Mmmm! You’ll want to know these five dessert restaurants
A real hit among sweet-toothed diners: dessert restaurants! Unfortunately, we don’t see many of them (yet) in the Netherlands, but where can you find them? We’re sharing five tips.
Cakes & Bubbles in London
In the luxurious Café Royal hotel in London, Spanish chef Albert Adrià—known for, among others, the legendary restaurants El Bulli*** (closed in 2011) and Tickets* in Barcelona—opened Cakes & Bubbles in 2016. At the restaurant on lively Regent Street, guests can order the renowned chef’s signature dishes, such as the iconic Tickets cheesecake with Baron Bigod Brie, hazelnut and a white-chocolate shell, and the goldenegg flan with dark caramel. Want to try everything? The menu also features a four-course tasting lunch menu. With its extensive champagne selection, Adrià also wants to encourage guests to discover the pairing of sweet flavors and champagne.
Marble Dessert Bar in New York
With the brand-new and elegant Marble Dessert Bar, New York’s West Village neighborhood has gained a new hotspot. Chefs Maya Sittisuntorn and Mauro Pompelli create a four-course menu based on the ingredients available at the Greenmarket and serve matching wines and beers alongside it. The menu currently includes, among other things, strawberry sorbet with yuzu cream and basil gel, and a dish with apple sorbet, mint jelly and pineapple granita (partially frozen). Fourteen guests can take a seat at the marble bar, which offers a view of the open kitchen.
CODA in Berlin
René Frank, named Pastry Chef of the Year 2013 by Gault&Millau, and concept developer Oliver Bischoff opened CODA* in 2016 in the up-and-coming Berlin neighborhood of Neukölln. With success: last year it received a Michelin star! CODA’s interior is sleek and minimalist, and besides a ‘regular’ dessert dinner, guests can also opt for a late night three- or four-course dinner after 10 p.m. Frank stands out by using no sugar and serving several matching drink pairings with every dessert. His dish featuring, among other things, chocolate mousse, tonka beans and pickled plums pairs well with Bunnahabhain Ceòbanach single malt whisky, Macvin du Jura liqueur and Lambrusco Amabile.
Espaisucre in Barcelona
Spain is a pioneer when it comes to dessert bars and restaurants. As early as 2000, pastry chefs Jordi Butrón and Xano Saguer opened the now-famous Espaisucre in Barcelona, which they consider the world’s first dessert restaurant. The associated and renowned training institute is unique: there, they focus on cutting-edge techniques and pass on their own philosophy to students. In keeping with that educational approach, in 2017 they created Essence The Sweet Experience: a special space at Epaisucre for twelve people, where guests learn all about desserts during a gastronomic journey.
Pastryclub in Eindhoven
Okay, not a real dessert restaurant, but definitely worth mentioning! Jurgen Koens and Richard van Gent have two Pastryclub locations in Eindhoven’s Strijp-S neighborhood: in 2014, they opened Pastryclub 1.0 in the industrial basement of the former Philips factory (the Machine Room), and later opened Pastryclub 2.0 a few hundred meters away in Vershal Het Veem. Among other things, the two make and sell bonbons in all kinds of unusual flavors, such as raspberry/cabernet sauvignon/vinegar, olive oil/basil, ras el hanout/ginger and rum/apple/thyme. The first location also has a salon de thé and ice cream parlor, and hosts workshops. The bonbons are also sold to (Michelin-starred) restaurants, hotels and coffee shops. Koens previously worked as a pastry chef at Inter Scaldes*** in Kruiningen and for caterer Maison van den Boer. Van Gent worked—like Koens—at Maison van den Boer, as well as at the renowned Patisserie de Rouw in Vught.
Iris Kranenburg is editor-in-chief of the hospitality trade magazine Entree Magazine and chair of the jury for the annual Entree Awards (industry awards for the best new bars, restaurants and hotels in the Netherlands).
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