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El Centro D.F.
El Centro D.F.
Photo: R. Lopez

New, Over-the Top Desserts to Try NOW

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El Centro D.F.
| Photo: R. Lopez

With the opening of several new restaurants and menus in DC, Eater decided it was time to scope out the most indulgent desserts. Turns out the variety of dishes is as high as the calorie counts.

In this Eater Heat Map, find bananas tres leches served with passion fruit sauce, Nutella and marshmallow pizza, and a brown butter and walnut encrusted pear, poached in honey and Tecate beer (yep, that's right). These desserts are either from new restaurants, or are creations recently added to the menu at established places.

Pastry chefs are getting creative with dessert — some are even recreating their favorite candy bars. With so much variation going into this final course, it's probably best not to pass on the dessert menu these days.
—Tim Ebner

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El Centro D.F.

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To satisfy a sweet tooth, Richard Sandoval’s latest restaurant, El Centro Georgetown, serves a bananas tres leches cake. It’s topped with passion fruit sauce and toasted meringue.

Le Diplomate

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Dive into the crème brûlée at Le Diplomate. This dessert has a thin sugar crust on top and comes served with a French biscuit cookie on the side.

NoPa Kitchen + Bar

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For something that looks as indulgent as it tastes, NoPa serves a coconut chocolate bar. Chef Jemil Gadea takes a page from some of his favorite candy bars: mainly, the Kit Kat, Crunch bar, and Mounds bar. He hand makes his chocolate bar from coconut macaroons, Bavarian chocolate, and cocoa butter, and then, he tops it with caramel-chocolate ice cream and more coconut.

Osteria Marzano

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Have a weakness for Nutella? Osteria Marzano has a Nutella Pizza on the dessert menu. The pizza is a gooey heap of Nutella, pistachio, sea salt, whipped mascarpone, and marshmallows.

Taberna Del Alabardero

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Those opting for the cheese plate for dessert at this Spanish institution will get something a little less traditional. Chef Javier Romero's creation includes whipped marscapone, bleu cheese ice cream, homemade cotton candy and more.

Palena’s new coffee shop concept opened on Wednesday. The counter is covered with trays of sweets, including chocolate popovers that come from chef Frank Ruta’s White House days. But, for a truly indulgent dish, pastry chef Aggie Chin recommends the peanut butter-chocolate bûche. It can be found in the pastry case by the cash register. The bûche is a dark chocolate mousse with a peanut butter filling. The dessert or snack (however you look at it) is covered with chocolate glaze and topped with salted peanuts and cocoa crunchies.

The latest addition to the dessert menu at Range is their caramel custard. The caramel pot du creme comes with a pear, fig, almond cake and a chocolate stout sauce.

Rose's Luxury

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Aaron Silverman is taking his creative mindset to dessert. The kitchen whips up a baby seckle pear that is poached in Tecate beer and caramelized honey. It’s then crusted in a brown butter and walnut crumble and served with smoked mascarpone and chamomile and honey ice.

Ted's Bulletin

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There’s an expanded bakery selection at Ted’s Bulletin on 14th Street. Pastry chef Kelsey Pitta’s Pop Tarts are easy to spot, but go for the new, fall apple cider donut. It’s topped with apple chips then coated in a sugar glaze. Or, there’s the “millionaire bar,” a house made chocolate bar made from pressed graham cracker, and frozen caramel then coated in dark chocolate and topped with sea salt.

GBD (Golden Brown Delicious)

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Tiffany MacIsaac recently created an oreo doughnut for GBD. The chef walked her fans through the creation process on her blog.

Doi Moi

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Soft serve ice cream may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking, "Southeast Asian restaurant," but Doi Moi has been experimenting with the dessert since the beginning. Early unique flavors included banana black cardamom and Blue Bottle coffee.

El Centro D.F.

To satisfy a sweet tooth, Richard Sandoval’s latest restaurant, El Centro Georgetown, serves a bananas tres leches cake. It’s topped with passion fruit sauce and toasted meringue.

Le Diplomate

Dive into the crème brûlée at Le Diplomate. This dessert has a thin sugar crust on top and comes served with a French biscuit cookie on the side.

NoPa Kitchen + Bar

For something that looks as indulgent as it tastes, NoPa serves a coconut chocolate bar. Chef Jemil Gadea takes a page from some of his favorite candy bars: mainly, the Kit Kat, Crunch bar, and Mounds bar. He hand makes his chocolate bar from coconut macaroons, Bavarian chocolate, and cocoa butter, and then, he tops it with caramel-chocolate ice cream and more coconut.

Osteria Marzano

Have a weakness for Nutella? Osteria Marzano has a Nutella Pizza on the dessert menu. The pizza is a gooey heap of Nutella, pistachio, sea salt, whipped mascarpone, and marshmallows.

Taberna Del Alabardero

Those opting for the cheese plate for dessert at this Spanish institution will get something a little less traditional. Chef Javier Romero's creation includes whipped marscapone, bleu cheese ice cream, homemade cotton candy and more.

Palena

Palena’s new coffee shop concept opened on Wednesday. The counter is covered with trays of sweets, including chocolate popovers that come from chef Frank Ruta’s White House days. But, for a truly indulgent dish, pastry chef Aggie Chin recommends the peanut butter-chocolate bûche. It can be found in the pastry case by the cash register. The bûche is a dark chocolate mousse with a peanut butter filling. The dessert or snack (however you look at it) is covered with chocolate glaze and topped with salted peanuts and cocoa crunchies.

Range

The latest addition to the dessert menu at Range is their caramel custard. The caramel pot du creme comes with a pear, fig, almond cake and a chocolate stout sauce.

Rose's Luxury

Aaron Silverman is taking his creative mindset to dessert. The kitchen whips up a baby seckle pear that is poached in Tecate beer and caramelized honey. It’s then crusted in a brown butter and walnut crumble and served with smoked mascarpone and chamomile and honey ice.

Ted's Bulletin

There’s an expanded bakery selection at Ted’s Bulletin on 14th Street. Pastry chef Kelsey Pitta’s Pop Tarts are easy to spot, but go for the new, fall apple cider donut. It’s topped with apple chips then coated in a sugar glaze. Or, there’s the “millionaire bar,” a house made chocolate bar made from pressed graham cracker, and frozen caramel then coated in dark chocolate and topped with sea salt.

GBD (Golden Brown Delicious)

Tiffany MacIsaac recently created an oreo doughnut for GBD. The chef walked her fans through the creation process on her blog.

Doi Moi

Soft serve ice cream may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking, "Southeast Asian restaurant," but Doi Moi has been experimenting with the dessert since the beginning. Early unique flavors included banana black cardamom and Blue Bottle coffee.

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