6 Restaurant Desserts Chefs Say Aren’t Worth the Money

These sweets are often purchased frozen or not done the right way

Lauren David,

AARP

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Published May 06, 2026

a photo shows a bowl of vegan neapolitan ice cream

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A delicious dessert can top off a meal in the nicest way. But before you add that extra cost to your bill, there are some restaurant dessert secrets that you should know to get the most bang for your buck.

Lauren Klein, a pastry chef and the founder and owner of Handcrafted Chocolate in New Jersey, says to ask if the establishment makes the dessert you want in-house. You also want to consider how complicated the dessert is to make, says Jessica Carreira, pastry chef at Adega and Pastelaria Adega in San Jose, California, which shows how much care went into it; it’s probably not something you would make at home. “I also look for interesting flavors and something unique that I wouldn’t find anywhere,” she adds.

And if a pastry chef isn’t part of the staff? If that’s the case (which it is for most restaurants — especially the budget-friendly ones), many restaurants take shortcuts and save costs by purchasing frozen desserts from distributors and slicing and plating them as if they’re made in-house. “The big draw for the restaurants with these frozen desserts is that they keep really long, so if they only sell a few a night, they’re not throwing them away,” says Mindy Crosato, founder and pastry chef of Decadent Creations Bakery in Hillsboro, Oregon.

So when you go out to eat, which desserts probably aren’t worth the money ? We spoke to three professional pastry chefs, who shared their top six desserts to skip.

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Cheesecake

A common dessert on many menus is the beloved cheesecake, but there’s a good chance it’s not made at the restaurant or fresh. A premade frozen cheesecake is easy for someone in the kitchen to plate nicely and make it seem prepared in-house, says Klein.

For this reason, Carreira says, “I’ll never order a cheesecake because I’ll probably bet that it wasn’t made there.” However, if she can confirm it was made in-house, then she will often get it, she says. “I would go if someone’s promoting, ‘Oh, we have real New York–style cheesecake made in-house.’ I’m going to go to you and try it, versus a basic dessert menu in a generic restaurant and order a cheesecake.”

Brownies

Brownies or brownie sundaes are often on menus, but for Carreira, they are boring. “I really stay away from anything like a brownie sundae and that sort of thing,” she says. “For me, it is very generic — not unique, not exciting.” She considers whether she can make it easily at home. “Do I want to go out to a restaurant and purposely pay this much when I can go to the store and buy a box for $4 and make it at home?” she says. “That kind of simplicity turns me off.”

Crème brûlée

Many fine-dining restaurants offer the classic crème brûlée, a baked custard, but Klein feels the dessert is overplayed or too common. It’s also likely it’s not entirely homemade. Some companies sell crème brûlée bases that restaurants can pour into dishes and bake, she says.

Vanilla bean is what gives value to a crème brûlée, says Carreira. These days, it’s rare to see tiny specks of vanilla showing that it was made with real vanilla bean, she says. Sometimes it’s made with vanilla extract, yet restaurants are charging very high prices for milk, eggs and sugar, she adds.

All the pastry chefs agree that while it’s a simple dish to make, it requires some technique. These days, anyone can watch a few YouTube videos or online culinary videos and learn how to make it, says Carreira.

Ice cream

Vanilla, strawberry or chocolate are typical ice cream flavors on dessert menus. Even if there are more unique flavors, there’s a good chance they’re not made on-site. “Most restaurants are just buying the ice cream from a distributor or buying an ice cream base and adding ingredients to it,” says Crosato.

When she eats ice cream, she knows right away if it’s commercially made because of the texture and additives, like guar gum. She recommends purchasing high-quality ice cream at the grocery store with minimal ingredients. “Skip ice cream [in a restaurant] unless you know that it’s homemade,” Crosato says.

Lava cake

A mini chocolate cake with warm, chocolaty goodness that oozes out as you slice through it is the classic lava cake. “A true lava cake is actually like a gooey, slightly underbaked cake,” says Crosato. “It is a homogeneous batter that is put in the oven and then timed to come out with the middle still being liquid.”

a photo shows a piece of molten chocolate cake

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Unfortunately, it’s common for restaurants to purchase frozen, commercially made lava cakes, she says. The frozen block of chocolate, when quickly heated, has the consistency of chocolate syrup, she says. Crosato compares it to a Hostess cake filled with syrup. Another sign it’s not homemade is if you order it and it comes out within a few minutes, Crosato says. Want to know if it’s a true lava cake made in-house? The menu will state that you have to order in advance because it takes time to prepare.

Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin season is in early fall, but thanks to canned pumpkin, you may see pumpkin pie available year-round. Restaurants often take the easy route to make it using pumpkin puree — the same cans you can buy at the grocery store, says Crosato. “There’s not that much variance compositionally in a pumpkin pie. The recipe on the can is a good recipe,” she says.

Pumpkin pie is also one of the easiest recipes to make, so people can make it at home, she adds. That said, some restaurants do make pumpkin pie from scratch by roasting pumpkins, which is worth seeking out and ordering. “I sell pumpkin pie. We’re buying heirloom pumpkins from a farmer we know, roasting them and pureeing them,” says Crosato. “I can tell you most people are not doing that.”

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Lauren David is a contributing writer who writes about food, gardening and health. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Dwell, Southern Living, marthastewart.com and other outlets.