you’ll see what ended up in my mouth. Calling the health inspectors on this one.

So, the tea was great and there is a large variety, but I witnessed something happen that ruined the experience for me. We were seated in the back area and there is a woman working the front booth for to-go order for dumplings and steamed buns. We saw her drop a bun on the nasty, wet ferry building floor and put it back in the steamer. After I saw that, I lost my appetite. It would’ve been 4 stars for the tea and service, but do not eat here, they will feed you expensive food from the ground.

Ordered the veggie bun, got two bites into it and realized they served me the bbq pork bun. I'm vegetarian and hadn't eaten meat in years and this has made me sick to even think about. Huge mistake, no way to rectify.

Review is only for the hand pulled noodles. I did not try the tea. Ordered: veggie hand pulled noodles This was a disappointing dish. The broth was bland. Topping was lacking flavor (stir fried carrot, cabbage, wood ear mushroom, shiitake, and seasoned tofu). Noodle texture was chewy. However, noodle had a weird taste to it. I can't describe it, but it was unpleasant. For the price, I was expecting a better bowl of noodles.

I got their signature noodle dish, I must say those were the worst Chinese noodles Ive ever had in my life. Beef looked and tasted like it belongs to Hungarian stew, noodle was like it belongs to Italian pasta, and there was a bunch of cabbage (not bokchoy) as if it's a German snack. All of those ingredients were floating in a weird tasting liquidy broth (house special). It tasted like a bunch of leftovers that belong to different cultures were mixed together and heat up. Obviously the place is taking advantage of tourists passing through ferry building.

Ernesto Sarmiento

Gross! Finger nail in the pork bun. They tried giving me a refund and refunded wrong person on top of that. I wouldn’t eat here. Zoom in the pic and you’ll see what ended up in my mouth. Calling the health inspectors on this one.

Konstantin Meledin

I got their signature noodle dish, I must say those were the worst Chinese noodles Ive ever had in my life. Beef looked and tasted like it belongs to Hungarian stew, noodle was like it belongs to Italian pasta, and there was a bunch of cabbage (not bokchoy) as if it's a German snack. All of those ingredients were floating in a weird tasting liquidy broth (house special). It tasted like a bunch of leftovers that belong to different cultures were mixed together and heat up. Obviously the place is taking advantage of tourists passing through ferry building.