Bettys tea rooms and others what is the attraction.

[justasking111]

Just reading on another thread the queues for Bettys are long. What is the attraction that sets Bettys apart from the rest, or are there other hidden gems in the UK which attract a multitude of customers?

My understanding is that the appeal is doilies

Orange
Fat rascals taste like fruit cake with a scone texture. They are lovely.
You have to eat them the day you buy them though as they dry out.

Sometimes they do chocolate orange flavour fat rascals.

Anyone who wants to make their own FR - he's a recipie:

Serves
6 to 8 Fat Rascals
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Total time
35 minutes

INGREDIENTS
• 150g plain flour, sieved
• 150g self-raising flour, sieved
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 125g cold butter, cubed
• 100g caster sugar
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 150g dried mixed fruit (currants, raisins and sultanas in equal quantities)
• 1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
• 4 to 5 tablespoons milk

GLAZE AND TOPPING
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water
• Glacé cherries and blanched almonds, to decorate

DIRECTIONS
Step 1
Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Step 2
Sieve both flours and the baking powder together into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Step 3
Add the sugar, citrus zest, spices, dried fruit and mix well. Add the beaten egg and enough milk to bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Form the mixture into 6 saucer-sized rounds, about 3/4″ or 2cm deep.
Step 4
Mix the egg yolk and water together to make a glaze and brush this over the fat rascals. Decorate with the cherries and almonds - see photos. Transfer to a non-stick baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 5
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Step 6
Fat rascals are best served warm from the oven but they can be frozen and reheated in a low oven.

@TheRattleBag - I prefer Trenchere.

*Trenchers

What makes me go elsewhere than Betty's is the queue and the feeling of being crowded in, plus the pressure to not hang around because a massive line of people are waiting outside the door for your table. It's cute but not amazing.

The Magpie is ok but the one place we do happily queue is the No. 1 in Cromer for amazing fish and chips.

I lived in York for years and never bothered going. Was always slightly bemused by the queues outside!

I used to live in York. Been in that one once, which, imo, isnt the best one. Ilkley, is far better.

It's the experience. It's the same as any nice place. Often you could eat somewhere else, but you choose there.

The one in york is mainly tourists. I used to work in a hotel on york. Overseas tourists love it because it's the type of place they think about when someone says 'England' it's all very Downton abbey, traditional, quaint etc

I have travelled to America several times and always laugh when I talk to locals and they give me their impression of England.

I have met Americans who think afternoon tea is something we all do, everyday. Like other countries have a siesta

Mermaid in Whitby is underwhelming. My DH never sends food back but he did in there. Cramped and tatty too.

Betty's Fat Rascals are the best but I would never queue to sit down. I have been to the York and Northallerton branches and struck lucky, no queues. The last time I was in the York ones I was surrounded by Japanese tourists in raptures when their afternoon teas arrived. They spend ages photographing it, a real event for them. I bet Betty's hate it when tourists arrive like that. They will be hogging those tables for hours!

Agree with Sirzy that the Magpie does not live up to the hype and is definitely not worth the wait. Bryan's in Leeds does better fish and chips.

Bettys is 'OK' for me, so not worth it when you add the queue and price

They are good at offering gluten free options, but generally over hyped and over priced.

I liked the Magpie but it was January and we didn't have to wait. Betty's wasn't as good as I expected, the best afternoon tea I've had is in Jamison's in Sheffield. (I might have spelt that wrong.)

I think the Magpie benefits from the same tradition thing as Bettys. Comes from a time when the best fish and chips were to be had at the coast, pre modern vehicles delivering fresh fish anywhere in the country/county, just as no trip to Harrogate/York etc would have been complete without tea at Bettys for the ‘right’ sort of person. Turn the clock back to 1940-50 and they were probably outstanding.

These places have ridden the waves of modernisation by continuing to offer their ‘traditional offering’ in premises with their history.

Many other places offer the same if or better but without the history but I guess some people will want to experience the tradition.

Personally I prefer many other places. Bettys food comes from an industrial unit in knaresborough. The places I mentioned up thread and most others don’t cook/bake on that sort of industrial scale.

We didn’t have to queue for the one in Harrogate when we went. The fat rascals and Ceylon blue sapphire tea are divine.

Industrial unit? It’s a family business with six branches, they have their own bakery and products are delivered in their own vans to the branches daily. Hot food is produced in proper kitchens on site.

MrsHod
Their 'craft bakery' is indeed a factory.
On an industrial park as most factories are! 😂
See pic.

Brilliant marketing though! 👍🏻

The Magpie in Whitby doesn't seem to have the queues these days that it once had. We eat there every year because we eat there every year, iyswim. My DH has been going to Whitby since he was a child, and now we take DD there and it has a comforting nostalgia element for him.

When I'm in York I usually go to Little Betty's on Stonegate and buy things to take home. Can't be arsed with queuing to sit in, and have always been a bit underwhelmed by the hot food options when I've had them in the past.

We went to York while on holiday on Whitby recently and the queues for Betty's were ridiculous.

Almost but not quite beaten by the queues for Magpie cafe in Whitby. I really can't imagine that anywhere is that good.

I vote for Rusty Shears in Whitby, lovely quaint tea and gin place with a covered courtyard so you can sit and drink tea or gin in the rain and stay dry.

I vote for Rusty Shears in Whitby, lovely quaint tea and gin place with a covered courtyard so you can sit and drink tea or gin in the rain and stay dry.

Tea and gin place - that does sound like genius.

I went to the York branch a couple of years ago as a tourist. Dh and I had to queue but it wasn't too long to wait and I thought well, I won't be back up here for some time and it's something you do whilst you are here.

I liked it but wasn't wowed. We don't have Fat Rascals down south and soon discovered one serves 2 people! The staff were lovely. The tea and coffee was nice. Just nice. No patrons were local.

It's a tourist destination, nothing more. I do order Betty's online though. Love the fruit cake.

I know exactly where and what it is. It’s a large family business but do you really expect them to be baking in their own kitchen? The bakery size reflects the amounts they have to produce daily and they do make it all in-house, they don’t get other manufacturers to make their products. What’s your issue?

Could someone please translate this thread?