26 places to celebrate National Dessert Day 2019 in San Diego

National Dessert Day is Oct. 14

For those with a chronic sweet tooth, this day was made just for you. Here’s where you can engage in a plethora of decadent choices:

The Westgate Hotel will serve its California Cherries Jubilee Flambée ($12), tableside. The liqueur-drenched dessert, created by famed French chef and writer Auguste Escoffier in honor of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, boasts mounds of pitted cherries set afire in brandy and topped with vanilla ice cream and shaved white chocolate. 1055 Second Ave., San Diego. westgatehotel.com

Trust Restaurant‘s Mr. Trustee Banana Split is a Neapolitan cheesecake with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla layers, topped with a quenelle, an elegant, football-shaped scoop of banana ice cream, garnished with fresh bananas, pineapple chutney, strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and toasted walnuts. 3752 Park Blvd., San Diego. (619) 795-6901. trustrestaurantsd. com

Fork Oak restaurant’s Anything but Basic Chocolate Mousse Cake is a rendition of the classic chocolate mousse cake, topped with cookies and cream ice cream, Rice Krispies soil and mint anglaise. 1011 Fort Stockton Drive, San Diego. (619) 722-3398. fortoaksd.com

Zinque, a French-inspired bistro in Little Italy, will serve house-made pastries, including traditional tart selections like apple almond, pear and cherry clafoutis, served warm with a scoop of Tahitian vanilla ice cream. 2155 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. (619) 915-6172. lezinque.com

Bencotto‘s signature take on the classic Italian dessert, Semifreddo Al Pistachio, features partially frozen pistachio mousse and hazelnuts drizzled with a sour black-cherry sauce. 750 W. Fir St., Suite 103, San Diego. (619) 450-4786. lovebencotto.com

JRDN‘s Eight-Layer Carrot Cake is layered with yuzu cream cheese, crystallized ginger, caramel corn and golden raisins, topped with ooey-gooey butterschotch. 723 Felspar St., San Diego. (858) 270-2323. t23hotel.com/dine

Monello’s Torta Della Nonna is a sweet pastry base topped with a lemon- and vanilla-scented custard filling and a layer of crunchy pine nuts. 750 W. Fir St., San Diego. lovemonello.com

Patisserie Melanie chef Melanie Dunn whips up a delectably sweet chocolate-filled Chocolate Tart enhanced with a gold leaf. 3788 Park Blvd., Suite 4, San Diego. patisseriemelanie.com

What better day to try Cesarina‘s tableside desserts: deconstructed elements of classic Italian desserts like Tiramisu, Cannoli and Zabaglione prepared by one of the restaurant’s pastry pros. 4161 Voltaire St., San Diego. (619) 226-6222. cesarinarestaurant.com

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse offers decadent treats like Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bar, made with chocolate pearls, vanilla rum sauce and a rich ganache, or the towering Six Layer Lemon Cake with tiers of tangy lemon buttercream icing and lemon glaze. 901 Bayfront Court, San Diego. (619) 272-5060. delfriscos.com

Cake is king at Candor by Giuseppe with its devilishly delicious Peanut Butter Mousse Chocolate Cake, a triple-layer confection, stacked with chocolate cake, marshmallow core and peanut butter mousse. And, a variation on a dessert staple, Giuseppe’s Famous Carrot Cake is drizzled in a house-made berry coulis. 1030 Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. (858) 246-7818. dinecandor.com

MooTime Cookies & Creamery ice cream shop offers guests the MooPie, a big scoop of ice cream between two fresh cookies, and the MooTaco, a house-made waffle shell, can be filled with your favorite frozen flavor. 2820 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego. libertypublicmarket.com

Bobboi Natural Gelato‘s seasonal Santa Ysabel Apple Pie Gelato is made by mixing in whole apple pies from California Mountain Bakery into Bobboi’s vanilla gelato. 8008 Girard Ave., Suite 150, La Jolla and Little Italy Food Hall, Piazza Della Famiglia, 550 W. Date St., San Diego. bobboi.com

