Cha Fahn Restaurant

I ate here back in early September, during a visit from Los Angeles.
Now that I live in the area I thought I’d stop by again and went to the website to find the weekend hours.
Instead I came upon this news:
«To our customers:
Cha Fahn has stopped full dinner service as of October 14^th, however, we continue to serve wine, sake, cocktails, tea, desserts and light meals until we officially close in early November.»
JP folk – what happened? Did you people just not give this place any business? This restaurant seemed fairly new (I could be wrong) back in September. Tis a sad day for eclectic, Asian fusion cuisine south of the Charles indeed.

What an incredible Unilocal find! I bow to the power of Unilocal.
Charming little 25 seat restaurant on Centre St. in J.P., which was seriously lacking a cool place like this. Absolutely inspired menu with selections you wouldn’t necessarily expect.
I have 2 words for you: mmmmmmmm kale! Yummy soy, rice vinegar, pine nut, kale app. I also had the butterfish, which may have been the best I’ve ever had. Their sake cocktails are absolutely delicious (especially the lychee one).
I highly recommend!

I am well aware that my 3-​star rating goes against the grain, but I just was not that pleased by the vegetarian/​vegan fare. You can say that’s being picky but actually nearly all Asian restaurants normally of any standing do provide good vegetarian/​vegan options, and this wasn’t the case here. The tofu stack was OK, but really it wasn’t so great, and wasn’t that filling, and something that I could relatively easily cook better at home (not something you want to know when you are paying high prices at a restaurant).
The good: great décor, nice staff, excellent sake selection, and for non-​vegetarians/​vegans probably good food.
Too expensive to eat there regularly; a place to go for special occasions. This might also explain why on the Thursday night we ate there we were the only diners in the restaurant for most of our meal.

It is really good. I love the décor, the very attentive staff, the music and the food! Definitely a place I would visitors take to.
The «Sake Flight» (3 different shots of sake for 10 $) is a great way to try out some sake and find out whether you like it or not (to be honest, I still prefer wine over sake).
I had the kale-​appetizer, which was really tasty. Definitely recommend it. Unfortunately, I thought the appetizer was much better than the main («Satay Tofu»), which I found a little uninspired and bland.
So, although I enjoyed my dinner there a lot and will be back for sure, for it to get 5 stars they would have to be a little more creative with their food and portions should be a little more generous.

Cha Fahn is Chu-​ffin good! *bu-​dum-​ta*
It’s a modern taiwanese fusion restaurant based largely around tea and the asian tea house style. I loved it, as well you might expect from a tea lover. The food was adventurous in taste, ingredients and presentation and the cocktails and sake kept up their side of the bargain too.
Tea made an appearance in not only my cocktail but in the tea-​infused kale app and my tea-​marinated chicken entrée. All were divine. And following on from the wonderful adzuki pop-​up desert we hit the extensive (if overpriced) tea list and went adventurous. The teas themselves were spot on and Cha Fahn have made the great decision to serve each in different pots and cups, to give you that Belgian-​beer-​comes-​in-​a-​special-​glass feeling. A slight downer was that the flower tea was served in a champagne flute, which is just about the hardest thing on earth to drink scolding water out of.
But that’s forgiven because this place is a little gem. Not just for food, drink and tea. but mostly for DECOR. They’ve tried, they’ve succeeded, they’ve done 10 times better at creating a modern cool atmosphere than places in the city that cost 3 times the price. Well done Cha Fahn. You are chu-​ffin good! (groan)

