Pick from the top 50 dessert spots in downtown Manhattan, from pies to cookies, from ice cream to donuts. Suggested route included!

(cover image is the chocolate cake from Mah-Ze-Dahr bakery)

Manhattan, New York, NY, USA

New York, NY, USA

Downtown Manhattan DESSERT CRAWL!

If my friend was in town, here's the route I would recommend we take to hit every dessert category possible (pies, cake, donuts, cookies, pastries, ice cream, hot chocolate).

Stop 1: The Doughnut Plant, in the LES. Take the train to Delancey St - Essex St and walk south a couple blocks to one of the hallmark donut shops in the city. If you're looking for a savory bite to eat, there's also a few solid quick eats here, like Manousheh on Grand or Grand Street Pizza.

Stop 2: Soft Swerve ice cream, just a few blocks west still in the LES. The ube flavor is incredible, and the ice cream is super creamy.

Stop 3: Petee's Pie company in LES. I've had the fortune of trying their pies numerous times from office catering in downtown Manhattan lol

Stop 5: Eileen's Special Cheesecake in Soho. A small bakery houses some of the best mini cheesecakes in the city. Grab a couple and huddle outside the door to scarf them down, or head over to the nearby park to sit down on a bench and savor the flavor.

Stop 6: La Churreria, in Soho. This is also a great place to stop for a bit and sit down over traditional churros and chocolate.

Stop 7: Levain Bakery, in Noho. A timeless classic and must-try in New York. My favorite thing to get here is the chocolate chip cookie, but also love to collect the post cards here, as they're different for every location (at least from city to city).

Stop 9: Qahwah House, in the West Village. My favorite place in the city! I think it's the perfect place to cap off any day out in the city, most of all a dessert tour. Here, you'll find steaming fresh pots of chai or coffee, delicious Yemeni pastries topped with honey, or other cakes like a pistachio chocolate cake to choose from. It's always bustling here no matter what time of day it is, but hover around long enough to grab a table, and you can sit here for a while.

Stop 4: Double Crispy Bakery, in ~Chinatown. Bring cash for the baked goods. The star of the show is the Portuguese egg tart near the cashier - if you come right when they're out of the oven, you'll see the steam pouring out of the tart as you bite in.

Stop 8 (summer): Boba Guys in Soho. This is a pretty popular choice for boba around downtown Manhattan, though there isn't a shortage of alternatives if you want to try something else. My favorite is the strawberry matcha oat milk latte with boba. Heads-up; the line here can be a little long, and the store is pretty small so there's no place to stand and loiter inside if it's hot out.

Stop 8 (winter): LA Burdick Handmade chocolate in Soho. This is my go-to for hot chocolate in the city, and is hugely underrated in my opinion. My default order is the half milk / half dark chocolate. This option might be a bit more appropriate for the winter weather than boba from Boba Guys, but up to you!

That's the tour! If you're looking for a more standard weekend itinerary, check out my other listing here.

It was super hard to limit the tour to just nine of my top favorites when the city is FILLED with incredible dessert spots. I've sorted all my top picks by dessert type, so you may swap options in and out as you please.

I've also copied this route into a Google Map for easier access.

NYC DESSERT CRAWL! - Google My Maps

So you've seen Times Square, went up the Empire State Building, and visited the Met - what else is there to do?

The Non-Touristy NYC Weekend

Delivery & Pickup Options - 102 reviews of Double Crispy Bakery "This place is always super busy and I can see why.Thier stuff is great! They have a large selection and the prices are as good as any other chinese bakery.One of the best things they make are those little custard cakes!mmm. Thier service is fast and friendly.Not THE best chinese bakery but definetly better then your average one."

Double Crispy Bakery - New York, NY

Double Crispy Bakery

Eileen's Special Cheesecake

Capy Tres Leches Cake

L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates

La Churreria

Levain Bakery – NoHo, NYC

Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery

Chip City

Soft Swerve Ice Cream

Baonanas Banana Pudding

maman

Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream

il laboratorio del gelato