When you go to downtown Fargo, which is one of the first places you think of? Silver Lining? Spicy Pie? For us, it’s Tea & Crepe, a locally owned restaurant. For this month’s restaurant review we decided to go with exactly that, and pick some of our favorites to share with you.
Tea & Crepe has an open selection of delicious food and drinks to choose from, known for obviously: their tea and crepes. There are many other available options, one of which is rolled Thai ice cream, and is not typically seen, considering this is the first rolled ice cream place in Fargo. While there is a variety of cold food, they also have warm food such as takoyaki and onigiri for us to enjoy.
We wanted to start off with tea, and choose quite the variety to fit everyone’s tastes and preferences. For our selection, we had first chosen the Taro Milk tea. It was a great start for our review. It was very creamy and sweet. It is made with taro roots, jasmine milk tea, and tapioca pearls which were added in for a few extra cents, of course. It has a really smooth flavor and pairs really well with the tapioca pearls. Their tapioca pearls are the best in Fargo in our opinion, so out of all of the Taro teas we have tried, this was a favorite deserving of a 4.5/5 rating. Our next tea was Strawberry Milk tea with strawberry popping boba. The tea was really smooth and tasted a lot like strawberry yogurt. The flavor seemed very interesting, and “punches you in the face” with the first sip. We decided to rate this a 4.5/5.
Turning away from tea, we switched it up and decided to go with a peach smoothie. The flavor was very strong and peachy, which is great if you are a peach fan like we are, and it didn’t have an artificial taste which we’ve had in past experiences. We would rate this a 4.5/5.
Next, we decided to try some of their staple crepes. Cheesecake Delight is one of four ice cream crepes which cost just a smidge more than the regular crepes. All of the crepes come in a paper cardboard wrapping; kind of like a flattened cotton candy cone but a bit bigger and sturdier. It is a great carrier for when you want to eat on the go and visit other shops downtown. Just be warned that – and I know this might be a surprise – ice cream melts. Keep this in mind if you’re a slow eater.
The crepe itself was soft but crispy enough to hold everything inside. Speaking of the fillings, all of the flavors worked very well together. It consisted of blueberries, almonds, blueberry jam, whipped cream cheese, custard cream, and whipped yogurt, not to mention vanilla ice cream and pocky sticks on the top. While the crepe tasted amazing, it also looked presentable, which is why our overall rating is a 4/5, just because the ice cream melts and gets everywhere, but that’s mostly on our part for eating too slow.
Another staple of theirs which we tried was the First Love rolled ice cream. The texture was really fun and flakey with bits of strawberry rolled in. What makes it so fun is the flakeyness but sudden creaminess when you take each bite. The ice cream itself had strawberry, raspberry & blueberry base flavor, and also the same fruits on top, adding a nice and refreshing taste, and mellowing out the sweet ice cream. We would rate this a 5/5, and would definitely get it again.
We also wanted to get some warm food to enjoy, especially while the storm was going on, so we got Kani Rice Ball and Takoyaki. The Kani Rice Ball is one of their signatures, consisting of spicy crab meat, rice, seaweed, and a cup of spicy mayo for dipping. We really liked the balance of everything, and the sauce comes in a separate container, so you can apply as much as you like onto your rice ball. It’s one of our favorite things to get on the menu, just be warned that it falls apart pretty easily, but that doesn’t go against its taste, so we rate it a 5/5.
Next we had Takoyaki, which we’ve reviewed at a past restaurant this year; takoyaki is a ball of fried and crispy dough with bits of octopus inside. We think that the experiences vary, and sometimes the Takoyaki is not cooked all of the way, and sometimes there is too many of one ingredient. Despite this, the flavor is still really good, but it’s something you’d have to chance, which is why we rate it a 2.5/5.
Tea & Crepe is an excellent location to come to at any point during a visit downtown. They provide you with convenient packaging which is also incredibly presentable. We don’t believe they get enough credit for the convenience. Their food and drinks are made with high quality ingredients with reasonable pricing, which explains their popularity. We recommend Tea & Crepe for anybody in the downtown area looking for a new hangout spot or just here for the food and tea. Our overall experience has been phenomenal, which is why we rate Tea & Crepe a 4.5/5.