I had to go back to this café for the 2nd time and try at least one of their hot beverages before I started blogging about them. Not the greatest blog intro but here I am, satisfied and excited that we have a posh café/bakery inside the Washington Square Mall in Tigard. Yes, we definitely needed one of these in this area.
Arabella is my new favorite place to hang out with friends, kids, or just to enjoy some masala tea by myself when in the mall. With it’s luxurious look and cozy atmosphere, it didn’t take much for the people to flock to this café in no time. Man, it was crowded this Saturday evening when my friend and I met up there. We had some sweet cheese bites and a Jordanian pastry. My friend ordered some of their decadent chocolates to go with her Turkish coffee and my “Karak” tea.
This was not my first time in Arabella. My daughter and I were shocked when we went to the mall few weeks ago and saw this brand new stylish place right outside the Macy’s. The grand opening was just couple weeks before our visit. After going inside the store, we discovered this is not your normal, every day coffee place. This had a unique Middle Eastern cultural touch in every corner. A big mural on the center wall, a history on the Jordanian town called “Arabella” on one side, gorgeous front-desk with varieties of chocolates individually packed as your front focal point, a marble table displaying different kinds of sweets on another side, and finally, a barista station where you get your exotic coffees from. Oh, if you are not in the mood for any drinks or chocolates, then at least go inside for all the gift items they have to offer, like chocolate boxes, Turkish coffee sets or Jordanian teapots, and tons of other stuff.
There are quite a few numbers of chairs and tables to sit down and enjoy your coffee/tea inside the store. What surprised me the most was that I knew the owner from way before and I even bought food from her few years ago at different community events. I was just thrilled to see that she and her husband established this beautiful eatery so close to me.
During the first visit with my older daughter, we picked 4-5 different kinds of cookies, sweets, and desserts. Usually they are mostly made from figs, dates, pistachios or various other similar dry ingredients. All of them were absolutely perfect…not too sweet nor too rich or too big. These are light and airy bites to go perfectly with their big selection of teas and coffees.
For now, I am waiting to take my younger daughter to Arabella, since she is the one in our family with a sweet tooth and I know she would love whatever they have on display when we go. But seriously, do check out this place…you won’t regret it. If anything you’ll thank me for introducing you to this one of a kind café in Portland.
PS. You can request to borrow one of their red Turkish/Sufi hats in case you want to take a selfie in it 😉
Portland Culinary 