Brina was a good bit insistent on taking us to this place. I was not so interested--mainly because I didn't know what to expect. But, Brina is pretty wise; so, we let her lead us out of the Louvre Museum and down the street beside it to the doorway. The restaurant was crowded, but the entrance was tempting with a large collection of pastries, especially macaroons. I quickly decided it would be a fun experience if nothing else just to look around. We were exiled to the top floor, which was empty when we arrived, but full by the time we left. Brina said it had to do with the fact that we were a large group of five, but when she brought her mom and Alexi was in a stroller, they were pushed to the back of the room because they didn't look like the upscale clientele Angelina's caters to. Personally, I don't care how they identify me as long as they let me in!

Brina said the tea room was known for its macaroons and African hot chocolate. Dad, surprisingly, went for the white hot chocolate instead. The dark chocolate arrived in little pitchers, and I think Dad's white chocolate came in a cup by itself because it was to serve only one. I fell in love with the dark chocolate. It was thick like syrup, perfectly warm, not too heavy on the sugar; pure perfection. We had fresh whipped cream, but I only had enough to taste it. The world revolved around chocolate for thirty minutes.

We also ordered the "cheap" plate of macaroons, which arrived after the chocolate. It was just a plate of four mix-and-match. We selected pistachio (the green one), chocolate raspberry (the brown and red one), triple chocolate (the solid brown one), and rose petals (the pale pink one). Mom took a spoon because we forgot to ask for a knife and divided the macaroons as best she could into five pieces so we could all have a taste of each. The pistachio was by far the best, but the rose petal was so unusual and delicious. One of the best things about macaroons is that they are made with almond flour instead of wheat flour and therefore are available to individuals who are allergic to wheat.

When Brina first moved to Paris, she started hearing about Angelina's and how expensive it is. She vowed when she had some money, she would go there. Her first trip was with her mom last year and her second trip was to share this incredible place with us. Which brings us to a rough estimate of the cost of the snack: the macaroons are about 3,50 euros a piece. The hot chocolate was 6-7 euros each. And it was worth every euro cent!

Angelina

Since 1903
Salon de The-Patissier-Restaurant
226 Rue de Rivoli, Paris 1 er-01.42.60.82.00
2 Place de la Porte Maillot, Paris 17 e-01.40.68.22.50