The luxurious confectionary shop, famous for its Mille Crepes cakes, has perched itself in Westfield UTC, gracing us with its multitude of alternating layers of crepe and cream. Founded in New York City, the patisserie showcases delicate French cakes with a Japanese bent. Popular flavors include the original, green tea, and tiramisu but they also rotate seasonal flavors.

This matcha-focused cafe chain got its start in Hawaii and has branched out across the U.S. They import their matcha ingredients from Uji, Japan, a misty region known for its high caliber of green tea leaves. A favorite is the Maiko Special Parfait, made with matcha chiffon, chestnuts, and shiratama mochi. The two locations in the Convoy District and Escondido also carry Kokonut coconut puddings and Salt & Butter roll selections, like red bean-stuffed bread.

As the first Cheese Garden outpost in the U.S., the Japanese-style cheesecake is quickly garnering loyal followers in San Diego. Highlights include the original double-fromage cheesecake with a cheese sponge cake base topped with a layer of baked cream cheese and frozen mascarpone cheese. A recent addition is ah-boong (Korean fish-shaped pastries) and a wide selection of specialty drinks, like the iced blended strawberry cheesecake. 

If you’re looking for specialty cream puffs from Japan, this bakery group has found an abode on Girard Avenue in La Jolla after opening in San Diego for the second time. Started as a tiny shop in Osaka, Japan by Yuji Hirota (known around town for his recognizable fluffy white beard), there are now 400 stores in 15 countries. Their dessert is made of a double layer of choux pastry crowned with a sprinkling of crispy pie crust, with fillings made of ice cream or the original version, a mix of whipped cream and vanilla custard. 

This quaint dessert shop in the Convoy District is one of the few places that can whip up Thai hand-rolled ice cream, packing the frozen swirls in a cup and accessorizing with various toppings. with toppings of your choice. The popular bingsoo (Korean shaved ice) comes with fresh fruits like watermelon and they also do mochi doughnuts.

The cozy cafe located off the pedestrian walkway in the Village at Mira Mesa recently changed ownership, replacing Snowy Village. Snowbowls (Korean shaved milk ice) can be ordered with fresh strawberries or tropical mango. The restaurant recently expanded to morning hours, offering bubble waffles and taiyaki with sweet or savory versions.

The popular dessert chain specializes in a Korean dessert called ah-boong, fish-shaped waffle cones packed with soft-serve ice cream and fillings like Nutella and red bean. Soft-serve ice cream flavors rotate but popular ones, like chocolate and milk, are mainstays. There are now cafes in the Convoy District, Mira Mesa, and UTC.

The famous Japanese bakery is doing bustling trade in its souffle-like cheesecakes since first opening on Convoy Street. The global chain that started in Japan nearly 40 years ago is known for its popular cheesecake flavors like original, purple ube, and pandan coconut. Burnt Basque cheesecakes have arrived, while Hokkaido-style cheese tarts and crispy cheesecake biscotti are on the horizon. 

The Hong Kong dessert chain has made a name for itself with its popular mango sago, and fresh mangoes feature prominently in most of its desserts. The Mango Romance is a good choice, with a sampling of mango balls and mango mochi.

Sweet dessert soup is a traditional way to end a meal in a few Asian locales, like Taiwan. This authentic Taiwanese dessert place showcases “QQ” ingredients like sweet taro balls and boba. Beans cooked in brown sugar are also popular in many traditional desserts. In the San Diego locations, there are also plenty of Asian desserts that are becoming more familiar here, like egg waffles and shaved ice with mangoes or strawberries.

The mochi doughnut craze has found firm footing in San Diego with several locations of this shop that combines mochi with an American-style doughnut, the result is a hybrid pastry that’s both pleasantly chewy and airy. Flavors rotate every Monday and Friday with favorites including the blue Cookie Monster, churro, and funnel cake that comes with a choice of chocolate, strawberry, or caramel drizzle. 

The South Korean bakery-café chain has quickly expanded across the U.S., touting itself as the “neighborhood bakery.” It’s the place to head for consistent cakes with a subtle sweetness ubiquitous with Asian-style desserts. The strawberry soft-cream cake and blueberry chiffon cakes are must-tries.

Tucked off of Convoy Street is a modern dessert place with specialties like thick golden brown honey toast, crepe cake, or puffle waffles. You can add an assortment of toppings that are “up to you,” such as fresh fruit, Nutella, or dulce de leche. Pair a dessert with a sparkling lemon soda infused with passionfruit.

This dessert shop grew out of the Zion Market food court and opened storefronts on Convoy Street and National City. They’re best known for their puffles, a fluffy egg-based batter cooked in a bubble waffle mold and then folded into a cone. Add in green tea ice cream and vanilla custard with fruit and honey drizzle. 

This locally-owned dessert chain specializes in Taiwanese shaved snow ice — slivers of refreshing frozen ribbons in over 30 flavors such as lychee, toasted coconut, and Dutch chocolate. The dessert ice blocks are handcrafted by the founder in an ice snow factory in Kearny Mesa using real fruits. Customers pick a size, add toppings (like boba, almond jelly, or fresh fruit), and pay by weight. Soft-serve ice cream and taiyakis are other popular options. 

The French-Japanese patisserie in the Convoy District focuses on delicate, light cakes for a sit-down treat or whole cakes to take home. Be sure to order ahead of time. Items regularly sell out so get there early if you want to try a popular favorite like the Elby, composed of white chocolate and dark chocolate cream. The raspberry ganache and tiramisu are also delightfully decadent.