Review: 42691 Garden Restaurant from LEGO® Friends

When the LEGO® Friends 2026 sets were first revealed, one in particular caught my eye. 42691 Garden Restaurant seemed to be a standout in terms of the building style as well as showcasing the new 430 Warm Pink colour.

Although we have already written two articles about the 2026 LEGO Friends sets – new moulds review and overview and recolours – we wanted to look in more detail at this beautiful set inspired by North African architecture.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

42691 Garden Restaurant

• Release date: 1 January 2026
• Pieces: 1465

Price: 

• US$ 129.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 179.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 119.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 199.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 229.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 129,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 129,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 129,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 569.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1799,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 1099.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

New moulds

The only new mould is the weeping willow leaf that we have seen in numerous sets released on 1 January, and here you get two colours of it.

• 3x Plant, Leaf Weeping Willow in Green (6586531 | 7741)
• 4x Plant, Leaf Weeping Willow in Lime (6567510 | 7741)

We first reviewed the weeping willow branch in LEGO® Icons 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden. You can see Thomas' analysis in his review of the LEGO Autumn Cottage Garden. 

Recolours

This set has a host of elements in warm pink, one of two new colours for 2026.  You can read more about this new colour in my article discussing 430 Warm Pink and 431 Blue Violet, which also points to sets using the new colour.

• 49x Brick 1 x 2 in Warm Pink (6583488 | 3004)
• 8x Brick Arch 1 x 6 x 2 in Warm Pink  (6584817 | 15254)
• 2x Brick Round 2 x 2 Dome Bottom in Warm Pink (6584822 | 15395)
• 15x Support Round 1 x 1 x 6 Solid Pillar in Warm Pink (6584818 | 43888)
• 27x Brick 1 x 1 in Warm Pink (6584821 | 3005)
• 20x Tile 1 x 1 with Groove in Warm Pink (6584825 | 3070)
• 8x Brick Round 1 x 1 Open Stud in Warm Pink  (6584823 | 3062)
• 10x Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Warm Pink (6584824 | 78666)
• 7x Tile 1 x 6 with Groove in  Warm Pink (6587516 | 6636)

• 1x Brick 1 x 2 x 2 with Inside Stud Holder in Medium Azure (6576806 | 3245)
• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 4 x 3 in Dark Pink (6584826 | 80543)
• 10x Fence Lattice 1 x 4 x 2 in Pearl Gold (6584827 | 3185)
• 3x Equipment Cup / Teacup Saucer with Recessed Stud on Top in Dark Orange (6584833 | 38799, 3576)
• 3x Hat / Funnel with Ring Handle (Tin Man) in Dark Orange (6584834 | 45756) - this is the first recolour of the Tin Man hat!
• 43x Brick Curved 1 x 1 x 2/3 Double Curved Top, No Studs in Green (6584836 | 49307)
• 1x Equipment Teapot in Metallic Silver (6588999 | 23986) - bound to be a popular recolour

New prints

Our favourite chonky cat is back, in a new colour with new print.

• 1x Animal, Cat, Chubby with print in Reddish Orange (6575432) 

This one is called Poppy, and also appears in 42696 Animal Vet Clinic released at the same time.

There are three fantastic new printed tiles:

• 16x Tile 1 x 2 with print in Trans-Clear (6581618)
• 8x Tile 2 x 2 with print in White (6581616)
• 8x Tile 2 x 2 with print in Blue (6581617)

These vibrant, geometric designs are inspired by Islamic and Moorish styles such as zellij, also featured in LEGO Icons set 10359 Fountain Garden (see Caz's review of the LEGO Fountain Garden).

Sticker sheet

There's one small sticker sheet with details like the restaurant sign, the menu, a notebook page, some shelving and a mirror. Look closely at sticker 3; I think one of the resident cats had been exploring before the decorative paintwork dried!

