A Sugar High Does Not True Love Make at Xinyuan’s C’est l’Amour

A cafe with a name like C’est l’Amour certainly gives us high expectations. Of authentic French coffees or pastries at best, or kitschy faux-Parisian decor at worst (and it wouldn’t be the first). But this Liangmaqiao-adjacent café evokes neither. In fact, there’s next to none of the je ne sais quoi that you’d expect with such a Frenchie name.

What this café does have is ultra cutesy and sweet treats and decor, sure to tickle your taste buds and make your inner child happy. Prime examples include their banana coffee, which tastes a bit like a banana shake loaded with caffeine, with banana sprinkled on top along with whipped cream and some chocolate syrup. There are also caramel mochas lattes for RMB 38 (for when a regular mocha isn’t sugary enough, you shameless sweet tooths), honeycomb coffee for RMB 40, and brown sugar coffee (also RMB 40). 

And that's before we've even seen the dessert menu. The almond tiramisu (RMB 28 per slice) lives up to its nutty name in terms of flavor, with a nice buttery aftertaste and creamy texture. It’s not a gourmet knockout worthy of a restaurant award by any means, but it offers some simple downhome comfort. Other dessert options include slices of Oreo cheesecake, lemon meringue pie, and truffle chocolate cake (RMB 28-30). 

The decor is as cutesy and childlike as the sugar loaded menu, from the latticework loaded with flowers, to the wooden tables surrounded by bookshelves (one table is almost completely enclosed, making it the perfect private island or cubby hole for an overgrown kid to hide out in). Coffee snobs will scoff at both the lack of sophisticated beans and the guileless ambiance, and perhaps C'est Puppy Love would have been a more accurate name, but all in all, C'est l'Amour makes for a fun, unpretentious and comfy spot to indulge your sweet tooth.

C’est l’Amour
Daily 10am-10pm. 3-5 Xinyuan South Road, Chaoyang District (8447 4345)
朝阳区新源南路5-3号

Photos: Kyle Mullin, Dianping