Best-of Guides New York

The Best Apple-Focused Desserts in New York City

From classic French recipes that remind of maman, British pub favorites, and Viennese traditions to stunning creations that trick the mind and tempt the palate, we've rounded up a few spots where apple-focused desserts steal the spotlight.
Updated on 04 November 2024

Junior’s cheesecake. The black and white cookie. Chef Dominique Ansel’s viral cronut. These are just a few of the classic New York sweet treats you might want to take a bite out of during a visit to the city. Of course, in a city known as the "Big Apple," you may want to be a bit more literal when it comes to your meal's finale. When you're looking to take a bite out of the Big Apple with an apple-focused dessert, we have just the thing.

View a few of our favorites below. 


Le Bernardin’s trompe l’oeil apple

When the definitive history of NYC's dining scene is written, Le Bernardin will have a chapter all to itself. Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert’s icon has been entertaining the city’s movers and shakers for over 20 years and its popularity remains undimmed. The menu is divided into headings of “Almost raw,” “Barely touched” and “Lightly cooked,” but don’t be fooled, these product-driven items have considerable depth.


Nigel Parry / Daniel Krieger
Nigel Parry / Daniel Krieger

Gotham’s tarte Tatin

Three decades in, longtime pastry chef Ron Paprocki now runs the show at this tried-and-true institution. Gotham exudes old-school New York, as does the classic American cooking with Continental accents. 


Noah Fecks
Noah Fecks

Lord’s Calvados apple trifle

It feels straight out of London at this meat-centric restaurant with a nose to tail ethos from Chef Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard, the partners behind smash hit, Dame. Come on a cold day for hearty English classics with a touch of creativity (think curried lamb scotch egg).


Evan Sung
Evan Sung

Café Sabarsky’s apple strudel

This Museum Mile kaffeehaus is so authentic it may as well be set along Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Instead, find it in a Beaux Arts mansion—home to the Neue Galerie, replete with 20th-century Austrian-and-German art and design.


Cafe Sabarsky
Cafe Sabarsky

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Rates in EUR for 1 night, 1 guest