Introduction
Welcome to Eat This Not That’s guide to the best dessert menu in every state! From classic ice cream sundaes to decadent cakes, we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re looking for a sweet treat to end your meal or a special dessert to celebrate a special occasion, you’ll find something to satisfy your sweet tooth in every state. We’ve scoured the country to find the best desserts in each state, so you can enjoy the best of the best no matter where you are. So, let’s get started!
The Best Dessert Menu in Every State — Eat This Not That
When it comes to dessert, everyone has their own favorite. But what about the best dessert menu in every state? We’ve rounded up the best of the best from coast to coast, so you can satisfy your sweet tooth no matter where you are.
Alabama
Head to Birmingham for the best dessert menu in Alabama. The Cheesecake Factory has a wide selection of delicious cheesecakes, from classic New York-style to decadent Oreo Dream Extreme. And don’t forget to try their signature brown bread ice cream.
Alaska
If you’re in Alaska, you have to try the desserts at the Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage. Their menu features a variety of cakes, pies, and ice cream sundaes, all made with locally sourced ingredients. Plus, they have a selection of craft beers to pair with your dessert.
Arizona
For a truly unique dessert experience, head to Phoenix and check out the menu at Sweet Republic. They specialize in artisanal ice cream, with flavors like salted caramel, honey lavender, and Mexican chocolate. And don’t forget to try their signature ice cream sandwiches.
Arkansas
If you’re in Arkansas, you have to try the desserts at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock. Their menu features a variety of cakes, pies, and ice cream sundaes, all made with locally sourced ingredients. Plus, they have a selection of craft beers to pair with your dessert.
California
For a truly unique dessert experience, head to San Francisco and check out the menu at Bi-Rite Creamery. They specialize in artisanal ice cream, with flavors like salted caramel, honey lavender, and Mexican chocolate. And don’t forget to try their signature ice cream sandwiches.
Colorado
If you’re in Colorado, you have to try the desserts at the Sweet Cow in Denver. Their menu features a variety of cakes, pies, and ice cream sundaes, all made with locally sourced ingredients. Plus, they have a selection of craft beers to pair with your dessert.
Connecticut
For a truly unique dessert experience, head to Hartford and check out the menu at The Little Creamery. They specialize in artisanal ice cream, with flavors like salted caramel, honey lavender, and Mexican chocolate. And don’t forget to try their signature ice cream sandwiches.
Conclusion
No matter where you are in the United States, you can find a delicious dessert menu to satisfy your sweet tooth. From classic cheesecakes to artisanal ice cream, there’s something for everyone. So go ahead and indulge!
It’s the question that closes out every great meal: “Did you save room for dessert?” The correct answer is always “Yes!” at these restaurants that put extra thought and time into their dessert menus. If you know where to look across the U.S., you’ll find gravity-defying, over-the-top milkshakes garnished with slabs of cake, famous pies at iconic diners, and numerous pastry chefs incorporating creative ingredients in unique ways (bread pudding made with King’s Hawaiian rolls, for instance!) These restaurants excel when it comes to ending your meal on a high note. Here’s where you’ll find the restaurants with the best dessert menus in every state. Plus, if you’re in the mood for a big hunk of meat before your treat, don’t miss The Best Steakhouse in Every State.
MoonPies and Mobile go together like, well, graham crackers and gooey marshmallows. The spongey, chocolate-encased treats are tossed from parade floats during Mardi Gras and the southern city drops a 600-pound electric MoonPie on New Year’s Eve. To keep the party going all year long, though, and pay homage to this nostalgic treat, Felix’s Fish Camp across Mobile Bay put a MoonPie a la Mode on its dessert menu alongside key lime pie, New York cheesecake, and a stunning Mocha Ice Cream Pie. “Moon pie dessert was over the top heavenly!” wrote a Yelp review.
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Your toughest decision at this Anchorage brewery is choosing whether an oatmeal stout or Bavarian hefeweizen pairs best with the creamy, chocolatey peanut butter pie. Glacier Brewhouse‘s dessert menu has plenty of delicious choices, from the donuts dusted with cinnamon anise sugar and served with a maple bourbon sauce to that aforementioned peanut butter pie with a chocolate cookie crust and peanut butter filling. “If you like Reese’s peanut butter cups, this is your jam!” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “It’s like the ultimate! I particularly enjoyed the chocolate chocolatey cookie crust.”
