I first met Ladurée as a marketing intern in New York my junior year of college. The Parisian-based macaron shop was known for having only the best macarons in the world. At the time, there were only two locations in the United States and both were in NY. My friends and I were exploring SoHo when I realized that’s where one of the locations was– I told them we had to go!
After much walking in wedges and humidity, we came across Ladurée in SoHo, which offered both full-service and take-away. Inside it was absolutely lovely but since I was a student, I opted for purchasing two macarons instead of dining in for tea service. I picked out rose, cherry blossom, and pistachio, all which were extraordinary. The rose was easily my favorite. I continued to enjoy the deliciousness of Ladurée when I lived in NY, and always savored each bite. They were easily in my top desserts to eat in Manhattan!
When Alex and I decided to visit Paris as part of our holiday getaway, Ladurée was towards the top of the list! We went to the Champs Elysées (one of of six in Paris!) location and stood in line for maybe 30 min? Although it was a frigid 25 degree Fahrenheit, we thankfully weren’t standing outside. Walking up to the building alone was beautiful. It was much larger than the NY locations. It featured two dining floors, and a specific take-away area which had at least 40 people in line.
We walked up the marble, red-carpet accented stairs to the second floor. It opened to a large parlor with smaller tea rooms. Every seat was filled with an individual enjoying their macaron, high tea and desserts. We sat down into a smaller tea room and I fell in love with the beautiful interiors and chandeliers. Without hesitation I ordered a pot of rose tea and an ispahan, a raspberry and rose macaron dessert. Alex ordered the richest cup of hot chocolate (think melted chocolate with a tiny splash of milk) and a classique, basically a cream puff. It was a lovely experience and only made my love for Ladurée grow greater. <3
