Someone is hooked with a pistachio cake that Foursquare people are raving about. Nope, not me. Reina is liking the Lilou Artisan Patisserie’s pistachio cake which we bought last night. When we were reading the tips and reviews in Foursquare of Lilou, pistachio cake and pistachio nutella kept on popping up. We got curious we ended up buying the two and a slice of German Chocolate cake. The three pieces set us back around SR 75. Whoah!
Not a Japanese restaurant.
Let me back track a bit before I discuss the green pastry. Lilou Artisan Patisserie is located in between stores of tires and companies that are not associated with food in Dabab Street. When it was new, we thought it was a Japanese restaurant! Haha! Because it’s a quite low building nestled in a car industry neighborhood (in front is a gasoline station and a popular car wash station), we didn’t give it much thought until our curiosity got the better of us and we finally realized it was Lilou, a brand from the Al Ghalia Company that originated in Bahrain. It’s known for its turn of the century Parisian brasserie fee. Entering it makes you feel elegant and sophisticated.
Lilou Artisan Patisserie
In Riyadh, they only opened the bakeshop first. The displays are lined with creative, beautiful, and mouthwatering cakes. See for yourselves:
Gorgeous cakes!
The only normal looking cake in there that is less the fuss.
That looks like liquid! A milk cream that’s about to overflow. Cool.
Pistachio Strawberry cake
Which one among the berry-colored desserts am I picking?
Yum yum yum! Sweetness overload.
As much as we want to try the full cakes, it’s our first time in the place and we wanted to sample the creations in tiny proportions first. We had a hard time choosing, obviously. Just look at that wonderful presentation. I’ll probably have a harder time eating it. Who destroys something as beautiful as that?! Finally, we settled for three as I wrote earlier…
What we finally settled with.
Pistachio brittle!
Pistachio Cup
This is Reina’s favorite. If you are familiar with peanut brittle, then the layer on top is pistachio brittle. Surprisingly, it’s not that sweet. The hard glaze cracks on first bite and turns chewy while the pistachio remain crispy and earthy. We love this combination. The cake and cream layer below is soft and smooth and blends beautifully with the crunch of the brittle. It’s not too sweet too.
Pistachio Nutella Cup, SR 26
This is almost the same cake above but instead of cream, they used Nutella in the layers making it chocolatey and a bit sweeter than the original version. Still good though.
German Ccocolate Cake, SR 18
I confess, I’m not a fan of cakes with nuts all over them, especially pecans, so I’m not a huge fan of this one. However, for chocoholics, this is a good cake to tide over your cravings. It’s super rich!
There are other Arabic sweets (eclairs, tarts, cheesecakes, etc.) and savories (puff pastries, mini pizzas, veggie pies, sausage rolls, etc.) that are available for order in bulk in Lilou so if you have an upcoming party, then you can order in advance. They also make customized cakes based on their display but we didn’t see the prices. The prices of their cakes and pastries are really expensive. The designs are impressive. As for the taste, make sure you get the combinations that you like. We’re thinking of getting the pistachio cake with strawberries on the middle. Looks delish!
There’s a possibility that they will open a cafe but while waiting, just grab some of their pastries and pair it with your favorite coffee blend at home.
Lilou Artisan Patisserie
Dabab Street,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
T: 9200-00746
W: www.alghalia.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/LilouArtisanPatisserie
