Aya Delight Wigan - Arabic Desserts Review

It has been one of those weeks at work. The kind where you sit in a meeting about a meeting, a deadline moves for the third time, and by Friday afternoon you are running on coffee and stubbornness. So after our adventures at Run and Jump I decided we were eating out. No cooking, no washing up, no negotiating over screen time.

After a trip to the Mount we were going to Aya Delights Wigan, in the old pool hall in town, because I had heard the desserts were worth crossing town for and I wanted to see what had been done with a building I have driven past for years.

Two hours later I drove home with a very full and very happy family in the back, two milkshakes for the eldest and a note on my phone about when we can go again. It was, honestly, magic. Here is the honest version, including the one thing that could be better.

A pool hall no more

Old buildings in a town centre tend to go one of two ways. They either sit empty behind a To Let board with the windows boarded up, or somebody takes a punt on them and gives them a second life. The old pool hall has had the second option, and whoever did the fit-out knew what they were doing.

Inside it is a proper Arabic dessert place. Warm colours, low lighting, somewhere to sit and stay a while rather than a queue-and-leave counter. None of the gloom you would expect from the building's previous life. From the street it still looks like a town centre unit. Ten steps in and you are somewhere else entirely.

What I liked most is that the place has not been sanded down into a generic chain interior. You would not know it used to hold pool tables unless someone told you, but it has kept its own character rather than being gutted into beige. That takes more effort and more money than most people realise, and it shows.

The ice cream is made by hand, and you can taste it

The owner makes all of the ice cream, by hand, and has won awards for it. You can tell within one spoonful. It is proper ice cream, with a texture and a depth of flavour that the wholesale tubs cannot get near. Thomas, who is at the age where he considers himself an expert on the subject, went quiet for a full minute, which for him is a review in itself.

Portion sizes are generous. We ordered less than we normally would and still came away beaten, which is a nice problem to have. The prices were good for what you get. I have paid more in a pub for a pudding that came out of a microwave and tasted of nothing much. Here you are paying for something that someone made that morning, and it feels fair.

That combination, hand-made quality and a big portion at a sensible price, is harder to find than it should be. Most places pick two out of three.

The staff set the tone, and the room followed

The staff were brilliant from the moment we walked in. Patient with Thomas, happy to talk him through the flavours, quick to bring water, and they checked on us without hovering. Small things, but they are the difference between a decent dessert and a good night out.

The other guests helped too. Families, a table of lads, a couple in the corner, everyone relaxed and nobody in a rush. Thomas made a new best friend within about ten minutes, and the two of them spent the rest of the visit comparing toppings and running back and forth to the counter. For a dad who has spent the week on video calls, watching that was worth the bill on its own.

The one thing I would change: parking

Right, the honest bit. Parking nearby is not great. We ended up down a dark back street just around the corner. Which was fine but when you're paying £30 for an experience it was the only let down. Next time we'll park in Tesco and walk around. It is the sort of thing worth knowing before you set off, so plan where you are leaving the car rather than circling the block like I did.

It is not a reason to stay away.

Bring your phone: the photos are worth it

Aya Delights is the sort of place that photographs well. The room, the lighting, the desserts when they land on the table. I took a few, Thomas took a few more, and the ones that went up got a decent reaction. Do take the photos, then put the phone down and eat. Nobody wants to sit opposite a dad doing a photoshoot while their ice cream melts.

Why a dessert shop in an old pool hall matters

There is a version of every town centre where the old buildings either become flats or sit empty until somebody knocks them down. Places like Aya Delights Wigan are the other version. They become a beacon of hope for older buildings, proof that a tired unit can be turned into somewhere people actually want to spend an evening.

But that only works if we, the local community, get behind them. New independents do not survive on a good first month and a nice write-up. They survive on regulars, on people choosing them over the drive-through, on word of mouth from folk who have actually been in and can say it is good. If we want more of this in Wigan, we have to spend our money in the places doing it.

I hope this one works out. It deserves to.

Would we go back?

Yes, and soon and I will also order less because we did not need that much. Or maybe not. I think we'll also go earlier, and experience the atmosphere for longer. It really was lovely.

If you are after a Friday night treat that does not cost the earth, check Aya Delights Wigan's opening times on Instagram or their website, then take the family in and work your way through the flavours. While you are there, tell the owner the ice cream was worth the walk from the car park. They will have made it that morning.