Review: A Date at Bettys for their Lady Betty Afternoon Tea

It’s pretty hard to find couple time when kids come along, but Peter and I never feel more content (or sane again) than after we’ve managed to squeeze in a bit of time of ‘us’ time- be it a quick dinner, walk in the park or simply watching First Dates with a takeaway, while the little people sleep.

Date night or day (!) certainly doesn’t happen often enough here, but when it does, wow-we instantly return back to our early days as a twosome, after meeting as Masters students in London in our 20’s, and ten years later we’ve not changed all that much-two beautiful sons later, yes we’re a little more mature, maybe, but we still make one another laugh, love each other more with every day (gushy but true) and have a best friend in one another forever. You can’t ask for more than that, can you?

Oh wait, we both still love cake and champagne as much as we always did too, even as students, when the champs wasn’t something we drunk a lot of!

Therefore, there was frankly no better place to rekindle ‘dating’ than over a Lady Betty Afternoon Tea at our most favourite of Café Tea Rooms: Bettys in Harrogate.

I’ve been dining at Bettys since I was a baby, literally, as my Mum used to take my brother and I to the Ilkley branch, a short walk from our first home in the picturesque town in Yorkshire.

I, now, years on, take my own children, mostly to the Harrogate tea rooms (we love the Harlow Carr branch where we can combine lunch with walks and play in the RHS gardens) or often visit the York branch, each one equidistant from our house.

And this special afternoon tea, as with all other times, definitely didn’t disappoint.

Lady Betty Afternoon Tea, an exquisite dining experience that has been nearly 100 years in the making was divine.

Taking our seats upstairs, a pianist gently playing to us as we dined, the experience is steeped in history as Bettys opened in 1919, their Harrogate tearooms swiftly setting the standard for Afternoon Tea.

Almost a century on, they’ve distilled everything they know about this most treasured British pastime to create an Afternoon Tea that truly delights. I’m licking my lips recalling our miniature feast .

The tea is inspired by Bettys’ best loved pâtisserie and favourite Tea Rooms specialities with sumptuous sandwiches made in their award winning Craft Bakery, two freshly baked scones, one sultana, the other Yorkshire Lavender, subtly fragrant and delicious and the most tantalising, hand crafted cakes I’ve ever eaten (trips to Paris included).

I plumped for the meat version and Peter, the vegetarian option.

Love his determination here to grab the final scone!

We adored the prawn cocktail appetiser with avocado mousse, the perfect light, palate cleanser before the sandwiches and cakes arrived.

I also drank the house blend caffeine-free tea blend, Peter the delicate black Lapsang Souchong.

Presented on a sparkling silver three-tiered stand and served on fine bone china, decorated with a delicate tea leaf design bespoke to Bettys, it couldn’t have been a prettier or more sophisticated afternoon.

The mini berry meringue and lavender scones stole my heart but all were delightful.

And the regal Imperial Room gave our tea, a real sense of occasion. The start of a new season of date days no less.

I can’t wait for the next one.

…We couldn’t resist popping to the shop downstairs for ghoulie biscuit treats for the boys and to snap their Halloween display. Scarily delicious!

Thank you Bettys, we shall we back!

Disclosure: We were gifted a complimentary champagne afternoon tea for two in return for this honest review.