Modern Tea

(Hayes Valley)
602 Hayes St.  
415-626-5406 Map it
www.moderntea.com

$$
Comfort Food
breakfast, brunch, cheap eats, good for groups, lunch, open kitchen, quiet, take-out

SCENE: Owner Alice Cravens updated the airy space that used to house Tandoori Grill with blond-wood tables, hand-blown blue-and-green glass fixtures and soothing lime-green walls. Behind the bar up front, teapots, mugs and red digital timers replace the more expected bottles of wine and liquor.

EATS: Zen-calm servers are happy to suggest meal pairings from the restaurant’s list of a dozen or so international teas for the mostly vegetarian, homey menu. Try an herbed gratin of thinly sliced potatoes, cream and mushrooms with an Armenian Sevan blend, or a delicate osmanthus white tea with the homey chicken meatloaf topped with tomato sauce. A weekend brunch menu features the likes of cast-iron-shirred eggs and cornmeal waffles made on irons from the 1840s.