ChikaLicious Dessert Bar

Having been to Dessert Club across the street countless times with PayPal offers, we finally dropped in here with a visitor and were seated in a few minutes (they hold you outside to maintain serenity due to the small, austere space). Chika and her staff were crushing it, even if two staffers did seem to have some silent argument going on. We were a bit upset we didn’t capitalize on their BlackBoardEats deal in 2015 nor their Unilocal deal, but overall enjoyed our tasting and found the price fair, even if everything was (by necessity) already mostly premade and just assembled to order.

Came on Sunday around 8pm. Surprisingly almost no wait! It’s so small with maybe only 10 seats at the bar and 8 seats for tables (reserved). The dessert is light and small portion. It’s only open from Thursday to Sunday. Chika seems to be always there! It’s prix fix for $ 18 for three. I had the childcare tart. The tart crust is crispy. Then sorbet is just sorbet. Everything is tiny, but it’s a great experience. You can also order tea or drinks.

I love everything Chika creates.
I’m a big fan of her Dessert Club, ChikaLicious store across the street from ChikaLicious Dessert Bar. I guess you could say this is a more high-​end dessert spot compared to their Dessert Club store. Both places are amazing and definitely worth visiting.
We came at an off time and were able to find seats immediately. Service is amazing, so attentive and friendly. I am so excited we were able to meet Chika herself! She is down to earth and hard working. This dessert spot is cozy with some tables and counter seating, where you can watch the magic happen. There is a restroom in the back and it’s very clean.
The Prix Fixe for $ 16 is excellent. It comes with Amuse, Choice of Dessert and Petits Fours. Chika’s desserts are always light, full of flavor, delicate, and made with quality ingredients. She’s so talented and I love that she shares her love for dessert with us. This is a great place to bring a loved one to enjoy some dessert, tea, and wine.

Simple and beautiful. Pre Fix menu was $ 16 + tea $ 5 +tip =$ 26 – 7 per person. We were three people. I asked Chika (pastry chef) what is your recommend. She said cheese cake. That’s so delicious! I felt like a different dessert. It was so soft and light, creamy with milk. Many costumers were Asian. Chika is nice Japanese lady. Thank you.

It seems that there are two Chikalicious Dessert Bars, right across the street from each other. I hope I’m writing this review for the right one!
Totally did not get to try the famous croughnut while visiting New York. Then we wandered in and saw the sign that said doughnut/​croissant. Thought great l can finally try something similar too it! Got the crème brûlée and also a nutella for free since they made a mistake on our order. I was like wow this is soooo good!
It… taste… exactly… like… a… malasadas???
In Hawaii we have portuguese doughnuts called malasadas. And interestingly enough this doughnut/​croissant taste exactly like it! The crème brûlée was awesome, having a slightly caramelized top and more of a creamy cream cheese filling. The nutella tasted good having chocolate inside. All were flakey and delicious!
Also got a green tea matcha latte which was awesome!
I’m not sure if the original croughnut tastes like a malasadas. To be continued for the next trip to New York. All I know is that if anyone from Hawaii is craving a malasadas in New York you can stop by here :).

The long wait was worth it.
We started off with some lovely amuse. Wow. IT was light and amazing.
The warm chocolate tart was so good. The panna cotta was very smooth.
The petit fours were pretty good (some better than others, but all good).
I loved how the hot tea is served in traditional tea cups.
Overall, a lovely experience that you should take the time to really enjoy!

Super cute place, great for a date, bar seating recommended so you can your desserts being made
The cheesecake is really unique, never had a cheesecake before that was so light and squishy (in a good way). Warm chocolate tart is good too
Don’t know if I’d come back since prices are a bit high especially if you do a tea or wine pairing but it’s a cool place to checkout at least once

I used to be a fan of chikalicious but not anymore. The last two times I’ve been here when they debuted their new creations it did not taste good. My friends and I tried their version of a cronut and it was rather disappointing. (Note: We’ve had Dominique ansel’s cronuts on various occasions). We got excited when we saw they made churros cone topped w soft serve ice cream. This was another disappointment. The churros was unexpectedly very hard. for the price we paid ($ 10) we were expecting something big but all we got was a rather small cone. c’mon you can get soft serve ice cream w toppings for about $ 4 in the city.

