Sweets by Shayda

Our treats were SO good!! Also got an iced coffee and that was perfect! Such a cute little place, would definitely recommend:)

Taste of Carolina - Durham Food Tour - 23 Dec 2023Wow, Taste of Carolina really delivered some excellent bites in Durham today. Our agenda today included stops at: Toasted, Boricua Soul, Queeny's, Bull City Burger, sweets by Shayda. All restaurants did an excellent job. There were six in our party. Here are my individual notes. Toasted - Toasted has been thriving in Durham for over a decade. They offer unique soups and toasted bites/panini's. We were served a cauliflower soup and an avocado crustini. I loved the cauliflower soup. It was surprisingly creamy and tasty. Two In our party loved the avacado crustini, Boricua Soul - This place is special. The husband and wife owners have a captivating story to share about the historical and Philosophical origins of their culinary adventure. They served us a "lunch box" with perfectly prepared Puerto Rican roast pork, greens (soul food) , Mac & Cheese (soul food) and tostones (Puerto Rican). It was a huge bite and was the favorite stop for 5 people in our party. Next time we attend a Durham Bulls game we plan to eat here.Queeny's - is a friendly, creative bar / pub. They served us upscale nachos and a glass of dry cider. The nachos were very popular. The dry cider was interesting and unique. They owner made us feel welcome and encouraged us to try the many well designed drinks and bar foods.Bill City Burgers - The owner do an outstanding job describing his unique commitment to serving only Greason fed beef raised locally and making every item served here in house by his team of chefs. The burgers were excellent. They were bursting with beefy flavor and cooked perfectly. Be sure to try the deep fried pickles. So unique and loved by all. Two in our party picked this stop as their "Best Bite" selection. Sweets by Sayda - our last stop offered devine French Pastries. Macrons, croissants and other delicacies were shared. Share these pastries with those you love. They will treasure these treats.Lastly, I would like to share our deep appreciation to the folks at "Taste of Carolina" food tours. Our hosts had to manage finding a fifth stop today since their schedule included a venue who had to close due to kitchen staff all falling ill. In addition, I was recently released from the hospital due to foot surgery. These made waking very difficult. Our hosts did everything possible to make sure I was included in all of the stops. We plan on doing these Taste of Carolina Tours in the future: Hillsborough, Carrboro and Winston-Salem.

On March 3rd we made what has become a now regular trek to downtown Durham to get some of the cakes there. Our favorites are the Opera cakes. We also enjoy the creative selection like the items in the photos below including an Eclair and a Hazlenut cake. We actually have yet to try the namesake Macarons. The opera cake in particular is so hard to find with a flavor like I was used to getting in France back when I traveled there regularly. So its really a treat for me. We are generally getting to know what Durham offers, coming from North Raleigh. Shayda is definitely worth the trip and is now one of our key regular stops in Durham along with Pizzeria Toro. Metered parking is available easily across the street during the weekday afternoons when we usually come. The staff is great to talk to about what is being made. Shayda is always there to answer any questions as well. Really everything we have tried is excellent so we keep trying more. The ambiance is classic french cafe actually and so I usually get a double espresso to go with the opera cake I usually order. Its rarely crowded when we come so getting a table has been easy so far. We often get things to go for guests coming over as well. Lovely family bakery. So fun.

I have been drooling over this place on Instagram (IG) for months and just needed the right time to go. Well for a New Year's Eve treat was the perfect time. My mom and I went in and so many things looked amazing. We selected 3 pastry items and I got 6 macarons. Parris Brest with pistachio cream - I wanted more pistachio flavor but the quality was top notch Opera Cake - a stand out for sure, such a strong flavor with a lovely cream. Lemon and Lavender mousse cake - the lavender was subtle which I prefer and the texture was divine. Overall, the macarons were a perfect consistency, the Tiramisu was lovely and coffee heavy. The Chai spice had some nice nutty notes. The others were lacking the robust flavor I would have wanted but overall were good. Overall, it is a place to try for decadent desserts that are beautiful and baked to perfection. I will be back to try more.

Such a cute sweets shop!! I'd say some of the best macarons I've ever had ! If you're in Durham, stop by !

This is the cutest little bakery. If you love macarons, this is your new place. They are yummy! Please check out the massive variety of macarons and pastries.

If I could give this 10 stars I would.Hands down, the BEST, macrons we have ever had!We got a 12 pack of macarons because it was so hard to decide. We went with (left to right): s'mores, champagne pop!, salted caramel, red velvet, birthday cake, tiramisu, strawberries and cream, raspberry, lavender, strawberries and cream, dark cherry cheesecake and lemon.Honestly, it is so hard to describe how good these are other than they aren't like the slightly crunchy ones we have gotten at other macaron shops. They are like biting into little clouds of paradise. So light, so full of flavor and not overly sweet. Pure perfection!Let's just say that they are so good, we have no shame in driving from Fuquay Varina to get some. lol

Really excited to have another good dessert place in town! We came here on a whim after eating lunch in downtown durham and wanted some desserts. We ordered a variety of pastries and enjoyed everything. We love that the pastries are not too sweet!My favorite items are the passionfruit chocolate mousse and the chocolate hazelnut crunch. The chocolate mousse was smooth, rich, and velvety. The passionfruit flavor was just enough, so it didn't overpower the chocolate but actually enhanced it. The hazelnut crunch contained a lot of hazelnuts, and the name doesn't lie because you get a crunch with every bite. There was a subtle chocolate and hazelnut flavor, and they balanced each others well. We were immediately assisted when we entered, and our order was fulfilled in a timely manner. We got our order to go, but there were seatings if you wanted to dine in.

After reading all of the wonderful reviews, I couldn't wait to have a taste of this place. The shop is small and cute, with a very instagram-esque pink rose wall. There are at least 5-6 small tables on one side of the wall if anyone wants to dine in.We came to try macaroons, one of the cakes (Rose cake), almond croissant, and their coffees. I thought the rose cake was a bit disappointing. Unless you had a bite of the strawberry jam, located on only one half side of the cake, it just tasted like whip cream surrounded by a thin wall of white chocolate. For 8 dollars... this was not worth it. It's cute though! For the macaroons, I thought the flavors were really hit or miss. I really enjoyed the Earl Grey and Coffee flavored ones, and the smores where the "burnt" spot was located had a lot of flavor. But the birthday cake, champagne, and even nutella just all tasted the same ... vanilla and sugar. Now for the best part of the whole order - the almond croissant. If I come back - it would ONLY be for this magical pastry. It had the advantage of coming fresh out of the oven, but OMGOSH this was the best almond croissant I have ever had. It was flaky, crispy, warm, a little gooey in the center from the delicious almond filling, and basically perfection in a croissant. The only thing that could make this better is to lose the powdered sugar on the top. Taste: 3/5, but croissant alone is 5/5Presentation: 4/5Recommend to a friend?: No - unless for almond croissantConsistent: 1st timeCost: $$$Parking: Street parking, or parking deck within 20 feet

Parking is along the street or where ever you can find it. We lucked out and got a park in front of the store. It is so cute in side. There a few tables to sit, but they were full when I dropped in. My daughter loves macarons. We picked 6 ($16). They had other pastries and coffee. A selfie wall full of beautiful pink flowers is located in the front. The owner seems to be nice, maybe shy. She has a wonderful concept and her desserts are amazing. They are well packaged and made it safely home without being damaged through the ride. My daughter quickly opened the box of macarons as soon as she could. I'm not sure if they all made it through the night. She said they were delicious. We will definitely be back.