Inside the retro-and-cool Hotel Valley Ho, ZuZu Restaurant has a rotating menu of extravagant milkshakes that look as though they were churned in Candy Land. The theme of these $20 Show Stopper Shakes rotates monthly, but they’re always over-the-top and Instagram-worthy. A recent example is a birthday cake shake topped with cake bites, a slice of confetti cake with vanilla buttercream, sprinkles, animal crackers, rock candy sticks, whipped cream, and vanilla anglaise drip done tableside. “The food is delicious and the shakes will blow your mind,” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “I still crave the peanut butter show stopper!!! HOLY YUM!”
Locals love Atkin’s Blue Diamond Cafe for its $3.50 fried pies, which come in chocolate, apple, peach, apricot, or coconut and, for a smidge extra, can be topped with ice cream. Fluffy strawberry shortcake parfaits, cookie sandwiches, and ice cream floats served in frosty mugs are also on the menu. The coconut fried pie is one of the most popular dishes mentioned on the cafe’s yelp page, and one reviewer wrote that it was “way more decadent than any other fried pie I have ever had.”
Colorful and kitschy, the Madonna Inn is a San Luis Obispo institution. Over the years, its bakery and restaurant dessert menus have garnered devout fans, especially those who flock here for the pink champagne cake that’s topped with pink chocolate ribbon curls. To get this right, enjoy your pink cake in a bright pink booth at Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House. Also on the dessert menu are fruit pies, French pastries, banana splits, and more. “Pink Champagne cake is the best ever!!” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “It’s a must every visit.”
Across from Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies play, The Original has a stellar dessert menu with pies, slabs of ice cream cake, and brownie sundaes crafted with pretzel-pecan brittle. But sweet treats sneak onto the main menu, too. Sweet and savory croughnut sliders, for instance, are made with bacon, a wagyu patty, and onion jam. One Yelp reviewer says “they’re a must-try for any foodie.”
Elm Street Diner’s famously hedonistic desserts seem to defy gravity. The best way to keep tabs of their insanely creative dessert menu is by following them on Instagram, where it’s as though you could get a contact sugar high just by looking at their Carnival Waffle Tower that has layers of ice cream and is topped with an extra-large lollipop. Or, delight the sugary goodness of the Nutella Banana Strawberry French Toast Tower.
“Best. Diner. Ever,” one Yelp reviewer proclaimed. “Also if you love Instagramming your food, this is the place to be. It is foodie HEAVEN!”
With playfully reimagined dishes, Stone Balloon adds a little extra to its desserts, like a boozy kick in its draft root beer float and a Bavarian cream filling in the churros that are served with a chocolate dipping sauce. A menu standout is the Sticky Toffee Pretzel Bread Pudding made with warm strawberry preserves.
“For dessert we got the pretzel toffee bread pudding dessert and the creme brulee cheesecake,” a Yelp reviewer said. “Both were absolutely delicious.” P.S.: Other Yelp reviewers hint that there is a secret menu.
To make the last course extra special, Bern’s Steak House will host you in a separate dessert room where you can sidle up into booths made from old wine casks and enjoy after-dinner desserts. Choose from a menu of gourmet desserts like tableside bananas foster, 12-layer chocolate cake, espresso brownies, and more.
“Great experience, the ambiance is perfect, love the piano music,” a Facebook reviewer wrote. “There are many selections of desserts and wines, never disappoints.”
Muss & Turner’s nudges their guests to eat dessert first because their homemade treats are just that good. The creamy and rich Goat Cheesecake with candied green apples and salted caramel is a favorite. So too is the Georgia Pecan Praline Tart.
“Goat cheese cheesecake–best cheesecake I’ve ever had,” said a Foursquare reviewer.
