Best Sweet Treats Escapes Restaurants in Fairfax
15 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Milk Bar Melrose Flagship
A high-energy flagship dessert bakery pairing signature cakes, cookies, and soft serve with late-night hours.
Notable Picks
8.6
Milk Bar’s Melrose flagship is a dessert-focused bakery where Birthday Cake slices, Milk Bar Pie, and Cereal Milk soft serve anchor a playful, neon-lit space that doubles as an LA sweets destination. Lines, late-night hours, and nationwide hype make it the go-to bakery in 90046 when you want over-the-top cakes and cookies rather than everyday bread.
Must-Try Dishes:
Birthday Cake slice, Milk Bar Pie, B'Day Cake Truffles
What Makes it Special: A high-energy flagship dessert bakery pairing signature cakes, cookies, and soft serve with late-night hours.
8.6
Voodoo Doughnut’s Melrose shop brings the Portland-born brand’s wild, flavor-driven doughnuts to a late-night stretch of 90046. Locals and visitors come for boxes of Bacon Maple Bars, Apple Fritters, and vegan options in a playful, neon-accented space that feels more like a candy store than a bakery.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bacon Maple Bar, Apple Fritter, Grape Ape
What Makes it Special: Over-the-top signature flavors and vegan options in a high-energy, late-night doughnut shop.
#3
Local Ice
8.6
Tucked inside the Original Farmers Market, Local Ice focuses on small-batch organic ice cream, Italian ices, and classic parlor-style sundaes. Lines stay steady thanks to bright flavors, creamy textures, and the ability to mix scoops, ices, and toppings into highly customized cups.
Must-Try Dishes:
Organic ice cream flight, New York–style Italian ice, Banana split
What Makes it Special: Small-batch organic ice cream and Italian ice at Farmers Market.
8.4
La Chouquette is a French-owned bakery-café on the Melrose Arts District stretch of 90046, known for meticulous viennoiseries, layered cakes, and its signature Mazou dessert. Regulars come for croissants, canelés, and seasonal tarts that feel straight out of Paris, enjoyed at a few cozy tables or taken to-go for nearby gallery walks.
Must-Try Dishes:
Mazou signature cake, Butter croissant, Seasonal fruit tartlet
What Makes it Special: French-run patisserie focused on precise viennoiseries and elegant cakes.
8.4
At Fairfax and 3rd, Sidecar brings a modern, chef-y spin to donuts with seasonal flavors fried in small batches throughout the day. Guests line up for brioche-style rings, rotating vegan options, and carefully pulled espresso in a sleek, café-style space steps from The Grove and Farmers Market.
Must-Try Dishes:
Huckleberry glazed donut, Butter & Salt donut, Maple bacon donut
What Makes it Special: Elevated, small-batch donuts with rotating seasonal flavors and strong coffee.
#6
Happy Ice
8.3
Vibes:
Sweet Treats Escapes
Instagram Worthy Wonders
Family Friendly Favorites
Quick Bites Champions
Happy Ice is a Melrose walk-up shop serving vividly colored, dairy-free Philadelphia-style water ice that eats almost as creamy as soft serve. It’s a high-energy stop for families and foot traffic, with mix-and-match flavors and gelati layers that keep regulars working through the menu.
Must-Try Dishes:
Rainbow Rocket water ice, Layered gelati with mango and strawberry, Sour apple and blue raspberry combo
What Makes it Special: Dairy-free Philly-style water ice with bold, intensely flavored swirls.
8.3
Bella’s Bread and Butter is a Fairfax-area bakery and cafe where long-fermented sourdough loaves, laminated pastries, and a small menu of wood-fired pizzas and shakshuka run through a kosher, Israel-born lens. The Melrose outpost leans more toward a premium, all-day bakery-cafe than a simple pastry counter, drawing serious bread fans alongside coffee drinkers and casual diners.
Must-Try Dishes:
Traditional artisan sourdough loaf, Bella's specialty babka, Chocolate croissant
What Makes it Special: A kosher, Israel-born bakery-cafe combining serious sourdough, viennoiserie, and cafe dishes under one roof.
