Afternoon tea at Betty’s, York is a Yorkshire institution. Ask anyone from Yorkshire where the best place to enjoy scones and tea is and the answer will be Betty’s! From fat rascals (a type of scone) to delicate fondant fancies, Betty’s has it all. Read on for my review of our afternoon tea at Betty’s, York. Sadly, no-one paid us to indulge so my review is completely unbiased!
Although we have visited York many times, I’d never actually been to Betty’s in York. My husband and I had enjoyed an afternoon tea at the Betty’s at Harlow Carr Gardens many years previously but the queue outside the York tearoom had always put me off. To my delight, I have now discovered that afternoon tea is pre-bookable in the upstairs Belmont Room in York (and also at Betty’s in Harrogate).
I booked in for 1pm on a Saturday in February half-term with my boys, one of whom is vegetarian. The upstairs Belmont Room is accessed directly from an entrance on St Helen’s Square so you can smugly avoid the queue for the main tearoom. The room is designed to look like the interior of a cruise ship and is suitably opulent!
The food and drink
Confession, we live near London so most of our experience of afternoon tea has been in the capital and at London prices. Therefore, to me, £44.95 per head for an adult afternoon tea at Betty’s, York felt like good value. Without even having to ask, our witness confirmed that the afternoon tea included as much as tea, coffee, hot chocolate or soft drinks as we wanted and refills of sandwiches / savoury snacks. She also checked in with us throughout the experience to see if we did want more of anything.
The afternoon tea at Betty’s, York wasn’t as large as others I’ve had. The scones were small (although perfectly formed) and the top tier was just 3 mini-cakes. However, with refills on the sandwiches and savouries, no-one is going to go hungry!
Highlights for me were the mini salmon & dill éclair, the mushroom and caramelised onion tartlet, and the orange-y macaron. The coronation chicken open sandwich wasn’t particularly special and we couldn’t quite decipher the filling in the brioche bun.
And for the vegetarians…
The vegetarian offering felt as loved as the non-vege selection, which isn’t always the case.
Mirroring the non-vegetarian choices as much as possible, my 12 year old enjoyed a cream cheese and red pepper éclair, egg mayo and cheese and chutney sandwiches and a coronation-chicken style chick pea open bun. Scones and desserts were the same as we had.
Service
Service was excellent and nothing was too much trouble for our lovely waitress. She happily boxed up the remaining sweet treats that we couldn’t manage and even gave the boys a giant chocolate coin each, which was a nice touch!
My classical-music loving 12 year old really appreciated the accompanying pianist, although he did have some serious piano envy!
What the kids thought of afternoon tea at Betty’s, York:
Henry: (age 12) “the atmosphere was good, the food was 10 x better than everywhere, it was nice to have savoury items other than sarnies“.
Toby (age 10): “it was nice to have sandwiches done in different ways in different breads. I loved the sweet treats on top!“.
In a nutshell: afternoon tea at Betty’s, York
At nearly £200 for a family of 4, this is not a cheap treat. However, the service and food were exceptional and, for us, it was a fantastic quintessentially Yorkshire experience, not to be missed! I would definitely recommend afternoon tea at Betty’s, York if you are in the area.
Please check out my other posts on things to do in York once you are full and happy!:
How to spend 3 fantastic days in York
