Ninou Boulangerie Pâtisserie Viennoiserie, Rosebery

Ninou first came to my attention when their fascinating desserts kept popping up on social media and therefore I was excited when the opportunity came by for a visit to their cafe in Rosebery, courtesy of FCBA. The concept of a French-inspired bakery in Sydney is intriguing - having authentic French bread loaves, baguettes and desserts all accessible at our fingertips without need to fly the required twenty odd hours to the "city of love".

Inside Cafe

But does it live up to the hype?

As I had arrived later than my fellow foodies, I missed out on tasting their chocolate croissant but got the consolation prize of having my own croissant:

Croissant

Cross-Section of Croissant

The croissant looked promising with lots of buttery layers but sadly tasted a little stale and wasn't crispy - it probably would have tasted much better if it had been re-heated in an oven or grill. I ended up washing it all down with a hot chocolate:

Hot Chocolate

Then came the desserts - first of the desserts that I tried was the Infiniment Chocolat, which was effectively their version of the opera cake, complete with chocolate mousse, ganache and nut/biscuit base. This dessert was very rich and chocolate-y but also very sweet:

Infiniment Chocolat ($7) - Milk Chocolate Mousse,
Single Origin Dark Chocolate Ganache, Praline Feuilletine
& Almond Succès

As much as I liked it, I couldn't eat more than a few bites, which then lead me to their signature Ninou dessert, which looked amazing:

Signature Ninou Cake ($8) - Single Origin Dark Chocolate
Mousse, Salted Caramel Cremeux, Almond Dacquoise,
Salted Caramel Butter Emulsionne & Almond Croustillant

Cross-Section of Signature Ninou Cake

Reminiscent of a Koi dessert, the dome encased layers of mouse, cremeux and biscuit - all sweet with varying salted caramel flavours. This was probably my favourite dessert of the lot as the saltiness balanced out the (not too) sweet and I'm a massive fan of a good crisp base.

In contrast to all the sweet desserts that we had tried, the lemon tart had a strong tart flavour - not for those that don't like sour foods:

Lemon Tart ($6)

The last dessert of the day was their chocolate eclair:

Chocolate Eclair ($6)

Cross-Section of Chocolate Eclair

Traditional eclairs should be light and fluffy, filled with cream and smothered in chocolate. Unfortunately, the chocolate eclair that we tasted was a major disappointment, as the choux pastry was dense, dry and hard (like the pastry dough wasn't quite right and/or over-baked in oven) - no amount of smothering by dark chocolate ganache could have saved it. 😞

Ninou also produces a variety of savoury goods including baguettes, sandwiches and quiches, as well as other baked pastries and desserts:

Various Baguettes, Sandwiches and Quiches

Pastries and Croissants

(Infamous) Pistachio Raspberry Macaron

Overall, I found that the sampling fell short of the perfection expected from a French bakery. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to start the day on desserts but they certainly left a (bitter)sweet memory.

Ninou is a short bus trip away from the city (or trek from the nearest train station) but I guess it's convenient if you live nearby in the Green Square area. They make their desserts on site and you can look into their kitchen as they work as you sip away at your coffee.


Food: ✰✰✰
Service: ✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰
Overall: ✰✰✰
Summary: Bring your sweet tooth and stick to the desserts


Disclaimer: MSG Cafeteria was invited as a guest of  Food Critics & Bloggers Australia to Ninou Boulangerie Pâtisserie Viennoiserie and all food and drinks consumed were paid for by the cafe. Thanks to the team at Ninou for hosting and serving up some yummy food!