I finally tried this place out. First of all, it was interesting how you wait by standing in line. They don’t have a list were you put your name down. I got the brown sugar panna cotta. I definitely like it. The strawberry sorbet was refreshing. The panna cotta was soft and smooth. The wine pairing that came with it was good. It was sweet. The last plate came with mini bites. I love the biscuit. The coconut marshmallow was very soft. The truffle was bad. I didn’t like it at it. It tasted weird for me.

Location: faced against dessert bar chikalicious, Chikalicious dessert bar is only open through thursday to sunday, offering limited editions of dessert. Two, although look very similar, they do provide different kinds of sweets. The one I am comment on is very high end, with few seats, and chef in the bar…
Food: I honestly expected more from ChikaLicious Dessert Bar. And me and my friend ordered three dessert for prefix order…
I think. I am not a fan of any of the dessert.
Good part: it is very delicate, the plate of dessert is elegant, small portion, not too strong sweet but still concentrated on every bit of sweetness inside the dessert/​
Yeah, you would say it’s great
but the price is just…
Maybe it’s just not worth 17 dollars for one dessert place.

Terrible seating options and super confusing menus but great desserts! The churro cone ($ 10) soft serve ice cream is great. Over priced like everything else here but the churro cone can’t be beat. Mille crêpe is good too, though not as good as Lady M’s, and cupcakes are good – lots of good flavors.

The vanilla bean dough-​sant is the first thing I tried here. Literally one of the best things I’ve put in my mouth. Perfectly warmed with a not too sweet vanilla cream filling encased in buttery airy dough tossed in sugar. Made me feel like a happy well fed baby.

I have been eyeing this place since a few months ago, but only got the chance to try its complimentary bakery across the street, which was very good. This place apparently doesn’t take reservations after 7pm and is a first-​come first-​serve. What’s interesting about this place is that you have to wait outside until a party leaves before you can step into the actual restaurant, which can be a dreadful wait if the weather is bad outside.
I got here yesterday with a group of 4 around 9:45 pm and only waited around 30 minutes. Thankfully, the weather was great outside so the wait was not bothersome at all. The waiters were very nice, and we were seated in front of the chefs (Chika and RJ) behind the counter. I was awed by the way they made the desserts so efficiently yet so delicately. Props to them!
The prix-​fixe menu is $ 16 per person and comes with two pre-​selected items, Amuse and Petits Fours, and the third item is a dessert of your choice. Everything sounded great, but we got the cheesecake, black truffle ($ 7 complement), warm chocolate tart, and parfait in a strawberry mix.
The Amuse was served first and was fantastic – it’s served in a small ship-​shaped bowl with sorbet in a caramel mix. I felt like I was tasting a very exotic and elegant dessert, haha. The Petits Fours came last and consisted of a coconut square, a chocolate square, and another delicacy that tasted like a cookie.
As for the special desserts, the cheesecake tasted very authentic but looked more like a mousse – the cream around it doesn’t taste like anything I’ve had, but I assume it is half-​and-​half or some kind of milk? The black truffle came with biscuits on Asian Pear Tartae, purple potato ice cream, and some other ice cream whose flavor I couldn’t distinguish. The warm chocolate tart was rich and creamy in chocolate. I enjoyed the parfait in strawberry mix the most, for I am a fruity person, but I loved each of the desserts in its own way.
The ambience of this place is nice and quiet, and the silverware is especially cute with designs on all the plates. However, I wouldn’t come here that often given the fact that I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but would definitely return for a light dessert after dinner in the village :)

