The Top 100 Dessert Shops Near The Esters
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Rank 1. Bánh by Lauren
Vietnamese-French Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
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Rank 2. L'Appartement 4F
Parisian Bakery
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Sam Mason, who cut his teeth at the fine-dining extremes of Wd~50, brings a restless imagination to ice cream—Thai iced tea one season, black pepper fig the next, each flavor arriving with the precision of plated dessert. The shop's expansion across the Northeast and beyond suggests that his mercurial approach to frozen cream has found an audience willing to follow.
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Rank 5. Bien Cuit
French Bakery
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Rank 7. Julia Jean’s Ice Cream
Dessert
A modest storefront on the Lower East Side where Ayanna Quint conjures small-batch ice cream in flavors that range from cherry-vanilla to salted caramel. The banana splits arrive generous and unfussy, each scoop tasting like the thing itself rather than an approximation of it.
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Rank 8. Malai Ice Cream
South Asian Dessert
A Cobble Hill scoop shop where eggless ice cream swirls with South Asian spice—masala chai, rose, Turkish coffee—arrives without fanfare or pretension. The flavors taste like someone's kitchen memory translated into cream, which is precisely the point.
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A 1920s pharmacy reclaimed and restored, its vintage bones now cradling an ice cream counter where floats arrive in proper glassware and sundaes sport house-made hot fudge and potato chips. The theatrical restraint of the space—original fixtures intact, nothing oversold—lets the cold sweetness do the talking.
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A narrow storefront on Bayard Street where the Seid family has served ice cream since 1978, rotating between lychee, black sesame, and red bean alongside coffee and pistachio. The zen butter—peanut butter swirled with toasted sesame—tastes like frozen sesame noodles, which is precisely the point.
- The Infatuation The Best Ice Cream In NYC
- Eater The Best Places to Eat in Chinatown
- Eater Essential Ice Cream Shops in New York City
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Rank 13. Fong On
Chinese
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- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- Eater The Best Croissants in NYC
- The Infatuation The Best Croissants In NYC
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- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- The Infatuation The Best Croissants In NYC
- Eater The Best Croissants in NYC
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Rank 16. Biddrina Gelato
Italian Dessert
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Rank 17. Kuih Cafe
Malaysian Dessert
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Rank 18. Ciao, Gloria
Italian
- Time Out #20 · The 21 very best coffee shops in NYC
- Sprudge The Sprudge Guide to Coffee In South Brooklyn
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- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
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Rank 21. Mei Lai Wah Bakery
Taisan/Guangzhou-Style
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Rank 22. Librae Bakery
Middle Eastern Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- The Infatuation The Best Croissants In NYC
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Rank 23. Keki
Osaka-Style Bakery
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Rank 24. Lysée
Korean
- Food & Wine 2023 · Best New Chefs · Eunji Lee
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Eunji Lee
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
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Rank 25. Sweet Moment
Dessert
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Rank 26. Harpers Bread House
Chinese
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A glass-fronted laboratory on Ludlow Street where gelato flavors veer toward the savory and experimental—beet, cheddar, Thai chile chocolate—without apology. Jon Snyder's operation treats ice cream as cuisine rather than confection, each batch a small argument for restraint and precision.
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Rank 28. Eddie's Sweet Shop
Dessert
A narrow Queens storefront that looks more apothecary than parlor, Eddie's has scooped the same eighteen flavors since 1925 without apology or innovation. The vanilla fudge and maple walnut arrive in cones or atop sundaes built with the austere confidence of someone who knows exactly what a cherry on top should mean.
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Rank 29. Lazy Sundaes
Dessert
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Rank 30. Frenchette Bakery
French Bakery
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Rank 31. Taiyaki NYC
Japanese Dessert
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Rank 32. Spongies Cafe
Hong Kong-Style Bakery
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Rank 33. Jōji
Sushi
In a Grand Central corner, Jōji carves out stillness amid transit chaos with nigiri built on meticulously vinegared dual-rice bases and sashimi that pairs buri with green apple and yuzu. The seafood—sourced from Toyosu Market, often luxe—arrives without pretension, though the bill reflects the ingredients' rarefied status.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Vogue 2026 · A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- Eater The Best Sushi Restaurants in Manhattan
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Ferrara has anchored Grand Street since 1892, a marble-countered holdout where Little Italy's pastry traditions—lobster tails, granita from a guarded family formula—persist in sugar and butter. The gelato, particularly salt caramel and pistachio, tastes like the place itself: old, deliberate, and unapologetic.
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Rank 35. Lady Wong
Malaysian-Inspired Bakery
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Rank 36. ALF Bakery
European-Inspired
- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- Eater The Best Croissants in NYC
- The Infatuation The Best Croissants In NYC
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Rank 37. La Bicyclette Bakery
French Bakery
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Rank 38. Grace Street
Korean
- Time Out #16 · The 21 very best coffee shops in NYC
- The Infatuation 9 Great Shaved Ice Spots In NYC
- The Infatuation The Best Asian Dessert Spots In NYC
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Rank 40. Le Basque
French/Spanish
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Rank 42. Dominique Ansel Bakery
French Bakery
- The Infatuation The Best Croissants In NYC
- Eater 2026 · The Best Restaurants in Soho
- Eater 2015 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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A Chinese chain that has sprawled into thousands of outposts worldwide brings its utilitarian approach to Canal Street, where soft serve, shakes, and sundaes cost less than five dollars—a calculus that depends on transparent sourcing and volume. The cutesy storefront trades on efficiency rather than ceremony, and that's precisely the point.
