Best Sweet Treats Restaurants in Sawtelle
13 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Primo's Donuts
Legendary buttermilk bars made to order since 1956.
Notable Picks
8.8
Primo's Donuts, a family-run West LA institution since 1956, is revered for classic buttermilk bars and a perfected recipe passed through three generations. The consistently fresh selection features cinnamon crumb, coconut-glazed, and their signature bar, all hand-crafted daily. Locals flock for morning trays straight from the fryer and a vintage experience that feels unchanged by trends.
Must-Try Dishes:
Buttermilk Bar, Cinnamon Crumb Donut, Coconut-Glazed Donut
What Makes it Special: Legendary buttermilk bars made to order since 1956.
8.5
Artelice Patisserie redefines the French pastry shop in West Los Angeles with visually stunning desserts and inventive twists on classics. They specialize in modern takes on macarons, canelé, and seasonal pastry launches, drawing foodies and dessert lovers to their vibrant storefront. The bakery is known for its impeccable craftsmanship, artistic presentation, and inventive flavor combinations.
Must-Try Dishes:
Canelé de Bordeaux, Artisan Macaron Box, Painted Éclair
What Makes it Special: Modern French patisserie blending art and flavor.
Travel-inspired artisanal ice cream made by a food science grad who rotates the menu monthly with flavors like Ube Malted Crunch, Sticky Rice & Mango (vegan), and Thai Iced Tea. The Sawtelle location fits naturally into a Japantown stroll, with generous sampling and house-made specialty cones that reward exploratory ordering over safe picks.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ube Malted Crunch, Sticky Rice + Mango, Brown Butter Pecan
What Makes it Special: Passport-style flavor program that’s both creative and reliably executed.
Worthy Picks
7.9
A single-focus mille crepe shop on Sawtelle that builds each cake from dozens of paper-thin layers filled with custard, assembled fresh daily rather than pulled from a case. The format is counter-order and grab-a-seat simple, which keeps the emphasis on the crepes themselves—the custard version and the crème brûlée variant with its torched sugar cap are the draws. Fits naturally into a Sawtelle dessert crawl, though the tight space and weekend foot traffic mean weekday visits run smoother.
Must-Try Dishes:
Custard Mille Crepe, Crème Brûlée Crepe, Green Tea Ice Cream
What Makes it Special: Japanese-style mille crepe shop on Sawtelle where delicate, multi-layered custard crepes are assembled fresh daily
Korean fish-shaped waffle cones (ah-boong) filled to order with rotating soft serve flavors—ube, matcha, sesame—where the cone itself is the draw, crisp and warm against cold soft serve. The Sawtelle location runs as a tight counter-service operation in a small footprint, built for grab-and-go rather than sitting down. It works best as a planned detour when you're already walking the Sawtelle strip, not a destination worth fighting parking for on its own.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ah-Boong (Taiyaki with Soft Serve), Matcha Soft Serve, Nutella Ah-Boong
What Makes it Special: Korean-style fish-shaped waffle cones filled to order with rotating soft serve flavors like ube, matcha, and sesame.
7.9
A cash-only Sawtelle donut shop built on old-school execution—apple fritters with a crispy shell and soft center, savory croissants that pull morning regulars back daily, and an owner who tracks your usual order. It runs on neighborhood loyalty rather than visibility, delivering reliable pastry fundamentals at prices that make it an easy weekday habit.
Must-Try Dishes:
Apple Fritter, Ham and Cheese Croissant, Maple Old Fashioned Donut
What Makes it Special: Cash-only, no-frills Sawtelle donut shop where the owner knows regulars by name and the apple fritters have a loyal following for their crispy-outside, soft-inside balance.
A Filipino-inflected dessert shop built around 40+ rotating flavors of warm bread pudding, with ube and pandan running through cheesecakes, halo halo, and grilled donut ice cream sandwiches. The counter-service format works as a post-ramen stop on Sawtelle, though the limited evening hours and occasional order mix-ups mean you should double-check your box before leaving.
