Tal-Y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe

Took my dad here on a Wednesday afternoon with a Groupon deal I had purchased a couple months prior. The Groupon I bought was for the Prince Harry Tea for Two.

This tea place is different from the other ones I've been too. This is polo/equestrian themed which was nicely nostalgic for my dad who used to watch the sport in his youth. The decor and ambience are great, though the chairs are not very comfortable even with the cushions.

Overall, the food was alright. The Motorloaf sandwiches were tasty and filling, as well as the scones. I thought it was odd that only one type of tea was allowed for sharing. Most places, with tea for 2, allow individual pots of teas with refills.

Service was a bit slow and not too attentive, though the guy was quite friendly when he did interact with us. We took Uber here, but I noticed there weren't many places to park, and this was only on a Wednesday afternoon! Make sure you make a reservation, especially if you are using a Groupon deal. Good luck calling to make a reservation as I couldn't reach them the first 2 times I called, and this was over a span of 2 different days. Overall decent, but don't think I'd visit unless there was another deal to purchase!

Um, where have I been all these years growing up in the Outer Richmond of SF, never knew this place existed? Oh, this was pre-Yelp and Groupon days - that's right! I only went to middle school right up the street and high school across the street OMG!

The ambiance here is totally different than all the afternoon high tea places I've been in the city, it's more macho due to the equestrian shop. The other dainty little tea houses have a much more different vibe. I bought a Groupon deal (Prince Harry tea for two), originally scheduled as Mother-Daughter tea, but my son wanted to come along. The three of us had a whimsical afternoon surrounded by antique furniture. As sipping tea wasn't his cup of tea, I had to order a la carte for him, and he enjoyed the Ghirardelli hot chocolate. We ordered an extra motorloaf plate to fill him up. I also treated myself to their English trifle, which was divine.

The Prince Harry tea included a pot of tea for two, Scottish shortbread cookies, classic motorloaf sandwiches, and choice of two homemade scones with devonshire cream & jam. We went with the savory & Ghirardelli scones - heavenly!

I would definitely come back to this tea room; service was great. Keep calm & drink tea!

This place isn't like other tea shops. You're not surrounded by girly pink, but instead you're surrounded by clutter. The shop portion of the place looks disorganized, and if people really buy things here, it just doesn't look very welcoming. We originally came here with a Groupon for the Prince William / Lady Katherine tea, but apparently it had expired, so we paid full price with the paid Groupon price deducted.

For the tea we chose Ginger Peachy Keen. It came smelling really great, and there was a ginger aftertaste. However, the longer it was steeped, the more bitter it became. The variety of sandwiches in the Motorloaf was delicious, the bread was sweet, and it was so filling. We also had scones, and while they were good (especially the jam), my friend felt it wasn't cooked thoroughly.

I probably won't be coming back again. It's not the most comfortable place to sit, eat, and chat for a few hours.

If by "motorloaf" bread it was made from actual motor parts then I would agree. This bread is as hard as Stonehenge and just as bland tasting as rock.

Now, I've been to England more than 4 times, and though I'm not expecting genuine English tea and sandwiches, I am expecting something that fills me up and tastes good if for two people with tip and tax the bill comes to nearly $100.00.

That said....why do my friend and I have to choose between one scone and one dessert to share? For the price I'm paying could the meal include two scones for two people? Just a thought. Are scones that expensive? Or is the queen herself making a limited batch in the kitchen?

I asked for no mustard. ALL my sandwiches had mustard on them. Which they remade and worse still gave it to the table to our right. What if I licked the bread and it had my cooties on it? They would have never known and then the table next to us might develop SARS or something. When a customer sends back his sandwiches, just throw it away. I already manhandled it. That's how I knew it had mustard!

The service was slow and the girls were more interested taking to each other than waiting tables.

Cool equestrian gear though... but I came here for tea and sandwiches. Not to shop for My Little Pony.

My boyfriend has been talking about finding that afternoon tea destination where the patrons include men reading the day's paper with afternoon tea. We finally found that vision at Tal-Y-Tara, the equestrian/polo store and tea room with red plaid tablecloths. By the way, the polo store sells really cute boots and Molton Brown skincare products. Good taste.

