Since I have only been to Dado Tea twice, this will be somewhat of an uncomprehensive, preliminary review; however, I will attempt to be as comprehensive as possible! Dado Tea is a café with two locations: one in Harvard Square and one near Central Square. This review is for the location in Harvard Square. Additionally, I plan on mainly talking about the food, not about its ambiance (which is fine) and service (which was average).
Dado Tea offers teas, coffee, typical café foods (breakfast pastries, sandwiches, wraps, etc.), and great vegan and vegetarian options. The first time I visited Dado Tea was for lunch three days ago. I ordered a pesto tofu sandwich and a regular sized mug of coffee (which was actually pretty large) for $8.83, a very modest price for a large lunch. The sandwich had soft tofu with pesto, cucumbers, mixed greens, and mozzarella cheese on whole grain bread. Although eating it was a little messy, the sandwich had clean flavors; the tofu provided a clean slate for the slight saltiness of the pesto and mozzarella, minor bitterness of the mixed greens, and the modest sweetness of the bread. The crisp crunch of the cucumbers complemented the soft tofu. The pesto also had whole pine nuts, which provided more textual differences. Overall, it was a fantastic sandwich, and I would definitely eat it again!
Yesterday, I returned to Dado for lunch, yearning to try something new after a great first experience. I decided to order their shrimp tempura udon for $7.44. For such a huge portion, the price was very reasonable. The bowl was filled with udon noodles, shrimp tempura, fish cake (the slices of white and pink), and a fish broth. Whenever I usually order udon noodles, the soup is often too salty; however, this broth managed to have a robust umami flavor without being too salty. While the broth and noodles were exceptional, the shrimp tempura was disappointing. It seemed that the shrimp tempura had been either frozen or pre-cooked, frozen, and reheated (maybe microwaved?). The shrimp itself was slightly chewy/rubbery, while the fried batter was soggy. The shrimp was definitely a letdown, since everything else about the noodle soup was quite exquisite. Overall, for $7.44, it’s impossible to complain too much, and although it wasn’t perfect (the shrimp), I would still visit once in a while whenever craving noodle soup.