Rare elements

In one previous set:

• 1x Window 1 x 2 x 2 2/3 with Rounded Top in Blue (6535152 | 30044)
• 1x Brick Round 3 x 3 x 2 Recessed Center with 2 x 2 Studs and Axle Hole in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6551268 | 73111)
• 2x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Inverted in Bright Purple/ Dark Pink (6553406 | 36840)
• 2x Tile Round 1 x 1 Half Circle in Earth Green/ Dark Green (6554615 | 35399) 
• 4x Plate Special 2 x 3 with Cloud Edge in Dark Orange (6528543 | 5518) 
• 3x Tile 2 x 6 in Dark Orange (6553755 | 69729) 

In two previous sets:

• 1x Animal, Cat, Kitten Sitting with Open Eyes, White Mouth, Nougat Paws print in Nougat (6542234 | 113036)
• 1x Glass for Frame 1 x 6 x 6 in Medium Nougat (6530832 | 42509)

Mini-dolls

The set includes 5 characters, with Zahra, Aliya, Autumn, Zac and Olly minidolls, plus 3 cat figures. I have listed below the new mini-doll elements that appear in the set; everyone apart from poor Aliya gets some new clothes.

Zahra

Zahra is a lovely looking new character exclusive to this set:

• Mini-doll Head, Black Eyebrows, Brown Eyes, Nougat Lips in Nougat (6581613)
• Mini-doll Torso Girl with Nougat Arms and Hands with Magenta Dress, Gold Trim, Straps print in Nougat (6593256)
• Minidoll Hips and Full Length Skirt with Gold/Dark Green Line print in Magenta (6581615)

Aliya

The only rare element is Aliya's torso as it has only appeared once before:

• Mini-doll Torso Girl with Medium Brown Arms and Hands with Coral, Medium Blue, Bright Light Yellow Top print in Medium Brown (6541161), also in 42664 Travel Boat Adventure

Autumn

Autumn has new torso and legs, exclusive to this set:

• Mini-doll Torso with Left Limb Reduction, Light Nougat Arms and Hand with Lavender Dress, Yellowish Green Straps, Belt print in Light Nougat (6593285)
• Mini-doll Hips and Shorts with Light Nougat Legs, Dark Blue Sandals print in Medium Lavender (6594985)

Zac

Zac gets new torso and cargo shorts; the same Zac mini-doll also appears in 42696 Animal Vet Clinic, another 1 January release.

• Mini-doll Torso Boy with Reddish Brown Arms and Hands with Dark Turquoise Shirt, Orange Collar, Motorcycle print in Reddish Brown (6593280)
• Mini-doll Hips and Cargo Pants with Dark Brown Boots print in Yellow (6594989)

Olly

Olly has new torso and legs, exclusive to this set:

• Mini-doll Torso Boy with Warm Tan Arms and Hands with Bright Light Blue Open Shirt, White Decorations, Blue/Dark Blue Stripes Shirt print in Warm Tan (6593290)
• Mini-doll Hips and Mid-Length Shorts with Warm Tan Legs, Medium Blue Shoes, White Laces, Soles print in Reddish Orange (6593292)

I love those shiny metallic shoes!

Animals

The restaurant has three cats wandering around patrolling on important missions.

Nugget (6530832) is nougat in colour and also appeared in two 2025 LEGO Friends sets.  Poppy (6575432) is the new reddish-orange chonky cat. Peri (6520143) is a medium brown cat who also came with three 2025 LEGO Friends sets. 

The build

Ground floor

This architecture of this set is similar to a riad; seen in North Africa and the Andalusia area of southern Spain, where there is a strong Moorish influence from their previous rule. The word riad comes from the Arabic for garden, and these homes will typically have a central courtyard which provides a light, private area that transitions into the interior part of the building. 

While there would often be a central fountain in the past, a small pool or shallow water feature is also a more modern interpretation. The beautiful geometric tiling is perfect with the 1x2 trans light blue bricks giving the impression of water depth. I really love the colours and pattern used for this section; you will see that it is repeated throughout other areas in the set.

The other printed 2x2 tiles are used to create the larger seat in the courtyard and a smaller matching chair inside. I love the attention to detail with the silver teapot and a mix of tea and water on the table. There are numerous tables in the set, all built in the same way with jumper plates and the reddish-brown tap (4599) used as legs.

There's a stunningly ornate light in the entrance (in fact four are dotted around the final set) which makes good use of the new 1 x 2 printed trans-clear tile (6581618).  These new printed tiles would also make great detailed windows or even a microscale rose window.

The same tiled flooring pattern from the pool is repeated on the floor of the main entrance.  I really love the combination of colours with medium azure, dark turquoise and blue tiles surrounding the new printed 2x2 tiles. The tiles themselves have a touch of warm pink on the geometric design to tie everything together. Archways are another very distinct feature of this architecture and the set certainly has plenty of arches!