We shared a motorloaf for one with sandwich fixings on the side -- it was a tasty treat. The scones were DELICIOUS. Try mixing the lemon curd with the Devonshire cream to top the scones -- absolutely heavenly and definitely worth the money. The tea selection includes a lot of Taylors of Harrogate and Lindsay's Teas, so you can't really go wrong there.

Parking is a little difficult -- we finally found a spot in the luxurious Seacliff neighborhood nearby. This suited us well as we took a nice stroll through the multi-million dollar neighborhood after getting tea. You can access Baker Beach from one of the neighborhoods, and have great views of the Golden Gate.

Overall -- five stars for the unique blend of equestrian and English high tea that you can't get anywhere else. A great antidote to the grandmotherly and overly pink-and-frilly afternoon tea places in San Francisco filled with girls having bridal shower parties.

Of all the tea experiences one can enjoy in San Francisco, this might be the most informal and disorganized. Tal-Y-Tara is located out in the Avenues in the Richmond, in the back of the very darkly lit, musty-feeling horse-riding paraphernalia shop (or, as they call it, "Polo Shoppe"...tres British, dontcha know!).

If you're looking for traditional afternoon tea, such as you'd find in England, this is not what you'll be getting here. Depending on which tea service you order, your tea will probably start with a hearty, American-style salad (iceberg wedge with bacon, anyone?). This aspect perplexes me, as afternoon tea isn't usually a meal so much as a snack, and adding a salad seems like unnecessary additional food. I'd rather pay a little less and not have this included.

The scones are the more dense, American-style triangles, and come in fussy flavors (one of my favs is the dark chocolate chip with orange I had once or twice here!)...far from the traditional plain or with currants. They come with a small amount of devonshire cream and jam. Given the sizes of the scones, the amount of cream is never really enough, and my friends and I have always had to order more, for which we've always been charged. Given the high price of tea service here, I've always found the surprising, as I haven't been charged for extra cream at other local tea rooms.

The tea sandwiches are not served on regular sandwich bread with the crusts cut off; Instead, they are on slightly-too-thick-for-my-taste slices of "motorloaf", which is more of a quick bread, dense, darkened and sweet from molasses, and made with WALNUTS, in case you are ALLERGIC. The fillings are less like what you'd find in a tea room in London, and remind me more of American deli sandwiches, with deli meats and cheeses, and the use of cream cheese instead of butter for cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches. One motorloaf's worth of sandwiches typically means an assortment of six half-sandwiches, with no duplicates. This means that if you are sharing (which you are meant to do here), you'll need to cut each of those sandwiches in half if each of you wants to experience each individual type of sandwich.

The servers I've experienced here have always been the only person on staff while I'm there, so they literally make your entire tea to order by themselves...This is time-consuming, and items often come out a lot more slowly than you'd experience at other restaurants or tea rooms. If there are multiple parties, this can mean waiting a very long time for food.

The owner is an older woman who will interject herself into your conversation without invitation, and has asked me some very inappropriate questions over the years about my physical disability. She has sat occupying a table in the tea room area all but one of the times I've taken tea here.

As you can probably tell, this isn't my favorite tea room in San Francisco. I tend to favor a more traditional British approach, and I also don't like to be asked rude questions about my physical limitations by strangers. After getting seriously mediocre service last time I went here, I decided to take a break and focus on the places in SF that I far prefer. I DO think, though, that Tal-y-Tara offers a unique tea experience in a visually interesting environment, and the motorloaf really IS killer! So if you're doing a tour of the local tea rooms, I'd keep this one on your list!

Came here on a Saturday afternoon. Got lucky and one of the reservations never came so we got seated instead. Please note due to limited seating, you should make a reservation- especially if you are a party greater than four.

Pro tip: share tea with somebody else because the tea kettles you are given are no joke. I drank 6 cups of tea and my kettle was still good for another four or five cups. I had the chai- can't go wrong. Large tea selection- with both traditional and nontraditional choices.

Food is definitely on the smaller side- because this is a tea house! You didn't come here to get full off food. Had the tea sandwiches- fine, nothing amazing, but gets the job done.

