If you’ve ever been to Yorkshire, the chances are you’ve heard of Bettys. The famous tea room opened its first café in Harrogate in 1919, and it remains beloved to this day. There are now five tea rooms across Yorkshire, and I’ve been meaning to visit for years.
Bettys is perhaps best known for its afternoon tea, but the cafés serve everything from breakfast to evening meals. There are also plenty of scrumptious cakes and delicious pastries – some of my favourite sweet treats.
So you’ll understand why Bettys was at the top of my must-see list during a recent trip to North Yorkshire, and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint.
My boyfriend and I spent a long weekend in York, exploring the city for two days and using one day to travel farther afield to Harrogate and Knaresborough.
During that time, we enjoyed several delicious meals. I’m convinced Yorkshire is one of the best destinations for a foodie getaway. But our visit to Bettys in Harrogate was one of the most memorable.
From start to finish, our experience was faultless. Bettys only takes bookings for afternoon tea and evening dining, so we had to queue outside the tea room when we visited for breakfast. We had expected to wait – I’ve never walked past a Bettys without a queue – and we arrived in the middle of breakfast service at 11am.
Despite this, we only queued for around ten minutes before we were shown to a table, and we received a warm welcome from a staff member who had given us menus to look over while we waited. It’s an impressive breakfast menu, offering a variety of options, from poached eggs to cinnamon toast.
My boyfriend opted for the English breakfast, but I couldn’t choose between a hot breakfast and the famous pastries. So I chose the Pastry & Pikelet Selection, which includes a croissant, pain au chocolat and two pikelets (a sort of cross between a scone, a pancake and a crumpet), plus 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.
TripAdvisor reviewers also love the Harrogate tea room, with an average rating of 4.3 out of five and over 4,500 ‘excellent’ ratings. One visitor claimed: “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.”
Another visitor 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 noted: “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.”