Afternoon Tea at Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall
I’m slowly making my way through Dubai Hills Mall, one café and restaurant at a time. This week’s stop was Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall, where I treated my bestie to their Royal Afternoon Tea.
I was expecting something light, dainty, and politely French. Instead, what arrived felt more like lunch and afternoon tea had a baby, and it was a well-fed one at that!
Here’s what we thought…
Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall: The lunch Bit
The Royal Afternoon Tea begins with three beef sliders, a portion of crispy fries, and a fresh salad.
The sliders were so good, juicy, packed with flavour, and exactly what you want in a mini burger. The fries were just as impressive: golden, crisp, and perfectly seasoned.
Pro tip: it’s tempting to head straight for the afternoon tea tower, but don’t. Eat the sliders and fries while they’re hot. Cold fries are a tragedy no one needs.
Ladurée Royal Afternoon Tea Sandwiches: The Sandwich Situation
Next up were four crustless finger sandwiches, each beautifully wrapped , which was quite fun to unwrap, like opening tiny edible presents, especially with the bonus of being able to choose your fillings.
We went for tuna and cheese. The tuna was generous, moist, and full of flavour, easily the table favourite. The cheese sandwich, on the other hand, was a bit dry, so next time I’d skip it and try a different filling instead.
Macarons vs Eugénies
When you think Ladurée, macarons are what come to mind, pretty, pastel, Parisian classics. Cute? Yes. Life-changing? Not really.
Then came the Eugénie, the macaron’s supermodel sister. I had never even heard of it. If I hadn’t taken a bite, I would have assumed it was just another macaron. Eugénie, however, was genuinely impressive.
It’s a great mix of textures: a crunchy chocolate-coated shell, a soft melting centre, and a crispy shortbread base. Every bite is buttery, crisp yet delicate, and sweet without being sickly. I did not need a new favourite treat in my life, but here we are. Future waistline, I am so very sorry.
As a side note, if you want to compare this tea with another afternoon tea, check out my Lana Afternoon Tea review.
Flavour Strategy (Learn From Our Mistake)
The macarons and Eugénies are served on a separate plate, and here’s an important tip: you can choose your own flavours at the counter.
We didn’t know this, so they picked the flavours for us, raspberry and rose Eugénies, and rose and Isphahan macarons.
We only realised once we tasted them that rose is not our thing, and it is quite strong in the macarons. If you love rose, go for it. If you’re on the fence, maybe steer clear.
The Sweets Continue..
Alongside the Eugénies and macarons, in afternoon tea stand there’s a whole bunch of other treats waiting for you…
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Petit fours
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Bite-sized scones
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Clotted cream and jams
The petit fours were adorable and delicious… very demure, very French, very elegant.
The scones were bite-sized, which I genuinely appreciated. Contrary to my British instincts, scones do not need to be the size of your hand. Between the sliders, sandwiches, and sweets, we were already full enough. The smaller size worked perfectly.
Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall – Drinks and Aesthetic
The drink menu is surprisingly large, with lots of teas, coffees, and even hot chocolate on offer.
I went for a cappuccino, which arrived with the monogrammed L on the foam. It was almost too pretty to drink. Almost.
Inside, the décor is green, white, and gold, chic, elegant, very Ladurée. There’s also outdoor seating inside the mall, but we opted for indoors. I don’t know about you, but like to forget that I’m actually sitting in a shopping centre.
Special mention goes to the monogrammed handbag hook the waitress brought over. Because of course, even your bag deserves VIP treatment.
Would I go back to Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall ?
This is a French-inspired afternoon tea, so don’t go expecting cucumber sandwiches served by the Queen. It nods to British traditions with tea and scones but stays firmly French in tone.
Did we love everything? No.
Our dislikes:
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Cheese sandwich
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Rose-flavoured macrons and Eugenies
With this much food, it would be suspicious to say we loved every bite equally.
What we did like:
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Sliders and fries were excellent
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Tuna sandwich was delicious
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Petit fours and scones were lovely
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Service was good
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Setting was beautiful
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Eugénies were the highlight!
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Portions were generous
Overall, I highly recommend the Royal Afternoon Tea at Ladurée Dubai Hills Mall, especially if you love French pastries or want a little Parisian vibe in Dubai. After this, I’m genuinely curious to try Ladurée’s full lunch menu, if the rest of it tastes anything like the fries and sliders, they’re clearly doing something very right. Whether it’s afternoon tea, a coffee with a Eugénie, or lunch, it’s definitely worth a visit… or two.
See you there, I’ll be the one eyeing up the Eugénies!
You can find Ladurée in Dubai Hills Mall on Level 1, near Entrance B, with easy access via Fashion Parking P4. If you’d like to book ahead, you can do so here, just like we did.
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