Torrie L.
Yelp
I've had a lot of tea in London recently, and I'd have to put Ham Yard in the middle of the pack. The "festive" sweets were great - the Gingerbread eclair was perfection! Unfortunately, the scones were almost trying too hard to be visually perfect, and thus were missing their crumbling inside. The exterior texture left something to be desired and overall, they didn't taste as light and airy as I would have liked. There were two flavors of jam which was appreciated.
Their selection of teas was average, and I actually found my selected green tea to over-steep very quickly, so my final 2 cups were very bitter. I'm not a tea brewing expert, so I can't explain how this can be avoided, but I haven't experienced this to such an extreme anywhere else.
The service was wonderful, though there were issues with my reservation. I don't fault them for the reservations issues as I don't know what happened there, and they made every effort to give me the experience I had requested. The reservation was supposed to be for tea, but when I arrived, they handed me a lunch menu, lacking even a mention of tea. They were quick to reset the table and provide a new menu. I had spoken to someone by email about ordering Cream Tea rather than a full afternoon tea (I never enjoy the sandwiches), yet the waiter was confused when I asked for this, as it wasn't on the menu. Thankfully, once I explained I wanted tea and scones (and the sweets if possible) he kindly made all of my requests happen. They charged me a reasonable price (considering I ordered 3/4 of a standard afternoon tea, yet charged only half the price.).
Experience 5/5, food and drink 3/5