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Edinburgh's
first licensed teahouse has just opened on Merchant Street. Chai
Teahouse, the sister development of the popular teashop on West
Richmond Street, is a unique combination of teahouse, bar and eating
place. This family-run business brings teahouses into a stylish,
contemporary context with chic décor, distinctive food, and
regular live music.
Centred around
drinking tea - of which there are 82 different types- Chai Teahouse
offers a taste experience and ambience that cannot be matched by High
Street coffee shops. A chic mix of Moroccan furnishings, creative
lighting and low ceilings create a relaxed ambience in which tea
sommeliers offer customers advice on the various types to suit their
mood - whether white, green, oolong or black - and how to drink them.
A natural
progression from the Chai teashop formed in 2005 by mother and son
team, Lynn and Jonathan Cooper, the new licensed teahouse offers
seating for up to 65 customers. Jonathan says:
"We were
inspired by the teahouses around the world - the spiritual meeting
places of Japan, the socializing and board game playing of China, and
the salons of Europe. We have mixed them all together and produced
this. It is a few steps up from the Bohemian hangout but offers what
ultimately a teahouse is - a relaxed, chilled out place to meet
people, eat and drink".
Chai Teahouse
also has a licensed bar serving cocktails, many of which are
tea-based, a selection of premium beers and a handpicked range of
unusual wines. Simple, tasty food is served all day, and the menus
include light bites to share, such as root veggie chips with a green
yoghurt chutney, oak smoked salmon and chorizo with black olive and
basil pesto as well as full lunch and dinner menus, which include
grilled teryaki sea bass, spiced lamb and green leaf salad, and
sirloin steak. There is live music on selected nights, which enjoys
the full benefit of the acoustics offered by the low ceilings and
stone walls.
Chai Teahouse,
3a Merchant Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2QD. 0131 477 1838
merchantstreet@chaiteahouse.co.uk www.chaiteahouse.co.uk
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