Chikalicious is creative, dreamy, soft, silky, fruity, and super friendly (My favorite gourmet dessert bar in town). My friend said «every girl loved dessert!» I can’t agree more after visiting Chikalicious! The whole experience is amazing and inspiring with such a reasonable price ($ 16 Prix Fixe). I love every bite of my three courses.
I paired my three courses with French pressed coffee. The first course was jelly and ice cream. The shape of ice cream is so French style! And the creative use of Asian spice in the jelly gracefully balances the sweetness of the ice cream. For main course, we got brown sugar Panna Cotta with pineapple sorbet decorated with small cookies and cheese cake. The fruity slightly sour pineapple goes really well with silky and creamy Panna cotta! Additionally, the cookies add one more layer of texture. The cheese cake is very unique pure looking by pouring milk like cream on the white half ball shaped cheese cake. With my limited knowledge about dessert cooking, I know it takes a lot of effort to bake the light cheese cake without a crack in the cake. China’s master skill in baking this wonderful, soft, and flawless cheese cake is just beyond my imagination. The cake simply melt in my mouth! My favorite item of the Petit fours is the springy yet soft coconut cub.
This is a five + stars experience for me. We sat at the bar so I was enjoying watching chef Chika preparing the courses the whole time. I also noticed that chef Chika is very attentive and attentive. When she figured other staffs are too busy to add water for one customer at the bar (-(the glass was still ¹⁄₃ full). She went to the kitchen and got the water for her. Such an amazing, creative yet gentle and attentive chef!
Make sure you call/​email ahead because they take reservations! I will for sure to come back and other courses on the menu.

Ever-​Changing Unique Creative Delicacies
On my visit to Chickalicious I went with the Pre-​Fixe for $ 16 (the drink was about the same price) which are 3 «courses» that will complement each other in some way or even are the preference of the chef preparing the dessert at the time. I prefer it to be the former rather than the latter, but either way I highly recommend going with the pre-​fixe if you’re a first timer.
Desserts:
For the life of me I can’t recall what the apéritif (starter) was. I apologize for my forgetfulness here.
Grapefruit Brulee with Cointreau Sabayon and Frosted Pistachio:
A dessert dish far more harmonious than its full name pronunciation. Talk about a mouthful and I’m not talking about the dessert. The dish is compact with impactful flavor. Cold sweet and tart sorbet along with a mildly fresh sweet tartiness of the peeled grapefruit slices. A brulee without really being a brulee. Reminds me of a deconstructed dish well known in the Lower East Side.
The frosted pistachio didn’t fit the dish in my opinion, but it was good none-​the-​less.
The finale included 2 pieces of 3 bite size desserts (was dining with one person). Basic but remarkably executed. The best being the coconut marshmallow. I never thought that marshmallow could be so soft without being in liquid form. As soon as you pop this tiny dessert in your mouth it all but liquefies. This dessert is softer than any pillow. Softer than a baby’s bottom. It is unexplainable!
The drinks are also unique in their own way. When one drink is name Cara Cara Orange Ice Cube in Chai Tea Sparkling Wine you know your receiving something unique.
Overall: 4.75 Stars
I am happy the line was short on the day I visited ChikaLicious because I would have missed a great experience. Don’t let the line intimidate you! Unless it is ludicrously long.
The ingredients and presentation are on par with your upscale gourmet locales. The price matches them as well.
The location is very small with a maximum of possible 20 seats available at any given time. Therefore I recommend showing up before 7:00pm to avoid waiting 30+ minutes to dine on the deliciousness.
The menu is ever changing so if you see a dish on Unilocal that looks amazing there is a strong likelihood it won’t be there, but something even better may have taken its place.

LOVE THIS PLACE! Everything here is made with love, a unique experience, and artistic plating.
PROS:
–Beautiful plating. The best seats are at the counter, where you can watch them create each dish. They are so good!
–Portion size of the desserts are small for a reason. Don’t come here expecting it to be buffet style. :D I rather have quality over quantity.
–Every dish is unique and so creative. Really enjoyed our dining experience here minus the creepy bus boy/​man.
–Get the prefix!
CONS:
–The creepy bus boy kept getting too touchy feely with us by standing too close in our faces and putting his hand on our backs. YUCK.
–Didn’t care for the cheesecake dish.

