Extraordinary Desserts

This place is like heaven on earth for the dessert lover. Each pastry is so beautifully crafted that I even feel a little bad when I dig in…
The reason I’m giving this place 4 stars instead of 5 is because the process of choosing desserts before sitting is quite chaotic. There are always WAY too many people pushing through, and not enough employees to answer questions about unlabeled desserts. Nonetheless, every time I visit San Diego I always make sure to stop by here to satisfy my sweet tooth!

Date of visit: 1÷30÷2016
Chris and Christine invited Cam and I out on a Saturday night to Extraordinary Desserts to grab a dessert. Now, this would normally be a bad idea for going out at peak hours, but since none of us were in a rush, it was actually quite a nice experience. We were told that it would be a 40 minute wait, so we spent that time catching up, taking pictures of the desserts, and trying to narrow down what we wanted to order when seated. This felt like the easiest and shortest 40 minute wait I’ve ever had to endure, apart from the crazy number of people walking around.
It would be nice if the whole front of the store had more space since there’s always a ton of people crammed in there. There are two lines inside — one to request a table and one to request desserts for take out. Although the take out line goes pretty fast, you still have another wait while they prep the dessert for take out — they definitely pay attention to the details.
Now, I haven’t been to Extraordinary since my college days, and since I was on a tight budget then, I never really sat down to eat anything since it was so expensive to just buy a dessert. I have more disposable income now, so it was nice to be able to order different things from the menu and still enjoy a dessert. Cam and I had been snacking all day, so we just wanted something light to share and opted to split the charcuterie plate and tomato basil soup.
Japanese Sencha Green Tea. All of the teas sold at Extraordinary are sold by the pot, meaning you can’t get a cup of tea here. It would be nice if they incorporated the loose leaf tea bags for those who don’t want a whole pot to themselves, but I guess it’s easier to serve by the pot. This is a premium tea leaf, which cost $ 8.50, but came with a hot water refill. Since the tea leaves were really fine, some of the smaller bits poured into our cups, just an FYI for those wondering what the speckles in the pictures are.
Charcuterie Plate. I was actually quite disappointed with this plate. It was overwhelmed by a bowl of tiny pickles and a bowl of caramelized onions. When I order charcuterie, I expect more emphasis on the charcuterie, not the side dishes. The meats were sliced pretty thick, so it didn’t balance out very will with the bread and crackers. The cheese was mediocre — not a lot of taste there. I really enjoyed the mustard, which offset some the heaviness of the meats. Cam was also not impressed, but hey, it’s Extraordinary Desserts, not Extraordinary Charcuterie.
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. This was actually really good. It was definitely creamy, which made my stomach slightly upset, but I couldn’t help but finish off my half of the bowl. The croutons were perfectly seasoned and added a great texture to the overall dish. I didn’t really like the cheese, which kind of coagulated towards the bottom of the bowl, but Cam didn’t mind eating up those pieces. Definitely a good choice, but I wouldn’t come back just for this soup.
Ivoire Royale. This was hands down amazing. I didn’t really like the excessive amounts of white chocolate piled on top of the cake, but the cake itself was… Extraordinary. I loved how light and fluffy the cake was, while its sweetness was toned down by the fresh berries layered in with the frosting. The cake also came served with a slightly tart berry reduction, which made every bite bursting with berry flavors. I love berries, so this was definitely a dessert for me, although I felt bad washing all of the white chocolate shavings. Desserts are definitely more than enough for two people to share. We each got our own dessert and regretted it after not being able to finish everything.
The service was pretty good here, although we came during a shift change, which kind of threw off some of our orders. Our new server forgot Chris’ coffee, but he made it right by putting it on the house since he was waiting for 15 minutes for the coffee. It’s also pretty hectic inside since the tables are pretty close together, but overall it was a good experience. No one rushed us out of our seats, which was nice since we all just wanted to talk over desserts.
Overall, this is definitely a great place to go. Extraordinary Desserts is an iconic dessert shop in San Diego, so you should at least try one of their cakes (they’re all amazing) if you’re looking for something sweet to eat.

I love coming here! When a friend, who use to live here, was in from New York, he said this was one place he missed coming to. We all decided to meet for happy hour. Eight of us took up one of those large high tables. Great selection of food and drinks on the HH menu! We will definitely be back!
Again, complainers who can’t sit back and relax, please go to Denny’s. Thanks!

Overrated and pricy.
I’ve tried this place 3 times and can’t find anything extraordinary about it.
Third time is a charm, I won’t be going back.

