3 Best Restaurants in York, Yorkshire

Betty's has been a York institution since 1936. The decor—inspired by the art deco ocean liner the Queen Mary—the dessert trollies, and the solicitous white-aproned staff all contribute to an impression of stepping back in time to a more genteel era. An excellent afternoon tea is served in the café downstairs; breakfast and light lunches are served in the Oak Room upstairs, where you can see the mirror inscribed by the RAF air aces who dined here during WWII. An in-house store sells a range of specialty coffees and teas, plus pastries and old-fashioned sweets like rose and violet creams.

This family-run restaurant in what was once a Victorian shop uses locally sourced Yorkshire produce to create a seasonal, highly imaginative take on Modern British cuisine. Selections include a girolle tartlet with barbecued sweetcorn and truffle; sea trout with asparagus, whey and roe sauce, and kombu vinegar; and summer squash with Comté veloutée, hazelnuts, and truffle pesto. Dishes are available as a five-course tasting menu or two- or three-course fixed-price menus (three courses for £65 at dinner, £38 at lunch). A 10-minute walk from Clifford's Tower, Melton's has an offshoot bar-bistro called Walmsgate Alehouse and Bistro on, unsurprisingly, nearby Walmsgate.

This cozy independent restaurant receives rave reviews for its hearty Eastern European fare. You'll find primarily Polish dishes, including favorites like pierogi, bigos (a hunter's stew made with cabbage, wild mushroom, and sausage), pancetta-wrapped rabbit leg, and schnitzel, as well as vegetarian options. It's popular, so it can get noisy and reservations are suggested.