Bettys Café Tea Rooms in York is a legend. If you doubt it when visiting York, a city that is not at all easy in the sweet tooth department, you only need to look at the line of people queuing to enter.
A cross between a traditional English tea room and a sophisticated Swiss café, Bettys is like no other place for afternoon tea. The selection of sweets and light meals is amazing. You can probably find a cheaper cup of tea in York, but why would you want to?
El Yorkshireman accidental
Bettys (and by the way, there is no apostrophe in Bettys and there is no Betty and probably never was) was founded in 1919 by Swiss pastry chef Frederick Belmont. According to the story, he intended to start a business on the south coast of England, but took the wrong train and ended up in Harrogate, where the first Bettys were established.
A good thing too. They like their tea and cakes in the north of England. York Cafe, now the flagship of a small Yorkshire chain, was inspired by the Queen Mary. In fact, after Belmont sailed the ship in 1936, he hired the same artisans and craftsmen to create the restaurant.
During WWII, the basement bar at Bettys was popular with American and Canadian bomber teams, stationed nearby. Many signed their names, with a diamond-tipped pen, on the mirror, which is still on display.
A varied and generous menu
The menu at Bettys includes a surprising variety of sweets and cakes, as well as lunches and dinners like Welsh Rarebit and sausage and mash. Reflecting the restaurant’s Swiss founder, there is also Birchermuesli for breakfast and Swiss breakfast rosti, as well as a selection of Swiss dishes like Swiss Alpine macaroni (potatoes and potatoes with raclette). Unlike many traditional English tea shops, Bettys serves wine and beer.
Afternoon tea and beyond
There are six Bettys Tea Room cafes located around Yorkshire and all of them serve ‘afternoon tea’ throughout the day. Plan to skip lunch and have a late dinner because afternoon tea is a feast. For £ 18.75 / $ 30 (2015 prices) you can expect a pot of Bettys tea, a tea mix along with a selection of sandwiches – smoked salmon and cream cheese, Yorkshire ham, roast chicken and egg mayo – scones with jam and clotted cream and a selection of small French-style cakes, tarts and macaroons.
For a little more, they’ll turn it into a champagne tea with a glass of rosé champagne.
Don’t worry if your appetite, or your wallet, doesn’t run into such excess. For about half the price, they serve a simple cream tea – a teapot, scones with strawberry jam, and clotted cream. Or you can simply order tea or coffee and choose one of their amazing cakes from the cake cart.
Bettys Café Tea Rooms Essentials
- Where: all the tearooms are in Yorkshire. If you are interested in the Queen Mary decor and the Aviators’ Mirror, visit the York Main Branch at 6-8 St. Helen’s Square, York YO1 8QP. others are located in –
- Harrogate: the first Bettys dating back to 1919
- Stonegate York – Little Bettys, a mini version of York’s main tearoom that’s sometimes easier to access. It is in a medieval building listed at 46 Stonegate
York, YO1 8AS - Ilkley 32 The Grove, Ilkley LS29 9EE in the heart of Wharfedale with a view towards Ilkley Moor – scene of a famous 1987 UFO incident.
- Northallerton – High Street, Northallerton, DL7 8LF in the center of an elegant Georgian market town.
- and the Royal Horticultural Society Garden on Harlow Carr, the only Bettys in a modern setting, the tea rooms here overlook the 58-acre RHS Gardens.
- Reservations: Reservations are not available at cafes, hence the long lines at popular times of the day. However, in the summer of 2015, Bettys launched a more elaborate, more formal and more expensive reserve, just the afternoon tea they call Lady Betty Tea. It is available in the Imperial Room in Harrogate and in the Belmont Room, named for the founder, in York.
- Visit their website for opening hours and for more information.