I wasn’t wow’d by the flavor or texture of these desserts. This is a great spot to hit once, but I probably wouldn’t go back if I found myself back in San Diego. They are pretty to look and and well made, but not the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.
Worth a visit for sure!

PRICE: ⁹⁄₁₀
–Could be pricey for desserts but they are really good.
WAIT: Personally, ⁹⁄₁₀
–I hear the wait is usually long
–I personally never waited no more than 15 mins but if you’re indecisive like me, you’ll spend that time checking out the desserts. Also, we go before 6:30pm or after 8pm on weekday or nonholidays.
–Parking could potentially be a litttle difficult on busy nights.
AMBIANCE: ⁹⁄₁₀
–Nicer, louder, busier, bigger, and a lil fancier than the one in Banker’s Hill. Bring your visitors here. If it’s casual, you could do Banker.
FOOD:
Passion fruit cake: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
–Not usually a fan of fruity cake (Vanilla with strawberries is as far as it gets, or chocolate) but this one is so light and tasty! It’s hard not to get a second slice. Seriously.
Chocolate lava cake: ⁹⁄₁₀
–Very decadent. I should have ordered vanilla ice-​cream with it.
Apple crostata with brown sugar ice cream and vanilla bean ice cream: ⁹⁄₁₀
— Both ice creams are yummy. Asked for vanilla bean ice cream because brown sugar with it sounded too sweet. But they messed up so we got both ice creams! And the brown sugar was fine.
–Apple costata had nice crunchy parts and good apple pieces. So yummy warm with cold ice cream. I can eat A LOT of dessert but the portion was big enough for my boyfriend and I. We ate 90% because by that point it was a lot. Note, we did also have 2 ice creams lol.

I wish for you to come to NYC. No seriously. Come.
We arrived around 8 and were seated within 2 mins. The display of pastries was fascinating and everything was beautiful. I honestly wouldn’t even mind if we waited longer. We ordered the chocolate croissant bread pudding along with the fruit tart. Oh man… you just have to try it to really feel how we felt. It was like desserts heaven! My recommendation would be the bread pudding. It had a dense crust on top but when you scoop thru into the middle the bread pudding was soft and sweet. The chocolate just topped it off — delicious!

As Lincoln Hawk (portrayed by Sylvester Stallone) taught us, we must go over the top to be a winner. I visit Extraordinary Desserts when I experience extraordinary events. One such event took place on January 15, 2016. Subsequently, I convinced my cohorts to patronize Extraordinary Desserts (it did not take much arguing to convince the party).
Most started with a creamy sweet coffee confection to cleanse the palette before the pastries arrived.
We enjoyed the Dulce de Leche Chocolate and Cheesecake. I delighted in the Lemon Meringue Bar. A dear friend dove into the Crème Brûlée.
Everything was served elegantly and consumed ravishingly. I managed to restrain myself slightly and get to enjoy this orchestra tomorrow.
Highly recommend if you need something amazing in your life.

The macadamia nut French press is to die for. It is EXPENSIVE though, which is the overall theme with Extraordinary Desserts. It’s more like ordinary desserts, with extraordinary prices.
Don’t get me wrong — the desserts are pretty good. But $ 10+ good? I don’t think so!
I do love the green goddess salad but aside from that I’ll stop by once in a while to enjoy my French press and maybe a brownie, as long as there isn’t much of a line.

Love the ambience of this location. It is larger than the bankers hill location and is more modern.
Lots of black tea options. I recommend the birthday black tea. We had a larger party so chose many desserts but they were all amazing and beautiful. Service is great, busy as usual, and great prices.

Extraordinary Desserts is the best dessert place in San Diego! As an SD native, this is one of the first spots I turn to in order to delight some visitors from out of town. I don’t even like cake, but I’ll eat it if it’s from here. The service isn’t the best, but the dessert-​and the food-​make up for it. Did I mention the drinks?! There are a variety of hot chocolates, teas, tea lattes, etc. that are all so flavorful and almost as gorgeous as their desserts. The desserts are often too pretty to eat without snapping a quick photo to post on Unilocal or Instagram. I have too many I like to pick favorites, but here are a few I can remember off the top of my head.
Drinks:
Pink hot chocolate
Green tea latte
A handful of their fruit teas!
Desserts:
Blood orange ricotta
Shangri la
Dulce de leche
Chocolate caramel shortbread
I haven’t come too often for lunch, but their dishes are beautiful. On my most recent visit I tried the bacon and cheddar grilled cheese and tomato basil soup combo ($ 14). The soup is amazing, but the grilled cheese had some sort of jam that made it too sweet. I did notice the tuna melt that I have on my list for next to try.
If you haven’t been to this gorgeous gem, I’m telling you to go right now– you won’t regret it.

