Things look grim out there these days. City under attack. Government killing citizens. Mayor not saying shit about it.
The one upshot is the vast quantity of sweet things this city has to offer. Japanese toffees and titanic halo-halos and pretty pan de elotes and complex arrangements of fried milk and nostalgic dipped ice cream cones.
Things that you shouldn't feel the least bit bad about eating right now, because we're living in an era where world leaders just do what they want based on their guts.
So why shouldn't you?
These are the most memorable desserts in L.A. right now.
COTTON CHEESECAKE AT CAMELIA~ ARTS DISTRICT
Sliding into a bar seat at Camelia feels like joining a small ritual. The lights are dim, the vibes are high, and with an open kitchen, it's easy to watch everyone hustling through a smooth symphony of service, which is half the fun.
Its diaphanous Japanese cotton cheesecake is soft as stratus clouds; soft, bouncy, with balanced sweetness, it is served with genmaicha (a Japanese green tea with roasted brown rice) ice cream, kuromitsu toffee, and a white-chocolate corn crunch.
It hovers. It floats. And then it disappears.
1850 Industrial St. Los Angeles, CA 90021
Closest Metro lines and stops: Bus Line 66 - "Olympic/Dacotah" or Bus Line 251 - “Soto/Olympic”
HONEYCOMB ICE CREAM AT ANTICO NUEVO ~ LARCHMONT
Seven rotating flavors of ice cream keep Antico Nuovo regulars guessing, but the honeycomb remains a quiet anchor you can depend on, with a taste like soft serve that was tutored by someone’s Sicilian grandmother. The texture is impossibly silky, melting almost before the spoon reaches your mouth.
But that's not all. Behind the counter, the kitchen works through seasonal cannoli and torta Siciliana, their aromas drifting into the dining room like warm invitations. The move here is simple: a starter, a pasta, and three desserts. You deserve it.
4653 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004
Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 14/37 - "Beverly/Western"
DARK CHOCOLATE MOCHI AT MORIHIRO ~ ECHO PARK
Morihiro’s move into a more casual Echo Park space is one of those shifts that completely changes how you can experience the sushi sensation. You can walk in and order what might be the best spicy tuna roll of your life, clean, balanced, no unnecessary theatrics, along with a vegetable tempura so light and shatter-crisp that it makes an actual sound when you bite into it, all accompanied by a cocktail made by a rising star bartender, Han Suk Cho.
Finish with its dark chocolate mochi, chilled and springy with a deep cocoa center that hits without being heavy. The type of dessert that makes you thankful a place like this exists.
1115 W. Sunset Blvd. Ste. 100 Los Angeles, CA 90012
Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 4 - "Sunset/Beaudry"
KAPE HALO HALO AT LASITA ~ CHINATOWN
Walking into Lasita is like walking into a party hosted by a family you haven’t met yet immediately feel comfortable with. Their kape halo halo takes the classic Filipino dessert and reshapes it into a universe of layered textures: condensed-milk ice cream, leche flan, bouncy coffee jelly, tapioca, pinipig (flattened rice) granola, and a snowfall of shaved ice.
Every spoonful shifts temperature and texture, from cool to creamy to crunchy, from bitter coffee notes to warm sweetness. The best tip to offer you is to order the pork belly lechon before enjoying this dessert. But if facing a choice between the two, always do the halo halo.
727 N. Broadway #120 Los Angeles, CA 90012
Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 45 - "Broadway/Ord"
STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING AT WILDE'S ~ LOS FELIZ
Inside Wilde's, a new British spot with Welsh rarebit and meat pies in Los Feliz, warm brass lights reflect off wood tables as dim candlelight spreads throughout, giving the vibes of a feminine Dunsmoor.
While this space is as romantic as it gets, its sticky toffee pudding is a formidable seductress, landing on the table still steaming and sufficiently soaked with toffee sauce. It’s comforting without being heavy, like a British classic translated through the lens of L.A.’s culinary imagination.
1850 Hillhurst Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027
Closest Metro lines and stops: Bus Line 217 - "La Cienega/Jefferson Station" or Metro B Line - "Vermont/Sunset"
CHOCOLATE TART AT DAMIAN ~ ARTS DISTRICT
The chocolate tart at Damian is nearly black, a glossy slice giving off the scent of roasted cacao the moment it’s plated. Paired with smooth espresso ice cream, it leans dark and deep, the kind of dessert that slows the table’s conversation for a minute or two. If you’re celebrating, or simply want more excellent desserts, insiders know to ask about the off-menu tres leches cake topped with Harry’s Berries. And now you do, too.
2132 E. 7th Pl. Los Angeles, CA 90021
Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 60 - "Santa Fe/Violet"
BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM AT DUNSMOOR ~ GLASSELL PARK
The smell of wood-fire slips through the dining room at Dunsmoor, clinging to your clothes like campfire perfume. Most diners talk about the chocolate cake, and they’re not wrong, but the housemade butter pecan ice cream deserves its own spotlight. Salty, sweet, and crunchy, it hits every pleasure zone at once. If you can’t get a reservation at what so many people consider one of L.A.'s best, pop into the back bar for a simpler menu that still carries all the hits.
