Cafe Tea Box

this place is closed.

The Tea Box was my secret little gem I would go to when I lived in the City and even afterwards. It is The Perfect Place to meet the ladies who lunch.
I would always get the Bento Box lunch special and a flavored iced tea, usually mango. I love that they brought the mango syrup separately. Nice little touch.
If you have to wait for a table, look around their tea area for some bring home goodie$, both tea sets and loose teas from all corners far and wide.
And the ladies’ loo is «nice» too.
Very chichi and sophisticated… Just like I used to be! ;)

High tea at the Tea Box is the perfect post-​museum, mid afternoon snack.
I appreciated the little details such as my matcha green tea being served with a tiny carafe of simple syrup to sweeten and my husband’s hot tea that was accompanied with a stick of rock candy to dip in to sweeten.
The food was beautifully prepared small bites. Cucumber and salmon pressed rice tea sandwiches, curried crab roll in rice paper, green crème brûlée and many other nibbles made a nice east-​west blend.
The whole experience felt decedent and the cozy atmosphere made me want to stay forever.
Tip: High tea is served Monday through Saturday from 3:00 — 5:30 p.m.

Located underground beneath the Takashimaya, this tea house serves tea at a decent (for Midtown) rate, albeit has small (should we call it ‘delicate’?) servings and the atmosphere is rather austere and not entirely comfortable — spartan, as Henry C. mentions — the gift shop for tea next to it and the elevator is quite a bit better set up and more pleasant, in my opinion. Food, at least, wasn’t bad, a mix of the common (cookies and rice sandwiches) and uncommon (wow, that orange…) just… tiny. Tea here is expensive, and while no refills (are you surprised?), at least it was properly prepared.
Still, a little hidden space that blocks most cell phones’ signals.

Lunch here is great. it’s a little hideaway from the hustle and bustle of 5^th Ave with fresh, artfully prepared food. Open-​faced Wagyu beef sandwices, sauteed shrimp with chili glaze over greens. Simple prep but high quality ingredients, reasonable prices for what it is, particularly given the location (must be subsidized by the high priced food shop and merchandise upstairs!). Hey, you can spend as much at Friday’s — sure you’ll get MORE food, but so what?
The tea here is *serious*, no messing around. This isn’t English tea where you have a pot full of leaves and random steeping times. They do it for you because every different tea requires different water temperatures and timing. So yes, no refills. If you are a green tea fan you will be in heaven. Surprisingly even the coffee is quite good. Yes the «butter cookies» dessert are 3 packaged Yoku Moku cookies which are still better than 99% of the cookies on this planet.
It really has a spartan Japanese ethos so best to be in a minimalist mood. Except for the cost which is decidedly not minimalist, especially if you browse the food shop on your way out. Or buy a teapot or two.
I’ll bet the one in Toyko is just amazing though.

Tea Box is definitely a case of style over substance. It is not exactly a bastion of traditional Japanese cuisine (or affordability). However, the food is in fact «cute» and if that’s your thing, go for it.
The Japanese rice sandwiches came topped with sliced cucumber and cured salmon. The sandwiches were tasty and light, but ultimately unremarkable.
The seaweed salad was the neon-​green hash of the kind you could buy in the prepared food section at your local asian supermarket for $ 3.50.
The bento box was absolutely gorgeous. It consisted of a salad of greens, cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced duck, as well as a variety of fried items, such as a fried yam ball.
The small, yet umistakable highlight of the meal was the treat at the tail end of the bento box. My sister remarked that this Café was all about «cute» food, and no other dish exemplified this than the molecular gastronomy inspired orange slice that was not an orange slice. Taken straight from the El Bulli playbook (specifically that of Albert Adria), the orange slice was in fact a peel of a quartered orange with a orange purée/​gelatin filing that, when presented, was an immaculate reproduction of an actual orange slice. Like other reproductions of this genre, it was clever and playful. The slice was part of the Bento Box and was very refreshing.
Among the deserts, the standout was definitely the green tea crème brûlée, which was just a normal crème brûlée with green tea powder. The Yuzu Citrus Cheesecake was enjoyable but ultimately pedestrian due to it’s lack of any hints of citrus. The butter cookies where exactly what they should have been, very, very rich.
Overall, a decent meal, but I just couldn’t get over the horrendous price to authenticity ratio, as well as the super kistchy tea shop outside the restaurant that obviously pays its bill by bilking white people into paying $ 40 a pound for average quality tea infused with fruit.

I hadn’t been to Takashimaya on 5^th Ave. for a few years, and maybe my expectations were too high (I love Takashimaya in Tokyo). The café is dingy beyond belief and the food is fresh but nothing special. The waitstaff were attentive and friendly, but the entire place had a sort of sad, worn-​out vibe. It really needs a renovation. It’s definitely a comfortable, basic place for a cup of tea and lunch, but the tiredness of the décor and the touristy crowd were just depressing. I don’t know. Maybe I am just spoiled and the recession hasn’t hit home yet? I guess I should feel lucky just to be going out for lunch on a Saturday, period. This review has turned into a forum for my angst and ennuie. But the point of Unilocal is to review places, right? Let’s face it. Takashimaya needs to renovate Tea Box and put in some Toto toilets with warmed seats and auto-​bidets. Current state of affairs is terrible. Please. Tuna was bland and mushy. Tea was lukewarm. Get a grip, Takashimaya!

