• Alex Springer

My daughter is going through a pretty serious pink phase. She's got other colors that she will throw in the mix, but the kid really resonates with anything that presents that rosy blush of pink. This affection sometimes comes out when I'm scrolling through Instagram for new places to check out. When Pink Sweets Cafe popped up on my feed, my daughter couldn't help but pause what she was doing to check out the pictures of frothy pink cupcakes and marbled strawberry cheesecakes with me. I was intrigued by their combination of European and Middle Eastern desserts, so we ended up heading to Riverton for a visit.

On the outside, Pink Sweets Cafe looks like an unassuming strip mall tenant on Riverton's main drag of 12300 South, but the inside leans hard into both the pink and sweet aspects of its name. Every square inch of the walls are clad in artificial pink-hued flowers and strings of pink orbs attached to the ceiling play vibrantly with the lighting. Their sumptuous display of desserts dominates the Eastern wall with a little nook dedicated to their gelato menu. Marble flooring, crushed velvet chairs and a flat screen TV blasting all kinds of sugarpop hits complete the scene. My daughter was absolutely losing her mind.

The sheer volume of cakes, pastries, macarons and other goodies was what had my jaw dropping. On top of their edible treats, Pink Sweets Cafe has a drink menu that includes coffee, smoothies ($5.99) and their virgin mojitos ($5.99) that can be ordered in flavors like cherry lime and pomegranate. It's the kind of place that is tailor made for squads of gal pals to commiserate over plates of gourmet desserts and fizzy, non-alcoholic mojitos.

Though I would say desserts should be your priority at Pink Sweets Cafe, their lunch menu of Middle Eastern savory pies and European-inspired sandwiches are just as lovely and tasty as their sweets. I tried their chicken ($6.99) and cheese ($5.99) savory pies, and thought both items were tasty. The chicken pie slightly edges out the cheese pie–it had everything I like about a chicken pot pie combined with some herbaceous Middle Eastern spices. The cheese pie is a gorgeous braided dough topped with sesame seeds, and there was a good variety of cheese inside, but I found myself wanting a bit more punch in the filling. Both pies come with a smoky, spicy sauce for dipping and this helped liven both dishes up.

Overall, I like their mojito and smoothie menu. We tried the Watermelon Smash smoothie ($5.99) and their cherry lime mojito ($5.99), and both drinks were flavorful and refreshing without relying too much on the sugar bomb that comes with most drinks of this nature. They're gorgeous to look at–the mojito had a lime wedge, a sprig of mint and a couple cherries floating around inside–but they look slightly better than they taste.

On to the desserts, of which we tried several. Their cakes and pastries are individually priced, but there are some great Middle Eastern treats like baklava, kataifi and tulumba that can be bundled in groups of three for $5.99. Fans of these traditional desserts will definitely find them to be textbook examples of why these sweets are adored all over the world. Excellently rendered textures, a perfect balance of honey sweetness and a subtle hint of pistachio throughout. Their menu is halal as well, so no need to worry about the thoroughness of their menu's preparation.

Pink Sweets Cafe mainly deals in cakes–beautiful circular olive oil citrus cakes ($8.99) topped with candied lemon, and symmetrical mango mousse cakes ($10.99) layered with plenty of silky mango mousse. Chocolate peanut butter fans will also dig their Peanut Explosion cake ($8.99), which layers dark chocolate cake with a smooth peanut butter cream.

I wondered how Pink Sweets would bridge the gap between the subtle sweetness of their Middle Eastern menu and their extravagant cakes, but I was happy to see that their European desserts maintained a bit of nuance. The olive oil citrus cake is a great example of this–you get a little bit of candied lemon syrup on top, but this cake's main draw is its fluffy texture and slightly buttery-sweet flavor. If you're after something with a bit more richness, the Peanut Explosion is happy to oblige–the dark chocolate is deep and unapologetically bittersweet. The light and fluffy peanut butter cream helps balance things out, but this is a dark chocolate lover's dream.

In what started as my kiddo's gleeful pursuit of all things pink, our time spent at Pink Sweets Cafe ended up being quite lovely. This is an ideal hangout for those with a sweet tooth or craving something cool to chase the heat away–or those who simply adore being surrounded by pink flowers.