ZenCha Cafe & tea

Delicious gluten free waffles. All their waffles are gluten free though not marked. Flavors were amazing. Checked in with Unilocal and it offered a 15% discount but didn’t list any restrictions. First person didn’t know anything about it. Second person said that they can only offer that on go-​to teas. Disappointed it wasn’t more clearly listed. Nice atmosphere and relaxing. One son had a second order of his food it was so good. Servers were kind, service was a bit slow however gave is more time to relax.

I love it here! the set up inside was very neat and well decorated. My server was Sage, she was knowledgeable and delightful to have as a server. The experience was a great one. I tried the tuna avocado sandwich combo with cardamom ginger tea. It was super tasty. I will definitely be coming here again.

I found this adorable restaurant a month ago and have already been back 5 times!!! The atmosphere is cozy and calming, the food is delicious and reasonably priced and the tea selection is the best in town. I am a big fan of their lunch special (salad, soup and a sandwich). The service has been hit or miss– but it’s always very fast.

This is a great place to check out teas from all over the worl! Literally! Nice place for a first date, date with yourself, a book club or just friends catching up. I love the atmosphere, very serene and elegant. Tea service is great– you can have your tea hot or cold. I asked a few questions about the teas and my waitress was very informative.
They also have a menu for food! Beware though — there are two different menus — one for weekdays and one for weekends. I think i like what weekday menu offers as they have more variety from chicken to salmon. Since i went on Sunday and it was the brunch menu, i just ordered spicy noodles with beef. Very tasty and filling. I also ordered fruit tea served cold– so amazing and took a fruity tea from Africa to go.
There was a couple sitting behind me on their first date… quite honestly this spot is excellent first date place!
I can’t wait to go back and try out their weekday menu and relax and read a book. Awesome, elegant and not very loud place to have some one –no-​one time with yourself! !

There is a huge difference between the ZenCha on High St and this one, definitely different management. The wait staff were hard to track down and wearing sneakers (not hipster ones), one kept dropping silverware several times, would never visit again. Expensive food that wasn’t up to par, definitely go to the one on High and 2^nd. Everything is magical there…
I don’t understand why they are able to use the same logo, it really does a disservice to the owner of the other two cafes.

tl, dr: Don’t go if you like well-​prepared tea from the tea plant (senchas, oolongs, black tea, etc). Their fruit infusions, bubble tea, or food may be good but we didn’t try them.
Full Review:
Me and my boyfriend decided to take a trip to Zencha on Valentine’s Day. We’re both tea freaks and had read on their website that they offered tea flights. Apparently, this location does not offer them. Odd, we thought, but whatever. We ordered two pots of tea instead, one oolong and one chinese black, and they both came out tasting rather unpleasant and astringent. We were disappointed, but chalked up our dislike of the tea to our unfamiliarity with oolongs and chinese black teas.
When our server came by to ask how we were doing, we let her know that we weren’t having a great time and she set us up with a free to-​go cup of Sencha, a tea variety that we are extremely familiar with, having brewed it for ourselves from loose leaf on a daily basis for about two years. When the tea arrived, it was far too hot to drink, which immediately seemed odd since the ideal temperature range for this variety is somewhere between 160 – 180 degrees F. When green tea is brewed at that temperature I can comfortably drink it right away. Additionally, a sencha should not be brewed for more than 1 – 2 minutes because this brings out bitter and astringent flavors in the tea, and yet ours took about 15 minutes to get to the table and, I realized after the fact, probably spent most of that time brewing. The result of this peculiar process tasted musty, flat, and bitter, with little of the grassy, vegetal flavors that any decent sencha should have. We both agreed that it was the worst sencha that we have ever had.
Out of morbid curiosity, we pried open the lid on our tea, and were astonished to find that it was dark, brown, murky, and opaque. I brewed a cup of sencha at home for comparison to upload with this review so you can get a feeling for the scope of the problem.
After our visit, we went to Zen Cha’s website to write an e-​mail about our experience only to find that Zen Cha in the short north disavowed themselves of this franchise location in 2014:
«Disclaimer:
Our previous Bexley location located at 2396 E. Main St., has been under new ownership since September 2014. The Bexley location is no longer asscioated with the ZenCha brand and management. Please forward all inquires and feedback directly to the Bexley location.»
This quote is taken verbatim from Zen Cha’s website. Curious.

