Their names alone are enough to warm your heart and super-charge your sweet tooth: Alsatian almond tart, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, maple bourbon pecan pie. They are sweets almost too glorious to eat. Almost. When dining at these restaurants, always leave room for a richly rewarding, delectable dessert.
It’s hard to leave room for dessert after a scrumptious Southwest California inspired meal at Cilantro, but the sweets at this joint demand it. The upside-down cheesecake with berry compote and toffee crumble and the flourless chocolate cake are bestsellers. Additional dessert options include chocolate peanut butter pie, vanilla bean crème brulee and lemon rosemary coffee cake. The restaurant’s dessert menu also features an extensive spirits and cheese list.
This upscale, downtown restaurant serves contemporary Mediterranean cuisine rooted in Italian traditions. And the tiramisu at Teatro is arguably one of the best desserts you’ll find on a Calgary restaurant menu. It’s made with a family recipe that features house-made ladyfingers. Further desserts here include pistachio olive oil cake, white chocolate mille-feuille and a gorgeous coconut milk panna cotta.
Yellow Door Bistro serves bistro-inspired cuisine with a contemporary twist. Located inside Hotel Arts, the restaurant’s strawberry and rhubarb cheesecake finds the right balance of sweet and tangy. Other dessert options include an organic dark chocolate and cherry torte, hibiscus and fresh berry filled cream puff as well as homemade ice cream and sorbet.
The Cheesecake Café is the kind of restaurant one sometimes visits just for a bite of dessert. The extensive cheesecake list includes the nutty Cheesequake and the Rolo, as well as white chocolate raspberry and a salted caramel apple cheesecake. The many varieties of chocolate cheesecake are topped with a decadent Callebaut chocolate sauce. The bistro-inspired café also serves ginormous slices of triple chocolate fudge or carrot cake, an apple tart and banana split.
La Chaumière serves Old World French cuisine with Canadian influences. Try the Grand Marnier soufflé, which requires 30 minutes to prepare and serve. The dessert menu also includes a soft chocolate cake, vacherin glacé served with raspberry, mango and macadamia nuts and fresh fruit marinated in Grand Marnier.
Divino is a wine and cheese bistro located on Stephen Avenue Walk. The restaurant's decadent wine and cheese list is accompanied by an equally appetizing dessert menu. Try the hazelnut chocolate tart or butterscotch budino made with sponge toffee crumble. The dessert menu also features apple brioche bread pudding and a tasty macaron trio.
If you’re looking for a sweet ’n’ simple snack after lunch, the classic homemade cookies at Charcut are ideal. Charcut’s lunch menu features a soup, sandwich and fries combination that’s served with a bag of warm cookies. It’s an indulgence you can enjoy back at your office desk. The dinner dessert menu is changeable but has included French toast pie, salted caramel and milk chocolate pudding as well as whipped cheesecake served with preserved fruit.