I visited the famous tea room for the first time and loved the experience
You don’t need to be from Yorkshire to know about Bettys. The world-famous tea room first opened its doors in Harrogate back in 1919, but it’s remained popular to this day. With five tea rooms across Yorkshire, I’ve wanted to visit for years.
While Bettys is perhaps best known for its afternoon tea, the cafés serve everything from breakfast to evening meals. There are also plenty of scrumptious cakes and delicious pastries – and it’s these treats that caught my eye.
So, it’s no surprise that Bettys was at the top of my must-see list during a recent trip to North Yorkshire, and it was even better than I’d imagined. My boyfriend and I spent a long weekend in York, spending two days exploring the city and one day in nearby Harrogate and Knaresborough.
During our stay, we loved just about everywhere we visited. I’m convinced Yorkshire is one of the best destinations for a foodie getaway. From tapas at York’s Sotano to sampling the viral chocolate shots from Monk Bar Chocolatiers, there’s so much to enjoy, and Bettys was among my favourites.
From beginning to end, our experience was faultless. As Bettys only takes bookings for afternoon tea and evening dining, we had to queue outside the tea room when we visited for breakfast. We had expected this – I’ve never walked past a Bettys without a queue – and we arrived in the middle of breakfast service at 11am.
In the end, we only queued for around ten minutes before being shown to a table. Regardless, it was well worth the wait. My boyfriend ordered the English breakfast, while I found myself torn between a cooked breakfast and the pastries. Keen to try a few items, I chose the Pastry & Pikelet Selection, which includes a croissant, pain au chocolat and two pikelets, and a side of rösti bites.
My boyfriend loved his “very nice” breakfast. I was equally impressed by my selection and the rich, velvety mocha I ordered as my drink. While I couldn’t finish my lovely breakfast and had to ask the staff to wrap up my leftovers, I enjoyed sampling a little bit of everything. From the sweet strawberry jam to the warm, flaky croissant, I loved it all. Bettys gets a ten out of ten from me.
The tea room has earned high praise on TripAdvisor with an average rating of 4.3 out of five and over 4,500 ‘excellent’ ratings, reports the Express. One reviewer thought: “Better than the Ritz London. An excellent experience all round, I have been to many quality establishments but this is by far the best for service and quality of food served.”
A second response said: “Bettys tea room is an experience like no other. In the words of my husband ‘superb, on a par with the Ritz and the Savoy for elegance’. In Harrogate we had a traditional cream tea each. We had our own pot of tea, strainer, milk jug and sugar. 2 large scones, Betty’s Jam, and clotted cream. It was delicious, with an excellent level of service.”
Someone else added: “Bettys cafés are very special in Yorkshire. They are the place to go for afternoon teas and anytime treats. They are a bit like the Ritz hotel in London in as far as it’s the place you must visit.
“The café itself is really nice and cosy, the food is fantastic but a little pricey but never the less you have to try it. It is classy. Good service, great food especially the curd tart, which is a Yorkshire speciality.”