Marco Polo Tea & Gift Shop

The tea room portion of the restaurant appears to be no longer in operation, though similar food and tea are still available in the restaurant.

Marco Polo Tea & Gift Shop is located in Salem, Oregon on Liberty Street near Mill Street.  The tea room is located on the lower level of the Marco Polo Global Restaurant which specializes in meals that are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free.

The interior of the tea room feels a bit like a formal dining room while the seating and ambiance is quite comfortable and intimate.

In the entry before the tea room, you'll find a wide selection of loose teas, tea ware, and supplies available for purchase. The tea pots used exclusively in the tea room are on display and it was fun guessing which would appear on our table as they vanished from the case. My inner 6-year-old really wanted one of our teas to be served in that Mickey Mouse mug on display.

Since I like to indulge on my first tea room visits, I selected Marco Polo's Sereni-Tea which is similar to a traditional Afternoon Tea. I tend to be more adventurous with flavor when I'm away from home, so I tried their Monk's Blend black tea which was tasty and stood up quite well with the diverse flavors of the sweets and savories. I liked it well enough to buy a package to take home.

The removable tea strainers were a nice touch. I tend to linger over my tea and often find myself wincing over an astringent cup of over-brewed tea. The table setting was lovely and my guests and I enjoyed comparing teacup patterns. The food was plentiful and the fresh fruit was divine!

If you're in Salem, do take a moment to visit the Marco Polo Tea & Gift Shop. Their weekday-only hours are a little daunting for weekend travelers like myself, but I've been told that the upper level restaurant also serves many of the same teas and sandwiches when the tea room is closed.

Address: 

300 Liberty St. SE, Salem, OR 97301

Hours: 
11:00am to 9:30pm (Monday-Thursday)
11:00am to 10:00pm (Friday)
12:00pm to 10:00pm (Saturday)

11:30am to 10:00pm (Sunday)