Fodor's Expert Review Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms
Betty's has been a York institution since 1937. The plate-glass windows with art nouveau stained glass, the dessert trollies, and solicitous white-aproned staff contribute to an impression of stepping back in time to when afternoon tea was a genteel ritual. An excellent afternoon tea is served in the café downstairs; breakfast and light lunches are served in the Oak Room upstairs, where you can see the mirror inscribed by the RAF air aces who dined here during WWII. An in-house store sells a range of specialty coffees and teas, plus pastries and old-fashioned sweets like rose and violet creams.