My version of dessert heaven! (Haagen Dazs Restaurant)

Member Name: kirsty_tinx

Product:	Haagen Dazs Restaurant
Date:	25/02/09 (289 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes good, different recipes

Disadvantages: Expensive, not many restaurants around the country

I'm rather excited that my request for this to be review-able has finally come through :) I love this place!

What is Haagen Dazs?
Haagen Dazs is an ice cream maker. They make so many different flavours, I couldn't possibly list all of them, but each of them are very enjoyable, and I'm sure there is something to suit everyone's tastes. Surprisingly, Haagen Dazs originated in the USA in the 1920's, despite the name of the company sounding rather foreign!


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Restaurants:
The only restaurant in England is in London's Leicster Square. However, there are also restaurants in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Killarney in Ireland and Newry and Lisburn in Northern Ireland. There are also others around the world!

I went for the first time a few weeks ago whilst I was in London. It is a rather large building with huge glass windows and a 'takeaway' section to the side, although you cannot have any of the special recipes when you takeaway, you can only have scoops of ice cream. The service was a little slow to beginwhen I went, but once our orders had been taken, our food arrived very quickly. It was, however, a Friday night at about 9pm, so although it took a while for us to be seated (there were 5 of us) I can understand due to the timings which we were there. The place was buzzing, which isn't surprising considering what amazing treats you can find within!


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The Menu:
The menu in the Haagen Dazs shops excites me greatly. It consists of Classics, Patisserie, Beverages and Combinations.
Classics: These are the more 'standard' of their recipes. An example of this is "Cookie Crunch" which is scoops of Cookies & Cream ice cream with chunks of freshly baked cookies, hot chocolate fudge sauce and whipped cream. This is what I had when I went there, and I LOVED it. It's incredibly sweet, but it tastes very, very good!
Patisserie: These include the things such as Waffles, Muffins and Apple Crumble. For example, "Chocolate and Toffee Temptation" contains a rich chocolate muffin with a caramel centre, with 2 scoops of ice cream topped with butterscotch sauce, whipped cream and almond flakes.
Beverages: Your obvious ones like Cappucino's etc but also special ones such as their Hot Chocolate, which is made with Belgian chocolate, frothy milk and topped with whipped cream. I don't know why, but it tastes pretty incredible.
Combinations: Anything between 2 and 4 scoops of ice cream with two toppings. You can do this, also, on top of anything you want, such as cookies, muffins, waffles, etc...

The people I was with had been there in the summer, and apparently, Haagen Dazs change their menu's between Summer and Winter for different, seasonal desserts. I believe the summer ones are more fruity, as this is more appropriate in summer sometimes, but I am not entirely sure.


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Prices:
Although this is not entirely accurate, as I'm trying to remember from when I was at the restaurant, many of the standard and patisserie deserts are between £7 and £8. This sounds expensive, which I know it is, however, the quality of the desserts are amazing, and I think it is justifiable for a treat.


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Overall opinion:
I've only been to the restaurant twice, and so some of you may think this does not justify my reviewing of it. However, my first impression of the London restaurant was a very good one, and I had a very pleasant experience, with well made desserts, and generally good service.
I've always appreciated Haagen Dazs' ice cream anyway, I think they have good combinations, and always taste good, however I think being in the restaurant has a nice atmosphere, friendly people, and a different way of eating ice cream!
(Plus, if you queue up outside for a while, they give you little free testers of things to make the wait more bearable! Yum.)

Overall, I think the Haagen Dazs Restaurants are definitely worth a try if you like ice cream! Despite the costs, and the fact that I'm sure all the desserts are incredibly bad for you, as a treat, it's surely justifiable!

Summary: Worth a try at least once!