A Thai-inspired tea shop with an evolving menu of tasty bites is now steeping in Berkeley.
Nudi Blue opened this month at 2049 San Pablo Ave., on a busy thoroughfare next to local favorites like La Marcha Tapas Bar and Acme Bar & Co. It is run by Jezreel Rojas and Krissana Tussanaprasit, the duo behind Berkeley’s Tanzie’s Cafe, which makes a mean Chiang Mai-style brunch.
Right now, the restaurant is open during breakfast and lunch for tea service that features different types of imported leaves and around a dozen snacks. The cost per person is $65. In the months to come, the kitchen plans to offer dinner, centered on raw and cooked seafood. (The “Nudi” part of the name derives from nudibranchs, those bright and sluglike oceanic crawlers.)
The tea is organic and sourced from Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai in the mountainous northern region of the country. A selection might include classics like Assam Black and Oolong, or lesser-known strains like “White,” “Jungle,” “Yellow” and “Giant.”
An early menu of the food offerings posted by an online reviewer includes tea sandwiches like ham and mustard and cucumber and duck, as well as tartlets with seasonal citrus or pear and lychees. There have been scones with Wagyu beef and blueberries and peach, as well as lovely-looking pastries like a mini-guava croissant, a “Smoked Sturgeon Half Moon” and an “Earl Grey NY Roll.” (Here, tea sometimes finds its way into the savory offerings.)
The menu seems to change to reflect whatever inventiveness is boiling in the mind of the chef – a pea-and-squash salad, a duck-and-blueberry tart. A couple days ago, the restaurant posted on Instagram a tiny crepe, rolled up into a cone and stuffed with fresh mango, sticky-rice cream and fish-sauce caramel. The post reads: “Crunchy, sweet & salty. What more could you want?”
The restaurant is new enough that it hasn’t garnered many reviews. But its Yelp rating is high, with one customer writing: “Attention to detail in every way, from stoneware to tea selections, to architecture and taste of every sandwich and pastry. Beautiful live piano music serenaded throughout. As with Tanzie’s, I was made to feel like I was a guest in their house, the service was so warm and welcoming.”
Details: Open 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays (tea service begins at 9 a.m.) at 2049 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley; 510-898-1162, instagram.com/nudi_blue