3501 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90065
Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 251 - "Eagle Rock/Avenue 35"
PAN DE ELOTE AT KOMAL ~ HISTORIC SOUTH CENTRAL
It's no secret that Mercado La Paloma offers the greatest bang for your buck and one of the most special Los Angeles dining halls we have. Komal is most known for their authentic, masa-based dishes, made from heirloom corn nixtamalized in-house. Founded by Fatima Juarez and Conrado Rivera, Komal offers traditional street food like tacos, tlacoyos, quesadillas, and the incredible pan de elote. The desserts at Komal are rotating and unique, always something to look forward to. The current offering, pan de elote, is a sweet corn cake served cold, topped with a seasonal fruit jam.
3655 S. Grand Ave. C2 Los Angeles, CA 90007
Closest Metro lines and stops: Metro J Line - "37th/USC" or Bus Line 45 "Broadway/36th"
MILK TOFFEE ICEBOX CAKE AT CHAINSAW CAFE ~ LARCHMONT
Karla Subero Pittol is a Venezuelan-born, L.A.-raised chef and artist based in Echo Park who just opened Chainsaw Cafe, her first brick-and-mortar in Larchmont's Melrose Hill neighborhood, after gaining massive respect and a cult following with her Chainsaw pop-up. Its reputation was built on chef Karla's beloved icebox pies. The milk toffee iced box cake is equal parts savory and sweet; its richness cut by cream and pistachios on top. A unique dessert that feels like a little gift to yourself.
5022 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038
Closest Metro lines and stops: Bus Lines 10/48 - "Melrose/Western"
MAFROUKEH BEL-FESTUK AT CAROUSEL ~ GLENDALE
At Carousel, the Lebanese pistachio-and-cream dessert known as mafroukeh bel-festuk feels every bit as historic as the recipe. The aroma of pistachios fills the air before it even hits the table. It’s floral, nutty, and sweet in a calm, confident way that doesn’t try too hard.
On the menu, this dessert is described simply as “Carousel-made and guaranteed to be the best you’ve ever tasted.” Honestly? Period. Glendale families have been ordering it for generations. And you'll quickly understand why.
304 N. Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91203
Closest Metro lines and stops: Bus Line 90 - "Glendale/California," or Bus Line 94 - "Broadway/Brand," or Metro Express Bus Line 501 - "Brand/California"
SAMANCO AT RESTAURANT KI ~ LITTLE TOKYO
Tucked away in Little Tokyo, Restaurant Ki is an intimate, ten-seat space dedicated to contemporary Korean cuisine. Seasonal inspiration guides each menu, allowing ingredients to shine through a careful balance of flavor, texture, and restraint.
“I wanted to reimagine Samanco, a nostalgic Korean ice cream sandwich, in a playful but unexpected way," says Chef Ki of the dish. "The shell is made from a chewy, sweet rice dough, shaped like a mushroom. Inside, we fill it with a chocolate ganache made from cacao grown along the Amazon River, paired with a porcini mushroom ice cream—earthy, slightly savory, and balanced against the sweetness of the chocolate.”
This dish is an art installation as much as it is a treat to perfectly balance a savory meal at this budding new restaurant.
111 S. San Pedro St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Closest Metro lines and stops: Bus Line 76 - "1st/Judge John Aiso"
FRIED MILK AT UCHI ~ WEST HOLLYWOOD
If someone told us the fried milk dessert at West Hollywood's Uchi is the "best dessert on Earth," we'd be unable to disagree and just stand there nodding like weirdos.
It's a bowl of flash-fried pastry cream enshrouded in dusted cornflakes, with chocolate syrup, chocolate mousse, cream, and thin sheets of dark chocolate cookies on the side, oozing with liquid cream at your fork's lightest affront.
The Hollyhock House is an architectural marvel, sure, but the layers of textures and rich rewards of Uchi's fried milk should hold a similarly prized place of honor for its magnificent feats of engineering, too. ~ Hadley Tomicki
9001 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069
CHOCOLATE DIPPED CONE AT FOSTER'S FREEZE ~ MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Sometimes a city’s defining dessert isn’t elaborate; it’s nostalgic. At Foster’s Freeze, the chocolate-dipped cone is exactly what soft serve should taste like: creamy, cool, consistent, and wrapped in a chocolate shell that cracks loudly in the best way. On Mother’s Day, you’ll see lines of grown kids treating their parents to swirls of childhood. Few things in life ever feel as pure.
Eagle Rock Location ~ 4967 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041
Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 251 - "Eagle Rock/Merton"
What are your favorite desserts in Los Angeles? Please let us know in the comments.
