Room 4 Dessert

i think monika w nailed it (see below)… this isn’t a destination place… i wouldn’t build an evening’s events around coming here, but if it was still too early to head home, yeah, definitely stop in if you can get a seat. we sat at the end of the bar looking down the length of it, and could see the folks working behind the counter. i said to my friend, it’s like a dessert sushi bar sorta thing. i had the Voyage to India, which was 4 stars for taste. service was attentive, maybe because we were sat so opportunistically. i’d definitely go there again and again to try the other plates.

ok. so i love dessert. rich, decadent, really bad for me dessert. This place isn’t it, BUT it has something else. It is for one of those nights, where you’ve had a nice dinner but aren’t quite ready to go home. I was craving another glass of wine (or port) and something sweet, so i came here and it hit the spot. they have a nice selection of fine wines (white, red and dessert) and very interesting and eclectic assortment of desserts. I had this amazing chocolate mouse with apricots and sherry then paired with a glass of port (they do the pairing). it was amazing! Mmmm so good. the staff is required to taste everything and is therefore very knowledgeable about the desserts and wines (which for me, is a plus). Its not for every day, but definitely for that «i need something different» type dessert. I’ve been here a couple times (maybe only 1/​year) and am very satisfied every time. FYI: its all seasonal so the menu changes about every 3 – 4 months!

I’d go here if I was looking for something different to do after dinner. They get 3 stars for giving me a late-​night option that’s not just a bar and for having good desserts. I tried the Voyage to India tasting plate and was pleased. I shared it with a friend and it was plenty.

dessert is my thing, in a major way. i found out about room 4 dessert and chikalicious before i left for new york and was eagerly anticipating an exciting and delicious time at both. I know, i should always follow my own never-​fail advice: don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. in the case of room 4 dessert, i made the mistake of ignoring my own advice. i was excited! i was going to be impressed! i was wrong!
the place itself was laid out interestingly enough, with a kind of sleek décor that i did enjoy. unfortunately will goldfarb (the owner and, uh, chef), while actually a pretty nice guy, is way too impressed with himself and his mediocre, pretentious concoctions. i appreciate the whole «eat with the eyes» precept, but i also believe that where food is concerned, substance is always more important than style. at room 4 dessert, «concept» seemed to trump flavor, logic, and seasoning. the portions are not huge. fine. no problems there. i don’t need to eat some huge 20 scoop ice cream sundae with everything on it. and i do like to think about my food while I’m eating it. i love conceptual desserts especially. but when half the food on my little plate is not worth eating, that annoys me.
i had the «infance,» which consisted of a huge, dried-​out meringue, a few dry, flavorless marshmallows, some purple cotton candy, and a tiny toast and jam thing that actually had the most flavor out of everything combined and was the size of my thumb. the meringue and marshmallows were not even to be eaten, as far as i could tell. we attempted to eat the meringue with a fork and it shattered all over the counter. when we commented on the difficulty, will replied, «yeah, it’s like a giant rock!» and laughed. so. you are serving food that you liken to a geological formation? don’t insult your customers. if you wouldn’t eat that shit, don’t serve it and expect us to pay for it. meringue, marshmallows, cotton candy? in pastry land that translates to sugar, sugar, and sugar. Will’s uninspired thinking: hmm, what goes with sugar? i know! more sugar!
we also had «passage to india» which was slightly better but had will trying to show off the (now everywhere) technique of making sodium alginate pearls with mango. we weren’t impressed. new techniques are great, but you still have to use good ingredients and season them to taste like something.
i ate at room 4 dessert almost a year ago, so it may (i hope) have improved. but i remember the experience almost more vividly than any other dining experience I’ve had because of its singular mediocrity.

I had just eaten at Chikalicious earlier in the day and I have to say that this place just doesn’t do it for me. Sure the portions are bigger here but only 1 outta the 4 desserts hit the spot for me. Also, service was spotty. Our server was nice but our hostess is another story.
Here’s my rant — I was peeved at the hostess for lying to me. First off, my bf and I were visiting from San Francisco. We bumped into our friends at the bar and would have loved to catch up. They were already seated and we were in the process of waiting for our seats. We asked whether or not we could all be seated together b/​c we noticed there were 4 empty seats next to ours. The hostess said that unfortunately she couldn’t accomodate our request b/​c there was a party of four coming shortly. Ok, that’s cool, I understand. But later, I find out it was 2-​parties of two, not the party of 4 that she claimed. I asked the couple whether they knew each other — they said they were complete strangers. Did I give the hostess a piece of my mind? No. The bf had to restrain me. But yah I really want to thank for hostess for honoring my simple request (voice dripping with sarcasm).
Would I ever recommend Room 4 to any of my friends? Room what?
Don’t bother! Go to Chikalicious or Kyotofu instead.