You’ll go nuts for the macadamia-centric dessert menu at Haleiwa Joe’s. Choices include a sundae made with macadamia nut ice cream and topped with roasted macadamia nuts and another macadamia sundae with burnt caramel sauce and fresh fruits.
“I especially like the mocha ice cream Paradise Pie because it was not too sweet and balanced the hot fudge perfectly,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
A punchy pink Idaho institution slinging hamburgers and shakes, the Westside Drive-In dupes tourists with the potato on its dessert menu. Really, it’s vanilla ice cream that’s been molded and shaped like a potato and then dusted in cacao powder to trick you into thinking it’s a real spud. The sweet treat comes topped with whipped cream and cookie crumbles. Other dessert items on the menu include icebox cakes, ice cream floats, and slushies.
“Of course we had to get the World Famous Ice Cream Potato,” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “Someone has artistic talent to make it look like a potato.”
Parlor Pizza has a dessert counter (it’s called Dessert Dealer) at all three of its locations. After polishing off a Neapolitan pizza, indulge with a TACOlato, a dessert taco made with waffle shells. You can customize your dessert with toppings and fillings. But there are also several to choose from, including the Unicorn Dreams that’s made with birthday cake ice cream, gummy worms, fruity marshmallows, rainbow airheads blue-raspberry sauce, whipped cream, and a shell dipped in sprinkles. Like its namesake, it’s unbelievable.
Yelp reviewers rave about the dessert-centric tacos. One said: “My dream dessert! Bring a friend or two to split this with as it’s huge!”
Sugar cream pies are often referred to as “Hoosier Pies” because of their popularity in Indiana. Go ahead and follow the “Hoosier Pie Trail” straight to Blue Gate Restaurant, where the highly sought-after pies are known to sell out quickly. Baked daily, Blue Gate’s Hoosier pie is made from scratch with butter, brown sugar, and cream. The restaurant has plenty more pie flavors, ranging from German chocolate to cherry crumb pie.
“If you do not save room for pie after your meal, be sure to take home a piece!” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “It is wonderful!”
Provisions Lot F takes dessert seriously and offers plenty of options that will satiate your sweet tooth. The dessert menu spans seasonal fruit tarts to a chocolate espresso cake served with a Bailey’s sauce that feels just right during the colder months. The cinnamon toffee bread pudding is also noteworthy—it’s made with croissants that have been soaked in a cinnamon custard and then layered with toffee.
“Their desserts are some of the best in town!” one Yelp reviewer claimed.
Menus rotate with the seasons at The Restaurant at 1900, a fine-dining spot with dishes that have French flair and are influenced by New England. But in addition to cookie plates and rotating flavors of sorbet, you’ll find delightful desserts like strawberry cheesecake with lemon curd, berries, and Thai basil. The menu also features dessert cocktails and wines.
“For dessert, we ordered The 1900 Cookie Plate, each crafted with lots of love, like someone’s grandmother made them,” a Yelp reviewer wrote.
Really, it’s hard to pick a favorite dessert at The Village Anchor. But the carrot cake layered with cheesecake is a solid contender and so is the Hot Banana Pudding Meringue, a recipe created by the chef’s mom and that should be ordered in advance since it takes extra time to perfect.
One banana pudding fan on Yelp suggests eating dessert first it’s that good.
With a concise menu of desserts done right, Joey K’s serves bread pudding drizzled in a rum sauce, brownie pie a la mode, as well as fruit cobblers topped with generous scoops of ice cream. Come back to this creole and cajun restaurant for Sunday brunch and enjoy beignet bites topped with powdered sugar and served with Nutella on the side.
“For dessert we split the bread pudding with rum sauce and the blackberry cobbler,” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “Both are winners.”
Indulge in all of the Maine classics at Eventide Oyster Co., which serves oysters, lobster rolls, clam chowder, and more. When it’s time for dessert, pick between a classic whoopie pie with chocolate cake and buttercream or the oatmeal cream pie.
“The whoopie pies were so good, I had to order a second,” a Yelp reviewer wrote.
Convincing you that dessert after breakfast should be a thing are the oversized cinnamon rolls at Blue Moon Cafe. A beloved diner in Fells Point, the Captain Crunch French Toast is another menu item that blurs the line between breakfast and dessert in the best of ways.
