Brioche Doree
Mall of Arabia
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Both a French patisserie and ‘casual restaurant’ Brioche Doree offer an alternative to PAUL. Tucked in a corner of the Mall of Arabia opposite the womens branch of Zara, Brioche Doree has an exposed feel due to its lack of walls, open on both sides, the café is perfect for a healthy dose of people watching, where you can see yourself relaxing for a moment and escaping (albeit temporarily) from the hustle and bustle of the mall.
As this was the first time we had come across the brand (another notch on the list of Al Hokairs F&B imports) we didn’t really know what to expect. From the large display cabinets we saw bread, lots of it in fact; further round the corner a handful of sandwiches, and opposite these was a larger selection of mouth-watering looking cakes.
With no menu on display above the counter or on the table we found ourselves perched around, we ended up approaching the counter and ordering with little to go on. Looking for a quick snack I asked about the beef sandwich on display, the Saudi cashier was more than helpful and explained it was a pastrami sandwich (30 SR), sliced on tartare sauce with lettuce, red onions and served in a brioche bread. His knowledge was impressive, and resulted in a quick sale.
Moving round the counter the cakes looked too good to resist, and so we also ordered a mixed selection to go. From the patisseries, we tried the apple tart, Chocolate tart, Chocolate brioche, Chocolate and Banana tart, Lemon tart, Flan nature, Mille feuilles, and the white chocolate and raspberry tart, all around 14 SR per slice.
Finally we paid and just as we were leaving we noticed crepes being prepared behind the counter, odd we thought, as we had mistakenly assumed all that was on offer was in the display cabinets. How wrong we were, upon realizing other items might actually be available, we asked the cashier about a menu which he magically produced from behind the counter, and the ‘casual restaurant’ description of Brioche Doree began to make sense.
Everything from crepes to full course meals was available, but from our perspective the atmosphere wasn’t quite what we would hope for a full sit down meal. Not only were the tables surprisingly small, (they were more akin to café furniture -not ideal for lingering), but they were also placed in such close proximity to each other, a private conversation was almost out of the question.A gaggle of noisy children with nanny in tow then appeared, sealing the deal; and we took the sandwich (and cakes) home.
So there is little we can tell you of the main courses at Brioche, but plenty of their sandwich and desserts, which I can happily say, impressed all of the family once home. The Pastrami sandwich was good,the tartare sauce going well with the salad garnish and meat, but the filling was a little thin, the bread making up the main substance of the sandwich.
The Chocolate brioche was sweet and dense, but even better after a few short seconds in the microwave – the chocolate chips then a melted and fused into the brioche. As for the ‘Flan Nature’, this was an experience in its own right, a traditional French dessert; bright yellow, the custardy tart was not quite gelatinous, but wobbly none the less, rich and creamy, perfect with an espresso or Café au lait!.
The Raspberry and White chocolate tart was delicious, properly made, the white chocolate firm on the surface, and smooth and creamy beneath save for the expected raspberries at its centre which provided a burst of fruit juice countering the strength of the white chocolate. The other tarts were equally impressive. It’s a shame we didn’t get round to the main courses, but we will have to drop back for those. Perhaps you can share you experiences at Brioche Doree, let us know how you got on in the comments. Bon appétit!
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I was very taken by this little cafe, as soon as we passed by it while shopping in the mall. So I asked the company I was with if it was okay to come back here later, instead of going out for food. I didn’t actually order the little chocolate chip sensation, but one of the older gentlemen who was with us did, and he is very particular…yaro the sort, can’t go anywhere, unless he approves because otherwise he won’t eat.
Well, he loved it so much he ordered another and one more to go. I was already having a mocha and didn’t want to over do the sweetness, so I got a cheese croissant, I am not sure if it is due to the remarks the older gentleman made when we first entered about the freshness of the baked goods, but my croissant was RIGHT OUT THE OVEN. It was so delicious, the choice of cheese they used was magnificent! It was flakey and lightly golden crispy on the outside, and wonderfully cushioned in the inside. We even considered ordering a dozen to go. If I wasn’t watching my weight, I WOULD HAVE! and possibly eaten them all at once.