Desserts and a café!
I had a tough time making a decision with all the variety but ended up picking a few items. The appearance was five stars, but the overall experience was slightly higher than average. The exception was the Carrot Cheesecake. This item is worth mentioning. The vibrant flavors made me a fan.
Desserts-3.5 to 4 Stars.
Customer Service-​0 Stars!
~My little one and I were trying to make a decison. We had little input about the products from the staff and only received short half-​assed remarks when we asked questions. We were the only customers doing takeout. There were three girls working. One of them was making rude remarks to the other employee. The situation going on behind the counter was inappropriate and made us feel awkward.
The girl making the rude remarks took my cash and automatically put the change in the tip jar and walked away. We stood there trying to get someone’s attention to no avail.
Overall, the desserts I oder ed were 3.5 to 4 Stars. The behavior behind the counter makes me want to leave 1 star. Who was in charge? I am giving the benefit of the doubt and leaving 3 stars. While I normally bring up these issues with a manager… it appears no one was in charge at the time I was there.
I’m not sure I would return.

Place is a madhouse! People pushing and shoving every which direction just to write down what they want to order to go. If you have a ton of time to waste you can get your name on the 70 minute waiting list that we heard.
The desserts are to die for! Made to perfection, and such a large selection that had the inventory reducing quickly.
When we got to our hotel, we noticed they shorted us on a dessert and were sad we didn’t check before leaving. Didn’t want to drive all the way back and fight for parking and those wild crowds.
Next time will go when it isn’t so crazy like on a Saturday night. :-)

ExDesserts is a standard spot to go whenever you’re in SD. You have to go whether you’re a tourist, a local, or even anywhere near San Diego! I don’t care if you live in LA… drive down to SD and eat here… you can thank all of us who have had their decadent indulgences later.
I’ve been to ExDesserts too many times to count during my four years living in SD, but I always make it a point to come back for a cake or sweet treat whenever I am anywhere near Little Italy.
My go-​to cake is their chocolate lava bundt cake! I LOVE IT and they warm it up so it really feels like you’re going to cry out of happiness with one bite. I’ve had a bunch of other desserts (I recently went back to visit, and it seems like they’ve done new desserts based on the season) like their strawberry shortcake, cheesecake variations, and what not.
Service is sometimes a hit or miss, with a hit being very attentive and smiley, and a miss being nowhere to be found or unhappy. However, shoutout to our beautiful wine-lipstick’d server girl who was exceptional with her service and smile. She brought us our chai latte and black coffee perfectly on time, and took our chocolatey orders without fail. She has such a great spirit, especially since we stopped by during the boring «lull» time around 2PM.
The space is gorgeous. It’s great for those into aesthetics and beautiful restrooms. I’m all about the mabiance here. It’s also pertinent to note that there is another location not too far away closer to the Hillcrest/​Balboa Park side right next door to that vegan spot. The other location is much smaller and more intimate/​homey whereas this location in Little Italy has more of a dressy/​classy vibe. I love both locations for different reasons.

Gorgeous décor! Be careful with the door– when it swings open, it’ll also swing partways inwards and can hit people if you’re not careful (oops, sorry dude!)
There’s a nice collection of gifts, teas, books, etc. The most intriguing was a IPA beer jelly, which I definitely wish I could’ve bought but I wasn’t sure how well it would go in my checked-​in luggage and from my recollection, was a little pricey?
Amazing display of cakes and other desserts– it was so hard to make a decision! I thought it was a bit weird that they gave us a little clipboard to write down what we wanted– I guess it would make sense if it was crowded? But there were only a couple people and it’s a bit of a waste of paper imo.
I chose the lemon meringue bar, which was delicious but I couldn’t finish the entire piece by myself since the sourness just takes over. I took a bite of my coworker’s coconut cake, which was so fluffy and light!
Another place I wish was in South Bay/​San Jose! ⁴⁄₅. If I come back to SD, I’m definitely making another stop here!