I always get delicious food here. During one visit to their Short North location I had a cheesy cauliflower soup that was so flavorful. I think it was one of the best soups I have ever had. I recently went to the Bexley location and had a ‘beef and red pepper’ lunch special which was affordably priced and the perfect portion size. A lot of times you get a stir-​fry at a Chinese restaurant and the beef in grey and chewy, but at Zencha it was perfectly browned on the outside and pink in the middle, and incredibly tender. I love the wide range of teas they have to offer. I think they have a unique business concept that you can’t really find anywhere else in Columbus.
I can see what other reviewers say about the service. I have never personally had any bad experiences, but the waitstaff always seems a little cold and like they just want you to get out of their face. Maybe they just don’t get paid enough, because I’ve encountered the same eerie attitude from almost every waiter that has served me there.
I wish they would offer onigiri again on their appetizer menu. They had them years ago and it’s just the perfect complement to Japanese green tea.

I love the food and tea at Zen Cha. And I frequent at least one location weekly. But the more I go, the more I wonder why it takes FOREVER to get served here. I realize that the whole concept of the restaurant is winding down and relaxing. But, sometimes I just want a bubble tea and a quick chat with a friend before yoga class (at the nearby Blue Spot yoga!). And really, the whole process of being seated, ordering a bubble tea, and paying for said bubble tea shouldn’t take over an hour and a half. 45 minutes would be acceptable. Especially, when you repeatedly (and politely) tell the person serving you that you have a limited amount of time and you whip out your credit card and keep it on the table. My tips: Don’t go here if you’re super hungry or if you only have an hour. This is definitely a two-​hour meal/​tea place.

I live in Bexley and it is wonderful to have a consistent eatery in the community. I love the Monday through Saturday menu. There are so many options, generous portions, great flavored all at really reasonable prices. The selection of teas are also amazing! I’m always looking forward to my next meal.
The only negative for me is the limited brunch menu, nothing appealing for me or guest I’ve brought in and they will not let you order from the regular menu… I just know to avoid them on Sunday’s.

Really good food and tea! You won’t be disappointed. I had the spicy yaki udon and ginger and cardamom tea. Although the service was kind of slow, the food was amaze balls :) the bubble tea had a higher milk to tea ratio, which I don’t prefer but you might like it if you do

My boyfriend and I are heading out to go on a hike and decide to get some to-​go brunch from zen cha. I called in and ordered the Arabian night waffles for me and the egg in the basket for my boyfriend. The lady on the phone didn’t take a name or number which I thought was weird, and said it would be ready in 15 mins. We headed over after about 15 – 20 mins to pick up the food and I went in while he stayed in the car. The lady at the front wasn’t very talkative and had me sign my check and walked away. I just assumed the food would be out soon. It was like 10 more minutes until finally the lady came back and handed me my food with an attitude. I wasn’t too bothered by it, but happy to be on the way to our hike! We had to stop by the short north on the way to pick something up and it was around this time that we opened the food and I realized there was no «lemon spread» or «cardamom syrup» so all I had was a waffle. It was frustrating but since we were right around the high St. location I thought, well alright, I can just go there and they’ll probably give me the syrup that the Bexley location forgot. He dropped me off and since I already bought the dish for $ 9.75, I didn’t bring my purse. I didn’t think they’d charge me for a side of syrup. I went in and politely told the girl at the desk what happened and, completely unaffected by my bad experience, she said it would be 50 cents for the syrup. I’m not even sure what happened with the lemon spread but at this point I didn’t care. I was boiling mad, I went out to get my purse for a ridiculous 50 cents and then told the girl I already bought the dish so I don’t know why she was charging me and I told her I probably would never come back. She said that’s fine. This may have been the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. When I finally ate the waffle, I also realized there were no dates and walnuts inside either! Me and my boyfriend are both in food service and agreed it wouldn’t have hurt them to just apologize for the bad experience I had and give me a free syrup to go with the waffle I already paid for!

I should have left when the waitress told me we’d have to wait for a menu. There were plenty of tables open.
Ordered a lunch special with soup and salad. Left after half an hour without ever getting any food.

My friends and I have come to ZenCha nearly twice a week for the past 4 years. Of all the times I have dined here, I have never had an unenjoyable experience. Due to the fact that I am a teenager, my friends and I are not always treated with the best service. However, at ZenCha we are always treated with respect and kindness. The food is delicious and the tea is amazing. In the past the service was slow, but it has seemed to have gotten faster; either because I’m had to it or because the new staff is more prompt. Either way, even if the service is slow, the staff is never rushing us out. I highly recommend this joint to anyone looking to eat some good food or drink some amazing tea.