The cinnamon rolls have earned “to-die-for” status on TripAdvisor.
Churros lovers, rejoice! Not only does Estefani’s Restaurant have traditional churros with dipping sauce options like caramel or chocolate, but it also serves an Oreo churro. Other desserts at this Mexican restaurant include fried ice cream, flan, and tres leches.
“The BEST churro I have ever eaten!!” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “I will be dreaming about the next time I get to lay my hands on the most delicious clouds of cinnamon sugar fluff!”
Selden Standard partners with several local farms and purveyors, so its menus are largely influenced by what’s in season. But tasty examples could include a Coffee Cashew Cream Puff or the Stone Fruit Crostata made with apricots and blueberries and topped with vanilla ice cream.
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You might just get carded when ordering a cake from The Copper Hen in Minneapolis. That’s because this chic restaurant has a rotating lineup of boozy individual cakes. Also on the menu are seasonal fruit hand pies, chocolate chip skillet cookies, cupcakes, and maple root beer floats.
Deciding on dessert is tricky business here, according to Yelp reviewers. “The chocolate cupcake we got was beautiful,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “Fluffy white buttercream icing with a moist interior that was like a dark chocolate Devil’s Food cake.”
Stop into The Crystal Grill and you’re bound to hear “You’ve got to try the pie.” This restaurant’s famous Lemon Icebox Pie has been featured on the Food Network, earning Iron Chef Cat Cora’s praise. But the Mile High Meringue is bidding for some attention, too.
Ice cream lovers, prepare to go bananas for the menu at The Fountain on Locust. (While we’re on the topic … this restaurant makes its banana splits with bruleed bananas)! You can also order boozy sauces to drizzle on your ice cream, including a banana bourbon sauce or a Kahlua hot chocolate. Plus, it’s a pretty place to enjoy an ice cream cone: The hand-painted art deco interior was created by artist and owner Joy Christensen.
“This is just a fun place to go for some of the best old fashioned ice cream around!” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “In addition, there are plenty of fun boozy ice cream drinks to choose from! The sundaes are to die for and just the right amount.”
Central Montana has its very own pie trail. Follow your sweet tooth to Havre, where The Lunch Box’s pie crust is made with a three-generation family recipe. In addition to nearly 70 sandwiches on the menu, The Lunch Box sells pies and cookies.
“Don’t miss the delicious desserts in the case at the register!” one TripAdvisor reviewer says.
Close out a special meal with a sweet treat at Mahogany Prime Steakhouse. Highlights of the dessert menu include cheesecake with marinated berries and key lime pie with a housemade walnut and pecan graham cracker crust. For those who like to sip their desserts, the steakhouse serves chocolate martinis, flights of ports, and dessert wines.
“We finished with creme brûlée and chocolate cake, we couldn’t decide which was our favorite,” one Yelp reviewer said.
Sure, there’s plenty of all-you-can-eat buffets in Vegas with seemingly endless trays of desserts. But for a unique experience, head to The Cosmopolitan and look for Beauty and Essex, which is hidden behind a pawnshop door. The chef’s nightly selection of desserts is served at your table on a “Wonder Wheel” that twirls around like a little dessert Ferris wheel.
The desserts deliver a “wow” factor, according to Yelp reviewers. One reviewer described the Wonder Wheel: “It’s basically a lit up Ferris wheel of little cups filled with various desserts of the chefs choice we had macaroons, marshmallows, cotton candy, cheesecake bites.”
A Parisian cafe in Portsmouth, La Maison Navarre sells salads, soups, and quiches. For dessert, save room for the crepes, like lemon and sugar or cinnamon sugar. You’ll also want to take home some macarons or fruit tarts.
One Yelp reviewer said the macarons rivaled those in France: “When traveling, we have always made an effort to seek out macarons. We’ve even had the good fortune to have been able to sample macarons in Paris. I can definitively say that we’ve never had better than La Maison Navarre.”
