Sweet dreams are most definitely made of this - for the perfect end to any meal, we've rounded up some of the best desserts to be found in London's restaurants right now.
Pistachio custard tart at Impala
Soho - 14 Dean St, London W1D 3RS
As you might imagine, we work our way through a lot of desserts over the course of a year’s eating out, and at the time of writing, the pistachio tart at Impala remains the one to beat almost a full year later. Very much in the school of "do one thing and do it very well", this is the only dessert option they do, but we’d want it every time. The tart crust is impossibly thin, then there’s a layer of date followed by custard and pistachio topping. Peerless.
Banoffee pie at The Hart
Marylebone - 35 Blandford Street, London W1U 7HA
We'd been hearing good things about the banoffee pie at The Hart long before we had the chance to try it. Such was the fandom that one London foodie implored them to set up a special sitting "where you can come in for a slice of this and a drink and make it a reverent experience. This is a classic iteration with extra class, starting with a buttery digestive biscuit base, topped with muscovado toffee, fresh bananas and a light banana crème diplomat, finished with Madagascan vanilla Chantilly cream and a grating of dark chocolate. It is exceptionally well done.
Ube choux at Donia
Soho - 2.5, Top Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby St, London W1B 5PW
This Filipino dessert by chef Florence Mae at her Carnaby restaurant won Hot Dinners' best dessert of the year when it debuted in 2023. We're still of the opinion that it's worthy of a detour to try. Expect a choux bun filled with a ube praline, coconut chantilly and ube cream. Finish that all off with a dusting of ube powdered sugar and you have a dessert that speaks to the Philippines while very much being a London best-in-class.
Crêpes Suzette at The Ritz
St James's - 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR
For a flamboyant dessert display that you wouldn’t want to be wearing anything too flammable near, you can’t go wrong with this classic French dessert at The Ritz. A shiny silver trolley is wheeled up to your table, allowing the waiter to start making the orange caramel sauce to which the crepes are added. Finally, there are two flambé stages, first with Grand Marnier and then with Cognac. There are other examples of this dish in London, of course, but none can beat this.
Banana parfait at Roe
Canary Wharf - Five Park Drive, Wood Wharf, London E14 9GG
We picked this as our favourite dessert of 2024 and it's been a mainstay of Roe, the Canary Wharf restaurant from the Fallow team, since it opened. It's particularly impressive because although it looks like a banana, it's actually a banana-shaped parfait. Even up close, it's incredibly impressive (and tastes wonderful, which is of course the main point). Apparently it took them almost a year to perfect this and it's a must-order if you visit.
The Kudu Kit Kat tart
Marylebone - 7 Moxon Street, London W1U 4EP
When Kudu moved from Peckham to its new Marylebone home, fears that their much-loved Kit Kat dessert would be lost in the move proved unfounded. The kitchen layers up chocolate ganache with candied kumquats, followed by a crème fraîche ice cream folded with orange zest. Finally, the dessert is finished off at your table when the soft caramel marshmallow topping gets toasted with an ember from the fire in front of you.
The madeleines at Tempo
Bethnal Green - 252 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
There are many who will tell you that London's best madeleines are to be found at St John. And while those are great (we particularly love that you can order them warm for the interval at the Bridge Theatre), we would suggest that Tempo's version edges out in front. First, there's the fact that these have hot honey butter ladled all over them. And the icing (or cream) on these honey cakes is a huge scoop of Chantilly cream.
Cheesecakes at Soraya
Marylebone - 96 George Street, London W1U 8AF
Londoners do love a Basque-style baked cheesecake and the group behind hit restaurants Nina, Zephyr and Lagana have managed to corner this market. At Zephyr it's a burnt olive oil cheesecake, at Nina there's a stracciatella version. Lagana introduced the salted caramel take and at their newest opening, Soraya, there are two to choose from, a bruleed one and (our personal favourite) a scented saffron cheesecake. All are well worth ordering (and massive).
Creme Caramel at Bouchon Racine
Farringdon - Upstairs, 66 Cowcross St, London EC1M 6BP
A good creme caramel is a thing of wonder, balancing its wobble with just enough structural integrity to hold the imprint of your spoon as you take the first mouthful, and this exemplary version at Bouchon Racine does just that. Add a few boozy prunes soaked in Armagnac and you’ve got heaven on a plate.
Knafa at Juma
London Bridge - Borough Market Kitchen, Jubilee, Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AG
Philip from Juma describes this Iraqi favourite as “a cheesy Middle Eastern danish” which we’re not sure quite does it justice. Topped with pistachios and rose petals and drizzled with orange blossom-scented syrup it’s the perfect sugar hit to get your energy levels back up to hit the rest of Borough Market.
Sticky toffee pudding at Hawksmoor
Across London
There’s room for both pudding purists and innovators at Hawksmoor who offer their amazing sticky toffee pudding in two forms - classic and as an ice cream sundae. So whether you want the OG pudding, which has been a bestseller since the early days of Hawksmoor, or something lighter you have options here.
See also: they do a very good version at The Devonshire too.
Brown butter tart at The Marksman
Hackney - 254 Hackney Road, London, E2 7SJ
As we discovered, painfully, there’s only one way to ensure that you get a slice of this world-class tart at the end of your meal at The Marksman and that’s to order it the minute you get in the door. The good news is that they’ve also got a 2.0 version of the tart in miniature form at their new restaurant, Lasdun.
Chocolate nemesis at The River Cafe
Hammersmith - Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6 9HA
Not quite on the menu since day 1, but every day since it was introduced in 1989, this death-by-chocolate dessert became best known for being the most fiendishly difficult recipe for home bakers to master. The flourless cake is, as the late Rose Gray described, “a recipe you need to make a couple of times before you get it right". Do yourself a favour and just go to the restaurant for it instead.
White chocolate cheesecake at Blacklock
Soho, City, Shoreditch, Covent Garden, Canary Wharf
The only person defining portion control at Blacklock is you with their ‘say when’ approach to dishing out their signature cheesecake. This self-styled ‘cuddle in a bowl’ features a base of McVities digestives and is topped with large curls of white chocolate.
Fried Horlicks ice-cream bao at BAO
Soho, King’s Cross, Shoreditch, Borough and Marylebone
Inspired by the deep-fried hin si juan rolls you'll find in Taiwan, this on/off dessert at BAO sees them deep-frying their round baos before adding a perfectly round ball of their impossibly smooth malted milk ice cream. It’s a messy but satisfying eat.
Tiramisu at Brutto
Farringdon - 36-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross St, London EC1M 6BN
The late, great Russell Norman’s love letter to Florence finishes in a flourish at the end of every meal with the delivery of the tiramisu. Creamy, indulgent with that perfect hit of bitterness it’s an elegant lesson in balance. You can find a lot of great tiramisu in London restaurants, but this will always remain top of the list for us.
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