WHAT IS HAMILTON'S TEA HOUSE?

Hamilton’s Tea House is a family business, in the heart of Farnham, a place where exceptional friendly service and delicious home made food is served throughout the day… read on to find more details….

As a family we love going out and trying things we haven’t tried before, we especially enjoy finding new places to experience afternoon tea.

After all, who doesn’t love a good cup of tea and a treat?

It did annoy us how frequently the rules or etiquette of afternoon tea got in the way of our enjoyment…..’ you have to pre-book, ‘not served before 3pm’ and don’t get me started on the looks you get if you ask for Earl Grey tea with milk instead of lemon!

So when we were deciding what Hamilton’s Tea House was going to be, first and foremost, we wanted it to be the sort of place that we would visit as a family, where what we wanted was more important than what the rules said we could have.

As much as the food and drink will be great, it will be the service and the team that make the difference and make us the place to pop into in Farnham for tea and a treat.
 
Our team are as important to us as our guests and we believe that the happier we make the team, the happier they’ll make our guests. As we say in hospitality, ‘if you are not looking after a guest, you’d better be looking after someone who is’.

Think of it as having the feel of a friendly village corner shop, delivered with the attention to detail of a Savoy hotel butler, where expectations are exceeded, not met, alongside a food offer that is interesting and defined by the quality of local produce and supply partners.

As you’d expect, we have an incredible selection of teas but also amazing local coffee and the best hot chocolate.
Great homemade baked treats, especially our frosted cinnamon rolls and scones, all baked fresh every day.
Great afternoon teas, indulgent treats and simple, hearty lunches.

To this, we’ve thrown an amazing selection of martinis and cocktails into the mix and one of my favourite sayings goes as……
 
‘happiness is……..finding 2 olives in your martini when you are hungry’.

Our History

Steve, Stephanie and Freya Hamilton moved to Farnham in 2019 when Steve took over as General Manager of Farnham Castle and as a family we fell in love with Farnham, it’s people and all it has to offer, straight away.
 
At the end of 2020, Steve was made redundant from Farnham Castle and that led to the beginning of an exciting journey which has culminated in the first Hamilton’s Tea House opening in Downing Street in Farnham.
 
We decided to take the plunge and put our collective 60 years of catering, hospitality, venue and business experience to good use by creating a place that we would want to visit as a family, a place where great food, great drinks and great service were delivered with pride, passion and a sense of fun.
 
We love Farnham and it’s people, so being able to use local suppliers, employ local people and serve local customers allows us to put something back in to the community that has given us this opportunity.
 
 
After leaving catering college, Steve spent 10 years at The Barbican Arts Centre in Central London before joining the team that opened a wine museum called Vinopolis next to London’s Borough Market. A move up to Stoke-on-Trent, where Steve met Stephanie, had Steve managing events for up to 10,000 people at Trentham Gardens before he opened a beer museum in Burton called The National Brewery Centre. Amazing Venues called next where Steve got to convert castles, an abbey and Napoleonic sea forts in to hotels, wedding venues and exclusive use properties before he found his way to Arley Hall & Gardens in Cheshire, the home of Lord & Lady Ashbrook and now also the home of Tommy Shelby and his Peaky Blinders.
 
Steve’s love of good food and exciting drinks is only superseded by his passion for great service….and talking a lot…..and telling bad jokes…..and making friends with complete strangers….and story telling……but mostly his passion, our family passion to ensure we do all we can to give our guests a really great memorable experience and when they leave us, they have had a really good time.

"If you are cold, tea will warm you;
 If you are too heated, it will cool you; 
If you are depressed, it will cheer you; 
If you are excited, it will calm you."
– William Gladstone.