The Old York Tea Room — Restaurant in England

I love a good tearoom, but everywhere these days seems to be a coffee shop. Reading of the trials and tribulations of the fairly new Old York Tearoom in Goodramgate over the past year, more importantly also of their excellent cakes, I thought I had to give them a go.

The welcome could not have been warmer. The two gentleman who run the place were friendly and helpful from the start, with my guide dog given an extra special welcome! The choice of cakes was quite overwhelming, and there were probably four or five that I really fancied, but I settled for something with raspberries (sorry, I can’t remember the name) whilst my friend had the apple and toffee cake. The choice of teas was also excellent, and I opted for licorice and mint.

Upstairs the place is cosy but not cramped. I’m sure they could have squeezed in another table here and there had they wanted to, but they have struck a nice balance between having sufficient covers whilst giving customers a degree of privacy. The place feels warm and homely,, helped enormously by the very engaging man leading on service. It’s clear that the people running it have poured their heart and soul into the business and that they want every customer to feel genuinely welcome.

As for the cake and tea, well, it was of course as excellent as everybody has said. I really enjoyed my raspberry “thing” but could happily have devoured my friends one had he not fancied it. My tea was subtle to start, increasing in sweetness by the 2nd cup, and thoroughly enjoyable throughout. If there was one thing that I would want to change it would be to maintain the British tradition of serving a pot of hot water alongside the teapot, but I won’t hold its absence against them!

Overall the Old York Tearoom was everything I wanted it to be, and I will definitely be coming back. I would also thoroughly recommend it to others either to enjoy some time away from the frenetic pace of things in the city centre or to take some cake...

Great service at a lovely café in a beautiful town! I'm unfamiliar with York but the staff were very friendly and accommodating, they welcome dogs and children into the café too. It may be very small and a little cramped, but I also found it quite cosy. I sat for a little bit to read some books.

I got a cake and a latte. Still not sure what kind of cake it was (I just pointed at it when ordering) but it was absolutely delicious! I'm sure you can see from the photo that the presentation can't be faulted either. The latte was strong and bitter so definitely come here if you need a caffeine kick :)

You access seating by going upstairs so you basically know when someone comes and goes, and the tables are cleaned as soon as someone leaves. I live in Leeds so I'm used to tables being left dirty for ages in the city centre cafés, so I thought it was nice how attentive the staff were at keeping the place tidy.

My only negative is the restroom. The door doesn't properly close and I was confused at first but you need to hold down the button to flush. They tried to make it look very nice though, I'm guessing they were working with what they had because it is a very old building.

Overall, I really enjoyed it here and I will definitely be coming back next time I'm in York! Cosy atmosphere, great location, AMAZING desserts, and strong coffee. I wish we had more local independent cafés like this in Leeds. Thank you!!

Accessibility notes: There is music in the background so if you or someone you're with is sensitive to sound, you may need to kindly ask staff to turn the music off temporarily. Also, like I mentioned previously, it is quite small so you may want to visit at a quieter time if you have anxiety around small or crowded spaces. Sadly there is no seating downstairs so it is not accessible for people who cannot use stairs. However, most items on their menu is available...

One of the most impressive Cake/Tea rooms I have ever been to, genuinely.

This place holds a great reputation and I wasn’t disappointed. We were welcomed in and had a detailed explanation in the different cakes and treats on offer. What I appreciated most is we weren’t rushed, even though there was a queue behind us, they took the time to ensure we were served to the best service while also having a very personal touch. The realness of the staff is something that goes a long way for me!

After ordering, we were given a table number and asked to take our seats upstairs. The seating area was limited to only a few tables which some people may not like, as they are a very popular business l, however I think it gives a very exclusive and premium, yet cosy feel rather than taking away from the experience. The decor, as shown is gorgeous, I will be honest in telling you my pictures don’t do it much justice in comparison but you will see yourself on the visit. When we were served, they explained exactly what we had ordered in detail and I love this, there’s so many place you go and you just get passed you meal and off they go, no, here is the real deal! I could tell the staff genuinely cared and were attentive to each customer while still being theirselves and I again, love that.

When it came to the taste test, wow! They were divine! I have forgotten what the name of my order was but it was vanilla and shoe pastry and custard and it really hit to spot!

This place can be busy so make sure you prepare to wait, it will...