Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth in St. Louis

The region’s food-and-beverage scene continues to grow, innovate, diversify and delight, and St. Louis was recently named one of America’s next great food cities by Food & Wine. There are hundreds of dining and drinking establishments to enjoy, but as they say, life is short, so let’s dig into dessert first!

Here are our favorite places to satisfy your sweet tooth in St. Louis.

Bella’s Sweet Treats & Boozy Shake Shop

At this sweet downtown spot, creamy treats are served alongside dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan options. For those 21 and older who want a boozy indulgence, get a double shot of tequila with your choice of sorbet or a double shot of bourbon with vanilla ice cream and a dash of bitters.

The Blue Owl

An institution in historic Kimmswick, The Blue Owl has consistently drawn national attention for its Levee High Apple Pie. The unbelievably tall pie is stuffed with approximately 18 Granny Smith apples, coated in caramel and sprinkled with pecans. The bakery also serves up slices of lemon meringue pie, strawberry-rhubarb pie, cherry cobbler, turtle cheesecake, carrot cake and more sugary delights.

The Caramel House

Serving small-batch caramel candy, English toffee, popcorn and more, The Caramel House hits the sweet spot in St. Louis. Available in flavors such as Simply Salted, Bacon, Bourbon-Vanilla and Pretzel Logic, which features a milk chocolate-covered pretzel on top, the caramel pillows won’t stick to your teeth – and neither will the decadent caramel apples rolled in Missouri pecans.

Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery

With eight locations throughout the St. Louis region, you’re never far from a scoop of Clementine’s sweet, savory and boozy ice creams, which include vegan options, too. Using the finest natural ingredients, the highly acclaimed creamery will tempt your taste buds with flavors such as Italian butter cookie, maple-bourbon with salted candied pecans, tahini-chocolate chip and malted raspberry crunch.

The Fountain on Locust

Welcome to the home of the ice cream martini – which is what exactly? Think Zanzibar chocolate ice cream married with coffee liqueur, hazelnut liqueur and crème de cacao, otherwise known as the Toblerone. The menu at The Fountain on Locust goes beyond ice cream martinis, though, with milkshakes, malts, floats, sundaes and other ice cream desserts served among the Art Deco décor.

Gooey Louie

You can’t leave St. Louis until you’ve sunk your teeth into a piece of rich, moist, tender gooey butter cake. At Gooey Louie, there’s butter in every part of the cake: the crust, the cake and the “goo.” While we recommend trying the original recipe, the local bakery also experiments with seasonal flavors such as chocolate-peanut butter, pumpkin spice and blueberry.

Kakao Chocolate

At Kakao Chocolate, chocolatier Brian Pelletier and his team temper the chocolate, dip the truffles, stir the caramel and make the marshmallows – all by hand. The extra time and care that they put into the process produces a higher quality that you’ll taste with your first bite.

Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream

Scooping some of the region’s best ice cream, Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream in The Grove is your destination for sweet surrender. Here, you can create a one-of-a-kind ice cream sandwich with fresh cookies and a range of ice cream flavors, from Cookie Monster to Orange Dream and Black Walnut to Strawberry Cheesecake. Shakes, malts and floats round out this beloved brand’s menu.

The Soda Fountain

Do you want desserts on top of your desserts? The Soda Fountain, a dressed-up diner with locations at St. Louis Union Station and Westport Plaza, boasts Instagram-worthy Freak Shakes – massive ice cream concoctions with garnishes such as whole brownies, cotton candy, Funfetti cupcakes, Pop-Tarts, potato chips and snickerdoodles. For a refreshing blast from the past, you can also enjoy ice cream sundaes, sour phosphate sodas and old-time candy.

Ted Drewes

An irresistible icon along the original Route 66, Ted Drewes has ever-present lines of people waiting for their frozen custard fix. Made with egg yolk, frozen custard is richer than ice cream. Order it in a classic concrete, and the staff will turn it upside down when handing it over, proving just how thick it is. Want something else? Frozen custard also takes center stage in malts, shakes and sundaes.