The Tea on Prince Tea House (Review): Perfect Tea. Overrated Food

It was recently my best friend’s, Michelle Lema of @artworldnyc’s birthday, and we went out to Prince Tea House in downtown Manhattan (the Bowery branch), to celebrate over dinner, desserts, and tea. I’ve been to Prince Tea House before in Astoria, Queens but only for desserts and their tea, so I was excited to finally try their actual savory meals. Needless to say while the overall experience of the birthday was enjoyable and chill, it’s my duty as your reliable food blogger to write my honest and constructive review of this place. Don’t get me wrong, everything was definitely instagrammable, so if that’s enough for you to decide to spend your hard-earned bread, then that’s your prerogative— but the individual plates from appetizers to entrees to desserts left a little more to be desired. I would even go so far as to say that their desserts, which are all in their own rights solidly satisfying, if compared to places like The Spot Dessert Bar and Lady M, simply do not measure up. I am giving this place a 3.5 forks rating. 3 stars for average food and the extra 0.5 for the aesthetics and the tea. Of course, I recognize that it’s above all things a tea house, so being able to have a real dinner there was probably just a nice touch that the owners wanted to add for convenience, but nevertheless, this is my review of everything I had.

Since we came with a large group of 10, I had the privilege of being able to test a diverse range of meals and desserts. Firstly for appetizers, I knew I specifically wanted to order the Takoyaki (japanese baked octopus balls) as it’s one of my favorite foods in general. So, it was a little disappointing that all 6 pieces were a bit too dry on the palette. Of course, it’s still definitely takoyaki, but hunty, if I was you, you’re better off saving your money for the real deal at Otafuku x Medetai just a couple stops away in Astor Place. They never skimp on sauce and always give you a much larger and reasonable portion. It’s a good thing my friend Andrew of @andrewv262 and I ordered a plate of curly fries, as it helped fill me up, but again, while curly fries will always be curly fries (a comfort food that always hits the spot wherever you get it), I would say it was no more special than getting a cheaper variety at your local deli. But if you’re really craving it, I’d still recommend going for them! They definitely deliver on everything you could possibly expect from curly fries.

Some of the other savory food I tried were the Salted Crispy Chicken, a dish one of Michelle’s friends kept raving about since the train ride heading over. I’m not sure if it was the heightened expectation that it would be incredible, but it was again not “amazing” like the reviews online have stated. For something titled “salted crispy chicken” I was waiting for that salty punch at the end or something. However, it was just regular, thin strips of crispy chicken. Maybe I’ve just had a lot more fried chicken in various places in the city, but I can assure you that it’s really not that special. Heck, even Arby’s can serve you relatively amazing chicken fingers in comparison! I would highly recommend anyone looking for quality, mouth watering fried chicken to instead try places like Bobwhite, Sweet Chick, Sugar Freak, Pies and Thighs, and Blue Ribbon. Yes, in that specific order! These are just the places I’ve tried all over the city. I’ve heard that Sylvia’s is the best but I haven’t tried it to give you my confident recommendation. It still feels like I bask in sin everyday for not having been there yet. When I finally do, I promise to write a review and post photos immediately.

Now onto desserts, one of their better set of offerings. I knew immediately that I was going to order the Matcha Mille Crepe Cake. After having my first slice in Lady M years ago, I’ve been inspired to come up with my own recipe for it, so I can tell you hands down that I know what it takes to make a good mille crepe cake, and it is not easy at all! Three words: Lacking. In. Matcha. From the first bite I was really searching for that matcha taste and I was instead disappointingly met with mostly whipped cream. Though it surely delivers on how a crepe cake is constructed (again, I cannot express enough how difficult and meticulous the process is of cooking around 20 individually paper thin crepes is to make this cake), it certainly misses the mark when it comes to flavor. Thankfully, the birthday girl still appreciated it.

“The green tea cake is literally perfect. 10/10 recommend,” she would like to be on record to say.

I do think that if you haven’t had the Lady M version of mille crepe cakes, then it’s hard to really complain about this one. But I assure you, Lady M is around the same price (rounds out to $8.00 a slice), and you can get triple the flavor. I also tried their Boba Mille Crepe Cake (which is apparently trending on tik tok for the instagrammable syrup customers should be able to pour themselves). My friend, Mousumi of @museumiadventure was deeply upset that the syrup was already poured in the kitchen, completely sabotaging the main reason why she wanted to order it in the first place.

Here’s what she was expecting:

Here’s what she got. Still arguably insta-worthy, but not as interactive as the TikTok promises:

So, my advice is if you want to get it just for that viral Tik Tok or IG Reel, then make sure to ask the kitchen to let you pour the syrup yourself. Again, while my fellow diners still loved it, as a foodie, I need to be completely transparent with you— it’s overrated. The syrup was frugally poured over what was quite literally just a whipped cream mille crepe cake. Even my friend, Andrea of @smoladventures, agreed. We both wished that whatever was in that syrup poured on top was infused into the cake. Mind you, though I’m not a big boba person, I was still eager for a flavorful cake and this just did not do it for me. Like I said, go to Lady M! It’s both "instagrammable" and tasty!

Onto drinks, some of us (including me) had slushies. I wanted to embrace the matcha theme so I ordered the matcha slush. Be careful with this one if you really want one. Everyone who had a slushie felt an instant brain freeze and like it was “a lot.” I say skip it and head straight for the teas instead.

Now for the major event— tea. This without a doubt, Prince Tea House does perfectly. From the presentation, serving, and taste, they undoubtedly deliver. So much so that this review was just for tea, they would definitely receive a 5/5 forks in my book. I have been to some other tea houses in New York City, and there’s nothing like living up to our little girl fantasy of a fancy tea party at Prince Tea House. I am yet to find another spot in the city that can embody this the way that Prince Tea has. I had the lavender milk tea in a pot. Though I usually don’t like milk in my tea ever, they somehow converted me. It had the perfect ratio of lavender so it was not too overpowering, and having it with milk was a true delight. All their teapots were served with a small burner underneath to keep the tea warm which was a plus. Not to mention, every teapot had its own intricate floral print along with the tea cups, which was extremely cute and made me feel like Alice in Wonderland. I have tried several other hot teas there in the past and they were all equally pleasant.

Altogether, I would highly recommend for anyone to come for the experience. Like I said, it truly is a fantasy-fulfillment for any woman who grew up having tea parties with their stuffed animals. Here, you can have a real tea party with your real adult friends! Though the food and desserts are average, I would suggest to still come and have desserts and tea anyway! Desserts are such a good pair with the tea, especially if you get a tea that is not too sweet. I would recommend not to further sweeten the tea yourself so you can reset your palate after the sugary desserts! It will help you appreciate the tea even more!

Alright BBs, that’s the tea on Prince Tea House! I’ll definitely come back again sooner than later. It’s such a great spot to take girlfriends for a girls’ day or your mom on her special day! I know I can be a bit critical when it comes to food, but I am a foodie after all. If you’re near it at all and want food, then it’s definitely still a decent place to eat! All I’m saying is, if you’re going out with maybe true foodies or you want to experience more authentic and delectable food, then maybe save this place for the after-*teaparty.

As usual, let me know your thoughts and if you end up going!

From this Thursday I will start posting my autumn-themed foodventures!

xoxo,

franchette