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The shop trades in classical flavors executed with precision—vanilla, chocolate, caramel, nut—each one arriving at the counter as though it had been thought through for years. Open from noon to midnight on Rivington Street, it represents the kind of patient ice cream craft that asks you to taste the difference between good and considered.
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Rank 46. Kora
Filipino Bakery
- The Infatuation 11 Of The Best Donuts In America
- Eater Best Bakery · The 2025 Eater NY Award Winners
- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
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Rank 47. L'Albero dei gelati
Italian Dessert
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Rank 48. Caffè Panna
Italian Dessert
A narrow parlor on Irving Place where the daily rotation of gelato flavors arrives announced on Instagram, each scoop crowned with clouds of namesake panna. Hallie Meyer's Roman-inspired sundaes and affogatos suggest a quieter ambition than her father's empire—less spectacle, more cream.
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Rank 49. Grandaisy Bakery
Italian Bakery
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Rank 50. Brooklyn Ball Factory
Japanese
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Rank 52. Duo Cafe
Chinese
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Rank 54. Patisserie Tomoko
Japanese Bakery
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Rank 58. Miolin
French Bakery
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Rank 59. Island Pops
Caribbean Dessert
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Rank 61. L’Appartement 4F
Parisian Bakery
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Rank 63. Bourke Street Bakery
Australian
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Rank 65. Xin Fa Bakery
Chinese Bakery
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Rank 66. Aux Merveilleux de Fred
French Bakery
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Rank 67. Meet Fresh
Taiwanese
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What began as a roving truck in 2008 has calcified into something more durable: a brand whose creamy, plainly made scoops now occupy freezer cases across the city and beyond. The vegan iterations are genuine alternatives rather than afterthoughts, and the seasonal flavors—a Kraft mac-and-cheese confection among them—suggest a kitchen unafraid of whimsy.
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Rank 69. La Flor De Izucar
Mexican
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Rank 70. Tall Poppy
French
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Rank 71. Dominique Ansel Workshop
French Bakery
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The gelato here carries the imprint of an 1880 Bari recipe, its flavors arriving with an almost antiquarian depth that rewards close attention. A cup demands nothing more, though an affogato—espresso poured over—transforms it into something quieter and more complete.
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Rank 75. L'imprimerie
French Bakery
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Rank 76. Bread and Salt Bakery
Roman Bakery
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Rank 77. Sarisa Cafe
Thai Dessert
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- The Infatuation The Best Bakeries in NYC
- The Infatuation Black and White Cookie · 25 Iconic Dishes That Define New York
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Rank 81. She Wolf Bakery
Old-School Bakery
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Rank 82. Salt & Straw
Dessert
A West Coast operation that encourages sampling across its sprawling flavor roster—sea salt caramel ribbons, wildflower honey, lemon chess pie—each scoop a small argument about what ice cream can be. The maximalist approach pays off: restraint has no place here.
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On the Upper East Side since the early nineties, Sedutto stocks thirty-odd ice cream flavors alongside wine-spiked sorbets and boozy yogurts that feel almost luxurious in their restraint. Vanilla bean and birthday cake anchor the menu, but the real draw is how the place treats frozen dessert as a vehicle for adult flavors without winking.
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Rank 84. Villabate Alba
Sicilian Bakery
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Rank 86. Khao Nom
Thai
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Rank 87. Kape't Torta
Filipino Bakery
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On Madison Avenue's quieter stretch, Glace proffers ice cream sandwiches built from house-made macarons and sundaes anchored by Nutella or hot chocolate, each a small architectural gesture toward indulgence. The operation extends to a roving truck, because ambition here means meeting the city wherever it goes.
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Rank 89. Artion Bakery Patisserie
Greek Bakery
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Rank 90. Kunafa Bites
Dessert
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Rank 91. Me-Do Desserts
Chinese
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Rank 92. Sugar Hill Creamery
Dessert
A small-batch shop on Lenox Avenue where the ice cream names—"sweet socialism," "chairperson of the board"—announce themselves like inside jokes, each flavor a minor act of whimsy. The Madagascar chocolate and graham-cracker-blueberry combinations suggest a kitchen unafraid of specificity, which is its own kind of charm.
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Rank 94. Make My Cake
Southern
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Rank 95. Make My Cake
Southern Bakery
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Rank 96. Flower and Dessert 次第花开
Chinese Dessert
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Rank 97. Xing Fu Tang
Taiwanese
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Rank 98. Yeh's Bakery
Taiwanese Bakery
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Rank 99. Amore Pizzeria
NY-Style Pizza
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