Enoteca Buona Forchetta offers the classic Italian Affogato with dessert. It comes with house-made vanilla walnut gelato (from the soon-to-be-open Gelati & Peccati), drenched in a shot of steaming espresso and topped with Amaretti cookies. 3001 Beech St., South Park. (619) 381-4844. buonaforchettasd.com/south-park

Lou & Mickey’s house-made King’s Key Lime Pie is the perfect nightcap to a big steak dinner. 224 Fifth Ave., San Diego. (619) 237-4900. louandmickeys.com

Pop Pie Co.‘s Caramel Apple Piescream features one slice of its warm apple crumble pie wedged between scoops of Madagascar vanilla ice cream courtesy of sister shop Stella Jean’s, topped with whipped cream, house-made salted caramel syrup and an oat crumble. 4404 Park Blvd., University Heights. poppieco.com

Puesto‘s Watermelon Raspado features shaved ice, house-made fruit gummies, sweetened condensed milk, fresh mint and lime. Available through the end of October. 789 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego and 1026 Wall St., La Jolla. eatpuesto.com all cq

Simsim‘s Middle Eastern dessert, Mahalabia, is a sweet dessert of milk, cream, sugar and sliced dates topped with shredded filo dough and crushed pistachios, and, if you’re lucky, you might catch chef Ibrahim Alsharief preparing his Kanafa, filo dough and cheese served with pistachio and sugar syrup. 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite 301, San Diego. (858) 430-6717. eatsimsim.com

The Smoking Goat will serve a Goat Cheese Cheesecake for those looking for a lighter, less sweet dessert. Blended goat cheese and cream cheese pairs perfectly with a glass of wine from the restaurant’s curated wine list. 3408 30th St., San Diego. (619) 955-5295. thesmokinggoatrestaurant.com

Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant’s Warm Chocolate Brownie is topped with espresso Baileys ice cream pretzel crunch and chocolate sauce. Or try the Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Blueberry Compote, a fluffy lemon olive-oil cake topped with blueberry compote, fresh lemon curd, whipped cream and Marcona almonds. 2202 Fourth Ave., San Diego. (619) 231-0222. bankershillsd.com

Theatre Box’s Sugar Factory will offer its over-the-top signature World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae, made with 24 scoops of ice cream covered with dark chocolate, caramel and strawberry sauces, caramelized banana, marshmallows, chocolate chips, cookie chunks, a glazed doughnut, a red velvet cupcake, white chocolate strawberry curls, gummy bears, Reese’s Pieces, Oreo cookie crumbles, rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, graham cracker crumbles, waffle cones, unicorn pops, candy necklaces, and topped off with whipped cream, gummy cherries and sparklers. 701 Fifth Ave., San Diego. sugarfactory.com

From cracking into the sugar crust shell, to indulging in the rich French vanilla custard, Bleu Boheme‘s Creme Brulee is the best way to end a rich, flavorful French meal. 4090 Adams Ave., San Diego. bleuboheme.com

Mezé Greek Fusion’s Baklava Cheesecake is a combination of house-made cheesecake with a walnut crust, topped with baklava (layers of phyllo dough, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and Greek honey). Also featured is the Baklava Sundae, made with baklava crushed with vanilla ice cream, warm chocolate sauce, fresh seasonal fruit and whipped cream. 345 Sixth Ave., San Diego. gaslampmeze.com

Primavera Ristorante’s signature Tiramisu features espresso-soaked lady fingers layered with mascarpone and a dark chocolate dusted finish. 923 Orange Ave., Coronado. primavera1st.com

In addition to a rotating selection of pastries available in the first-floor café, Havana 1920 offers a sweet spin on empanadas like the Empanada De Queso y Guyaba, sweet pastry filled with cream cheese and guava. Havana adds something extra to its Havana Club Arroz Con Leche, rice pudding infused with Havana Club rum. 548 Fifth Ave., San Diego. havana1920.com

El Chingon offers two dessert options: Fried Ice Cream, vanilla ice cream with bueñelo crumbs and dulce de leche; and Churros dusted with cinnamon and sugar served with vanilla ice cream and dulce de leche. 560 Fifth Ave., San Diego. elchingon.com