Apologies in advance to your dentist
Apologies in advance to your dentist
Were you born with a sweet tooth? Same and srsly mum and dad, could you not have tweaked our DNA to favour lettuce and carrot sticks? This makes driving past a patisserie and not stopping in for a cheeky sugar hit a totally foreign…and downright offensive…concept. So, when we spotted Delothor Patisserie, that glorious little gem in Southport’s Davenport Street, it made our day/week/month/you get the picture, we were ex.ci.ted. Pumping out sensational Asian inspired pastries, desserts and drinks, our enthusiasm exploded when we realised it’s a double decker scenario, with not one but TWO levels of pure pastry pleasure. Our blood pressure may go up a few digits, but we are so DOWN with our adorable new patisserie BFF.
Founders Alexia Kang and her cousin have a backstory that will motivate many-a-budding pastry guru, and we love that sort of thing. Starting small by renting a teeny tiny side of a commercial kitchen to bake their goodies, the initial blood, sweat and tears soon paid off. Word spread like wild flour of their pastry prowess, demand soared, and the rest as they say is history. Snapping up a prime position in the GC CBD and enlisting JIC Projects to create their dream space, not only does this involve a lot of acronyms, but it culminated in the dreamy Delothor space.
With a predominantly white, sage, and moss green colour palette, #WeDie. The juxtaposition of different textures and finishes also has us fangirling, incorporating all the usual on-trend (and utterly irresistible) suspects; vertical veejay panels, 3D slat wall panels, wooden floors, textured subway tiles, and sleek marble surfaces. Extra points are awarded for the feature arches because they are our design equivalent of pastries. Translation, we are #ForeverObsessed.
Downstairs you’ll find cabinets consistently filled to the brim with fabulously flaky goodness, which you can either grab and go, or pop upstairs to savour the moment in-house. Personally, we err on the side of the latter because it’s a way cuter setting than our disorderly desk, plus we don’t have to share.
Now the question on every Delothor-goer’s lips is “what should I order?”…and “how many should I order”? “In one sitting….”? Well, we’re singing the praises of the Buttercream Macarons and bonus, you can buy a few to take back to the office to spoil your colleagues and jokes, you’ll inhale the lot. If Fresh Cream Cake is more your jam, they don’t make ‘em much better than this…and soz Nanna, that includes you #CiaoInheritance. Another crowd fave is the humble Strawberry Croissant, perfect for breakfast on the run, morning tea, lunch, an afternoon snack, supper, dessert and yeah, it’s ver.sa.tile. To well and truly churn your butter, pair your choice with an expertly brewed coffee or tea, and live your best pastry-and-caffeine fuelled life.
So next time you’re Southport-bound, passing through, or actually going nowhere near the place, pastry-pining peeps take head; Delothor is Gold Coast for patisserie perfection.
Where: 29 Davenport Street, Southport
When: 8am – 8pm, Tuesday – Sunday. Closed Monday.
Words by Bianca Trathen.
If you’re a southern Gold Coaster, you’ve been to Tarte Bakery Café (on repeat. Like twice daily…). You’ve knocked back a Cookie Cup, soaked up its Soho vibes and Parisian style people watching, plus grabbed your fair share of NYC inspired sweets or savoury snacks from the Tarte takeaway window. In fact, even if you’re not from the southside, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve either been, or heard your friends lusting over all things Tarte (and had that fleeting “are we talking makeup or the café?!” moment, before correctly landing on the latter).
This crowd pleaser’s celeb status extends far and wide and when you’re on a good thing, why not make it even better? Not possible we hear you say, but when we tell you about the newest Tarte in town; Tarte Market, you’ll eat your words…and its entire menu! And you won’t feel even a twinge of guilt because it’s the health-conscious member of this GC luminary triple threat, set to level up the Tarte empire another notch.
Taking over the Thai restaurant next door, owner, boss babe, and hospitality guru, Chloe Watts, has done it again. With New York and Parisian influences, Tarte Market is in theme with her older sisters, yet offers an entirely unique eating experience. Focussing on all things healthy, clean, and beach-bod-friendly, we’re invited to go against the rule and actually make friends with salad. These aren’t just any salads either, made fresh to order with the option of including as many house-made add-ons as your tastebuds desire. That’s right, in addition to a few drool-worthy combos listed on the menu such as the Healthy ‘Risotto’ (yes, this is still a salad), you can fully customise your very own creation!
Freestyle your protein with the likes of maple hot smoked salmon, smoked brisket, lemongrass grilled chicken, poached chicken, and for a slightly naughty slant on an otherwise nourishing feed, fried chicken. Non-meat-eaters and vegans, never fear as you can also DIY with tofu, and tarragon and sage mushrooms. Salad never looked so good!
Other ingredients include quinoa and black rice, brown rice, wombok, kale, avocado, green papaya, spring onion, silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower, pickled cauliflower, shaved brussel sprouts, caramelised onion, goats fetta, halloumi, free range eggs, crispy chick peas, almonds, pine nuts, and pistachio dukkah to name a few. Then coz you can, add your fave herbs like Vietnamese mint, dill, chives, parsley, and coriander (controversial…but we’re firmly pro this divisive super herb).
If you’re thirsty, order a freshly made smoothie, like the Berry Smoothie, with blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and honey. Or, the one that made us go weak at the knees, the Lychee Smoothie which is all about the lychee! Plus there are design your own fresh juices, top notch coffee, a variety of teas, a Parisian Hot Chocolate, and a selection of exclusive Tarte Drinks. We’re drawn to the Old Fashioned Lemonade and of course, the Cookie Shot with steamed vanilla bean milk. Oh, and there are some cheeky alcoholic beverages if you’re feeling that way inclined (we are), like the Grande Mimosa with fresh OJ and the Hard Southern Iced Tea with vodka. Bottoms up!
And if you happen to be hit with a case of in-house Tarte FOMO (defined as frequenting your chosen Tarte, but deciding you actually want a piece of the other Tarte/s), relax – you can order from all three menus at either the bakery, the takeaway window or the new market. But here’s a hot tip: if you want to DIY salad (and not order from their set combos), you need to actually go to the Tarte Market window.
So for a delicious, healthy Tarte-a-licious salad experience with the option to freestyle your feed, cease-ar the moment and head to Tarte Market. Be-leaf us, you won’t be disappointed.
Hours: 7 Days, 6.30am – 3.00pm
Where: 2 West Street, Burleigh Heads
Words by Bianca Trathen.
Pics by Brittany Kreskas.
