la pâtisserie

It might be obvious, but for those who don't know, I'm obsessed with all things French. I'm not quite sure what it is about it, the food, the culture, the language, the history... it's probably a combination of them all. For that reason, whenever I hear about any French themed bakery or restaurant in Austin, I have to try it out!

It just so happened that my friend Cambria and I, both of us preparing to leave the country this summer (saying goodbye to our beloved Austin, but moving on to new adventures) had set aside a day for a food tour of the city together, a bucket list of sorts. Somehow in the years and years of living in this amazing place, neither of us had made it to la pâtisserie, and so, it was at the top of our list!

la pâtisserie is the boutique of Luxe Sweets, created and owned by Soraiya Nagree, which supplies lots of Austin businesses with the macarons that we all love!

Tucked away near South 1st Street, and the infamous Austin mural, the first thing we admired about this quaint cafe is that they have a parking lot available outside, a wonderful thing to have downtown! It made getting to la pâtisserie a breeze, as we weren't worried about looking for street parking.

Walking in, we were greeted by the sweet scents of baked goods, and our eyes immediately cast upon the colorful macrons and cakes. A staff member quickly came out to serve us, and upon explaining to her about our food tour, and our attempt to eat food at 12 different places that day (we failed, we got through half of them), she told us she'd love to bring out the owner of la pâtisserie to speak with us.

This was honestly one of the nicest experiences I've ever had in Austin, and Austin is filled with friendly and kind people.

Soraiya, the owner, baker, and business woman well-known throughout Austin, walked out of the back. She had an elegant smile, an air of sophisitication and confidence, but also of ease. It felt a bit like meeting a celebrity, to be honest! Cambria and I explained again about our ambitious food tour, and our plans for the future. There were some interesting parallels about our lives and Soraiya's, (check out her story here!). We also talked about how she'd attended culinary school, and perfected her very own macaron recipe. Meeting her was a great way to start our day.

Cambria and I with Soraiya. 

We ended up ordering a couple of petite delicacies, including two macarons, one rose flavored, and the other lavender. I love the subtle taste of things flavored with flowers! These macarons did not disappoint. They were light, sweet, but also savory, and had a crisp crunch upon our first bite, and then of course a soft center, and a sweet filling in between.

So gorgeous! 

Next, we tried the confetti cake. This totally looked like something Marie Antoinette would have eaten (maybe not in real life, I'm no expert in 1700s cake etiquette.. but definitely in the relatively recent film). It was so decadent and delicious and just plain pretty. We almost couldn't eat it because we wanted it to stay perfect. My sweet tooth won out this dilemma, however. Literally, it was coup de foudre. (Love at first sight - or should I say bite!)

 There were also plenty of other sweet and savory things to try! 

Readers not from ATX,  you can actually order macarons and have them shipped to you from the la patisserie website!

We had a truly quaint and pleasant time at la pâtisserie, it felt like a taste of things to come...! All in all, if you like sweet treats, you'll love this place. If you have an inclination for French things, tu l'adores !