12. Bettys Café Tea Rooms

A York landmark in St. Helen’s Square, the decorative, old-world-glamour interiors of Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms takes cues from the Queen Mary ocean liner. An institution since 1936, Bettys, while famed for its pretty cakes, delicate confectionery, and dainty afternoon teas, the lunch and dinner offering is equally impressive – go for a mighty Swiss breakfast rosti or chicken schnitzel with pommes allumettes – served on the best silverware. The gooey rascal sundae is a formidable mix of crumbled chocolate cookies, ice cream and fresh cream served in a fancy tall sundae glass – a lesson in restraint if you wish. With Bettys, it’s all about the little touches, and attention to detail from the place settings to the immaculately crafted vanilla slices to the teapots – coffee comes with a little pot of cream for some extra panache. Its snaking queue is a sign that the old-school refinery is rather special really: breakfasting here is a joy and so is watching the world go by from the wraparound windows.

Address: 6-8 St. Helen’s Square, York YO1 8QP
Book online

13. Los Moros

Owner Tarik Abdeladim started Los Moros in a small shed at Shambles Market and hasn’t looked back. The street stall continues to this day, but the innovative north African restaurant –‘The Moors’ in Spanish – has gone from strength to strength. Set among the city’s winding laneways on Grape Lane, locally-sourced produce is the name of the game: meat and poultry from the Yorkshire Dales, Halloumi from Huddersfield, bread from Haxby Bakehouse and the team make their own pickles and preserve their own lemons. In the beautifully-tiled, white-walled, dining room there’s all the fragrance of an Algerian souk. Inhale the mouth-wateringly good chicken tagine with saffron, preserved lemons and potatoes or the fiery merguez sausages: the zingy and colourful Los Moros shakshuka is the ideal winter warmer when the city’s autumnal shades fade – transporting you to more exotic climes. Wash it down with a cold Los Moros pale ale, made by Brew York, another example of Tarik supporting locals all the way. Go now.

Address: 15-17 Grape Lane, York YO1 7HU
Book online

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