There are days when you want a salad.
And then there are days when you want a warm Nutella cookie with a scoop of gelato on top.
Lola’s Lane was built for the second kind of day.
Sitting on the lagoon side of Azizi Riviera Building 38, the bright yellow dessert shop is difficult to mistake for anything serious.
That is intentional.
Founder Alaa Salameh wanted Lola’s Lane to be somewhere people could step away from work, responsibilities and routines for a while and simply enjoy something good.
Before opening the shop, Alaa spent more than a decade working in PR and communications. But coffee and dessert had always been one of her favourite parts of the day.
Eventually, that small daily pleasure became the idea for an entirely new chapter.
And even the name tells that story.
Lola is Alaa’s nickname.
The “Lane” represents the new path she decided to create for herself.
Lola’s Lane.
Simple, personal and appropriately sweet.
Riviera Had Coffee. Lola Wanted to Bring the Indulgence.
Azizi Riviera is not short of cafés.
But when Alaa looked around the neighbourhood, she noticed something more specific was missing.
There were coffee shops.
There were restaurants.
But there was not really somewhere built around the combination of gelato, freshly baked cookies and brownies.
So she decided to put all three under one roof.
The concept is deliberately uncomplicated.
Come in.
Pick something you probably promised yourself you would not eat today.
Forget about that promise.
Enjoy it.
Alaa describes Lola’s Lane as a place where “all your favourite indulgences meet,” and Riviera felt like the right home for it: a growing neighbourhood where families, couples, children and residents could drop in without needing a special occasion.
First Visit? Start With the Cookies Gelato.
Ask Lola’s Lane which gelato flavour represents the shop best and the answer is immediate:
Cookies Gelato.
Rich, comforting and firmly on the indulgent side, it is the flavour Alaa recommends as the starting point for someone visiting for the first time.
Her own favourites, however, are Salted Caramel and Mango.
Salted Caramel has also developed an interesting reputation among customers.
Some apparently hesitate before choosing it.
Then they try it.
And the combination of sweet and salty tends to win them over.
But gelato is only half the story here.
The Cookies Aren’t Sitting Around Waiting for You
One detail changes the experience considerably:
Lola’s Lane bakes its cookies fresh for every order.
So instead of picking a cookie that has spent hours sitting behind glass, you get it warm and soft.
The shop says it uses premium ingredients including Belgian chocolate, with the intention of making the cookie feel properly indulgent rather than simply being something on the side of a coffee.
Brownies are also baked fresh, while the drinks menu includes specialty coffee made using carefully selected beans.
And if you are wondering which cookie to order, there is no single answer.
The Kinder and Nutella Cookies are customer favourites.
But Alaa also points people toward the Cinnamon Cookie and Birthday Cookie when they want something a little different.
Now Put the Gelato on the Cookie
This is where restraint becomes increasingly unrealistic.
Yes, you can combine the cookies and gelato.
And according to Alaa, you probably should.
Her preferred combination is:
Cinnamon Cookie + Vanilla Gelato.
For something richer:
Nutella Cookie + Vanilla Gelato
or
Kinder Cookie + Vanilla Gelato.
Warm cookie underneath.
Cold gelato on top.
At that point, calling it a “snack” is probably being optimistic.
Riviera Has Already Started Picking Its Favourites
One of the better signs for any new neighbourhood business is when customers stop experimenting with the menu and begin walking in already knowing what they want.
That is apparently starting to happen at Lola’s Lane.
A family of three now visits almost every day for the Pistachio Gelato.
Other regulars come specifically for the Flat White and Iced Spanish Latte.
And one particularly committed Kinder Cookie customer returns two or three times every week for a freshly baked one.
For a business built around cravings, having people develop extremely specific cravings for your products is probably the desired outcome.
The Yellow Is Part of the Experience
The bright yellow branding is not just there to make Lola’s Lane easy to spot.
Alaa wanted the shop to feel playful.
Happy.
Uncomplicated.
The idea is that parents can come with children, friends can sit together, couples can stop in after dinner, or someone can simply walk over from a nearby Riviera building when the dessert craving wins.
It is less about creating a formal café environment and more about becoming one of those easy neighbourhood places where people feel comfortable dropping in repeatedly.
Because ultimately, Lola’s Lane is not trying to convince Riviera that dessert is necessary.
That argument was probably won a long time ago.
It is trying to make itself the place you think of when you decide you want one.
And the Menu Won’t Stay Still
Regular customers should also expect new things.
Lola’s Lane says it plans to keep introducing new gelato flavours and developing seasonal cookie flavours, meaning the menu will continue changing rather than staying fixed.
So even if you already have your Pistachio Gelato or Kinder Cookie routine, there may be something new attempting to disrupt it soon.
NeighbourNett’s First-Visit Order
If we were building a first visit from Lola’s own recommendations, it would look something like this:
Start: Cookies Gelato
Cookie: Kinder or Nutella
Combination: Cinnamon Cookie + Vanilla Gelato
Something different: Salted Caramel Gelato
Coffee: Flat White or Iced Spanish Latte
Then ignore anyone who asks why you ordered both a cookie and gelato.
That is quite literally the point.
Find Lola’s Lane
Location: Azizi Riviera, Building 38, Shop 1 — lagoon side
Opening hours: Daily, 10 AM–10 PM
Instagram: @lolaslanedxb
Menu: https://www.neighbournett.com/directory/lola-s-lane
WhatsApp / Calls: 058 505 9098
Delivery: Talabat and Deliveroo
Nearby Riviera delivery: Free to nearby buildings
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