Delicious unique experience. The portion size is a bit small but hey as far as desserts go, that doesn’t bother me. The quality is exceptional. You can make a res between 3 – 7 on Thurs to Sun, I think so I made a rez for 2 on Thurs at 7pm and they had two bar seats ready for my friend and I upon arrival. As it’s been said, you often see Chika herself behind the bar. She, and her team indulge patrons in that Japanese hospitality — you know hand towels, everything handed to you with both hands, etc.
It’s all the 3 course pre fixe here, which means you pick your main and you get an amuse dessert and petit fours. We were started with some kind of vanilla sponge cake (I think) which was a bit gelatinous, maybe it was a custard. It was in an espresso sauce which was a strong and had a kick.
For dessert, I had the signature fromage blanc cheesecake which Chika recommends for all first timers. It’s not to be missed — so light, airy, lots of technique and the cheese used is like almost kind of funky… tangy… it was really, interesting and flavorful and different. It is served over ice to prevent melting I guess but is really is more cheese than cake.
My friend had the warm apple cake/​bread pudding which had really good apple sauce– served warm. This was a seasonal item but other than the signature cheesecake, there’s always the chocolate tart with peppermint ice cream. other seasonal stuff included a yummy looking white chocolate éclair.
For petit fours, we had chocolate cookies, chocolate candies, and some kind of gourmet marshmallows– forgot the contents. The usual.
The desserts are a bit on the smaller side but for $ 16, it’s not a lot to ask for such high quality cooking and baking.

Thought this place was great and cool that the namesake of the restaurant is the one cooking for you and occasionally bringing you the dishes herself.
Starting with the space, it has two tables and one bar top that probably fits at most 20 – 25 people. There are no waiting areas really so people just cram in when it’s cold. I could definitely see the line extending to the end of the block though on a nice summer day.
The people are nice, from the server, the two dessert chefs that explain what you’re getting even to the intimidating guy picking up your plates — quite interesting to see a 200 pound dude that looks like he got out of prison picking up fine china and smiling at you by the way.
While the wait is long, both to get seated and then to get served your order, it’s completely understandable. They serve dessert and coffee here — if you expect your food to come quickly, go walk to a McDonald’s and they can give you a nice apple pie. You can tell both chefs take care in making each dessert and it comes out in the taste as well.
I got the white chocolate mousse and it was to die for. I’m not normally one for these highish end dessert places but it was definitely worth it. The price wasn’t even too bad either. About $ 16 for your choice of dessert and then two small dessert dishes of their choosing. One was star anise sorbet in a bed of espresso jelly. That was amazing too and I would order that by itself.
Would definitely recommend coming here but if you’re a very impatient person, probably best to either try somewhere else or get some patience.

I was always wondering what the flavor of dessert would be if it was prepared with love and heart; after today’s visit to ChikaLicous, I understood the feeling now.
Chika was born and raised in Japan, so every single bite of her dessert had a touch of delicacy — same as the other Japanese style sweets. A three course dessert tasting was present at the bar — started with amuse, followed by the main dessert, ended with the petit four. My friend and I had chosen the signature cheese cake and panna cotta with pineapple sorbet. No matter whether you love cheesecake or not, I would strongly recommend Chika’s cheesecake — as white as snow and as soft as cotton! I could literally feel it melt in my mouth! Amazing! My tea pairing Da Hong Pao made the panna cotta less creamy yet still able to present a light touch of sweetness.
My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our dessert and decided to come back and try the other ones. Thanks Chika, we love it.

Cool presentation and attention to detail but how can you justify the $ 25 dessert? Consisted of 2 tablespoons of fancy ice cream and ¼ of chopped up fruit plated on fine china.
Pot of tea served on royal albert tea cup was the most reasonable for $ 5.00
Nonetheless its great to experience once.

Une pépite dans l’East Village. Concept original: on y va pour déguster un bon dessert + un verre de vin ou autre boisson. Les saveurs sont exquises. On est captivés à regarder les pâtissiers travailler en sirotant un verre au comptoir en attendant notre assiette. Mention spéciale à la tarte au chocolat sorbet de poivre rose et coulis de vin rouge… Un des meilleurs desserts de ma vie!