Ardmore, Ardmore restaurant, delice et chocolat

Brothers Joseph and Antoine Amrani are sweetening up Downtown Ardmore with the opening of French pastry and chocolate shop Delice et Chocolat at 7 Station Road. Ardmore's newest eatery features pastries, danish, cakes and artisan chocolates made on location, along with an espresso bar, smoothies, sandwiches, salads and house-made quiche. Guests can purchase their treats to go, or they can sit and enjoy them inside the French Parisian Bistro-inspired cafe. Delice et Chocolat is open for business Tuesday-Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm, Saturday from 8:00am to 6:00pm, Sunday from 8:00am to 2:00pm. The space formerly housed Centofanti Master Tailors.

“We are thrilled to add another specialty dining establishment to our Downtown Ardmore family,” said Christine Vilardo, Executive Director of the Ardmore Initiative. “We welcome brothers, Joseph and Antoine Amrani, as they bring a little bit of Paris to Ardmore with their high quality French pastries and cozy, café atmosphere.”

Owners Joseph and Antoine hail from France, where they developed a love and understanding of French pastries. Antoine Amrani, a head pastry chef from Le Bec Fin who was trained at the Ritz-Escoffier in Paris, brings his own unique spin on classic French recipes while providing beautiful and delicious works of art. Joseph Amrani has extensive experience opening and operating restaurants – finding his niche in the high-end French dining scene while working closely with George Perrier. He was also the general manager at Paramour in the Wayne Hotel. This brother duo is finally teaming up to bring their combined experience to Ardmore.

“My brother's art inspired my business,” said Joseph. “I was always impressed by his talent. He embodies knowledge of chocolate artisan and the artistic touch of sculptured sugar and color. His palette is sophisticated. That's what makes him a good executive pastry chef and exceptional chocolatier and macaron maker. I always worked the business side of high end restaurants. After many years of working for others we decided let's do something for us. With the help of Angela, my wife, and my son, Nick, we combined our talents to open Delice et Chocolat.”

The space was outfitted by Becky Wein Interiors with an inspired “French Parisian Bistro” color palatte of greys, light pink, and gold. The team was careful to honor the history of the space by retaining and reusing a mirror from the previous occupant, Centafoni Tailors.

“We shopped around. We looked at Gladwyne, Berwyn - everywhere on the Main Line,” Joseph said. “When this space came up we felt good about its location next to the train station and the story behind it. Previously the space was occupied by a master tailor for 75 years. We also preferred Ardmore because it's multicultural with potential for greatness. We want to be part of Ardmore's growth.”

Delice isn’t just a sideline participant in Ardmore’s growth – the Amrani brothers, and Delice et Chocolat, are already making expansion plans. The brothers are already working on transforming the available space at the corner of Station Avenue and Lancaster Avenue, formerly occupied by Radio Shack, into additional café and production areas, expanding the menu to include crepes, gelato, soups, and more.

“This is great news for Downtown Ardmore and for Delice et Chocolat,” Vilardo said. “Ardmore has welcomed the Amrani brothers with open arms and we are all excited to taste and see what they have planned for the future.”

Delice et Chocolat, ardmore, ardmore restaurant

A TASTE OF FRANCE IN ARDMORE

Signature dishes include handmade macarons featuring unique and popular flavors such as elderflower, raspberry rose petal, caramel sea salt, and mango passion. House-made cakes have also been a huge draw to the shop, featuring specialty items like the Piedmont which features a dark chocolate crunchy base with milk chocolate hazelnut mousse and the Delice, a flourless chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. For those gluten free, the brothers offer a Summer Tiramisu with vanilla mascarpone cream, strawberry lemon compote and fresh raspberry.

An early customer favorite has been the homemade mornay croissants filled with Bechamel sauce and topped with shredded gruyere. The croissants are made in limited quantities and always sell out when they are available.

Outside of the pastries and cakes, chocolates and coffee are also celebrated items on the menu.

The popular 71% dark chocolate bon-bons, caramel truffles coated with cocoa, white chocolate bark with candied orange, lime zest, pistachio, and blueberry, and 71% dark chocolate bark with cranberry, sea salt, and almond have been top sellers since the doors opened.

Coffee is supplied by Pennsylvania’s own Valerio Coffee Roasters – a unique, direct trade company that is as dedicated to its craft as the Amrani brothers. The supplier also engages in direct trade, purchasing straight from the farmer to ensure fair pricing. Barista Greg Osisek brings seven years of coffee experience at a management/leadership level in New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. He trained with Intelligentsia and Square One.

While you can find an assortment of pastries and chocolates daily and weekly, the balance of the menu is as follows:

Iced drinks

Cold brew 2.50
Iced latte 3.75
Iced cappuccino 3.75
Iced mocha 3.75
Iced chai latte “
Coco latte 4

Salad

Quinoa tabbouleh 12
Spinach, tomato, cucumber, celery, scallions, parsley & mint
Shrimp salad 14
Orange, avocado, onion, tomato, cucumber, lemon vinaigrette
Chicken green apple 12
Carrot, tomato, cucumber, dried cranberry, champagne vinaigrette

Espresso & coco bar

Coffee 1.75 2.25
Espresso 1.75 3
Americano 2.25
Latte 3.75
Café au lait 3.75
Macchiato 3.75
Cappuccino 3.75
Mochaccino 3.75
Cortado 3
Hot tea 2.75
Chai latte 3.75
Hot chocolate 4.5
Café gourmand 10

Panini & quiche

Croque monsieur
Ham, gruyere, mornay 8 with salad 12
Prosciutto & prov
Artichoke & sun-dry tomato pesto, arugula 8 with salad 12
Poulet supreme
Chicken, tomato, arugula, swiss, dijon 8 with salad 12

Delice et Chocolat is located at 7 Station Street, Ardmore, PA 19003. Tel. 610-649-7001. Delice et Chocolat is open for business Tuesday-Friday from 7am-6pm, Saturday from 8am-6pm, Sunday from 8am-2pm, and closed on Mondays. Visit Delice et Chocolate on Facebook @DeliceChocolatArdmore or Instagram @delicechocolat. Website: www.delicechocolat.com

For a formal grand opening celebration, look for Delice et Chocolat - along with just announced Pala'a Latin American Seafood - to be part of an Ardmore "grand opening" open house night featuring new and recent restaurants, eateries and bars that opened in the late spring, summer and early fall. Date and details will be announced later in the summer.