Restaurant review: Afternoon tea at Maison Assouline Riyadh
The Assouline experience has landed in Bujairi Terrace…
People know Assouline as one of the world’s foremost luxury lifestyle book publishers. Marking a significant milestone for the brand, it has opened its newest flagship boutique, restaurant and piano bar at Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh.
Enter Maison Assouline Riyadh. Not your average bookshop, it is a boutique for coffee table book lovers set in a grand two-storey structure in a warm ochre hue, complete with an outdoor terrace overlooking the At-Turaif Unesco World Heritage Site.
The setting
Inside, interiors featuring wooden elements, modern furniture and details nodding to local culture dominate the ground floor. A peaceful haven for those in search of culture, this is where you can browse for books and gifts.
Discover a curated selection of Assouline titles covering fashion, history, travel, photography, and more. Each book is a work of art with hand-bound covers, eye-catching images, and luxuriously thick pages. Unique library objects and tasteful accessories, including scented candles and contemporary stationery, are presented throughout the store and on two magnificent antique tables.
Tucked discreetly behind the glass display is a gold zero-proof bar lined with leather barstools, where you can pause and consider your purchases over coffee or mocktails. Or relax amongst the grandeur of Assouline’s “Ultimate Collection” of special editions at the lounge.
Moving upstairs, you can expect an intimate experience with wooden wall panelling and red-hued plush lounge-style seating in the piano lounge and restaurant that specialises in Mediterranean cuisine.
The menu
We love a good afternoon tea, so when we heard that Maison Assouline Riyadh has come up with its very own, things got pretty exciting.
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Priced at SAR170 per person, each set for two, presented on a three-tiered stand, includes a variety of light but flavoursome finger sandwiches and scones. You can wash them down with your choice of tea or coffee (at an additional cost).
You’re in for a traditional start: delicately smoked salmon, coronation chicken, cucumber with crème fraîche and chives, and egg and Comté sammies, all impeccably cut into finger-sized pieces.
Next, you’ll move on to the fluffiest scones (plain, raisin, and cinnamon), toasty warm and fresh from the oven, served with clotted cream and homemade preserves. The finale features a delightful assortment of homemade patisserie cakes, such as cocoa and orange madeleine, rose petal clementine, blueberry and thyme canelé, and pistachio hazelnut éclair.
Along with afternoon tea, we also enjoyed the endive salad with blue cheese (SAR69) and the veal and duck terrine (SAR110), served with sourdough bread and pickles from the à la carte menu. However, our favourite was the humble baked potatoes, elevated by a cool, jet-black splodge of gently saline caviar (SAR110), which raised the dish to the sublime.
What’s On verdict: While the afternoon tea is undeniably pleasant, the rich heritage surroundings make the new Maison Assouline Riyadh a worthwhile pit-stop. And despite the serene, exclusive vibe, this offering is brilliantly affordable. Come for afternoon tea in the piano lounge, move on to a mocktail or two at the bar downstairs whilst browsing the exclusive retail offerings in the enticing boutique, and maybe even make an evening of it. You are in Bujairi Terrace, after all.
Maison Assouline Riyadh, Bujairi Terrace, King Faisal Rd Unit #11, Al Bujairi, 7227, Riyadh 13711, Sat to Thurs noon to midnight & Fri 1pm to 1am. Tel: 9200 14627. @assouline
Images: Supplied