I’d rate this place 3.5 stars, but since Unilocal only allows ratings by whole stars, I must round down.
LOCATION: We finished our 5^th Ave shopping and were looking for a place to rest our feet. Conveniently on 5^th ave was Takashimaya, a Japanese department store near the 5^th ave sephora. I wouldn’t have known about this secret place had it not been for my dear local friend (in the know!).
DIRECTIONS: Enter the Takashimaya department store amid the first floor perfumes /​beauty products, and take the elevators on the left to the basement for Takashimaya Restaurant at the Tea Box. The Tea Box is not heavily advertisied.
PEOPLE: On a Saturday afternoon, the tables were a third full of young people (an occasional couple with a young baby). No older people were in sight, and rightfully so: would they appreciate a $ 5 pot of 16 oz tea (no leaves = no refills) or tiny, bite-​sized portions of food (a dollar a bite, it seems).
MENU: There were tea cookies ($ 3.50 for 3 seemingly packaged, preserved, buttery cookies), tea sandwiches ($ 7.50 for sandwiches made of rice), and tea (the whole back menu). We ultimately chose the $ 20 afternoon tea set consisting of a pot of tea, and a platter with fruit, biscuits, cookies, and taro chips.
TASTE: While the biscuits (deemed cookies) tasted buttery and good, they tasted like they came out of the Japanese preserved packaging, as they sold the same cookies upon exiting the store. Certainly, our little pieces of packaged chocolates and biscuits were sold at the store outside the restaurant. I liked the rice tea sandwiches with wasabi /​mint flavor, though the three weren’t worth $ 7.50 when priced individually (see picture).
INSIDER’S NOTE: This was the first «tea house» I’ve ever been to that didn’t offer tea bags or leaves in its tea, forcing its patrons to keep ordering more pots instead of doing refills. Tea leaf-​less tea in 16 oz pots.
Our waiter was giving us attitude when I lifted a tea pot. Before I even asked a question, he said, «No refills». I asked for hot water, not for more tea. Note that this place gave us pots of tea *without leaves*, meaning extra hot water didn’t equate to more tea.
OVERALL: I loved that my friend showed me the place, and I will never forget the lazy afternoon just chillaxin’ and sharing in great conversations. The food reminds me of what I’d found when visiting Tokyo: The packaging and presentation made the food look better than its taste (or portion size, freshness, or variety for that matter).
Might come back, but only after trying out all the other tea houses (a la Alice’s Tea House) in the city.

It was 11am, and I was in search of the perfect place for a little lunch rendezvous w/​a former collegue. My friend’s text earlier that morning read a little something like this: «I don’t care where, I’m high on lovvvvvve!». Enough said — a secluded, intimate spot for «girl talk» was in order! ;)
And so after much searching on Unilocal (and the impossible task since the Rock is the antithesis of «secluded», «cute», or «intimate»)– off to Takashimaya we went a mere 3 blocks away from my office :)
How could I have forgotten about this cute little place? Tucked away in the basement of this 5^th Avenue store is a serene haven for tea lovers (like me!). Great place to catch up while enjoying japanese tea sandwiches and a pot from their selection of forty different types of tea. The bento box presents an elegant sampling of dishes arranged by Chef Taro Mitsuiki which changes daily. I had the bento box along with a pot of the Takashimaya Rose tea. The bento (grilled rare steak w/​miso mayo, salmon roll, salad & rice) although very tiny, was flavorful. I went totally crazy for the rose tea. My friend had the smoked salmon sandwich and complemented her «love high» with a few mandatory glasses of chardonnay.
Two pots of tea, a few glasses of chardonnay, & an hour later, we returned to our respective places of employment. Hopefully, her red cheeks didn’t give her away– ahhh amor. ;)
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Afterthoughts: Since I’m more of an afternoon tea kind of girl– will definitely have to come back to try their East Meets West afternoon tea service (served from 3pm-5:30pm), which includes a pot of tea served with a «cross-​cultural» selection of pastries, cookies, finger sandwiches, and fresh fruit. mmm :)
Bummer: I really want to take away 1-​star for the unfriendly Japanese lady who messed up my order, was unaccomodating, and rude, but I won’t since the rest of the staff was friendly and attentive!

lunch is better than tea in terms of amount of food available…
we went for lunch and they had small portions but good stuff and «bento» which was small but enough
we went for tea and it was really small «japanese“portion «sandwiches» we had to order like 4 orders to be enough
unfortunately, they make the sandwiches in advance so if you want to hold the wasabi, no go… which was unfortunately for our little one
and they use sushi rice, so again sour-​ish rice which is yummy for me and hubby but not for picky little one.

Hidden away in the basement of Takashimaya is a fantastic Japanese Tea and Dessert Café. The tea selection is outstanding. All teas can be purchased for home enjoyment, or you can sit in the café and order a cup of tea. The rock sugar on a stick is given if you like to sweeten your tea.
Had a cup of black currant tea (my favorite) and what I can only describe as the thickest, richest piece of chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my life.
Aside from the in house food and tea, the store side of the café sells BEAUTIFUL tea pots and cups, tea related accessories, serving dishes, snacks, books on tea and tea ceremony and loose leaf teas. It’s small, but has a great selection. This would be a great place to get a really nice gift for your better half, or you or your better half’s parents.

This café is little and the epitome of a Japanese café. It’s cute and simple and I loved it. Teas were delish. Despite the 5^th ave address there are no frills which I also love.