Diners have some of the very best dessert menus, and Blue Swan Diner is no exception. In addition to cakes, pies, and nut rolls, the diner serves Never on Sundae, which is vanilla ice cream topped with sticky, flaky baklava, plus chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, butterscotch, and a walnut topping.
“If you like milk shakes, you will be in heaven here,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
End your meal with Natillas. A New Mexican tradition, this light Spanish custard has a hint of cinnamon. Other dessert options at Del Charro include a mousse cake in an Oreo shell or an ice cream sundae.
While reviewers rave about the margs, they also have good things to say about the desserts. “The chocolate mousse is delicious, soft and moist,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
It’s rare to see a menu with nearly as many desserts listed as main courses. But Serendipity3 delivers. The cheerful New York restaurant is known for its Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which you can find in many forms including peanut butter, mint, salted caramel, and more. Pies, specialty sundaes, cakes, and more are on the menu. The restaurant even has a Guinness Book of World Records section that includes a $100 milkshake with edible gold.
“This is the place that you go when you want to get ice cream when you’re in New York City and have a sweet tooth,” one Yelp reviewer said.
From a cute blue house with houseplants and garage doors that open to a backyard patio, The Goodyear House serves elevated comfort foods with loads of vegan options. The Tiramisu Snack Cake with chocolate-covered toffee and the Cookie Sammie made with s’mores cookies are some attention grabbers on the dessert menu. But reviewers rave most about the seasonal Thicc Pie.
“For dessert we got the Thicc Pie,” a Yelp reviewer says. “Whatever you do, you need to get this.”
Kuchen is a heavenly cross between pie and cake. For an introduction to this tasty German treat, stop at Charlie’s Main Street Cafe, which serves strawberry and rhubarb or pear and apple kuchen. The cafe also sells date-filled cookies and caramel rolls that you can have topped with bacon.
One reviewer says both the cherry pie and caramel roll are drool-worthy.
Blue Wolf Tavern’s menu reads like a greatest hits list of desserts with homemade apple crisp, Italian tiramisu, New York-style cheesecake, and a devilishly decadent chocolate cake. The restaurant also appeals to java lovers with spiked, after-dinner coffee cocktails.
“We couldn’t finish our entrees because everything was so generous,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “But we did leave room for a passionfruit cheesecake to share. Yummmmmmm!”
Serving German and Euro-American Cuisine, Ingrid’s Kitchen has been one of Oklahoma City’s favorite choices for pastries, cakes, and pies for the past 35 years. Bakers here make a beloved “Bee Sting Cake,” which is a white sponge cake with whipped cream filling and topped with almonds and honey. Seven-layer cookies, streusel squares, cream puffs, eclairs, and more round out the menu.
“After eating my first slice of the pie I thought I had died and gone straight to pie heaven,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
The desserts at Papa Haydn are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. The artfully crafted desserts include Bourbon Balls with chocolate cake soaked in bourbon and glazed with dark chocolate ganache, Apricot White Velvet Cake made with chamomile and honey-soaked buttermilk cake, and Oregon Blackberry Cheesecake with a chocolate crust.
“This place is worth a visit for the desserts alone,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
The Left Bank Restaurant and Bar created a custom candy bar for its dessert menu. The LB Candy Bar is made with a brownie, peanut butter mousse, caramel, chocolate sorbet, and caramel popcorn. Other dessert choices include a rotating selection of housemade ice creams and Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée with lemon shortbread.
“We split a lemon cake for dessert,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “Perfect ending to a great meal.”
A downtown Providence landmark, Capriccio is a fine-dining staple that specializes in Northern Italian and Mediterranean dishes. For a grand finale to your meal, order the Crêpes Suzette-Flambé, which is prepared tableside. You can get it folded with fresh berries, too.
“Overall, you can NOT go wrong with dessert at this place,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
The Obstinate Daughter serves a must-try Tahini Cake, which has a benne seed crust, tahini caramel, and is topped with a sweet corn gelato. The crème brulée is also a popular mention in reviews. The restaurant also has an attached gelateria called Beardcat’s Sweet Shop that serves a habit-forming olive oil and sea salt gelato. What we’re getting at? Go on a dessert crawl.
