Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Tea at Betty's

It's just a roller coaster of exotic trips and fine eating on this visit! Today we head across the Pennines to York. We have promised ourselves tea at the famous Betty's. There are two Betty's in York, the larger one with big picture windows and the enormous queue and the smaller Little Betty's above the shop selling the loose tea with a slightly smaller queue. When our white lace capped waitress finally escorted us to our marble table we immediately ordered tea for two. Unfortunately this was interpreted as just a big pot of Earl Grey, very refreshing but where are the little crust less smoked salmon sandwiches and strawberry jam scones? Eventually the misunderstanding was rectified and we were able to tuck into a very fine afternoon tea indeed. We had cucumber and cream cheese, egg mayonnaise, York ham and smoked salmon sandwiches. This was followed by a fat scone with jam and a tiny chocolate slice, lemon curd tart and a raspberry filled pastry. The bread of the York ham sandwich was a little hard; maybe these were near the top of the pile or something. It is the only tiny criticism and Betty's deserves two cake forks for their tea.

It was so relaxing as well; we were much more tucked away in Little Betty's cottagey establishment than we would have been in the larger more open Betty's. I can see why it's such a popular place and Betty's is the perfect escape for a delightful rejuvenation after a hard morning visiting the impressive sights of York or hitting the shops. They even do an extensive menu on top of the afternoon tea; the table next to us tucked into a tasty looking plate of fish and chips. It's shame Betty's is so far away, well next time I'm in York...

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