I came here with Mouse, Ligaya T. and Tom E. tonight. We were all first timers. It was really good! We got one of the tables with the extremely high backed chairs.
The sake selection was really nice and unique. Mouse had some sort of carbonated sake with blueberry juice… and mouse and ligs split some unfiltered sake. It was the first sake I’d ever had that I actually liked. Usually it tastes like sweet gym socks to me.
I had the sake sangaria and it was DELICIOUS. Clean and smooth. It had a lychee ball in it which we all agreed looked like an eyeball, but it was tasty!
For apps the four of us shared the kale and the pork and kimchee dumplings (See pictures). Both were delicious.
I had the Taiwanese beef noodle soup and it was delicious. The beef was tender and very savory. The broth was the most full beef flavor I’ve ever experienced with a really nice herbal component.
I got a chance to try the rainbow trout (it’s a whole trout, eyes and all). It was SO good — light, sweet, and lemongrassy.
I also tried the chicken (that is marinaded in some sort of tea). It was smokey and delicous! Oh my god.
We shared this yummy puff pastry dessert and we each had different teas.
It was a good meal, very thoughtful. It was light, though. I am not stuffed.
This place really is the treasure that others have said it to be.

The wilted kale is totally delicious. Totally unlike the way kale is prepared in most New England places (cooked to death with every last nutrient sucked out). The kale at Cha Fahn is just barely cooked with a tangy soy sauce and pine nuts. (Try picking them up individually with chopsticks — fun!)
I ate the kabocha pumpkin «lasagna» with rosemary, jarlsberg cheese, walnuts and yuba tofu (tofu skin) to replace the pasta. I enjoy yuba tofu, but I’ve only had it on Unturkey, so it was great to see it on a menu!
The orange, tea-​infused crème brûlée was wonderful, as was the sake sangria and an iced scarlett tea to go!
Our waitress seemed a little nervous, but was certainly friendly.

I love the chairs, the kale wilted in jasmine tea, and most everything else about Cha Fahn.

So glad I finally tried this place. I’ve walked past it so many times; restaurants that seem so scarcely populated make me nervous. I really doubt you would need a reservation unless you had more than 6 – 8 in your party. As the others have described, the interior indeed has a beautiful tranquility. I found the high-​backed chairs interesting but annoying — how do I put my coat over it? There might’ve been a coat rack in the back, but I missed it.
I had the Korean-​marinated skirt steak; my partner had the scallop/​salmon hotpot. Both were excellent, though I suspect mine was better. Surprisingly delicate flavors, not doused with salt and sauces like so much of what passes for fancier fare these days. The tea was nice treat — they are kind enough to add more hot water to your leaves when you’re done, so you really get your money’s worth there. Dessert was probably my favorite, though — we split the crème brûlée, which wasn’t very big, but oh my! the best dessert I’ve had in Boston this year.
This is a terrific little restaurant that deserves a try, and a permanent place in this community.

It’s a small restaurant… so make sure to either go on an off night or have a reservation. They have really funky and fun chairs with super high backs and the atmosphere of the restaurant gives the appearance that someone was very into making it fung-​shui happy.
I’m *not* a fan of sake, but they have a great selection here for someone who is. They have some awesome food… here’s a rundown of what I had and tried…
Had:
Shrimp summer rolls with peanut dipping sauce
Calamari Appetizer
Beef noodle soup
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ume Blanc plum wine
Tried:
MIso Salmon
Salmon and Scallops hot pot
Pot Roast
Lychee bubble Sake cocktail
Everything was fantastic. ESPECIALLY the chocolate mouse cake. The soup was difficult to eat with chopsticks, a spoon, or a fork. It was well worth the awkwardness of eating though.
Also highly recommended are the spring rolls — and the pot roast.
Great place for a date, for catching up with a buddy, and for dinner with the parents.

Here’s an ideal «Sunday in the spring» plan– sleep in, then go for a walk in the Arnold Arboretum and then walk to Cha Fahn for a very zen tea experience. The tea menu is delightfully comprehensive and I’m always pleasantly surprised that a tea house has such a complex and tasty menu! Mostly I love this place for the tea, but I have to admit that I also like going to Cha Fahn to lust after the beautiful furniture.