Must-Try Dishes:
Ube Bread Pudding, Hot Bread Pudding Sampler, Ube Cheesecake
What Makes it Special: Bread pudding in dozens of rotating, Filipino-leaning flavors.
7.8
Brazilian-born gelato chain making fresh batches daily with organic milk and Italian-sourced pistachios—the pistachio and namesake bacio di latte flavors draw the most repeat visits. Fits naturally into a Sawtelle dessert crawl, though expect premium pricing for modest portions that match what you'd find in Rome.
Must-Try Dishes:
Pistacchio, Stracciatella, Affogato
What Makes it Special: Brazilian gelato chain making fresh batches daily with organic milk and Italian-sourced pistachios and chocolate
7.8
Vibes:
Sweet Treats Escapes
Cheap Eats Budget Brilliance
Hidden Gems Heaven
Family Friendly Favorites
A Oaxacan-style nevería turning out handcrafted paletas, esquimales, and street snacks like esquites and elote from a casual storefront on Santa Monica Blvd. The draw is regional specificity — these are frozen treats rooted in Oaxacan technique rather than generic ice cream shop fare, at prices that make repeat visits easy. Expect a no-frills counter experience where the product speaks for itself.
Must-Try Dishes:
Mangoneada, Esquites, Oaxacan Ice Cream Paletas
What Makes it Special: Authentic Oaxacan-style nevería making handcrafted ice creams, paletas, and Mexican street snacks on Santa Monica Blvd.
7.7
An evening-only churrería that fries organic Spanish churros to order and pairs them with thick, European-style hot chocolate — a narrow menu executed with enough discipline to hold a 4.5 Google rating across 650+ reviews. The sidewalk patio on Santa Monica Blvd sets a low-key after-dinner tempo that fits the Sawtelle strip, and the 6:30 PM open means street parking is usually painless. Best used as a deliberate dessert stop rather than a browse-and-decide situation — pick your churro variant, grab a bench, and let the simplicity do the work.
Must-Try Dishes:
Churros con Chocolate, Dulce de Leche Churros, Guava Churros
What Makes it Special: Evening-only churrería serving fresh-to-order organic Spanish churros with European-style hot chocolate on a cozy sidewalk patio.
7.7
An old-school Euro pastry counter that leans French in technique, especially in its cream-filled viennoiserie and classic cakes. The shop is no-frills and neighborhood-anchored, with a loyal following that comes for dependable baking rather than trend chasing. Great stop for takeout sweets or a simple coffee-and-pastry break.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fruit tart, Butter croissant, Opera cake slice
What Makes it Special: A longtime West LA pastry shop with classic French-style baking DNA.
#12
Star Bakery
7.7
A family-run Persian bakery on Sawtelle turning out preservative-free pastries and cookies fresh each day, with a lineup that leans heavily on almond cookies, baklava, and layered cakes like napoleon and tiramisu. It draws Westside regulars who want a no-fuss pickup from a strip mall spot with easy parking and low prices. Expect a straightforward bakery counter—come for the baked goods, not the ambiance.
Must-Try Dishes:
Almond Cookies, Baklava Assortment, Tiramisu Cake
What Makes it Special: Family-run Persian bakery making preservative-free pastries and cookies fresh daily on the Westside
#13
Rex Bakery
7.6
A family-run Sawtelle counter where handmade Persian pastries—rosewater-scented cream puffs, cardamom-laced Noon-e Nokhodchi, crisp Zoolbia & Bamieh—come out at corner-store prices that make repeat visits easy. The draw is the specificity of the Iranian baking tradition executed in a no-frills setting, not the ambiance. It works best as a quick Sawtelle detour when you want something sweet that isn't another matcha cookie.
Must-Try Dishes:
Baklava, Persian Cream Puffs, Shirini Napoleoni
What Makes it Special: Family-run Persian bakery on Sawtelle turning out handmade Iranian pastries with traditional rosewater and cardamom at corner-store prices