I LOVED my visit to Betty's! Everything was impeccable and the atmosphere was just so classy and lovely. All of my high tea snacks and the tea itself were incredible. I also loved that I could shop from their retail shop while I was dining in-house--it made buying some delightful, high-quality souvenirs so easy. I HIGHLY recommend this location!

We came for afternoon tea in the tea room. This was my first experience of afternoon tea and it was a good one. Our server was very nice and had suggestions for us whenever we asked. I was not too into tea but enjoyed both that I tasted. The sandwiches are good (I enjoyed the ham one) and we were able to request more sandwiches if needed. My favorite was the cranberry scone with jam and butter. The desserts were ok but went well with some Christmas coffee. The pianist was also very good and probably under appreciated.

Visited Betty's for afternoon tea on a Monday with reservations that were made online. We were quickly seated and given options for which tea we would like to try. This was our first afternoon tea experience and we had a lovely time. Pianist was playing throughout the tea and provided a nice relaxing ambiance. Food was overall very good but the dessert portion was lacking a bit more me. If you are in York I have heard that this is a must do. We enjoyed it and would recommend for someone to do afternoon tea for a special occasion.

It was lovely. Service was delightful but the kitchen was sloooooooowwww. The place is an icon and locals and tourists alike consider it a crowned jewel in the York treasure. MAKE reservations if you want afternoon tea! The food is delightful and bountiful. Ask for more if you're still thinking about leaving and going for a butte somewhere. Customer service is impecable! We had an anniversary celebration and so did the table next to us. They treated us both (and they were "locals") as VIP's. With a lot of apologies for the ultra slow kitchen... missing staff because the covid thing had been going through the town. But all said, the scones with clotted cream and jam took the prize as did all the other little morsels we were presented with!

If there is any one thing you should do when visiting York, it's popping in here for tea or a meal! Be forewarned, though: This place is POPULAR and almost always has a line out front. The menu tells the history of this particular store, which was designed after the interior of The Queen Mary (now permanently berthed in Long Beach, California, where I've also visited a few times!). This time I visited for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The customer service here is magnificent, right up there with high-end restaurants in Napa Valley! The one thing I highly recommend ordering is a scone with jam and clotted cream. Their clotted cream is truly on-point! Going to Betty's is always a highlight of my visits to York.

Tea anyone? Came to York to visit a friend and she highly recommended that we try the afternoon tea here. This place is a solid 5 stars! Let me start by saying that York is a must visit city if you are visiting England. It's a beautiful medieval walled city that really makes you feel like you are in ancient times! As other reviewers have mentioned, there is always a long queue so you should consider either coming early or very late like us coming at 5pm, a hour before closing time at 6pm. Luckily we got a table for 4 at around 5:25pm. You would think that with such a short visit, how could you possibly enjoy this experience but the restaurant is super efficient and served us very quickly. We had enough time to enjoy our teas/coffee and three beautiful afternoon tea trays of scones, sandwiches and cakes. We had a walking tour booked at 6pm so we had to leave at 6pm but they didn't seem to be rushing other customers to leave so maybe you could sit longer? I absolutely loved it! I would recommend that you try to come earlier as I would like to come back and enjoy the experience for at least a hour.

Since we were visiting York we decided to stop at Betty's for tea. There was a line to be seated but it moved at a good pace. Since we didn't have reservations we sat in the cafe area which is upstairs and with all the windows well lit. If you have reservations I believe you are seated downstairs with no windows or natural light. We ordered a traditional afternoon tea, two scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, and a Yorkshire Rarebit. The selection and presentation for the afternoon tea was good, it is just a matter of liking what you get. The two scones can fill you up quickly. The clotted cream was real good. The Rarebit was as good tasting as it looked and I would get again just be aware there can be a large quantity of leeks used. The house blend for the hot tea is good.

WOW!!! This was my first time ever doing a proper afternoon tea, I am now hooked and want to do afternoon tea every afternoon. There were four of us in our party. We had only a short wait for a table. We were seated downstairs, which is very nicely appointed. Had the lighting been darker I would equate the vibe inside to an American steak house. We all did the afternoon tea, my wife being a little pickier than me wanted to make a couple of changes and our waitress gladly made that happen and even offered suggestions for her. We really appreciate them being helpful and flexible. Once the tea and finger foods arrived we all dove in. This was one of those "meals" that just kept getting better as it went on. We all worked our way from the bottom up, sandwiches first, then the amazing scone, and the little cakes. Nothing on the tower of trays disappointed. I highly recommend them for their afternoon tea! Great food and wonderful service!

The afternoon tea spot that attracts all the attention in city of York. If the intention is to dine in, definitely make a reservation. A long line of people were standing outside for walk-ins on a Saturday morning at 9 AM. In contrast, very little people lined up on the other side for the shop. We purchased a selection of sweets from the shop to eat elsewhere. The employees in classy attire were courteous and took attentive care in packaging the order. I appreciated that they did not put any pressure to quickly make a decision and even thoroughly answered any questions. ----- Raspberry Frangipane Slice (£3.50). The frangipane was moist, although the bottom crust was dense and difficult to break through. It was not strong in almond taste and the topped raspberries plus pistachios were good. ----- Afternoon Tea Pâtisserie Selection: coconut & lime battenberg, orange slice, and chocolate cake (£5.50). Surprisingly even though it was rich, the chocolate cake was my least favorite compared to the citrus ones. Both the battenberg and orange slice were refreshingly light. ----- Yorkshire Curd Tart (£3). ----- Note that coffee and drinks are not sold in the shop to avoid prolonging the queue and competing with other cafés in the vicinity.