Hediard

Burjuman coffee shop ideal for a shopping break Discuss this article

Eye-catching red and black striped canopies, which are the trademark of this chain of French style cafes, led us to the branch on the first floor of the Wafi Centre. The space is large and bland with a lot of natural light coming in through the high glass domed roof of the Mall. Hediard does not offer a set afternoon tea so we settled on a pot of tea and a traditional French ham and cheese sandwich, a slice of chocolate pear torte and a lemon meringue tartlet. The sandwich arrived surrounded by a considerable oil slick. We enjoyed the pear torte but the tartlet was a disappointing combination of soft pastry, oversweet lemon curd and gritty meringue on top.

Although the café was not busy, we were served by three different waitresses; all of whom were hampered in their jobs by their limited command of English. This also did not help the general feeling of a lack of warmth and hospitality offered by Hediard. For an afternoon cuppa and a sticky cake this is not one of our favourites, but it is a popular lunchtime haunt with shoppers.

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