Cafe Review: Tania's Teahouse

Tania’s Teahouse (TTH), located on the hip-and-happening Jumeirah Beach Road, around a kilometre away from the stately Burj Al Arab, is a tea-rrific experience for locals and tourists alike.

TTH is named after its founder Tania Lodi, whose life-altering experience spawned her entrepreneurial venture at the age of 23, around three years ago.

Lodi, who is US-born, Dubai-bred and of Pakistani origin, was studying psychology at a university in Canada, where she got diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that caused chronic pain. Amid her discomfort, she looked to tea for its wondrous health benefits and TTH was founded.

The two-storey café serves at least 60 variants of specialty flavoured teas, coffees and food dishes including: all-day breakfasts, afternoon tea, super bowls, pastas, sliders, chef’s specials, and decadent desserts. Lodi has curated a ‘mindful menu’, which accommodates all dietary restrictions. She has custom-blended each tea herself and they all come in regular, latte or iced form, with the options of upgrading the tea with tapioca pearls or juicy bobas.

Lodi recommends trying some of her exciting and unconventional tea flavours — all of which are organic with zero preservatives. “The Cloud” is her take on the crowd-pleasing Eggs Benedict. For dessert, go for the cat-purr-ccino cheesecake, which comes in a chocolate teacup!

Taste (5/5): An array of different dishes to suit every palate. From all-day brekkies, to salads, sliders, pastas, chef’s specials, yummy desserts, 40+ tea flavours, and beverage specials like bubble tea and magic milks with functional mushrooms, the menu is filled with creatively delicious meals

Ambience (5/5): Tania’s Teahouse is awarded the seventh-most #Instagrammable café in the world. “Hey There, Habib-Tea” wall displays quirky teacups, a lending library and a boardgames wall. There is also a pet-friendly garden, which adorns murals by UAE-based artists

Service (4/5): The ever-smiling Anna Malla from Ukraine is a star on the floor. Lodi has come up with a heavily implemented sequence of service, where her staff is on high alert for any dietary restrictions or allergies that her guests may have. They are warm and attentive

Presentation (5/5): Lodi has put much thought and attention into each dish. All hot drinks come with a cute cookie that can rest on the rim of the cup, and all variants of tea come with spill-proof “magic tea steppers”. Every single item can be captured for the ‘gram

Covid-consciousness (5/5): All Covid-19 measures are being strictly followed by staff members. Face masks and sanitisers are available for guests and a mandatory three-metre social distancing between all tables is strictly followed, with constant sanitisation

joydeep@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai