When I first walked in the door of The Russian Tea House I came upon a long line curving around the front and into the hallway that lead to the dining area, it would take me about an hour to get through the line after I got there. It makes sense that there was such a long line, this was the first time The Tea House had been open in months and it was only scheduled to be open on Fridays from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Working out of what once was a residential home, it’s slightly out of place on University Avenue sitting right next to Arby’s.

The small space had everyone squeezed close together, chatting pleasantly. The customers of the Tea House came in a wide variety, all different races, genders, and ages ranging from babies to the elderly. Among the eclectic collection of customers was a cheerful young man talking to someone I assumed to be his grandfather, I realized I was wrong when they parted ways after receiving their food. There was also a group of five boys, who looked to be about my age, enthusiastically discussing video games. At one point, one of them answered his phone and began speaking in Russian.

I stood in line next to a woman named Michele, who told me that she “used to come here back when there wasn’t a line.” When asked what her favorites were she told me “I usually get the piroshki and the vereniki, those are the best.” Though she didn’t have much to say about the tea, only that “It’s just tea.”

Don’t let the name fool you, there is only one kind of tea served at this Tea House, it’s simply called Russian Tea and it only costs one dollar. What they do serve is an array of traditional Russian food. Some of the items included on their menu are Piroshkis, Potato Vareniki, vinaigrette potato salad, and for dessert Russian tea cakes or a chocolate poppyseed roll. Pretty much everything comes with sour cream on top and nothing is over $8. I was excited to see borscht on the menu, it’s a name I’d heard many times but had no idea what it actually was. Upon learning that it’s a soup made of cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, beans, and onions I decided to steer clear of it.

Although I avoided the borscht I did order a few things, one piroshki, an order of three potato vareniki, some tea cakes, and of course a cup of Russian Tea. First I dug into the three potato vareniki, which are noodles stuffed with potato and cheese, topped with caramelized onions and sour cream. The vareniki was absolutely fantastic, it was a perfect balance of all my favorite unhealthy foods, I immediately regretted not purchasing two orders instead of one. Though not as amazing as the vareniki, the piroshki-A baked bun filled with beef, rice, cheese, and caramelized onion- was also quite good. I found the bread to be slightly overwhelming and dry, but the inside made up for it once I got there. The Russian Tea Cakes were another one I wished I had bought more of when I left, they felt like the kind of cookies you only get during the holidays, the kind your grandmother slaves over for a whole day. The crunchy butter walnut cookies were covered in a nice layer of powdered sugar which complimented the taste perfectly even if it was a bit messy. Like Michelle told me, the tea was just tea, but really good tea especially for the price tag.

Overall, The Russian Tea House is a wonderful little spot. Run solely by Linda and Nikolai Alenov it’s clearly a labor of love. When I finally got up to the counter Linda greeted me with a warm smile and a friendly “Hello,” making small talk as she put together my order. It’s clear their customers have a lot of love for them, a jar labeled “retirement fund” sat next to the counter filled up completely. Clearly running this business is a lot of work for the couple, they’re only open from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Fridays and when I asked Linda why she told me “it’s a three day job to get everything ready.” The hours make it difficult to get there, but if you can make it you should go. The atmosphere is comfortable and happy, the food is made with love, and it feels just like home.