Paul Bakery & Restaurant

Paul's Sahara Centre outlet is the Sharjah flagship of the French bakery-cafe chain, and it behaves accordingly: a glass pastry counter stacked with millefeuille, eclairs, tarts, and fresh-baked baguettes, a full sit-down dining room beside it, and a partial view into the open kitchen. It sits on the ground floor of the mall, which makes it equally suited to a mid-shopping coffee, a relaxed weekend breakfast, or an early Iftar during Ramadan. Parking at Sahara is generous in the morning and tighter by mid-afternoon. The breakfast menu is the strongest point of entry. Fresh orange juice, a proper French omelette, flaky croissants, and a set breakfast-for-two priced around the mid-range mark give it an advantage over most Sharjah mall cafes for a weekend morning. At lunch and dinner, the kitchen runs a broader continental menu: onion soup, a well-executed tenderloin, a strawberry crepe built in generous layers, salads, and the truffle fries that regulars often add as a side. The pastry counter is the other reason to come - the strawberry millefeuille is something of a signature, and the chia-seed pudding with mango and coconut milk is a quieter favourite. Take a box of eclairs or English cake home on the way out. Service is generally warm and the floor team is patient with questions, though consistency is the restaurant's main weak spot. Orders are occasionally misheard on busy afternoons, a stocked-out item is not unheard of by late evening, and hot dishes have been known to arrive closer to warm than hot on slow service days. Pricing runs slightly above the Sharjah average for what is essentially a mall cafe, but for reliably good pastries, a proper croissant, and an unhurried continental breakfast while shopping, this branch earns its place.