French Macarons by Laduree in Beverly Hills

The Macarons by Laduree are worldwide known, thanks to their delicate taste, but also thanks to the Blogger-Macarons-Hype a few years ago, where just everyone posed with a colourful box with colourful Macarons inside. Without this literal mouth-to-mouth marketing, I would have probably never heard about Laduree. When it comes to Laduree, most immediately associate it with Macarons. Two pieces of each a colourful meringue-almond shell, filled with a sweet creme. But, Laduree is a real Confisserie and besides plenty of Macaron flavours, they also offer typical French pastries such as eclairs or even ice cream (optional in a macaron shell, Macaron Ice-Cream Sandwich). During my brief visit to Los Angeles, I stopped by the Laduree Cafe in Beverly Hills, on North Beverly Drive. Just weeks before I had visited their probably most-famous store on Champs Elysees in Paris, therefore it was nice to compare the Laduree Macarons in Paris with the Laduree Macarons in Beverly Hills / Los Angeles.

There was a time when Laduree was popular but haven’t had that many international stores as they have now when they were shipping boxes of Macarons around the globe. (Insane!) Macarons are a delicate pastry and you should actually treat them like a raw egg, so be very careful to preserve them the way they are. So, shipment was no longer a real option and now there are two stores in Los Angeles. And what I heard, the Laduree Macarons in Beverly Hills are not imported from Paris, they are made “in-house” in Los Angeles. Will you be able to expect the same level of excellence when it comes to their pastries and even beverages? I was curious… The atmosphere might also play an important role in how delicious something tastes, but can anything beat eating a Laduree Macaron on Champs Elysees in Paris? I highly doubt it.

As I’m always so indecisive at Laduree, should I try something new or just stick to the ones I love, I only got one Vanilla Macaron. The same flavour I got in Patis at Laduree, perfect for comparison. Just as in Paris, the service was friendly and they had a nice selection on offer. I got the single Macaron in a pastel paper bag and I couldn’t even wait to leave the Café, to take the first bite. From outside the LA Laduree Macaron looked exactly the same to the Parisian one, but already after the first bite, I noticed the difference. The Los Angeles one didn’t taste as fresh and soft, as the one in Paris. The cream was rather hard and almost the whole macaron shell broke just from taking one single bite. A bit of a disappointment, but, it was still tasty, but just not exactly the same… however, the café looks super cute and I’d definitely visit Laduree Beverly Hills, or Laduree at The Grove, again for a hot beverage and a pastry. And, it’s also a super popular location for celebrities, just recently Jessica Alba celebrated her Baby Shower at the Beverly Hills Laduree.