Also the decor in this cafe is super cute, someone took a cell phone picture of me there, and it looked as if I WAS on a little street in Pariiis somewhere
TWO thumbs up chef!
Cheers
man they have the most amazing pasta with white sauce yum yum yum but it isnt that expensive :s its very affordable
OMG Im from France and I acn tell U la brioche dorée is soo good, but here in KSA its TOO EXPENSIVE.
I did visit it for breakfast last Thursday and I would echo your sentiment: good food, good varieties, sub-bar slow service, and I would say bad management.
Hopefully things will improve as the food is good!
Here is a different scenario: you have a good famous franchise serving great food, i.e. Zyng. You put it in a bad location (food court of Mall of Arabia), you don’t provide all the ingredients and half of the menu is not available most of the time. You do this for a prolonged period of time, and alienate all of your customers, and you end up with an empty restaurant that is about to close down. Conclusion: Bad management kills restaurants.
I am not saying that would happen with Brioche Doree because at the moment it appears to be so popular, but it definitely will discourage first time visitors from being loyal repeat patrons.
Brioche Doree orginally started in France, most popular in Paris and is well known as a place for quick but decent food, just the thought of their sandwiches make my mouth water. They have always had a wide selection of tarts, pastries, sandwiches and of course Brioche, I just hope it’s the same here in Jeddah.
I visited the restaurant once. The service was hopeless. The waiters took more than 30 minutes to bring our order of basil pizza, hot chocolate, chocolate tart and another dessert that i can’t remember. They brought the order and then forgot to bring the cutlery. They took another 10 minutes to bring the cutlery. They starting serving those who came after us before finishing with us. They forgot to bring napkins.
I found the price range to be too high, considering the service was pathetic, and the food was ok. The basil pizza sounded fab on the menu but turned out insipid in reality. Only the desserts are worth trying.
And by the way, what’s so ‘magical’ about producing a menu from behind the counter?
sounds like you had a bad visit, hopefully things will have improved by now, as for the ‘magical’ quote, that was sarcasm, as they (the menus) were pretty much invisible in the restaurant.
I use to go there quite often for breakfast. The quality is great and the fodd was delicious. But I have to admit, that the Service is not so good. It happende often, that the waiter didn´t bring the right order or if you ask for a little change within a Meal, it´s not possible. Also the portions (for example of the Cheese Breakfast, I dont remember the Name) are smaller now, then befor. Of cause, the price didn´t change.
Beside this, the place is really nice and I still go there, but not as often as I used to.
i think jeddah food should add photos for the place also in every resturant
more photos are available in the Photos Tab at the top of each restaurant. There are four tabs, info, map, photos, and rating. Please select photos tab to see more photos. Thanks!
Great review. I have seen the place several times passing by in MoA but I was fancying that someday I would go and have breakfast with my wife, which is yet to happen. It reminded me so much of Paul’s. With such a rave review, I would definitely check it out sooner than later.
4-28-2010: I too made a trip to BD. I made the trip because of the previous comment that I read on this page. I went for the cream brulee. Gathered all kids, arranged my evening and trotted off to BD. With excitement we approached the counter looking forward to the cream brulee that we were anticipating. I ordered 4 of them an the cashier said….”We are out of stock and have been for over a month”. WHAT?! What a disappointment. I went for the creame brulee and left with an empty stomach. It would be helpful to the readers if the writer could put a date so that it would be known how old the review was.
The date is shown at the top of the review. April 27.
Writting in from Khobar. Brioche Doree in Mall of Dhahran has become one of the busiest and most popular cafes in town, especially for breakfast. For less than 40SR you get your choice of croissant (one of the best I have tasted!), baguette, your choice of fresh juice, jams, two eggs cooked to your preference, a small side salad and your choice of hot beverage.
The place is packed on Thursday mornings with patrons waiting up to 25 minutes to get a table.
The atmosphere and seating is very French in nature. If their goal was to bring a piece of Paris to Saudi, then I think they have definetly succeeded!