One of the reasons I love JP is this restaurant. It is a treasure not to be missed. With all the over trendy spots that seem to over do the décor, this lovely place is a delight to sit and dine in. My boyfriend and I are huge fans. We went for lunch the other day and were just as amazed at the menu as we were for the evening menu. The service is very good but the food is great! Please support this gem of JP. you will not be disappointed.

Each time I’ve hung out at Cha Fahn, I’ve wondered why this terrific little spot is always under-​populated. Consider first the aesthetic of the room itself — wooden chairs with HUGE flowing backs (we’re talking twice the height of the chair here) reminiscent, somehow, of butterflies. A little cozy spot for two seated on cushions right in the window with a hanging lamp above the table. The smells of tea and food. A huge cabinet of drawers housing the 40-​odd types of tea they serve. Minimal but very nicely put together décor which makes one feel serene and comfortable. Very nice place to linger over a pot or two of tea and/​or a meal.
Ah, the tea. This place has the best bubble tea I’ve had. It really tastes like *tea*, and for another the tapioca pearls are just right both texturally and flavor-​wise. Delicious. But beyond the sweet iced concoctions Cha Fahn will happily serve you any number of perfectly brewed teas, teasans, and herbal infusions.
And then there’s the food. A pan-​Asian flair and fresh ingredients often combine with tea to make some memorable dishes. A lapsang-​souchong glazed chicken, for instance, perfectly balanced the smoky flavor of the tea with a slight sweetness and the savory taste of chicken. It was served with kale braised with jasmine tea and a lemon-​soy dressing, which was tangy and cooked just right. I have yet to try the trout stuffed with ume (plum), rice koji (precusor to sake), and sage, but it sounds great. A shrimp-​and-​peanut noodle dish was also delicious on our last visit.
They serve lunch, dinner, and afternoon tea. A varied selection of mini tea sandwiches are available in the afternoons, which range from olive and mozzarella to shrimp with cucumber and curry spread to Europoean classics like smoked salmon and cucumber-​dill. Also sake, beer and wine are available — try the sake cocktails, they’re very tasty!
Service is generally extremely pleasant — a little slow at times, but nothing to really complain about. And really, who’d mind sitting for an extra moment or two in such a nice room…
All in all, this place reminds me of the better parts of Tea-​Tray in the Sky back when they were around, with a very comfortable vibe. The food is really good, and I definitely feel a pull to return to see what they’ve got next (the menu seems to change a fair bit, which is nice) each time I’m in the neighborhood.
So whether you’re into a bubble tea to go, a hang over a pot or two of the hot stuff, or a lovely sit-​down meal, Cha Fahn is definitely recommended!

This place is a small oasis in the city. Stepping through the doors has a calming effect, followed by soft –spoken service and food that makes you feel great. The bubble tea is heavenly. I got the jasmine green tea bubble tea and it was like sucking on a flower. Take-​out bubble tea is $ 3.50 plus tax, and it is definitely worth it. Even the tapioca pearls are superior. Food wise, the entrees are excellent, though I think the appetizers are not worth ordering, unfortunately. The chefs are not formally trained, and have taken their dishes from their lives, i.e., the pot roast (amazing!) is one of the owner’s mother’s recipies. You can enjoy this pot roast with chop sticks — no knife needed — it is like butter, it just falls away into amazing bites.
It makes me nervous that it almost seems to never be busy, because I don’t want them to go away. This place is a must try. And they have chairs with giant backs that go six feet up in the air, and so it looks like someone could dip you in a vat of chocolate as you sit in your throne/​giant ladle.
Update: I just went by the other day and they have a new summer menu including miso marinated butterfish and awesome stuff like that!

