restaurant & bar - ham yard hotel

stumbled upon this tucked in a corner, cozy place in soho one windy summer evening. it was my last night in london and the skies too were melancholic!
this place has a small courtyard and inside seating too.
though crowded (was a fri evening), we got a table fast with a wonderful guy to help us - need to go back again to get his name though :-( told you i was sad...
the vermouth got us started as did the mangalitsa ham on lettuce & poached trout with pesto, capers & asparagus! the trout was much better...
the red wine too brightened my mood and made me deeply aware that i could brood tomorrow, the day after and if i want the whole months ahead but this moment in time.... will never be back...ever...
for mains, my partner had the steak and i went with the ham yard fav white wine chili vongole (clams) linguine! twas amazing! the minted new potatoes were delish!
it was a bittersweet evening but therestaurantdid make it up....
adios! till we meet again...

sitting outside on a rare hot summers day in london. stumbled upon this place by accident. i sat outside in the pretty small courtyard of the bar. therestaurantside was very busy and full up. service was a little slow, but that can be forgiven as both therestaurantand bar outside was busy!
inside is deceiving, it is quite large! with a large bar, variety of seating and an inside courtyard. i noticed that afternoon tea was a popular choice amongst many ladies.
on this occasion i didn't eat, but the food i saw coming out looked delicious and i do believe i will back with an appetite!!

we had dinner at the ham yard'srestaurantto celebrate my partner's birthday. we thoroughly enjoyed our meal off the set menu. we shared the poached pear with feta and macadamia nuts as well as the squid inspired starter. for mains we had the poussin and i had the asparagus and goats cheese pasta. both were delicious. out great evening was rounded off with a birthday treat and grey coffees. would definetly recommend a visit to this restaurant!!

probably my favorite addition to the soho food&drink scene in 2015. they have transformed an otherwise unused area of soho, into a warm and cozy spot. the bar has a nice selection of wines and the nibbles are worth their price. the food at therestaurantis delicious although unpretentious. i have been here a handful of times and love the poached cod

very disappointing that a cool hotel company (firmdale) is still creating dull restaurants like the ham yard hotelrestaurant& bar. stiff, unaccommodating service, poor wine list and tasteless food just about sums up my lunch there yesterday. the only saving grace was a table outside on a beautiful summer's day. shame that they don't try harder considering they are surrounded by fantastic restaurants. getting a lunch table on a saturday afternoon was no trouble at all - guess that should have told me some. needless to say, will never be returning to dine here.

beds, fluffy pillows and buzzy electricrestaurantare normally like oil and water. there are very few hotel restaurants that manage to have that spark, the spark that makes you say i want to come back here.

so myself and my two gorgeous bbff (blonde best friends forever) had a date in the diary for dinner last night. having spent a few days deliberating where to book, shh i sometimes feel pressure to actually find somewhere amazing when i make arestaurantsuggestion, i settled upon ham yard bar and restaurant.

i am not one for procrastination so i am going to get it out of the way, we discovered the spark! ham yard bar andrestaurantsimply summarised, is good food with fresh flavours, electric atmosphere, a little slice of ny and the spark! (the spark summarised is omg i am coming again, i love it here and what took me so long to discover this place)

whilst s, v and i perused the menu we had a nice bottle of red to share. the menu itself ordered a good selection, covering any mood you could find yourself in. with my darling besties wedding this weekend i was feeling in a rather healthy mood, so was pleased with the option of non meat meals that actually made me excited.

v and i both ended up ordering the same courses, scallops to start followed by the cod with risotto. the scallops were excellent, so excellent i had one of those moments were i ate mine far too quickly. i hate when that happens!

s ordered the burrata with heritage tomatoes. the dish looked really beautiful and the clear plate was testimony that it most probably tasted really good.

to follow v and i had the poached cod, parsley risotto and pancetta. now those close to me know it is very very rare that i order fish as a main course as i inevitable end up feeling let down by the flavours. well at ham yard there was no such misfortune!

i absolutely loved my main course and wouldn't mind a lesson on how to create such beautiful delicate flavours at home. the parsley risotto i think was just the perfect balance against the cod.

s had the ricotta gnocchi and before i could take a photo of it, the fork was in. that's what happens when food looks so good!

great for - a slice of ny buziness, the atmosphere couldn't get any more electric. this spot is a perfect for giggles with the girls, a date night or an assortment of friends meeting for dinner!

with my wedding whirlwind, followed my a three day minimoon and a four week honeymoon, i'd been out of the 'blogger loop' for sometime. but once i was home, it was back in business and i was excited to reconnect with all the new blogging buddies i'd made in the last year.

starting with...the lovely melanie from sunny in london.

on our first lunch date we met at bubbledogs and afterwards had a final glass of champagne at the charlotte street hotel, part of the firmdale collection. we both loved the beautifully designed hotel, so the ham yard hotel, firmdale's latest venture, seemed the perfect place for us to reunite after a two month absence. 

we'd had our first lunch date over several glasses of champers so a glass of veuve cliquot was the perfect way to begin this happy reunion...

and as we toasted to blogs, weddings, honeymoons and lovely luxury hotels, we perused the menu of classic dishes. 

i chose the the summer minestrone with asparagus, peas and beans to start. 

it was a great light choice and not too watery as i feared. there was a little oil on the top, which added greatly to the flavour and meant the soup wasn't too thin. 

but i had total food envy when i saw melanie's scallops served with cauliflower, apple and truffle! i love scallops so i probably would have preferred one more in the portion and though they were well cooked, they were a little on the salty side. 

perfectly cooked rare tuna served with artichokes and aubergine was the ideal choice for me as i absolutely love this combo! if i see artichoke or aubergine on a menu i have to have it, so the two together are heaven!

melanie's poached cod was served on a gorgeous emerald sea of parsley risotto with a tasty crisp piece of pancetta. 

we were having such a lovely time chatting that we barely noticed that therestaurantwas emptying out. 

but when we did it gave us the perfect opportunity to photograph the dining room. 

as with the other firmdale hotels, the ham yard is beautifully designed by the firmdale owner and award-winning interior designer, kit kemp. beautiful glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the dining room itself is a perfectly chosen eclectic collection of prints, artifacts and pictures. 

after lunch we went to explore further...

being a book worm i loved the library: 

with it's plush furnishings and huge hand-picked book collection. 
i could just curl up on this sofa and get lost in a book all afternoon...adjacent to the library is an honesty bar in case i require a sturdy cup of coffee or a chilled glass of champagne!

down in the basement you're welcomed to a whole other world. 
the huge, subterranean basement area is decorated with cool neon signs...

and a sculpture of oranges!!

and best of all...

a bowling alley!! but not just any bowling alley, this one was super funky with beautiful solid maple bowling lanes, comfy sofas and the option to have uv shoelaces in your vintage bowling shoes. i love the idea of hiring out the whole of the bowling alley for a unique party idea. 

back outside i admired the courtyard, which seemed like the perfect place for a cocktail on a sunny day. 


the ham yard is not only a hotel, but it is also the central feature to an urban village. surrounding the hotel are gorgeous boutiques including a florist, swim wear shop, tea shop and nail bar. plus a newly opened press juice bar has just joined the fab selection. 

though i didn't get to take a look, the ham yard also includes a spa, gym, theatre and rooftop garden! there really is everything located in this charming complex in soho. i already love all the firmdale hotels...but i think i have a new favourite!!