A few words of wisdom… SER-​EN-​DI-​PI-​TY

This place is ridiculous.
If you want a dessert bar, go to Chikalicious — and I’ll tell you why…
1. This place was so hard to find. The street isn’t on the map since it’s only one block long. When we called, lost and around the corner, the person on the other end was so unhelpful. It only got worse once we found it.
2. The place is really narrow and dark. The dessert is hardly the focus here, its too dark to see your plate and its hardly bright enough to read the menu. You stare at either a blank wall with some cheap looking metal things hanging on what seem to be nails (not in a cool way), or at some random string of Christmas lights and bottles of alcohol. You don’t see the person making your dessert, or even any dessert-​y things around.
3. The staff is so annoying. The one guy is bad-​mouthing some previous customers at the top of his lungs, then when asked about some alcohol, quickly changes to the «know it all– I’m really too good to be answering your dumb questions» guy. The girl is equally helpful when asked about one of the dessert ingredients on the ridiculously worded menu. If you don’t like customers asking for explanations, you shouldn’t name desserts things like «struesel breton muscovato». Who (besides a pastry chef) would know what the hell that meant? To top it off, we ordered it, and her explanation was barely accurate.
4. The desserts look ok, but taste like blech. I mean, they’re not horrible, but they are far from good. They portions aren’t very big, and we didn’t finish any of the 3 we ordered. The flavors were not harmonious, and reminded us of something a fresh culinary school graduate would concoct. Sounds good huh? No.
5. Foam overload. We’re not in the 90’s anymore. Enough with the foams already. And bubbles… still foam. Sorry.
6. Overpriced. Like I said, try Chikalicious instead.
I would never go back here again, no matter how much money they offered me.

I ate absolutely zero desserts for 165 days because I realized I feel more energetic when I don’t. Then I was visiting a friend in New York and he really wanted to take me to this surprise place he would only describe as «weird.» Okay, fine, he’s so excited, we’ll go. They serve up tiny «tasting» desserts where you get four different desserts in one dish. Everything else was fine (3 stars) but the peach jell-​o thing with basil gets 5 stars. Dessert has lost its luster for me, but the peach-​and-​basil combination was cool to try.

Presentation is superb — however, the flavoring is just average/​boring. It could have been a better place if room 4 dessert didn’t use 24-​hour-​fitness air freshener.

i looked for this place and had to walk around the whole block since they did not sign. if it had it must been too small. was it worth the trip from baltimore? given that this place is not the only reason i came here but as a non-​new-​yorker driving through manhattan was not exactly fun. anywayz was it worth? YES. i will come back if i happen to be around but other places need to found by my craving for IT place. i must be honest. i am new to the concept of dessert bar but this was a cool place. not to mention helpful staff. and the dessert. i stayed away from drinks since i had to drive back home 4 hours away. alas. awesome presentation and the work. the intimate setting b/​w patron and the staff were great i thought. rather than waiting for the food i get to see how they were made. miticulous way of hands and quantity. great place at a great city.

I had low expectations initially given my favoritism towards Chikalicious, another east side dessert bar, but my experience there today changed my mind. Room 4 Dessert is a different type of dessert bar from Chikalicious — the music is fun and trendy, the drinks are chic, and the people behind the bar are quirky (in a good way). Will, one of the chefs, used to work at Cru and Le Papillon and Morimoto in Philly. His dessert creations are inventive and fun and his humor dry and sarcastic. He jokes around and makes the experience fun — and he and his sous pastry chef make some kick ass dessert. The menu is divided into wine, dessert, and cocktails. Each dessert has a recommended wine or cocktail pairing. The first section of the menu holds the lighter beverage-​like desserts while the second section of the menu presents are quartet of small dishes with the same theme. The menu changes frequently — daily they say — and everything is done daily and in-​house, from the pastries to the sorbet to the cookies to the design of the menu. My friend and I tasted practically everything. We loved the light lemony sweetness of the white chocolate martini with meyer lemon gelee (not too sweet, not too chocolatey) as well as the chocobubbles which had sweet apricots and crunchy bits on the bottom and light, foamy chocolate «bubbles» on top. The main desserts were also good, but the real winners were the lighter ones. Overall the place was great — a fun experience. My one complaint is about the price — I paid 4 times what I normally pay at Chikalicious and that’s just for dessert! Still, if you’re looking for trendy, this is your place. What makes this place a true find, however, is the welcoming friendliness that you find with the people behind the counter. Will and his sous chef are fun and quirky, and Priscilla, the petit bartender, could easily be your best friend. I will definitely back!

Pretty good dessert place. Great atmosphere. Great dessert and most importantly; great wine.

Words cannot even begin to express how amazing this place is. We arrived at 12:15 AM (Feb 15) at the tail end of a v-​day. Our original reservation was for 11:45PM. As soon as we walked in they said my name (almost like they were waiting for me). They informed us that they closed up at 12:00AM but would attend to us anyway since we made the effort to show up (and honestly… the trains were really slow that night). So this was already a good start to the experience.
The place: It’s a long bar with 28 seats and a kitchen at the far end. The bar table is at a good height and the chairs are real comfy. The look and feel of the place is awesome and very cozy. In other words… I sunk right into the place.
The dessert: Amazing! The prix-​fix included a half bottle of champagne and 2 dessert courses. Excellent champagne and the desserts… well… let me not spoil it for you… find out for yourself and report back.
The price: Prix-​fix for 2 was $ 100 with tax.
The staff: We met Will that night (one of the owners). He was great and very attentive, along with those with him. [Will — Y’alls did a great job!]
Overall: I am definitely going back with friends and on my own. Make sure to put this on your to-​do list ASAP.