Red Robe Tea House & Cafe

A truly amazing experience. We went with a party of 10 and made reservations 1 week in advance. The owners were very accommodating and made a chef special menu for our party. We let the chef decide everything and I’m so happy we did. The food was all exquisite, beautiful presentation and delicious. The fee was a set price of 20 – 30 $ per person depending on what kind of dishes were served. Ours came to $ 25 per person for a 8 course meal as well as soup and dessert. I felt the price was very reasonable for such quality we received. I cannot wait to return with more friends.

Great experience and amazing tea. Opt for the traditional tea presentation, because it really adds to the experience. The service was fantastic, and I felt like I was getting more than just tea, I was getting an experience!

The service is top notch, their rivals are few and far between. The décor is elegant. The fare is delightful. The attire is fancy.

This review is about the food, ONLY. The service was great; the owner is very friendly. They give you complimentary tea and cookies and are very hospitable.
That being said, I went here for my birthday tonight and couldn’t have been more disappointed in the food. I’m shocked by all of the five-​star reviews. The curried veggies were decent, but the chicken was just awful. Dark meat was the only option. And even if you enjoy dark meat, which I occasionally do, it tasted very gamy and was inedible for me. The owner was very kind, though, and swapped it out for some dumplings (which are probably the best item on the menu.) I would never go back here given all the choices to eat in Portland.

My favorite hidden gem in Old Town. Wonderful service from a mom + pop team.
Since it’s near NCNM, it’s a lunch spot for students; I’d suggest going later in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.
I love roping my friends into accompanying me, since the two-​person tea service is incredibly delightful — ask for a demonstration when it’s served! When you have multiple people you can also get the incredible hot pot, which is a screaming deal for the high quality of what’s provided.
Yum!

Simple but hit the spot.
Had Chicken Teriyaki and vegetables. This is not the food cart chargrilled, sugared up teriyaki (which I liked as well). Chicken was moist and tender with a nice coating of sauce. I chose the mushroom side with came surrounded by vegetables. Rounded this off with a nice cup of Dragonwell tea. Very satisfying lunch.

Fine tea. Wonderful atmosphere. Very nice people. An oasis in Portland. Great discovery.

If you’re looking for an authentic Chinese tea experience with great eats, this is your place.
Go with the Gong Fu tea service. It’ll truly give you an experience like no other. The waitress (mom) will tell you an entire story about how & why the tea is poured the way it is — why black teas belong in clay pots, and green/​floral teas should be brewed in porcelain/​glass pots.
We got the ‘Red Robe’ black tea and Chrysanthemum tea. We weren’t disappointed — both were great! We (of course) had some eats as well!
+ dumplings. They’re delicious! They’re made fresh (steamed) and are packed with flavor. You cannot go wrong with this order, it’s authentic as it gets!
+ wonton noodle soup. I read about how popular the dumpling noodle soup was, but we ordered dumplings for our appetizer so went with wontons for the soup. We were not disappointed! This dish truly brought back memories. I’ve had quite a few noodle soup dishes and this brought it close to home. ‘Mom’ gave us the option to have regular veggies or all bok choy. Naturally we went with the bok choy — SO GLAD we did!
+ ribs. OK you cannot go wrong with these ribs! Even though it says it’s an appetizer portion, this is truly a meal for two to share — esp if you’re ordering other items like we did!
Don’t let the ‘no frills’ mom-​pop place deceive you. They are legit! I am so glad we came here as it was more of a «if we’re in the neighborhood we’ll stop by» kind of place — but I already want to come back!

Tea making finds it’s rightful place as an art at the Red Robe Tea House. They have teas in hot and cold alike, pastries, sodas and so on. There are several tables and the staff are friendly. Prices are at par level. The place is exceptional as far as culinary fare and okay as far as atmosphere.
I went here for some green bubble tea. It came after only two minutes. My feelings were of gleeful anticipation when I saw that they had ancient works about tea depicted on the walls. My bubble tea was to die for. To make sure of that, I sipped the top of it, well above the tapioca balls. The tea was four dollars. It would have been nice if the atmosphere wasn’t as reflecting of sound, since this is supposed to be a tea house. Nevertheless, some highbrow authenticity is brought out even though I’ve had better bubble tea. I’ll very much be back.
Red Robe Tea House is delightful.

We ordered Pu-​Er and Chrysanthemum teas with the Gong Fu tea service. The Chrysanthemum was AMAZING. too bad there’s no caffeine in that one ;) My friends ordered some lunch but none of them finished their food. so I’d probably pass on the food and just come here for the tea. The almond cookies and mooncake were really good though! We all loved the owner. she explained the tea service really well and she was so nice! She even gave us some cookies on the house.

Small mom-&-pop shop. We arrived about 10 minutes before closing, and asked if that would be a problem with them, and they welcomed us warmly.
The server (one of the owners; her husband is the chef), was quick to bring menus and water. We asked about favorites on the menu, and followed her recommendations. We were not disappointed!
We had the unsweet chrysanthemum hot tea. It was so refreshing! The owner told us the tea was good for liver function and the eyes.
Then we had the curry chicken, curry vegetables, and teriyaki chicken, vegetable medley and black mushrooms.
The curry was slightly spicy and not very sweet. And it made both the chicken and the curry vegetables tasty! The teriyaki chicken was good, too.
But it was the black mushrooms that ruled the day! They were so very delicious and made our spontaneous stop worth it!
During dinner the owner kept our waters and the teapot filled. After dinner we were all served cookies. She told us not to rush, and her husband the chef came out and talked with us, too.
In the end I’d give this place an A+ for both service and food!
I wish I lived in Portland so I could come back regularly.

