A city full of trendy restaurants, coffee shops and dessert places
Downtown Chicago is full of trendy restaurants, coffee shops and dessert places. I will be telling you about my top favorite dessert places which are Instagram-worthy!
1. Jojo’s Milk Bar
I discovered this place a while ago when deciding on a place to celebrate my brother’s birthday. They have decorative and sweet milkshakes in many different flavors. I must say, though, their milkshakes are very filling, so you may consider eating light beforehand or sharing with someone! Jojo’s now has a stand in Water Tower Place, which is fantastic because it’s located centrally in the city. However, they don’t have a wide selection of drinks there, so I would recommend going to the actual milk bar if you’re going for the first time. If you aren’t in the mood for a thick, creamy milkshake, they have a simple milk and cookies option. This includes different flavors of milk and cookies in small quantities to taste each flavor. Overall, I would recommend this place because of how Instagram-worthy and yummy the drinks are!
2. Mango Mango
I went here over spring break with friends and had a great experience! Mango Mango is located in Chinatown, so it’s farther away from the heart of the city. The desserts aren’t that sweet or filling compared to Jojo’s Milk Bar. They are very light and, of course, made with mangoes. They have many different flavors and types of desserts. My family ordered mango crepes and a pudding-like mango dessert with sago and jelly bits. I liked the pudding-like dessert better than the crepes because of how refreshing it was. The mango crepes were still good, but they weren’t quite sweet enough for my taste. I really liked this place because of how many options they had. If you aren’t a big mango fan, I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re looking to find your new favorite dessert. Some options aren’t purely mango-based. I tried one dessert that had what they called “snow white” base with mango juice and mango chunks on the top, but there wasn’t a strong mango taste in the actual base itself. Overall, I recommend this place if you love mangoes, want cute pictures and don’t want a dessert that is too sweet or filling!
3. Stan’s Donuts
I haven’t been to Stan’s Donuts in the city, but there is one in the mall near my house. It’s a cute donut place with many different donut options. My favorite was the Nutella donut. I don’t think the donuts were too sweet, but they weren’t bland either. I really like the different options for donuts because of how unique they are. Another donut I really like is the red velvet one. If you go, I recommend you try flavors that you wouldn’t find at a regular donut shop because I feel like their best ones are the ones that aren’t the primary donut flavours.Â
My top favorite out of these three places must be Jojo’s Milk Bar. If I’m going to have dessert, it has to be a good level of sweetness for me to enjoy thoroughly. However, there are some days when eating a filling, sweet dessert isn’t the vibe. I think Mango Mango is a great place to have a delicious dessert, but one that isn’t too filling or sweet. Stan’s Donuts are good if you want to grab a quick, classic dessert. Chicago is full of incredible, picture-worthy food and drink places, and I can’t wait to go to the city more often this summer and explore more places to eat.