The Significant Birthday Tea – Monday 15th February 2016
Betty’s Tea Rooms, Leeds, £39.95 for the Lady Betty Champagne Afternoon Tea
This has been a much anticipated day. Last year my lovely friend W suggested a Birthday jaunt to York with a celebratory tea thrown in at Betty’s. Her equally lovely other half had come up with the idea and as our birthdays are coincidentally in the same month we agreed with him that it was a magnificent plan and it was all booked quick smart. As it is rude to ask a lady her age, and she would never tell you anyway, I will not enlighten you as to my age. Let’s just say it was a significant anniversary.
For those of you who are unaware of the charms of Betty’s (and to be frank I am a little slack jawed at that, is it not world famous??) this bakery, tea room and café mini empire has been ruling Yorkshire for nearly a century. Delicious handmade fancies and savouries served with quality teas (other beverages are available) or a glass of something fizzy if you are lucky. And I was a VERY lucky girl today.
We were seated in the Art Deco elegance of the Belmont Room where light flooded in highlighting original features (including, sadly, my own), a talented and versatile young pianist and food of the most delicious kind. A lovely atmosphere of unhurried enjoyment about the whole room. Staff sailed grandly around the room, seating customers with charm and an unhurried air.
Our choice of Champagne was very easy. Pink and frothy please! Just right for the jubilatory mood we were in and when it came it was frothy and sparkling like a blushing cascade. The tea choice was somewhat trickier, there was a vast choice and our lovely waitress had tried them all. Both of us decided to try something other than our usual afternoon blend selection. W went for a robust Rwandan Gisovu with milk whilst I went for a more delicate and sweeter Ceylon Blue Sapphire without milk. Both were most excellent.
After ascertaining our dietary requirements (regular readers will know W is vegetarian and I don’t eat meat but occasionally do eat fish) our Starter was swiftly presented. A teeny prawn cocktail on lettuce and avocado puree for me and a tomato salsa on the same for W. Both a mere mouthful that left you wanting more, and just a little bit salty for my taste. It gave us an opportunity to discuss the inherent eroticism of the shape of avocados, which is somewhat marred by their tendency to be textured like soap.
Bobbing in its wake came a side plate of Savouries. Cold mushroom frittata for both, very stongly tasting of mushroom too and not wet as some eggy things can be, then a Smoked Salmon Roulade for me and a Red Pepper one for W. Both were presented on a crunch crouton base and both strongly tasting of their designated flavours. Lovely!
As we finished the last little nibble we eyed our tea stand hungrily. Sandwiches, tiny scones in two flavours and three fancies each. Considerately they had ensured that all cakes were vegetarian friendly so we each got one of each cake offered, rather than sharing the 6 different ones from the usual tea served. Our sandwiches were all veggie friendly too – and best of all extras were available!
First up were cucumber roses laid on a nutty salty sourdough bread and dotted with crème fraiche, the saltiness of the bread accentuated the flavour of the cucumber and even W, who is not a cucumber fan (I think I’ve noted before that she generally thinks it is a waste of good sandwich space), tucked in enthusiastically. Next was a squidgy egg mayo, nice balance of egg and mayonnaise on a lovely chewy crusty bread. Finally a long finger of cream cheese and red onion marmalade. The marmalade was delicious, sweet and savoury at once but my only note is that it over powered the cheese which could have been layered a little more thickly for my taste. Still a nice sandwich though.
All this while the pretty cakes had been flirting with us, demanding our attention and brazenly shouting ‘Eat us, eat us!’ and we were about to oblige when the pianist did a little taradiddle and broke into Happy Birthday whilst a waitress came and presented us both with a surprise brownie cupcake adorned with a lit golden candle. A lovely thoughtful touch which whilst it made my cheeks a little rosy also made my day.
The cakes could be restrained no longer and a delightful coffee religieux leapt onto my plate and quickly was demolished. A crisp biscuit base balanced a stack of choux buns decorated with coffee icing and cream. Every single element could be tasted and Mary Berry would have been in raptures. A chewy meringue basket was blousy with softly whipped cream and studded with plump fresh fruit and when eaten was squishy, light and fruity and utterly gorgeous. It was topped with a white chocolate lattice that gave it a rakish air. The final of the cake choices was before me. This is always the point where I wonder if I have chosen my cake strategy well, the delicate little Apple Caramel macaroon had all the appearance of amazingness but would it live up to it? Worry no longer dear reader for it was magnificent. Fruity, chewy, lovely butter cream filling and utterly more-ish.
Before the scones it was time to blow out the candle on our brownie birthday cupcakes and tuck in to our little surprise addition. They were also delightful, melt in the mouth and not too heavy either.
And so, with the cake stand emptying we turned to our scones. A lavender and a sultana one each. Two sweet little rounds on which to finish, but which first? As a traditionalist to the end with my choices I went lavender first, light buttery (and buttery enough not to feel the lack of an extra smear of the stuff on top) and ample lavender to pack a punch but not taste like hand cream. The final titbit was another buttery sultana scone, moist with a crisp outer shell on which to heap a fresh strawberry conserve and the holy grail of clotted cream. Perfect ending in my opinion, with a final slurp of champagne.
Desolately we looked in vain for more treats. Not one scrap remained. Probably a good job as we were both full and needed a good walk afterwards to help our digestion. However we were presented with a lovely little tin of loose leaf afternoon tea as a parting gift and in indulging in a short chat with the staff to thank them we realised that, once again, we were last to leave. Laughing. Raucously.
I fear we will never make it in polite society….
Overall marks (out of 5 stars)
Service: ***** Knowledgeable, chatty, funny, observant with impeccable manners
Amount of Food: ****1/2 Not a crumb left over (only being critical as I might have wanted something for a doggy bag to eat later but we had scoffed the lot)
Quality of Food: ****1/2 Almost every flavour present and popping
Value for money: ****1/2 Excellent value for the food, service and surroundings
Description: ‘Special treat tea’ ‘Do you think they’d mind if I sang along with the piano?’
Their website is here https://www.bettys.co.uk/tea-rooms/locations/york
They are on Trip Advisor here https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186346-d698157-Reviews-Bettys_Cafe_Tea_Rooms-York_North_Yorkshire_England.html they are also on Facebook and Twitter
And my suggested track for today’s tea is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ikhnLNiyM
helenwedgwood 