I have yet to eat any of the food here, but I stop in every weekend for some tea. I’ve tried several of the teas but my favorite is the Black Forest iced. The staff is excellent. Very friendly and helpful and always smile and make me feel welcome and important. They also sell packaged loose leaf teas for you to take home and make yourself. I always have a few packages in my cabinet. If you are in Bexley and like tea even a little bit this place is a must stop.

We had bubble tea and it was excellent. Our server was very nice and knowledge about the tea. The place is clean but a little loud. I wish it was more of a lounge with soft seating areas.

A wonderful experience! I drive from Dublin to have tea, and enjoy the exquisite food here; brunch, lunch and dinner. I have been here several times, and every time is a treat! The Bexley ZenCha location is the best in Cbus. I compare this dinning experience to going to a five star steak and seafood restaurant. As with pairing the wine to the meal, at ZenCha you pair the tea to the meal within a delightful modern Asian inspired ambience. If you enjoy tea and heavenly food to delight all your senses and you haven’t been here you’re missing out ;)

I usually go to the Short North location because it’s much closer, but decided to make the trek out to Bexley since they actually have a parking lot here.
We misread their opening hours and ended up getting here 10 minutes before they opened. Fortunately, our server let us wait inside while they finished setting up since it was below freezing out, and she was overall just very welcoming and nice.
I ordered their pearl milk green tea (my go-​to milk tea drink), which I’ve had at their other location. That day, I was in the mood for a hot drink, and they were willing to make the drink hot even though it wasn’t listed on the menu. Moreover, the temperature of the drink was just perfect. I am easily dissatisfied if I order a «hot’ drink and it comes out lukewarm, but this was not the case for my drink. Their boba is also not bad, probably better than anywhere else I’ve tried in Ohio, but nothing to rave about compared to the mecca of boba that is California.
Between my friends and I, we ordered the Masala Chai Waffle (perfect flavoring, and the waffle is very nicely warm and fluffy), the Spinach Parmesan Quiche (great taste, but came out somewhat cooled, which definitely killed the experience for me), and the Okonomiyaki (pretty solid, but nothing to rave about).
My only gripe with this place is that I think they finished preparing my dish (the quiche) much earlier than the other two, so those were served at the appropriate/​intended temperature, whilst mine was sitting out for a while and thus got a bit cold. Had my quiche come out pipping hot, this place would have been a 5-​star no question.

Very nice atmosphere, food was great. Great tea ambassadors were really helpful and easy at working with me to make a drink Id love but tweaking it to be caffeine free. I’ll definitely be coming back.

Obsessed! This location is very much open. I believe it was purchased by new owners and is ran separately then the 2 locations downtown. My husband loves bubble tea and searching through reviews we decided to check it out. The tea ambassador explained the menu and different tea options. I was looking for a detox tea and obviously my hubby got the bubble tea he had so desperately been craving. He loved the bubble tea and my tea was good, mild but good.
We sampled the tea of the day, which was phenomenal. It was a fruit tea with a green tea based and the summer blend. It was very sweet, but the ambassador said they do not add sugar but used sautéed fruit. We purchased a bag of the loose tea on recommendation from the ambassador for detox. I’m not quite sure the tea is actually a detox tea though.
We went back the following week and tried the food menu. I think with the new ownership they are still trying to figure out what works, and I think there could be a few more options on the menu. However the food we did get was incredible! We had the chicken dumpling soup, shrimp salad, a pot of the summer blend fruit tea and vanilla chai latte. Everything was phenomenal!
I’ve been back multiple times since and enjoyed every experience. I like the service even though I can understand how some people say it can be slow. I think this is a restaurant that is intended to sit back slow down and enjoy a cup of tea.
Sundays are busy, and they ran out of a lot of things before our brunch but my sister got the french toast and I sampled… Again amazing.
Definitely check this place out! It’s a great place to catch up with friends and relax!