8.3
Scooping house-made ice cream at the Original Farmers Market since 1946, Bennett’s is a classic counter known for old-school sundaes, floats, and boozy sorbets. Locals and visitors line up for dense, flavorful scoops that taste straight out of a mid-century soda fountain.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cabernet Sauvignon sorbet, Hot fudge sundae, Frozen banana
What Makes it Special: Decades-old scoop counter serving house-made ice cream and classic sundaes.
8.2
fōnuts rethinks the classic donut with baked, never-fried rings that are entirely gluten-free and heavy on vegan options. Creative flavors like Blueberry Earl Grey, Maple Bacon, and Banana Cinnamon draw a steady mix of locals and destination diners looking for a lighter take on indulgent sweets.
Must-Try Dishes:
Blueberry Earl Grey Fonut, Maple Bacon Fonut, Banana Cinnamon Fonut
What Makes it Special: Baked, gluten-free donuts with inventive flavors and many vegan options.
8.1
Fika Fika Coffee & Creamery on Melrose is a design-forward cafe-creamery hybrid where specialty lattes and small-batch ice creams share equal billing. Locals come for lavender, ube, and hojicha drinks paired with mochi paw cakes, waffles, and scoops in a plant-filled, laptop-friendly space.
Must-Try Dishes:
Strawberry ice cream with mochi paw cake, Ube latte with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, Milk-and-cereal passion fruit ice cream sundae
What Makes it Special: Design-forward cafe-creamery fusing creative coffee drinks with house ice cream.
#11
Michelina Bakery
8
Tucked inside the Original Farmers Market, Michelina Artisan Boulanger is a French bakery from founder Michelina that specializes in galette des rois, croissants, and crusty loaves. It’s the stall locals hit for proper French-style bread and pastries before wandering the rest of the market or heading home.
Must-Try Dishes:
Galette des rois, Butter croissant, Artisanal sourdough loaf
What Makes it Special: Classic French bakery stall at the Original Farmers Market focused on galettes, croissants, and artisan loaves.
Worthy Picks
#12
Haute Mess
7.9
Part European-style market, part café, HauteMess also runs a serious gelato program behind the counter. Guests pair rich, slow-churned scoops with sandwiches, salads, or espresso, making it an elevated option for dessert and a light meal in one stop.
Must-Try Dishes:
Saffron rosewater gelato, Pistachio gelato, Mascarpone fig gelato
What Makes it Special: European-style market café with restaurant-level gelato by the scoop.
7.9
Operating at the Original Farmers Market for decades, Bob's Coffee & Doughnuts serves old-fashioned cake and yeast donuts alongside simple drip coffee. Regulars swear by the apple fritter and oversized Texas glazed donut, grabbing boxes before or after browsing the surrounding stalls.
Must-Try Dishes:
Apple fritter, Texas-sized glazed donut, Cinnamon roll
What Makes it Special: Classic Farmers Market donut counter with decades of loyal regulars.
7.8
Mediterranean Market is a newer stall at the Original Farmers Market focusing on olives, cheeses, and sweets from across the region, plus simple plates and dips to eat on-site. It feels more like a specialty counter than a full restaurant, but locals detour for bulk hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and baklava before wandering the rest of the market.
Must-Try Dishes:
House hummus with warm pita and olive bar toppings, Stuffed grape leaves with lemon and herbs, Pistachio baklava and date-filled pastries
What Makes it Special: Farmers Market stall specializing in Mediterranean pantry goods, dips, and sweets you can snack on immediately.
7.7
Holy Roly Ice Cream on Melrose focuses on Thai-style rolled ice cream, pouring flavored bases onto a cold plate and rolling each order to order. Guests come for the theatrical prep, heavy toppings, and customizable combinations more than a grab-and-go scoop shop experience.
Must-Try Dishes:
Vanilla Oreo rolled ice cream, Strawberry Graham rolled ice cream, Ferrero Rocher-inspired rolled ice cream
What Makes it Special: Made-to-order Thai-style rolled ice cream with theatrical cold-plate prep.