When stepping into the extraordinary of desserts, I was in awe of their selections! I kept browsing and couldn’t decide on what to order because the variety is so grand and intricate!
Not only do they do cakes, tarts and the sweets, they also do cheese to my surprise.
Manchego Spain sheep was my favorite as well as the Honey Bee Gouda holland goat, in terms of cheese selections!
We ordered a load of sweet delights: Passionfruit cake, Crème brûlée, Fruit Tart and Fudge chocolate tart. I adored all the delights.
They offer dining to eat away at your scrumptiousness.
Eat away, endearingly.

We spent more on dessert than dinner. YOLO.
If you are from Atlanta, this is actually very comparable to Intermezzo in setup, so the idea isn’t completely novel. That plating tho…
I was recommended here by everyone who has ever been to San Diego. After a lovely dinner in Little Italy we saved room for dessert and made our way over. From the outside, it was nothing fancy– in fact we would’ve walked right past if google maps didn’t announce our destination. Inside though, we were met with cases of beautifully designed desserts. We must have spent 20 minutes trying to decide what to get; there were just too many good options. In the end I shared 4 desserts with a coworker just so we could get a little taste of multiple things. You can’t go wrong with whatever you decide on!

I might be the only person to not give this place «5 stars» but oh well, it’s a free country (so I’ve heard).
After years driving or walking by and just watching the huge lines without any interest in braving it for a fix of sugar, I finally went there last night after dinner and drinks. For any sort of miracle, there was no line. You heard it right: it was a Wednesday around 9pm and there were no lines. Hallelujah. That awesome door got opened to me and I had this mix of surprise and disappointment. I guess I wasn’t expecting that place to be so big, so full of people and so restaurant-​ish looking. I mean, I thought it would be a small cozy place to grab a fancy dessert and a glass or port. It’s bright, loud, it has a bar, a hostess, and menus. Mmmmm, okay then.
Then we got to the dessert displays. Two of them. And kill me, but honestly, it didn’t blow my mind. There’s a hole in the wall dessert place in OB with more options and better prices than this place. Don’t get me wrong; they all look GORGEOUS but I honestly was expecting 100 kinds of dessert, not 20.
We got a blueberry and lemon strudel and a chiffon chocolate cake. Server brings it to you and the presentation is fantastic (see pic) and they taste good. The chocolate dessert is so rich I couldn’t finish. The texture is amazing, flawless I’d say. The strudel had a perfect mix of sweet and tart and served warm, it tastes great. At $ 12 a piece, they better be good anyways. At least for those two items, they were fairly big. We couldn’t finish. Keep that in mind.
I left full and happy with my sugar fix but like o said, it wasn’t mind blowing. The environment honestly kinda threw me off a bit. And the variety… Mmm, I was expecting more.

10÷17÷15: I am seriously speechless when I think about this unique place. The desserts were AMAZING. The name of this bakery says it all. I am from Hawaii and I was already missing home and the first bite had me at HELLO and more. I ordered the Passionfruit Mango Cheesecake and the Aloha Oolong Tea. The cake literally brought so much fond memories. I have never been so emotional eating a cake… EVER! All of these childhood memories of Hawaii made me miss it even more and seriously brought tears to my eyes. My daughter ordered the Roasted Coconut Cream Torte and washed it down with the Matcha Green Tea Latte. I love how Chef Karen Krasne infused the Aloha and Parisian spirit into her desserts. Adorned with fresh flowers even made it extra special. It was so good that we were SERIOUSLY speechless!
This location is perfect place to hang out after dinner. This is their 2^nd location. Don’t be fooled by the amount of people waiting just to get in or take out. It’s so worth the wait. If you are ever in San Diego, this place is a MUST!

Extraordinary Desserts offers a wide array of food, desserts, and drinks. this location in Little Italy has been the one that I’ve been to a few times (usually for special occasions, birthdays, and taking people from out of town) and it always hits the spot.
After being quoted over an hour wait, we were actually accommodated within 35 minutes which was good. They have a great presentation and set-​up of their cakes and desserts where you can mark it down on your paper while you wait and a little line forms where you walk by and peer thru the display window. The service here was great the evening I came and the inside is very modern and clean with a unique and special ambiance.
DRINK: Large Iced Matcha Green Tea. made just right! sipping on goodness~
FOOD: Bacon and cheddar grilled cheese sandwich with jam and fresh tomato. absolutely delish! more amazing than I thought it was going to be.
TIP: Be prepared for a long wait, patience is a virtue :)
Come here for exceptional service & neat atmosphere & wonderful food & excellent desserts! YUMMERS.

Great dulce de leche cake.