Tea Story
222 Osborne St.

Tea Story, a Japanese-style tea and waffle house, is a fairly recent addition to the Osborne strip, situated in the recently renovated red brick building at the northeast corner of Confusion Corner.

Their hours are extensive, and they are open until 10 p.m. or later every day of the week, making it a great option for a late night bite. Free Wi-Fi is another feature to draw in customers.

My partner and I visited the tea shop after catching an early film on a Friday night. We were greeted right away by the friendly staff members, who were happy to help us with any questions regarding specifics on their menu.

The menu is quite extensive, with many options to choose from, both waffle- and beverage-wise.

I settled on a waffle sandwich called Love Green and an almond bubble tea, while my partner chose a dessert waffle, Death For Chocolate, and a real fruit cantaloupe smoothie. The meal was reasonably priced and came to just under $25 for the pair of us.

The interior is hip and modern, and at first glance it looks like a great setting for a meet-up with friends or a first date. I really enjoyed the black, red and blue colour scheme, and the paper lantern-esque light fixtures.

However, after we sat down, our visit went a little sour.

The music was a touch too loud, making conversation difficult, and this is when business picked up. It took 10 minutes for our bubble teas, and I was disappointed with mine.

I had expected almond milk, but instead it tasted like cheap amaretto flavouring, and I couldn’t finish it.

The tapioca balls, however, were just the right consistency.

We waited another 20 minutes for our waffles, which were rushed over to us.

The plastic cutlery just did not cut it, and not only could my partner not cut through his ice cream and almond laden waffle, I couldn’t cut through the green pepper in my heart shaped waffle.

I ended up eating the waffle separately from the fillings, which included hummus, romaine lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and tzatziki.

The portion sizes are generous, but halfway through my waffle I began to notice the clash between the tzatziki and the waffle. The waffle was much too sweet, and I could not finish my sandwich.

However, the Death For Chocolate was demolished.

I felt bad for the two employees working on a busy Friday night. They were obviously stressed, but they were trying to hide it as they were run off their feet.

A request for water was never fulfilled, and we left half-hearted.

I definitely recommend the dessert waffles and teas, but make sure you go at a time that is not guaranteed to be busy, or when you are not absolutely famished.

Visit www.facebook.com/tea.story1.

Published in Volume 66, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 17, 2011)