Service is great. The owner really cares and takes a lot of pride in the shop. He alone makes it a five star experience. Allowed us to stay 30 minutes past closing instead of waiting outside- such a kind soul.

Would come back to drown myself in tea.

4 stars for their delicious scones, jam, and double cream, but 3 stars for the other food and the service. It's summer time, so the teenagers are out in full force working at the tea shop. They were very friendly, but unfortunately not too professional- a lot of giggling and loud talking. They were out of a lot of the teas we wanted to try, so my friend and I eventually settled on a White Tea, the Blanc de Pom Pom. The tea was good without sugar or cream (which is how I prefer my tea), and went well with the rest of the meal. We ordered:

-Classic Motorloaf Tea Sandwich Varieties (1 of Each: Cream Cheese and Cucumber, Egg Salad w/ Capers, Cheese and Chutney, Smoked Turkey w/ Watercress, Black Forest Ham w/ Mustard, Lox w/ Cream Cheese and Capers. Serves 2, $18.00): My favorites were the cheese and chutney, egg salad, and cream cheese and cucumber. However, the motorleaf (bread) they were served on was really dry, too dry for my preference.
-Two Scones (Black Currant and Lemon $5.50): Both were really delicious and came with English Devonshire Cream and jam (Blackberry and Raspberry, I believe): YUM, the best part of the meal!! I think I could eat scones with Devonshire cream and jam forever. The only thing I was missing was lemon curd, which other tea shops usually provide.

Overall, I'm not sure I would come all the way out here again just for tea, but if you really enjoy tea (and motorloaf), this place is worth checking out at least once. But make sure you order the scones!! The parking can be difficult, but manageable.

I love dim sum with a passion, I would brunch any day of the week, and I have come to appreciate the sheer joy of high tea.

My friend had a livingsocial deal ($20 for $40) for Tal-Y-Tara, and asked if I would like to brunch with her or as she said "high tea". I don't see any reason to turn her down, and it was such a beautiful day, "of course!"

Small tea and polo shop, with a touch of British decor, and real copper tea pots.

We were seated outside, and decided to order the Queens Tea course:
1. Pot of tea of 2 [we ordered Kookiedoddle, which actually tasted like a snickerdoodle - milk and sugar, tea strainer, tea pot with cozzie, and vintage tea service set].

2. Scottish Shortbread [super buttery, and melts in your mouth].

3. Choice of 2 Salads [we ordered the Wedge - bacon, blue cheese dressing, fresh cherry tomatoes, wedge of lettuce (loved it!), and Fruit Medley - strawberries, crisp apples, and grapes (super fresh!).

4. Motoloaf: 1 of each sandwich [egg salad with capers, cream cheese and cucumber, black forest ham with mustard, and lox with cream cheese and capers] we would have loved more sandwiches. We both loved the bread - poundcake like, and held up really well.

5. Parfait: layered with pound cake, custard cream, and strawberry preserves. YUM!

We were totally stuffed after finishing the parfait.

Our livingsocial coupon covered $40 of the Queens Tea, and we payed the remaining $20 - a very good deal, and a very good brunch.

I also love how our brunch came equipped with an actual British waitress.

Great place for brunch!

I liked this place a lot! Very charming with the equestrian theme and items to buy. My friend had an online deal so this was a perfect opportunity to check out Tal-Y-Tara. With the deal, we each had a choice of a salad, a scone and the sandwiches with a pot of tea.

Unfortunately they did not have Morroccan tea (which I was craving for) that day so we had the cucumber mint tea instead (pretty good). That's ok, it's forgiveable because I loved the freshness of their salads and fruit. We thoroughly enjoyed the array of sandwiches they serve in a bread loaf with the middle carved out: egg salad, salmon, ham and cheese, cucumber - all made with a personal touch which made this place feel very homey and inviting. I also really enjoyed the jalapeno and cheese scone piping hot fresh from the oven. Yum.

It is a relatively small shop with maybe 5-6 tables each seating 2-6 people. The only thing is this place is a little far for me, but really, it is easy enough to get to as the Muni 1 takes you straight there. I will definitely keep this in mind when I want a quaint place with good tea and snacks to catch up with friends. I love afternoon tea!