This is going to be a short and sweet review.
I visited Portland last month with my mom. After checking out the Lan Su Garden, we decided to walk over to this tea house for a refresher. I got their Hong Kong style iced tea… and it was SO good! Definitely worth the try.

Milk teas here are just okay, needs a little more creamer or milk. But I’m sure the sitting tea experience here is much better. The food sounds good, but we didn’t try it.

So, I have mixed feelings about this place. I’ll just start by saying, tea= 5 stars, food=1 star.
We ordered the iced and sweetened Oolong tea and lychee black tea. Both were refreshing and delicious after our summer walk.
However, the food was, unfortunately, very disappointing. We started with the wonton noodle soup. It was okay. The pork wontons were nice and meaty and flavorful. I’m not used to having broccoli, carrots, and zucchini in my wonton soup, but I didn’t mind the addition.
Our entrees, though, were disastrous. The marinated beef shank looked and tasted dried out and overcooked (you can see by the photo) – and not in the delicious beef jerky way. We made it edible by dipping it in the wonton soup to sort of rehydrate it. My shrimp was coated in a ketchup-​y tasting sauce. (Their take on sweet and sour, maybe?) And the mushrooms, while having a nice texture, were on the salty side. My fiancée said the chicken wings were okay, but nothing special.
I tried to look at the positives and make the best of the meal being that it’s a small place and the ladies there seem sweet, but by the end of the meal, I felt depressed and craving to eat something much more appetizing.
I would go back, but only for the teas. I did want some Boba milk tea, but I decided to save that for next time.

I came for lunch on an apparently quiet day — had the place mostly to myself– which made the burbling water and soft music all the more charming and peaceful. Combine that with tasty food and tea and it’s a pretty awesome lunch, with leftovers to boot.
I had the lunch combo with sautéed mushrooms, and teriyaki chicken. The chicken was okay, but the mushrooms are SO AMAZING I could eat them til my stomach exploded. I definitely plan to try more of the menu soon.

This review is for Red Robe’s tea only. The woman up front who served us was very friendly. Red Robe also offers some food and sweets, but I did not have an opportunity to order any. The atmosphere is very simple, quiet and comfortable. Reference the Unilocal photos of the tea poem which is on a wall within the restaurant. It is very soothing and an enjoyable piece to muse over as one sips tea.
We ordered two iced teas: rose and lavender, and chrysanthemum. The rose and lavender was the gentle, refreshing and delicious. I would consider trekking back here just for this tea. The chrysanthemum was tasty as well, though it was not what I was drinking.
This tea store is down the street from Lan Su Chinese Garden. Grab an iced tea from Red Robe if heading there in warm weather. I highly recommend either of two I wrote about in iced form.

Thank goodness for the Red Robe Tea House. My quest in Portland included finding fine donuts and finer teas, and Red Robe is the place for the latter. I went here twice, and the lady is so sweet. Come here for the gong fu tea and ask for the da hong pao (literally: big red robe). This is a beautiful oolong tea from the Wuyi region, and they serve it in the proper gong fu manner, which allows for multiple steeps in a tiny cup. Each one will taste different on the tongue, and you’ll get the fullest experience of the tea in this manner. The owner here is fantastic about getting the right temperature of the water and adding the right amount of leaves.
Aside from the da hong pao, try the jasmine. There are two kinds, but if you’ve never had an infusion with the actual jasmine flower (not with the tea), you’ll find a really lovely subtle sweetness to the flower vs. the tea. Try them side by side! Plus, they have understandable excellent milk tea. If you have quality tea, you have quality milk tea. Simple as that.
Also, another reason why I loved this place? I saw the mooncakes and the lady said, «Just like you had when you were a kid, right?» and I thought that was just lovely… mainly because I never had mooncakes as a kid. It was stuff I always wished I could have. And for her to say that to me felt like someone welcoming me not just into an establishment, but a home.
Basically, this place got me right in the feels. Highly recommended — and it was recommended to me by the tea lady over at Steven Smith Teamaker.

I am a tea fanatic, so to have found this incredible tea house that doubles as a restaurant while I was in Portland was a gem.
It has such a tranquil atmosphere, especially with the soft music playing in the background. As I entered Red Robe, I noticed how there were intricate tea pots on almost every table, as most of the other customers ordered their famous tea. The owner was quick to help me be seated and was extremely friendly the whole time I was there.
As it was a cool day outside, I decided on the dumpling noodle soup and accompanied it with traditional milk tea boba. Super tasty noodles that were light yet flavorful! The broth was what truly made the dish; as any noodle soup enthusiast knows, a clear broth is a one packed with the most flavor. The bok choy and dumplings were exactly what I needed to warm me up. The milk tea boba also exceeded my expectations because Red Robe uses tea that they brew in their milk teas, not a prepackaged powder. The boba was delightfully chewy too.
A great place to stop by to sip a cup of tea, have some delicious food, or to just relax a bit.

Nice & tranquil music & décor. Food was tasty & fresh too!
Being from Hawaii, I’m not accustomed to the cold & rainy weather, so after prancing around at a pumpkin patch in 50-​degree weather I was almost frozen.
So happy to find Red Robe Tea House & Café to help warm me up & ease my mind. I ordered the dumpling noodle soup & the noodles tasted so fresh, broth was nice, but I needed to spice it up.
I also enjoyed the Mabo/​mapo tofu… Super huge chunks of tofu & very very tasty! The lychee black tea was so aromatic & sweet on the tongue.
The almond cookie end was great & so were the prices for each dish… Did not break the bank!

I went here with my wife and it was the best Chinese food experience I’ve ever had in the Pacific NW. The waitress was extremely good at explaining the tea ceremony, and the noodle soups was amazing. We had BBQ Pork and a Mustard Chicken — both fantastic. This is a place that immediately made it to our revisit list.
Fantastic place. Stop reading this and go there now.