New Bakery Alert: Discover Scrumptious Artisan Pastries in Haverhill, MA

In real estate, they often use the words "not a driveby" to describe a place that's deceivingly wonderful on the inside, but not much to look at outside.

The same is true for the newest French and Moroccan Bakery in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

The grand opening for Dar Rafiki was in early September, and since then it's getting rave reviews by locals and catching on quickly as one of the only French patisseries on the North Shore.

Every time the bakery post photos of what the special is for the day, the post generates plenty of comments. One patron claimed she didn't make it out of the parking lot before she ate her entire bag of delicacies.

The new business is located at 389 Main Street, Haverhill, MA in the plaza where Dominos used to be.  They are open early and close late, from 6am to 9pm.

While the store serves delectable pastries and breakfast cakes, they also serve savory Moroccan dishes which are equally as good as the pastries.

The signature pastry is a croissant cube.  It's a denser version of the French crescent, baked in a cube, then filled with something different daily, and has a surprise topping.  Patrons are out of their minds for the cube.

An example of flavors are almond frangipane, hazelnut Nutella, raspberry, lemon, chocolate Dubai, blueberry, honey lavender, and pistachio to name a few.  The inside of the cube is infused with one of these flavorful fillings.

Sounds divine, and it is.

According to umlconnector.com, the owner-chef is Ihoussine Rafiq, who has extensive culinary experience in Morocco and the United States.  He "managed the kitchen and planned menus as Chef de Cuisine of the Westin Hotel at Copley Place in Boston", and worked at other restaurants and bakeries in Boston.

Rafiq then opened a food truck in Lowell featuring in Mediterranean food. Then Rafiq found another niche, serving weddings and film crews/casts in an even larger catering truck.

He wisely noticed there were not many French bakeries outside of Boston, so he took a shot in downtown Haverhill, and the word is spreading fast, so try something soon.