This Japanese-Inspired Tea House and Music Room Might Just Be NYC’s Best Kept Secret
PC: Florré
The wall of speakers on the side of the room should have been indication enough that you do not, in fact, have to remain silent at Silence Please, a Japanese-inspired tea house nestled on the second floor of a busy street in Chinatown. Only later, when two DJs sat down to make use of said speakers, did I learn this is actually a music listening room. One that blends the gentle experience of a modern teahouse with a less gentle mix of house and experimental tunes. “Silence Please” actually is the name of the high-end speakers, which are available for purchase. Suddenly, the adjacent room filled with boxes of records made a whole lot more sense. It was past this room that the café resided. A glass wall kept eager fingers away from the alluring display of pastries, each laced with an asian culinary touch (my friend ordered the sesame seed croissant).
Having just downed a coffee on my way to the location due to a delayed train, I decided to opt for an iced hojicha (which poured out of a carafe and set me back $9). The menu, which I learned is not available online, offered various hot and iced teas, coffees, and some experimental drinks like sesame seed lattes. Once we got our orders, we sat at the front of the house by the windows where the light poured into the spacious wooden room.
There was a lot of beauty for the eye to take in. Aside from the row of seats by the window, a spacious coworking table took up most of the real estate in the room—it could easily seat 20 people, and 20 people did, in fact, fill the seats on a Wednesday afternoon. Clearly, these were regulars at the café, who kept their laptops and AirPods out, ready to enjoy the live DJ set as they worked on whatever task was at hand.
My friend and I were here to get chatty. Over four months of not seeing each other created a backlog of topics that needed catching up on. My friend, who like me, is half Japanese, was currently visiting New York between work trips from Australia to Shanghai. With the surprisingly non-distracting flow of music playing in the background, we spent over two hours discussing what we’ve been up to and what we have yet to get done.
After finishing our beverages, we took another tour around the venue. At the center of the room, a slow-burning stick of incense rested on the raised tatami, quietly setting the mood. The café had filled up considerably since we initially arrived, letting me know that Silence Please may not be a secret to some, but a gem to be discovered for the rest of us in need of a not-so-quietly tucked-away café.