The main entrance has a layered archway that gives both depth and a sense grandeur with the white curtains, dark pink archway and then the warm pink scalloped interior arches.  The scalloped edge of the innermost layer uses the newly recoloured Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Warm Pink  (6584824 | 78666) to great effect.  I have removed the 1x6 warm pink tile on the left hand side to show the SNOT-work on the inside.

There's a cleverly constructed section that sits between the courtyard and the inside sitting area.  On one side we have a water feature with the repeating tiled pattern, while on the other there is a fireplace with a mantlepiece.  The 180 degree reversal of the fireplace side is achieved using 1x1 brick with clip (65460) connected to the 1x1 'nipple' stud (31561) as connection points.

Upper floor

The first thing to be built on the upper floor is a seating area complete with tagines ready on the table. 

Tagine is both the name of the typical North African (especially Moroccan) stew, and the earthenware conical lidded pot it is served in.  The recoloured saucer ((6584833 | 3576) and tin man's hat (6584834 | 45756) in dark orange are absolutely perfect!

Another dark orange recolour appears both here and in a second seating area for the dining chairs. The Plate Special 2 x 3 with Cloud Edge in Dark Orange (6528543 | 5518) is ideal to depict ornate high backed wooden chairs. 

The upper floor also contains a small dividing hall with the patterned tile making another appearance. This opens into a food preparation area and then a bathroom complete with toilet and wash basin.    I wouldn't really call this a kitchen as it seems to be an area where food is laid out ready to take to guests.  I'm slightly concerned that the toilet is next to the food area, but food hygiene is clearly not an issue in Heartlake City.

There is not actually a doorway between the food and the bathroom so while I am assuming the two areas are connected, if this was a complete building, perhaps the entrance would be separate. The areas have to be accessible for play naturally.

You can see a blue 1x2x2⅔ arched window (6535152 | 30044) used as the toilet for the bathroom. 

Rooftop

The rooftop dining area has the same ornate chairs and tiled flooring as before. The table is set and a tagine has been served ready for consumption. The pergola offers some shade, while the little lemon tree provides both greenery and a touch of colour.

Completed set

From the front, the completed set looks fantastic.  The sloping roof uses a combination of green, dark green and dark blue 1x1x⅔ curved bricks (49307), which I think represent the green fez clay tiles that can be seen of the roofs of many historic buildings in Morocco. These tiles are handcrafted and have a variation in shade stem back to Moorish influences, where green was a important colour in Islam.

The foliage is not overwhelming but the combination of the tall palm tree design and the smaller greenery dotted around work well to frame the set.

The weeping willow leaf (7741) looks great when stacked and rotated as you can see above the front entrance, especially backed by contrasting shades of pink.

The opened back and side is typical for LEGO sets to allow play, and is entirely appropriate for a set aimed at children, who don't ask how guests access the rooftop area.

Conclusion

I would not describe myself as someone who likes pink, but there's no denying that the combination of dark pink and the new warm pink looks rich. The new printed tiles tie the warm pink, medium azure and dark turquoise together perfectly.

While I personally prefer minifigures over mini-dolls, I think that the 5 mini-dolls and 3 cats are a nice mix in the set. Zahra is a lovely new figure with nougat skin tone, and her magenta and gold dress looks good. The chonky cat, recoloured in reddish-orange here, is always welcome!

The set is priced US$129.99/ £119.99/ 129.99€ which gives a price per part (PPP) of 8.2p/ 8.9c/ 8.9c. 

Set 42691 is a showcase for the new 430 Warm Pink colour as you get 146 useful elements in this hue. In addition, I love the new printed tiles and I think they will have wider use in MOCs... plus we all need a silver metallic teapot!  

I don't have too much to complain about other than its name, as I'm not entirely convinced this is a restaurant. I feel that this is more of a guest house and we are just seeing half of it, as the sleeping areas, kitchen and staff quarters are all in the other area of the building! I'm not sure it really matters though as I still really loved this set; the highlight of the January wave.

Buy on LEGO.com

 

READ MORE: Overview of techniques and all the recolours found in LEGO® Speed Champions January 2026 sets

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