Sweet Castle

Got a bunch of different desserts for my birthday. I love sweets and was shopping in the area, so I stopped here even if it didn’t have previous good reviews.
There was a lot of variety and since I don’t know much about Lebanese desserts, I wen’t direclty to the fridge at the back, where most desserts were chocolate and mousses. Everything looked good.
I took home a millefeuille, white ferrero cake, chocolate ferrero cake, éclair mountain balls, nutella bomb, chocolate croissant and various cookies.
The only think I am a bit disapointed is the cookies but all the cakes were really good!

I had purchased a Groupon for 12 large macarons for this business. I can contacted them by phone to clarify whether or not I needed to ‘pre-​order’ them and was told to just come in whenever I wanted to pick them up.
Several weeks later I showed up at the business and presented my Groupon. I was asked whether this Groupon was purchased before or after March 2015. I wasn’t really sure, but had the Groupon in hand which clearly indicated that it was well within the date of expiration. It was never really made clear to my as to why the date of purchase was important, but the woman working said they were no longer honouring the groupon and to contact the company directly to get my money back.
Given that I had driven 20 minutes to pick them up and had an event that I was planning to bring the macarons to, I was super irritated. The staff person was totally unsympathetic, borderline rude and did absolutely nothing to try to make my experience there slightly positive. A complementary coffee — hell, a smile — would have gone a long way. I will not be returning.

My review is strictly for the macarons.
So I got a Groupon here for 12 large macarons for $ 14 (the regular price is $ 18). The pictures of the macarons on their website look delicious and I LOVE macarons so I was so excited to be trying them. I called the store before going to confirm that they have macarons. I was told yes. I got to the store and was told to come back in an hour-​and-​a-​half. I was a bit miffed, but figured at least I’d be getting some freshly made macarons. At least they weren’t going to sell me some stale stuff.
I come back an hour-​and-​a-​half later and the macarons were there waiting for me. They were far from «large.» They were the size of normal macarons. But more of a shock to me were their appearance. I have uploaded 2 pictures here on Unilocal.You can see for yourself, but let’s just say that I did not find them aesthetically pleasing. They did not look like the macarons on their website. In my opinion, the macarons I got did not look like they were made in a professional bakery but rather in the kitchen of an amateur such as myself. One was broken, the colours were all smeared, they were all different sizes (with one being not much larger than a quarter), and the filling was sloppy.
Fortunately, the taste was ok. I got 4 of each vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavour. The strawberry filling was by far the tastiest. It tasted like there were actual strawberries in it and didn’t taste artificial. This was the saving grace. The vanilla was just ok and the chocolate was too dense. Overall, very average tasting macarons.
The staff there were nice and polite, but I just can’t get over the appearance of the macarons. They had a huge selection of Middle-​Eastern desserts that looked very pretty though. If I’m ever in the neighbourhood again I might give them another try, but I would only be buying the Middle-​Eastern desserts, not the macarons (unless they really step up their game).
The bakery is in a strip mall, next to La Bocca Juice (same strip mall as Produce Depot). There’s lots of free parking.

Just a little door in a Mall. HA!
Walk through that door and you’re in Sweet Heaven. And the coffees are amazing. There are dozens of choices from the not-​too-​sweet to the holy-​sweet-​nirvana!
It is small and only seats maybe 30 people, but comfortably. It is a bright and clean establishment and is now my go-​to for coffee and a nosh when I’m in the area.
The staff are amazing in that they don’t hesitate to explain what each sweet delight is if you ask, and they will communicate down to the minutia what is in each and a little history lesson to go with it. If they are not busy, they will offer a sample.
The coffee. Oh the coffee! It is awesome. If you’re a coffee drinker like I am, one is not enough! They have several types to choose from.
It is a quiet little piece of heaven in a very busy Mall.
I recommend visiting to see for yourself how much more than baklava is in Lebanese desserts. Your eyes will widen with pleasure just walking in. All your senses are touched by their whole presentation.
Note: There is a small but delectable selection of non-​Lebanese choices as well.