Cha Fahn is located near our house so we decided to try it out as a different and interesting destination for dining when it was time to celebrate my birthday with friends over a year ago.
The service is very good. The owner and staff are genuine and caring. In fact, when we showed up for the birthday dinner, and there were 12 – 13 of us, the owner closed off the restaurant to walk-​ins so that they could concentrate on us for service. I knew they had just recently started their dinner menu, so I encouraged the owner to go ahead and accept the walk-​ins — it was, after all a Saturday night, and he could have made more money.
He politely declined, and seemed happy just to have us as this great big table to attend to instead. Not a greedy guy, obviously, so I really liked that. We are sure to go back to try some of their price-​fix lunches or dinners.
Oh, and I can’t remember which tea I got but I enjoyed both the tea and the sake and the dinner while we were there…
EDIT:
I went there recently again: When deciding between desserts, opt for the crème brûlée dish, instead of the rice pudding dish. The crème brûlée has some orangey flavor in it which makes it interesting and tasty. The rice pudding on the other hand was rather bland than what I’m used to.

If not for Unilocal,I would’ve never found this place. I never knew such a wonderful teahouse existed in Boston! Sitting at one end of Centre Street, just past the cluster of shops where you think there are no more interesting stores to explore, we discovered this hidden gem next to a Finnish bakery. Cha Fahn is the perfect place to linger over a cup of tea with a friend or enjoy a sake cocktail with a date. I enjoyed a lychee red tea and the boy had the Dragonwell green tea. Wonderful wood décor (the chairs alone are amazing) and attentive service; truly a multi-​sensory experience. They offer weekly specials (Thursdays=sake + food pairings, Wednesday= 3-​course prix fixe meal), and you can also buy any of their loose leaf teas in bulk to brew at home.

The choice of the tea is just great. Salmon is excellent.

This is one of my favorite spots in J.P. Amazing food (I can’t get enough of the summer rolls and the extremely tender beef pot roast!), considerate owners and wait staff (they always check to make sure my experience is enjoyable) and soothing décor (perfect for a nice relaxing meal or to go in by yourself with a book). They also have a great sake menu — and sake cocktails I can’t wait to try on my next visit.

I am new to this local eatery, and I regret the last 2 years of missing it. I have been 3 times in the last 2 weeks, if that tells you anything. I’ve looked in the windows at the amazingly beautiful furniture and décor, but was dissuaded when it first opened by its stricktly tea and Sake menu. Since then they’ve added lunch on the weekends and dinner Tuesday — Sunday. My first visit was 2 Wednesdays ago, where I found a $ 25 prix fixe menu for every Wednesday, app, main course, and dessert. Amazing food. Tea infused wilted Kale as my starter, Pot Roasted Beef with red cabbage and citrus as the main, and Earl Grey rice pudding for my dessert. Wonderful food. The atmosphere is quiet and very relaxing (much like meditation) and the staff (usually you only see one person, but in my 3 visits I’ve seen a 3!) very accomodation and attentive. Yes, things run slow, but it feels as though it should. I’ve tried a few teas from the extensive menu, and loved them all, including the variety of pot and cup to match the tea. Wonderful. Disappointing that there isn’t beer, but a good glass of red wine or sake makes up for it. My second visit was a few days later for dinner, where I had a clam miso soup, which was quite nice. I then had the salmon. It was so good I forget how it was prepared, but I’m not a huge cooked fish person, and I loved every bite. Just stunning. My last visit was lunch, where I had an Asian salad with a soy dressing that was marvelous, and the dim sum sampler platter — Shumai, Dumplings, and Samosa’s. All were fantastic. My wife had the Tea Sandwich sampler — Apricot with Ginger and Goat cheese was the best. A wonderful blend of flavors. We finished it off with Chocolate Mousse cake, which went well with my cocao infused tea. Overall, though the dinner menu is limited (4 app choices, 6 dinner choices), I was astounded at the quality. This is a wonderful restaurant for romance or casual relaxation. Go now, and go often.

Just walking in is like doing a yoga meditation exercise. The fabulous furniture takes you to another place and things go at a slower pace. The sticky buns are a must try snack and the perfect peak to a leisurely afternoon. Do keep in mind that things do go leisurely here– don’t expect rushed service.