Sweet Chic: The Patisserie at SLS Beverly Hills

Let's spend a few moments to talk about the desserts I sampled at a place called the SLS Beverly Hills.

This is the hotel I stayed at when I went to the Emmy Awards (oh, did I tell you I did that?) and the best part about this quirky, curio-filled hotel is that they have their very own patisserie. Sweet!

In keeping with the hotel's curio closet-gets-Philippe Starcke-ified vibe, the sweet shop has an apothocary-meets-sleek chic feel, but the goodies are delicious business. Desserts can be ordered at the hotel restaurant/bar, or ordered a la carte at the counter.

This spy sampled the Greek Yogurt parfait with macerated apricots, which was a gorgeous surprise, with vanilla-scented house-made yogurt complemented by lovely apricots and honey. Who knew yogurt could be so good? It didn't taste overly breakfast-y, either--they do have a version that they serve in the morning, too, though, albeit with less sweet bells and whistles.

But if you ask me, the real stars were the a la carte items: homemade marshmallows, small “tablet” chocolate bars, bonbons, lollipops, and mini-cookies including financiers, florentines, lava cookies, and more. It made for a magical presentation, and the sweets were all very well-executed small bites, clearly made with fine ingredients, with care given to flavor contrast and sweet presentation.

The SLS Beverly Hills hotel may be too cool for school for some, but a stop to the patisserie even as a walk-in is well worth the trip.

SLS Beverly Hills Patisserie, Los Angeles.