100 Years of Bettys

Welcome to 说来话长 - It's a Long Story, a blog mostly dedicated to my adventures in Lolita but also featuring aesthetically pleasing shopping and food so let's kick things off with last weekend's meet at Bettys!

Bettys is a family owned company and tearooms in Yorkshire founded in 1919. To celebrate it's 100th birthday, we had an afternoon tea meet at the tearoom in York (St Helen's Square). Up until now, there are 6 tearooms all of which have a shop as well as a cafe: 

• Bettys Harrogate - Parliament Street, Harrogate
• Bettys York - St Helen's Square (there are 2 in York so I call this 'Big Bettys')
• Bettys Stonegate - Stonegate, York (I call this 'Little Bettys', it's generally quieter)
• Bettys Northallerton - High Street, Northallerton
• Bettys Ilkley - The Grove, Ilkley
• Bettys Harlow Carr - RHS Harlow Carr, Harrogate

You can find more info and full addresses here

***

You win some, you lose some

I had originally planned quite a fancy outfit with princess sleeves and for the occasion but alas, lazy Sunday vibes took over and I decided on a more casual look - fail

However! By some miracle the train was quite calm and there were even seats (if you've ever been on a TP express train at the weekend you'll know it's murder) - win

Because this turned out to be quite a small meet, we opted to walk in and sat downstairs in the basement. I really liked the design work on the menu and flyers, especially the colour scheme and the way they illustrated every branch.

A LOT of tea was involved today, (apparently you can get multiple fresh pots - who knew!) I chose one called 'Ceylon Blue Sapphire'. If you think I chose it for the name, you are correct! 

So about the afternoon tea itself, I've had it before and it was pretty much how I remembered. At £19.95 I definitely had my fill (with that and the tea, I felt like I needed to walk it off and discarded my waist ribbon - oops) and it was all very decadent and polished. To me, Bettys is about luxury, not value for money and I feel like I definitely got that and at a price that is more than reasonable.  

9/10 - would eat again!

For a full list of what is included, click here 

This trio was a TREAT ranging from 7.5 - 10/10, I would eat all of these again!

I especially like how the lemon tart was capped with half a macaron!

Unfortunately the lighting in the basement isn't all that good but the lovely member of staff who served us took some nice photos for us with the goods!

I really enjoy chilled out meets with a small group and good food! It was nice to hang out, share some memes and just chat! I like that small meets give me chance to get round and talk to everyone, especially people I don't see often or haven't seen in a long time!

Also, have you really been to Bettys if you haven't taken a picture in the bathroom mirror?  

The most aesthetic bag display

Friends who squat together, stay together! <3

No meet is complete without some serious photography! After popping into a tea shop and The Imaginarium, we went to the Museum Gardens to take pictures, some of which were V aesthetic and some closer to 'Most Embarrassing Behaviour'.

Bonus discovery! While scouting somewhere to take outfit photos, we came across an ice cream boat called Over the Moo! I got raspberry and lemon curd - 10/10 would eat again!

And to concluded my first post, a selfie and outfit shot!

The dress and headbow are from Meta, everything else is taobao.

---

I wish I could make a living going round and trying afternoon teas! What's your favourite place for afternoon tea? 

~ Part Time 小姐