Tal-Y-Tara Restaurant (Closed For Renovations) — Restaurant in San Francisco

I've bookmarked this place for a while (I LOVE going to tea to slowly catch up with my female companions) and with a Groupon, it was perfect timing to try. I got the Queen's tea which was typically $62 for two people - the Groupon was for $31.

Just like the place says, it is a tea AND polo shoppe. Walking by, there's not much around (residential area!) and from the outside, you would never really think you could have tea here - it straight up looks like an equestrian store.

Walking in though, about half the space is for tea and half for polo shoppe. (Surprisingly, during the 2 hours I was here, there were about 2-3 people that actually bought stuff! Maybe because the polo fields are near by).

It was a nice touch to connect the two together. The decor is not as nice as most of the other places (maybe because of the retail half). I wish the tea-half of the store was more themed and separated off though! It was still a cozy place to eat and chat. The tea cozies on the teapot was a cute touch but most of them had tea-stains. I guess it could be good for a vintage touch but ehh.. haha.

Like most other tea places, it is pricey (I always expect to spend $20-25 pre tax/tip). AND like most other tea places, the service is friendly and quaint.. The service was slow but I kind of enjoyed it because it didn't distract me from my conversation at all. If you ever need anything, just wave them down. Don't be scared to ask for more hot water for your tea!! I was there for about 2 hours and was never rushed so I didn't feel bad taking my time at all. The timing of the food was slow (if that's your sole purpose in coming), but since I was mainly here to catch up, it was perfect and made me pace my food and talk!

OKAY - the actual food. In a nutshell, is nothing SPECIAL, and if you just think about the cost of food, it is certainly overpriced, but keep in mind you're paying for ambiance!

QUEEN'S TEA. This was $62 for two and was the priciest out of the 3 options for tea. I believe the cheapest is $40 for two.

Mango bango tea: Standard tasting black tea with mango infusion. Nothing special. Comes with sugar and cream.

Choice of salad (3 salads): My mom and I both got the fruit salad which was filled in a wine glass. Just apples/strawberries/blueberries/raspberries. I believe if you got it by itself that it'd be $7. UH totally not worth $7 but yea. lol

Platter of motorloaf sandwiches: This didn't look that big for 2 people but man, I was full from this and we even had leftovers.It comes with 6 finger sandwiches and we just had two each. The bread is like an irish soda bread, consistency between a thicker dense bread and cake. It was good! The sandwich filling was pretty standard (kinda dry IMO) The presentation is cute since they cut the bread from the loaf and then use the hollowed out loaf as a platter! Save the extra bread/spreads for later!

Scones: Got the blackcurrant (dry and not very blackcurrant-y..) and the orange/dark chocolate one. OMG that orange/dark chocolate scone was definitely the best part of my meal!!. It was moist and the orange was a perfect subtle complement to the dark chocolate.

Trifle: We ended with a trifle which was served in a wine glass, perfect way to end the meal. Light and perfect balance of sweetness and textures.

OVERALL - I don't think I'd return without a Groupon. But it was certainly fun and I would recommend if you are in the area! & THE ORANGE/DARK CHOCOLATE...

I invited a friend to a birthday afternoon tea at the place when a reservation opened up a few days before. There aren't many tables so reservation is a must on weekends. The polo riding stuff is a bit kitcshy. I thought that it was over cluttered since they used the bathroom to store stacks of extra shoe boxes of boots. The best part of the tea was the blackberry and vanilla scone. My friend enjoyed her Ghiradelli chocolate chip scone. Service was courteous. What I disliked was the micro sugar cube sized shortbread biscuit (crumb). They could have tried to bring us each a normal sized cookie for presentation and satisfaction. That micro cookie delivery made me burst out...

My favorite tea experience in SF so far (and I've been to many tea rooms)! Ambiance is like a comfy Ralph Lauren Sweater - you're surrounded by equestrian gear and tasteful tea knick knacks, while enveloped by classical music and the chit chat of neighboring tables. The huge stand out is their homemade motorloaf bread, which is hearty and nutty. The scones (around $5.50) seem pricey in comparison. They frequently have groupon or other deals. The staff is warm...