Ah-​mazing tea!!! Oh muh goodness… so so good. There was samples of some German black tea (completely blanked on the name) and it was yummy. The menu didn’t mention any sweeteners being added to any the teas (besides fruit) so hopefully they didn’t trick me by adding loads of sugar to the samples. There are tons of tea options… in fact, there is a separate tea menu. It was overwhelmingly exciting. I needed several moments to concentrate.
For my meal, I had the thai salad and the wonton soup and both were delicious. I would have preferred brown rice on the salad (it came with white and I didn’t think to inquire beforehand) and more nutritious lettuce (I hate iceberg) but it was really good nonetheless. And the tofu was excellently seared and season. mm mmm… I’m craving more as I write.
The wonton soup was tasty… although, I suspect that the wonton was not made fresh or even in house. Both the broth and the wonton tasted pre-​packaged, which is fine. Freshness would have been a nice touch, though.
Parking at this Bexley location was remarkably easy. I believe there are spots right outside of the restaurant but there is also free street parking (yippee)
I’m looking forward to another visit.

Very solid tea house for the willing-​to-​learn novice toward serious tea enthusiast.
If you like tea but have never actually been to a tea house, it’s an experience that you should have, in my opinion. Their tea ambassadors (ie, the servers) are very, very knowledgeable about tea. They will take you through all of their options and make tea to your liking (ie, if you want it sweetened, you can request an amount of sweetener to your liking; if you like it less sweet or not sweet, you can ask for that).
The tea service runs $ 5 – 6 generally, and includes a variety of teas, including herbal teas, African red teas, flavored teas, fruit teas, and bubble teas for those who aren’t quite as into the actual leaf of tea.
If you’re a super-​super serious tea person, the selection there is decent; it’s not all flavored stuff. They have two estate teas (Ceylon and Assam), pu erh, sencha, and a variety of green teas that I haven’t tried because I’m not huge on green tea. (That vegetal flavor doesn’t agree with my tongue, KWIM?)
I enjoy the food, too. Get the crostini with goat cheese and honey if they have it. Trust.
Service is generally excellent. You get just enough attention, everything comes out promptly.
Why this is four stars and not five: *I’ve always liked this place, but have not yet been totally bowled over. It’s solid but not HOLY WOW.
*Very occasionally I get over-​educated about things that I already know about. I’m not a tea novice, nor do I really want to know about the health benefits of my tea. I’m very glad that they can tell me if I ask, but if I don’t, it’s kind of a waste of my time to make me listen to the spiel every time I come in for tea.
*I can’t decide if it’s a café or a restaurant and would probably feel a bit weird going by myself just for tea, which is why I’m always happy to go with Bryant M.
*Sometimes I find the service just a bit off. Either it’s really slow/​mis-​timed, or the server is having a hard time getting obvious signals (I once stood by my table for a *while* because the server was chatting with the person I had just arrived to meet, and she apparently couldn’t be bothered to move a few paces over so I could take my seat. So I stood there, awkwardly. It wasn’t the worst thing, but there are occasional WTF moments like this. In retrospect, I probably should have asked her to move, but I think I was flummoxed enough that she wasn’t letting me sit down when I was obviously trying to that I kind of lost my words).
Overall, though, I like ZenCha and will go back a lot. I’m straight addicted to the cardamom ginger tea.

I love ZenCha’s short north location, but hadn’t realized they were in Bexley as well as their downtown expansion!
All of the favorites from the tea, brunch, and lunch menus are there, and the staff are fantastic.
I really loved the Okonomiyaki with roasted pork, and my wife said her tuna and avocado sandwich was some of the best she’s had in Columbus.
I tried a bit of the smoky mushroom soup, and it was a fantastic winter weather pick me up — absolutely recommended if you’re in the area!

I love Zen Cha. It has slowly become one of my favorite places in all Columbus. Why do I love it? Let me count the ways:
*Tea! The teas here are the real deal. I’ve tried so many of them, and I have so many favorites. My all-​time fav, though, is the honey, rose & date.
*The staff — These are some of the sweetest people ever. I come here several times per week, and I’ve never had a bad experience.
*The food! Do yourself a favor and get the Thai rice salad. It’s one of the best salads in Cbus! There are so many other great choices too – brunch, lunch, dinner, snacks… no matter the meal, your stomach will be super happy. Another favorite of mine is the goat cheese & honey crustini… one of the best things ever.
*The price — For the whole experience, Zen Cha is a value.
If you’ve never been to Zen Cha for tea, you’re totally missing out. Get yourself there ASAP… and maybe invite me? I’m always down for a trip. Tea time is my favorite time of the day!