Dining
The 6 Best Dessert Spots in London
Pudding deserves a destination of its own. Six London places where dessert is the point, from a two Michelin star tasting menu to a Soho patisserie that has been baking since 1871.
In short: our top picks are Restaurant Story, Chin Chin Labs and Maison Bertaux. 6 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
Most people treat dessert as an afterthought, the thing you order if there’s room. We’d argue the opposite. Some of the most memorable eating in London happens at the sweet end, and a handful of places have built their whole reputation on it. This is not a roundup of restaurant pudding menus. It’s six spots where the sugar is the reason you go: a liquid nitrogen lab in Camden, a patisserie older than the Tube, a chocolate cafe that does a properly serious hot chocolate, and one two Michelin star kitchen whose dessert course people still talk about years later. Book the last one. Walk into the rest.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Story | Bermondsey | ££££ |
| Chin Chin Labs | Camden | ££ |
| Maison Bertaux | Soho | ££ |
| Italian Bear Chocolate | Soho | ££ |
| Cutter & Squidge | Soho | ££ |
| Soft Serve Society | Covent Garden | ££ |
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Editor’s choice
Restaurant Story
Why we pick itTom Sellers built two Michelin stars on a menu structured like chapters, and the sweet ones land hardest. The signature is a candle that burns at your table through the meal, then gets whisked away and turned into beef dripping for warm bread, but it's the chocolate and malted finish that people remember on the walk home.
Modern British tasting menu
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Chin Chin Labs
Why we pick itEurope's first nitrogen ice cream parlour, and still the best at it. They freeze your scoop to order in a cloud of cold smoke, so the texture comes out denser and smoother than anything churned. Get the Killer Hot Chocolate, blow torched marshmallow over thick melted chocolate, and eat it before it stops steaming.
Liquid nitrogen ice cream
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Maison Bertaux
Why we pick itLondon's oldest patisserie, open since 1871, and gloriously unbothered by the decades since. The cakes are made upstairs that morning: slipper-soft eclairs, a wobbly cheesecake, fruit tarts under a glaze. Grab the rickety table by the window with a pot of tea and watch Greek Street go by.
French patisserie and tea room
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Italian Bear Chocolate
Why we pick itThis is the old Said dal 1923 site, now trading as Italian Bear, and the hot chocolate is the draw. They line the cup with melted chocolate before they pour, so the last mouthful is pure ganache. The triple chocolate version is a small event. Pair it with a chocolate dipped croissant and write off your afternoon.
Italian chocolate cafe
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Cutter & Squidge
Why we pick itTwo sisters, no artificial anything, and a house invention called the biskie, somewhere between a cookie and a cake with buttercream in the middle. The layer cakes are the showpiece, but the afternoon tea is the reason to sit in. Salted caramel and blueberry cheesecake are the ones to beat.
All-natural bakery and cake shop
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Soft Serve Society
Why we pick itAfter the Boxpark years they've settled into Seven Dials Market, and the soft serve is still the most over-the-top in town. Matcha, charcoal and coconut twists, sundaes built like skylines, and freakshakes that arrive with a slice of cake jammed on top. Loud, sweet, unapologetic, exactly the point.
Soft serve and freakshakes
Before you book
Restaurant Story is the only one that needs forward planning: it’s a set tasting menu, booked weeks ahead, and not cheap. The rest are walk-in. Chin Chin and Soft Serve Society are cash-light counter affairs, a few pounds a scoop. Maison Bertaux and Italian Bear take cards and the odd queue at weekends. Soho gets busy after 7pm, so go earlier if you want a table.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Restaurant Story is our editor's choice: Tom Sellers built two Michelin stars on a menu structured like chapters, and the sweet ones land hardest. The signature is a candle that burns at your table through the meal, then gets whisked away and turned into beef dripping for warm bread, but it's the chocolate and malted finish that people remember on the walk home. Restaurant Story, Chin Chin Labs and Maison Bertaux lead the guide, with 6 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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