The Takashimaya department store is one New York mega shop that has managed to fly under our collective radars. It’s not as iconic as Macy’s or as luxe as Bergdorf’s, but it has its place on Fifth Avenue just the same, representing a sleek and calming Japanese aesthetic that is often missing in American culture, not to mention hectic American Christmas shopping culture.

A full range and carefully edited department store, Takashimaya carries everything from cashmere travel wraps to edgy office attire to small gifts like a makeup bag made from vintage kimono fabric. But the real jewel of the store is hidden in the basement, the Tea Box Café. A serene full service restaurant, the Tea Box specializes in Asian tea. Thirty-nine different types to be exact including an earthy Gyokuro Karigane green tea and a floral Jasmine Yin Hao, which come for $5 and are served in beautiful iron teapots.

Get there for lunch and try the bento box, a sampling of Chef Taro Mitsuiki specialties that changes daily. On my visit, I was greeted with a delicate salad of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, thinly sliced roast beef and a sesame vinaigrette, a foil packet that revealed slow cooked salmon in a miso glaze, tempura sweet potatoes, a single poached shrimp in a creamy dressing and a savory sticky rice with corn and carrots. For $21, the bento box was the perfect size for one person and left me just enough room for my tiny coconut custard square drizzled in berry sauce.

Arrive after 2:45 and you can try the afternoon tea, which for $20 comes with a pot of your choice and a sampling of desserts, finger sandwiches and fresh fruit. Though samplers are really where the Tea Box shines, they also offer salads and sandwiches like the smoked salmon and cucumber sandwich ($10) served on pressed rice instead of bread or the tuna and avocado salad ($17) served cubed.

But as relaxing as the Tea Box is, we must eventually get back to shopping. Lucky for us, just outside of the café, teas, ornate teapots and books about the Japanese tea rituals are available for purchase for the foodies and tea junkies on your Christmas list.

Takashimaya Tea Box
693 Fifth Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets
Open Monday-Friday 11:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Sunday