Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, St Helens Square, York (From York Press)

Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, St Helens Square, York

9:05am Saturday 27th June 2009 in

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Birthdays always mean one thing to Maxine Gordon — a visit to Bettys.

TEA at Bettys is a proper treat – and what better occasion to splash out than a birthday? Since moving to York 12 years ago, a blow-out at Bettys has been top of my birthday celebrations list.

There’s a Hovis-like nostalgia about those teeny cakes, the crust-less sandwiches, and paper doilies, although I must confess my own memories of childhood parties in the Seventies more resemble a Mike Leigh scene: the carbonated fizz of Soda Stream drinks and cheese and pineapple hedgehogs.

Anyway, I’m happy to discover that my daughter, Eva, has fallen for the charm of a Bettys birthday tea too.

For the past few years, we’ve been celebrating her mid-summer birthday with a family gathering at the St Helen’s Square café.

Last week, she turned seven, and joining us this year were family members from Scotland – down for the day by train from Edinburgh.

We were tickled that our own Aunty Betty was in the party.

Happily, we didn’t have to queue for long before securing a great spot: two tables upstairs with a window view over the bustling square.

It was 5.30pm and we were hungry, so we ordered quickly; fish and chips for my husband Nick and Aunty Betty; the prawn and haddock gratin for myself and my mum and a club sandwich with side salad for my dad. Eva picked the macaroni with ham and potato and cream as well as a chocolate milkshake from the Little Rascals kids’ menu.

While we waited for our food to be prepared, we toasted Eva over a bottle of refreshingly crisp, dry and fruity Fendant de Sion (£17.80).

Waiting can often be one of the less pleasing aspects of Bettys, not just for a table, but for the food.

But things moved swiftly on our visit with our meals arriving in a reasonable amount of time.

I’d had the gratin before, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. Under a crisp and golden layer of rosti potato lay a mix of prawns and chunks of fish in a rich, creamy sauce laced with wine and garlic. And I know this sounds greedy, but I ordered a side portions of chips too, so I could break them open and soak up every last bit of sauce with the gorgeously soft hot potato.

The fish and chips also won plaudits: lovely, fresh, silky flakes of haddock covered in a billowing, crisp batter with plenty of good, home-made chips. But perhaps the best part was the side dish of pea purée: luridly green, brilliantly sweet, with a lovely thick, gritty texture.

Dad had no complaints either about his club sandwich – except that it was too much for him to finish (so I had to help him out). The bacon and chicken fillings were substantial and held together on decent pieces of wholemeal toast. His salad was a revelation: proof that the green stuff needn’t be bland, nor indeed just green. The side plate was split into quarters of lambs lettuce leaves, grated carrot, crunchy cauliflower and mixed beans.

The birthday girl cleared her pasta dish too – and declared she wanted a caramel slice for pudding.

Before we could deliver the news to the waitress, the familiar refrains of Happy Birthday sounded from the resident pianist, and a beautifully iced yellow fondant fancy was placed before Eva with a single candle alight for her to blow out.

We’d mentioned Eva’s birthday to our meeter and greeter on arrival, so it was a lovely touch.

The clan Gordon had a date with the 7.30pm train back to Edinburgh, so decided to pass on puddings, ordering coffee instead.

I had no such deadline and was determined that at least one of us should pick something from Bettys amazing cake and desserts list.

Fruit tartlet, tarte au citron and warm stem ginger sponge all sounding tempting, but ever looking for something a bit novel, I chose the brown bread ice-cream sundae, with macaroon, pecan, toffee sauce and whipped cream.

There should have been a fanfare as it arrived, such was its wow factor. Served in a tall glass, there was more than enough for us all to share. As we tucked in, oodles of gushing praise followed. The combination of chalky ice-cream, almondy macaroon, crisp pecan and tooth-achingly sweet sauce was perfectly judged.

Our bill for the six of us was £110, which we thought was pretty good, considering the lovely food, unrivalled setting and attentive service.

There’s no doubt that Bettys is a Yorkshire institution. It’s been in York for 72 years and next month marks its 90th anniversary in Harrogate. To celebrate that, the Montpellier Café Bar has opened at the flagship Tea Rooms on Parliament Street, Harrogate, with the menu changing throughout the day, from Swiss muesli and fresh pastries for breakfast through to cakes and light bites for lunch and the likes of patés, terrines and sharing plates in the evening.

There’s no such makeover at Bettys of York, but we’re not complaining. The refined pleasure of marking the passing of another year over a Swiss-inspired delicacy or two while gentle piano music plays in the background is hard to beat.

• Bettys, St Helens Square, York, YO1 8QP.

• Maxine visited on Thursday, June 18, 2009.

Fact file

Food: Tasty

Service: Classy

Value: Worth it

Ambience: Refined