Ladurée Is Pushing Macarons and Champagne at The Grove Right This Very Second

Lines are already forming for Ladurée, the famous macaron maker from Paris. The shop soft-opened today at holiday shopping fever dream The Grove, and word is spreading fast.

Should you feel like braving the big lines and bigger shopping bags, expect a wait in front of the pale green restaurant next door to the giant Christmas tree. Folks are already crushing inside the marble-lined room (complete with brassy chandeliers) to catch a glimpse of what could well be the biggest dessert opening of 2016. Ladurée is world-renowned for their delicate French macarons and other sweets and pastries, all artfully delivered in well-designed packaging for everyone's under-the-tree needs.

Of course the two-story space is more than just a dessert shop. There's an entire outdoor patio beneath a few leafy trees, offering a more expanded menu of coffee drinks, mini burgers, $19 caesar salads, and $40 plates of beef with foie gras. Yes, there's even full table service, complete with a stiff French manager in a mustache and suit.

Expect lunch through dinner hours moving forward at Ladurée, with a possible seasonal expansion right now due to all the shoppers around. If you’re not willing to wait for those lines to die down, you could spend your holiday avoiding The Grove altogether with a plane ticket to one of their other shops in Dubai, Australia, or beyond.

• The Definitive Parisian Macaron Test [E]