The opening date of luxury dessert café Haute Dolci in Perth has been revealed.
The eatery, on the corner of High Street and South Methven Street, is set to become the chain’s second Scottish branch on Monday, December 11.
Work on getting the 60-seat cafe ready before Christmas is on target, with shop fitters aiming to be finished by December 6.
The exterior of the building, on the site of the former Transform furniture shop, is emblazoned with ‘HD Caffe’ in preparation for the grand opening.
The announcement comes as the shop’s designer promises “ridiculously large” portion sizes at reasonable prices.
‘No one offers the luxury’ of Haute Dolci
Haute Dolci has been operating for 12 years.
There are 18 Haute Dolci branches across the UK, including at the O2 in London.
Perth will be the company’s second Scottish branch after Edinburgh.
Its franchisee is Omann Javed, who attended Perth’s Viewlands Primary School and then Morrison’s Academy in Crieff.
He is currently a full-time student at Edinburgh University, studying economics and finance.
“As a franchise there is a system in place and I will come over at weekends to supervise it,” he said.
“There is nothing like this in a 30-mile radius – nothing like this in Dundee, Pitlochry or Stirling.
“No one offers the luxury that we do.”
Eatery’s ‘portion sizes are ridiculously large’
Haute Dolci offers a wide range of desserts, with its signature collection including Eggsplosion, fondue, San Sebastian cheesecake and Lotus Biscoff croffle.
It also offers breakfasts, sandwiches and warm meals such as burgers. Sides include dynamite chicken and loaded fries.
The brunch menu contains favourites such as eggs benedict and English breakfast royale.
A full run-down of what food to expect in the Perth branch is here.
Anthony Abberley, of ADA Interior Architecture, has designed all of the country’s Haute Dolci eateries.
He says that burgers will cost around £10, with desserts starting at £4.
Anthony estimates a meal and drinks for a family of four would be between £40 and £60.
“It’s certainly going to be an interesting one for Perth – one that you guys haven’t seen before, that’s for sure,” he said.
“The prices are quite competitive and I find the portion sizes are ridiculously large.
“You get an awful lot for your money.
“I am a man in my mid-40s, six-foot-four and 200 pounds.
“I do like my desserts but even I can’t actually finish them off.”
‘Gucci-esque’ feel to new Perth dessert café
Each store has a unique interior that relates to its surroundings and location.
The Perth branch will have off-white cream, deep green and petrol-blue colours with gold lighting.
It will be the first store to have its own artwork, with up to six pictures relevant to the area created by a local artist.
“The whole idea of Haute Dolci is to bring that Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci-esque and Chanel-esque feel to dessert and hot food.
“So we take more of our design philosophy regarding aesthetics from high-end retail than we do from other restaurant groups.
“Think of the expensive handbags and we are one of them.
“We are a different expensive handbag and make depending on which location we go to.”
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