“For dessert, the creme brulee is a must” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
Skogen Kitchen has a concise dessert menu of done-right desserts. Still, you’ll have a tough time choosing between the salted caramel pudding with lemon whipped cream, vanilla gelato with pine nuts and parmesan, and the double chocolate tart with lingonberries. Skogen, btw, means forest in Norwegian and is a nod to the surrounding environs.
“The salted Carmel pudding was so delicious with the toffee bits and lemon whipped cream,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
Known for its “Tex-Asian” food, Anthem’s dessert menu features unique sweet treats. The Hong Kong Waffle is a green tea bubble waffle topped with a vanilla or chocolate ice cream, drizzled with salted caramel, and then garnished with mochi candy and chocolate poky sticks. The Upside Down Pineapple Bread Pudding is made with King’s Hawaiian bread (genius, right?) as well as toasted coconut and macadamia nuts.
The Hong Kong Waffle is mentioned frequently in Yelp reviews, and one reviewer said: “The hong kong waffle was amazing, it had boba and jelly and ice cream. Definitely coming back for the waffle.”
For a diplomatic approach, order a few different desserts for the table. Tuscany’s chocolate ganache cake is definitely shareable. The strawberry-rhubarb crisp is a must-try. And the Limoncello Delight with sponge cake and lemon mascarpone mousse celebrates Italy.
“Dessert is a special experience all in itself,” according to one Yelp reviewer, who recommends the chocolate cake to share with the table.
Traditional Turkish sweets like almond pudding and kunefe (a sweet cheese pastry) are on the dessert menu at Tuckerbox. This is also the spot to get nutty, flaky baklava. The Turkish rendition features fresh phyllo layered in sheets of 10, stuffed with walnuts, and finished with a simple syrup and crushed pistachio.
“For dessert we had the Turkish pudding and the kunefe, and it is hands down, the best dessert we’ve ever eaten in the upper valley,” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “I would go here again, just for dessert.”
Hamrock’s Restaurant makes ice creams in-house, with flavors that include black raspberry chocolate chip and maple walnut. Order the caramel apple cobbler a la mode with a big scoop of the restaurant’s creamy vanilla ice cream. The chocolate cake is tasty, too.
“My flourless chocolate cake was amazing, one of the better restaurant desserts I’ve had in a while,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
The dessert menu at Bottlehouse includes homemade goodies, with a rotating selection of chocolate truffles and pot de créme. Or, opt for a dessert cheese board curated by an in-house team of mongers. The neighborhood restaurant has a selection of dessert wines to sync up with your last course.
“The chocolate truffles were so creamy and delicious,” one Yelp reviewer wrote.
You don’t have to wait for the state fair to come around to enjoy some deep-fried delicacies. Cafe One Ten serves deep-fried Oreos by the half dozen and Funnel Fries, which are snackable funnel cake sticks dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar as well as other sweet treats.
“I ended lunch with a snickers cheesecake,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “Have Mercy!! You have to order this dessert, even if you are full.. take a piece home, you won’t be disappointed!”
Goats graze on the sod roof of Al Johnson’s, a whimsical Swedish restaurant in Door County. The area is known for its cherries, which make their way onto dessert menus throughout the county. Al Johnson’s serves a warm cherry pecan bread pudding along with homemade pies, fruit tortes, and sundaes. But the lingonberry syrup and toppings is a fan favorite, with one Yelp reviewer saying: “I could eat lingonberries by the jar.”
This sweet-as-can-be artisan bakery and cafe in Jackson is a great place to grab a sandwich or breakfast before departing on a national park adventure in the Grand Tetons. But you’ll want to take desserts with you, too, including candy-studded Rice Krispy treats, scones, cinnamon brioche, housemade Animal Grahams, and more.
The Cinnamon Brioche is among the most mentioned menu items on Yelp and one reviewer wrote: “The pastries and coffee are to die for.”
Whether it’s seasonal menus featuring local ingredients or decadent desserts bound to go viral on TikTok, some of these restaurants really did save the best for last!
Can’t take a trip? Make your own healthy, but decadent desserts with the 76 Best Dessert Recipes That Could Help You Lose Weight.