Restaurants still offering the famous dessert cart

Paris-Brest, flan, chocolate mousse, rice pudding... Why choose when you can have it all, thanks to the resurgence of the dessert cart? Here's a selection of restaurants offering this farandole that's as pleasing to the eye as it is to the taste buds.

Mathilde Bourge Published today at 10:51 AM

Life is an eternal restart. Whereas the dessert cart had largely disappeared from French restaurants in favor of the minute dessert, served by the plate, this great classic is making a comeback in many establishments, to the delight of sweet tooths. Pies, cakes, ice creams and cookies form a farandole of desserts that guests can devour with their eyes, before savoring them with greed.

Contrary to what you might think, it's not just classic bistros that are bringing the dessert cart back into fashion, but also top restaurants. While this offering has long been a signature of the Roellinger family, other well-known chefs, such as Philippe Etchebest in his new restaurant Le Classique in Bordeaux, are bringing it back into fashion. Discover below six Gault&Millau-referenced restaurants that have decided to delight your taste buds with a beautiful cart of desserts.

Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or

If Restaurant Paul Bocuse (4 toques) has been a veritable institution for decades, its dessert cart is one of its most emblematic symbols. After tasting the establishment's iconic dishes, such as the famous red mullet in crispy potato flakes or Bresse poultry in bladder, pastry chef Benoît Charvet delights sweet tooths with a cart featuring classic pastries such as Paris-Brest, millefeuille, flan, chocolate tart and deviled eggs served with runny vanilla caramel. A symphony of sweets to round off the meal in style.

Where to find us Restaurant Paul Bocuse, 40 rue de la Plage, 69660 Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, France
See Gault&Millau's review of Restaurant Paul Bocuse

Restaurant Guy Savoy, Paris

At Restaurant Guy Savoy (5 toques), the dessert cart is not a passing fad, but a ritual established many years ago. The trolley is packed with sweet treats, starting with the famous "langues de chats", the flat, elongated cookies that gave Guy Savoy a taste for cooking and food processing from an early age. The restaurant's dessert cart is a veritable banquet, featuring "rice pudding (vanilla or pink praline), chocolate mousse, crème caramel, raisin flan, tarte Bourdalouse, chocolate tartelette, lychee cheesecake, marshmallows, cookies, macaroons, and even ice creams and sorbets", says the restaurant. Enough to delight those with a sweet tooth and fall back into childhood immediately.

Restaurant Guy Savoie © Dr dR

Where to find us Restaurant Guy Savoy, Monnaie de Paris, 11 quai de Conti, 75006 Paris
See Gault & Millau's review of Restaurant Guy Savoie

Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, Monaco

At Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac (3 toques), pastry chef Patrick Mesiano offers a dessert cart that changes with the seasons. There are "always a dozen or so proposals, including must-tries such as the Île flottante, the Tarte Opéra and the Mousse au Chocolat", says the restaurant, which adds that at the moment, the farandole of desserts includes a pear tart, a mango tart and, of course, a beautiful tarte tatin.

Les Ambassadeurs © Studio Phenix (3) matthieu Cellard © Studio Phenix

Where's Les Ambassadeurs? Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, 4 avenue de la Madone, 98000 Monaco
See Gault&Millau's review of Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac

Restaurant Alexandre, Garons

At Restaurant Alexandre (4 toques), Michel Kayser has thought big! The chef designed his" dessertlibrary" with his cabinetmaker. It opens only in front of the dessert guests. The interior remains hidden from other tables, allowing them to enjoy the pleasure of surprise and discovery", emphasizes the establishment. inside, you'll discover vanilla millefeuille with spiced caramel, pineapple-passion pavlova, celery and fennel tiramisu, vanilla rice pudding and caramelized puffed rice. vanilla rice pudding with caramelized puffed rice, macaroons, lemon and thyme tart, fresh fruit cups and Grand Marnier soufflé.

Restaurant Alexandre © Dr © DR

Where to eat Restaurant Alexandre, 2 rue Xavier Tronc, 30128 Garons
See Gault&Millau's review of Restaurant Alexandre

Les Remparts, in Èze

Les Remparts (2 toques) is the bistronomic restaurant of the famous Chèvre d'Or, in Èze. Florent Margaillan offers a dessert cart that changes every 15 days, complementing Tom Meyer's attractive savoury score. The pastry chef offers six gourmet desserts, including seasonal fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, fruit cakes and a Tropézienne entremets featuring orange blossom mousse, pistachio cookie, cream and pistachio heart. These creations can be enjoyed at the end of a meal or as an afternoon snack.

Where to eat? Les Remparts, La Chèvre d'Or, rue du Barri, 06360 Èze
See Gault&Millau's review of Les Remparts

Loiseau des Vignes, in Beaune

Within the Bernard Loiseau group, several bistros celebrate the dessert cart in the purest tradition. These include Loiseau des Vignes (1 toque), the Beaune restaurant overseen by chef Alexandre Dutat and pastry chef Pauline. The latter has imagined a farandole of desserts that varies with the seasons, including a "Paris-Beaune" with Piedmont hazelnut praline cream and caramelized hazelnuts, a popcorn and passion fruit entremet, with a roasted corn chocolate mousse and a fruit heart.heart and caramelized popcorn, a chocolate and fir tree tartlet, with fir tree cream and chocolate namelaka crème namelaka au chocolat, or a fig and hazelnut chou, featuring shortbread, hazelnut cream and fig compote.