Tokyo Saryo

Modern meets traditional at this Tokyo tea house

I'd read a lot about Tokyo Saryo and was fortunate to have a chance to visit when I was in Tokyo recently. They are what I would call a modern take on the traditional tea house - the premises is gorgeous and minimal - white walls, wooden countertops and a grand total of 9 place settings. The menu is quite simple, and the most popular item on their menu is the comparison between two types of tea and refreshment, which is priced at 1300 yen. You're given a list of teas to choose from to make your comparison, and there's a chart which also shows off the different teas flavor profiles. Some are more bitter, some are sweet, some are umami - and it's up to you to choose two that you'd like to compare against each other. Alongside your tea, you also get to choose from different Japanese sweets to accompany it. Some of the options included ohagi (Japanese rice balls served with red bean paste) or yokan. The store here also acts as a retail premises for selling the teas as well, so if you find a blend you particularly like, you're able to purchase it to enjoy at home. They had a more extensive offering of teas to purchase than they did on the tasting menu, so it's worth a look if you're after something in particular. The staff member I chatted with spoke fluent English - she also told me that weekdays are much quieter than weekends - when I visited I was the only person there which made for a lovely experience! She also said about 30% of the clientele are foreigners so don't feel intimidated to pop in even if you don't speak Japanese!