Cure Your Sweet Tooth: Dessert Spots In LA
Ice cream-stuffed donuts, mash-up pastries, and creative cookies—nothing racks up social media likes quite like dessert. Maybe you’ve seen the viral videos, double tapped Instagrams, or drooled over Snapchats—but now, it’s time to take the sugary love affair offscreen and try out these sweet treats in real life.
Afters Ice Cream
PASADENA
Join the Anti Diet Diet Club at Afters, the ice cream shop that serves up scoops with a side of serious creativity. Known for its playful flavor creations, the mouthwatering batches of jasmine milk tea, cookie butter, and peanut butter s’mores can be ordered in a cup, cone, or “milky bun” (a sweet bread sandwich). But that’s not all that makes Afters Ice Cream, which has 14 Southern California locations, stand out—customers also have their choice of fun toppings, including mini cookies, Rice Krispies, and Fruit Loops.
B Sweet Dessert Bar
SAWTELLE
Originally started as a food truck, the brick-and-mortar on Sawtelle is a one-stop shop for brownies, root beer floats, pressed ice cream sandwiches, nitro cold brews and matchas, and ube everything. But without a doubt, B Sweet Dessert Bar’s top claim to fame is its bread pudding; the shop offers more than 40 varieties, 6 of which are offered on the weekly rotating menu. Favorites include banana chocolate, glazed donut, red velvet, circus animal, and salted caramel.
Birdies
DOWNTOWN LA
Sure, the name of this DTLA spot pays homage to its famous chicken sandwiches—but any sweet tooth knows the real stars of the show here are the donuts. Made from scratch in inventive flavors, including Cinnamon Toast crunch, lemon thyme pistachio, rock candy, galaxy, and rainbow, the edible works of art (somehow) taste as good as they look.
Chocolate Chair
KOREATOWN
No, Chocolate Chair customers aren’t smoking—they’re eating “Dragon’s Breath,” the Wilshire Center shop’s social media-famous treat. A set of liquid nitrogen-doused cereal bites, the dessert is served with a choice of sauces and is guaranteed to make you feel—and more importantly, look—like a fire-breathing dragon. While the dragon’s breath is the most popular menu item, Chocolate Chair also serves up traditional shaved ice creations, a macaron sundae, ice cream, and a full drink menu.
Cookie Good
SANTA MONICA
If you can dream it, Cookie Good can make it—after all, this is the place behind the viral Cheetos cookie. Inspired by nostalgic cereals, classic treats, and, as they say, anything that will make customers feel “cookie good,” cookie flavors include Apple Jacks, Cinnabun, yellow cake mix, ice cream sundae, and glazed donut. In addition to cookies, the shop bakes up a variety of brownies, including chocolate fluffernutter, Peeps, and rocky road, as well as cookie dough sandwiches. Yes, that’s two cookies or brownies stuffed with cookie dough.
FrankieLucy Bakeshop
SILVER LAKE
Caffeine and custard reign supreme at the sweet love child from the people behind Found Coffee and Crème Caramel LA. Opened in January 2017, the Filipino-inspired spot has quickly won over foodies and photographers with vegan horchatas, upside down pie, and meringue “unicorn poop.” Follow FrankieLucy Bakeshop on Instagram to catch holiday specials and be the first to know about new items.
MILK
FAIRFAX and SILVER LAKE
From Drumsticks to dipped ice cream bars, chocolate croissant bread pudding, and malt shakes, there are a lot of reasons to love this ice cream parlor and bake shop. At the top of that list are the signature macaron ice cream sandwiches, offered in red velvet, grasshopper, and Thai tea (and more!); customers also have the option of building their own combination of macaron and ice cream.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse
HIGHLAND PARK and LARCHMONT
Few bakeries do Instagram as well as Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, the OG purveyor of desserts with two locations in LA. The San Francisco transplant and creator of the “cruffin” churns out fresh-baked pastries each morning, including the photo-ready dipped croissants, Kouign Amann, and stuffed donuts. The donut and cruffin flavors change regularly, with current options including apple tamarind jelly, smoked vanilla cream, and chocolate caramel.
Ridges Churro Bar
LOS ANGELES
The roaming home of the churro sundae, Ridges Churro Bar sells soft serve and churros in photo-ready flavors including salted caramel, Fruity Pebbles, cinnamon sugar, Nutella nut, and strawberry cheesecake. Sugar addicts can chase down this dessert shop on wheels by tracking location updates on Instagram and Twitter.
The Pie Hole
ARTS DISTRICT, HOLLYWOOD, PASADENA and GLENDALE
Whether you’re looking for a breakfast hand pie or slice of classic apple, The Pie Hole is the ultimate destination for those who appreciate the art of a perfect crust. Equally delicious and photogenic, the shop’s pies come in sweet and savory, and can be purchased in slices or whole; signature desserts include the cereal killer cheesecake, Earl Grey tea pie, and Mexican chocolate pie. Looking for the classics? Of course, The Pie Hole also offers key lime, strawberry rhubarb, and nostalgic apple crumble.