3 Best Restaurants in Yorkshire, England

Bettys has been a York institution since 1936. The decor—inspired by the Art Deco ocean liner the Queen Mary—the dessert trollies, and the solicitous white-aproned staff all contribute to an impression of stepping back into a more genteel era. An excellent afternoon tea is served in the downstairs café; breakfast and light lunches are served in the upstairs Oak Room, where you can see the mirror inscribed by the RAF air aces who dined here during WW II. An in-house store sells a range of specialty coffees and teas, plus pastries and old-fashioned sweets like rose and violet creams.

The welcoming interior of this celebrated Yorkshire tearoom—which began life in Harrogate in 1919 when a Swiss restaurateur brought his Alpine confections to England—has changed little since it first opened, and its extensive array of teas has changed not at all. Omelets, quiches, sandwiches, and pastries are all on the menu, which also has items that take you from the Dales (sausages) to the Alps (rösti). Betty's is famous for its traditional afternoon tea, but there's an even more elaborate afternoon tea, complete with a pianist, served in the Imperial Room Thursday through Saturday (reservations required).

This book-lined, below-ground bar–restaurant serves well-crafted pizzas, homemade burgers, and superior pub grub like steak-and-ale pie or haddock and chips. There's a quiz night on Wednesday and a DJ on Friday and Saturday.