So you find yourself in Hayes Valley on a Sunday afternoon, and it's raining (again), and you just want to find a place to sit down and hang out for a while - but not a bar, because you've been overindulging a bit too much lately, and not a restaurant, because it's too early for dinner - and suddenly in a perfect stroke of luck you notice that Modern Tea is finally open, so you run across the street to check it out.
It's a cute place with kind of a light, airy feel: big windows, lots of blonde wood tables, light green colored walls. Upon sitting down, we were brought a carafe of water, a little plate of 3 petits fours (that tasted like gourmet fig newtons!), and a menu listing 16 different types of hot tea. Oh, and a dessert menu as well. The tea was great, served in tiny teapots that allow you to steep each cup individually. The menu also lists a description of each tea and how much caffeine is in each one.
The atmosphere was relaxing, and the service really friendly: even though they closed at 6 PM, they didn't rush us at all when 6:00 rolled around, and even welcomed us to stay until we were done. We didn't get to try any of their food, but I'm betting this would be a great place for brunch. The big windows look like they open up all the way for an open-air feel, which will be nice in warm weather.
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