Ham Yard Hotel

One of the pleasures of writing this blog, apart from eating the scones of course, is discovering new, quirky places, so twitter friend and I decided to visit Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, which only opened a couple of months ago. Despite being a Westminster Guide, I have to say to my shame, even I had a bit of difficulty finding it as it's tucked away behind Piccadilly Circus but for me that just added to it's charm. I ordered the scones which arrived warm and beautifully presented wrapped in a napkin in a wire basket.  They were accompanied with a generous portion of clotted cream and two bowls of jam, one strawberry and the other cherry.

 Ham Yard Hotel

On opening the napkin to my delight I found that there were three mini scones  consisting of a mixture of two plain and one golden sultana. One of the things I most enjoy is the preparation of the scones, for me it will always be jam first, so being able to perform this ritual three times over only added to overall enjoyment. They were delicious, being firm on the outside with a soft interior and great value at only £4. In addition I order a pot of Assam tea. My only complaint for the entire visit was the service was not as good as I had hoped, as although my scones came beautifully presented I had to ask for a knife and a napkin and for a hotel of this standard to be honest I don't expect to have to ask for such basic items. However this didn't detract from an otherwise highly enjoyable visit and it was soon forgotten especially when they played Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger .

 Ham Yard Hotel

The hotel has a contemporary style and has a relaxed vibe and its decor is charmingly quirky. I especially loved sitting opposite the famous queens (Elizabeth II, Victoria, Elizabeth I and Mary I). Although we didn't see it this time, the hotel also has a vintage 1950s bowling alley which makes a great excuse for a return visit soon.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 3, Service: 1, Ambience: 3, Overall:  9/12

P.S. Two weeks later I returned to Ham Yard Hotel with Katie Chambers after my London Cake Walk, this time we visited on a Saturday and the hotel was very busy. I ordered the scone, which were again delicious, and incidentally they arrived this time with a knife and teaspoon wrapped in a napkin. However I am sad to report that service was notably slow, which is disappointing for another wise highly enjoyable visit. BTW we still haven't seen the bowling alley!

Avon Gorge Hotel - Bristol

A couple weeks ago I attended the Walk and Talk Like Cary Grant afternoon tea as part of the Cary Grant Comes Home for the Weekend Festival in Bristol. Tea took place at the Avon Gorge Hotel in one of their private dining rooms, the beautiful Clifton Room, with its private terrace with stunning views overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This special event included watching some video footage of Grant's acting techniques as well as Anna Farthing talking about afternoon tea etiquette and this had been organised as part of the festival, so I am reviewing it in that context as I haven't had regular afternoon tea there. The afternoon tea had been pre-booked for the group and cost £20pp. The scones were served on a tiered cake stand as part of the afternoon tea, with one stand shared between two people so we each had a scone. However I ended up with a stand to myself as I had pre-ordered the vegetarian option. The scones were served accompanied with generous portions of strawberry jam and clotted cream. I had a plain scones which was large and nice. The service was very efficient with all the food being served to the  group promptly, including the pouring of tea and coffee, before the staff discreetly disappeared, however as my cup of tea wasn't replenished I have given the service only a two star rating. 

 View of the Clifton Suspension Bridge from the Avon Gorge Hotel

The Avon Gorge Hotel, noted for it's stunning view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, was chosen because Cary Grant frequently stayed there when he came to Bristol to see his mother. This was a fun and memorable afternoon and although I don't have the glamour or the sophistication of Cary Grant I had my moment of feeling like a movie star standing in the same spot on the private terrace as the great man himself. If you would like to read more about the fun and fab Cary Grant festival please check out my blog.

Ratings:  Scones: 1,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 2, Ambience: 3, Overall:  9/12

 Drink Shop Do

The other Sunday twitter friend and I made a return visit to Drink Shop Do, I have to confess this is one of our favourite cake places in London, and I ordered their scones, which  are usually served as part of afternoon tea. The scones were served cold and nicely presented on a plate. To my delight I was served one savoury and one fruit scone, which I loved as I thought was a really nice combination. The savoury scone had a delicious cheese flavour, and was the one I enjoyed the most. It was accompanied with a herb butter which was a little disappointing as it had a slight vinegary flavour to it. The fruit scone was also very tasty and served with home made strawberry jam which was delicious. However I did note that on the menu clotted cream is included in the afternoon tea. The service was great and the staff are very friendly, the café was full when we visited but we were quickly seated and they were fine with us asking to move tables when one in a quieter spot became available. I love Drink Shop Do, it is such a cool place to visit with its fab vintage feel with its 1950s Formica tables and quirky decor. Also worth checking out is their fun filled events, I recently attend their I Love Lists evening.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 1, Service: 2, Ambience: 3, Overall:  8/11

BB Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tour

Regular readers (ok all one of you) will know that my friend Julie and I, for the sake of this blog, are on a mission to work our way round all the afternoon tea venues in London. As London tour guides what would be more perfect than to combine afternoon tea with a tour of London? So when Julie suggested going on BB Bakery afternoon tea bus  we had the perfect combination of London sight seeing and cake! We had the date booked well in advance to fit in with our schedules and also when we booked Julie wanted to guarantee that we would have one of the front seats on the upper deck. We  were welcomed on board Rodney, a 1960s RM 191 Routemaster bus, and  made our way to our allocated table to find the savouries, cakes and orange juice was already nicely laid out.  However despite our guaranteed seat reservation and requesting one vegetarian afternoon tea at the time of booking we were both disappointed to find that both were traditional afternoon teas. However the error was quickly resolved and the vegetarian savouries were delicious and very imaginative with sandwiches, roll, blini and quiche. There was also a delicious selection of pastries with the scones arriving later on. The large, plain scone was served cold and accompanied with a small individual pot of Bonne Maman strawberry conserve and a small individual tub of Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream. The scone was delicious, being firm on the outside with a soft interior. It was a little bit tricky preparing them on a moving bus but it added to the charm of the occasion.

The top deck of the BB Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus

I thought you might like to see a photo of the interior of the bus, the layout has been well designed as it is spacious. However please note there are no toilets on the bus so the 1 hour 30 minutes journey might not be ideal for everyone.  The service throughout was exceptional with the two waitresses always being very cheerful despite having quite a challenging job of serving their customers on a moving vehicle.  Well let's be honest it took Julie and me a little bit of time just to get the hang of drinking our tea during the bus drive! The route of the sight seeing tour is on their website but please be aware there is no live commentary as you go round. Instead on each table is a booklet with information about the things to see on the tour and to be honest it's a great idea as with the accompanying background music it made for a very relaxing trip. I think I should say at this point that the two front tables on the upper deck come with an additional £10 per person cost which makes it £55 per person instead of £45pp and therefore it's the most expensive afternoon tea I've ever had. However this is quite unique and if you were to book afternoon tea at a hotel and a sight seeing coach trip separately it would probably cost about the same. So for seasoned afternoon teaers or if you're looking for something special to do in London this could be a great option for you.

Ratings:  Scones: 2,   Accompaniments: 2, Service: 3, Ambience: 3, Overall:  10/12

Until next time...

If you enjoyed this blog you might like to read about Scones of the Year 2013 or other editions of Scones of the Month.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds 

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