Where To Get Late-Night Desserts In Atlanta - Atlanta - The Infatuation (2024)

photo credit: Amy Sinclair

We’ve all been there—opening and closing the refrigerator door at 10pm, jonesing for a sugar fix. When an apple or that expired bag of M&Ms just won’t do, Atlanta has a few great dessert options that are open until 11pm or later. A best-in-town gelato shop, a spot selling ice cream sandwiched between glazed donuts, and a classic diner with a ton of cheesecake choices are all excellent sweet stops for your midnight munchies.

THE SPOTS

Open 24 hours, Monday-Sunday

Sublime makes some of our favorite donuts in Atlanta—they have the perfect consistency, soft and pillowy, and a boat load of flavors, from the delicious dulce de leche to the sweet cream-filled A-Town Cream. Both the Georgia Tech and North Druid Hills locations are open 24/7, so you can enjoy their donuts whenever the mood strikes, which, if you’ve ever been to Sublime, is probably often.

Open until 11pm, Thursday | 12am, Friday & Saturday

For an ideal post-dinner date stop, head to Voga for dessert. Unlike your average ice cream joint, this place feels sophisticated—with a red velvet rope lining the entrance, plush leather chairs inside, and patio seating near a trickling water feature. And it all makes sense because they sell gelato so rich it could pay off your student loans. The Inman Park shop makes some of the city's silkiest and creamiest gelato with a range of rotating flavors like zabaglione and vanilla bourbon. Get a couple of scoops. Or grab a smooth tiramisu, a delicious affogato, or a cannoli, which all showcase their housemade gelato.

Open until 4am, Sunday-Thursday | 5:30am, Friday-Saturday

This diner is in the middle of downtown’s Hotel District, so there’s usually a mix of locals and out-of-towners here. They’ve got a pretty big menu, but the dessert section only consists of one thing: cake. An entire sugary circle will set you back $90, so we usually opt for the $10 slices. Of all the options (six cake and seven cheesecake flavors), Oreo cheesecake is our favorite—it comes with whipped icing and chunks of Oreos on top. Come in for the cake, but stay for the karaoke since you'll be more inspired to sing along to Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing."

Open until 12am, Friday & Saturday

A Haute Cookie in Inman Park nails the thick cookie with a soft, chewy middle and a crunchy exterior. The menu has a sizable mix of classic options and unique flavors like Oreo strawberry shortcake. If there is even one Twix cookie left in the display case, get it—if they’re out, beg the team to bake you more. And they’re near Voga if you want to create a dream team of cookie and ice cream combos.

Open until 1am,Friday & Saturday | 12am, Sunday-Thursday

For nearly 50 years, Cafe Intermezzo has been both a quintessential date outing and a leading late-night haunt, but while you’ll see couples at this Midtown location eating pastas and salad, the entrees have never been the star. You’re here for the giant dessert selections, which are all showcased in the pastry display around the coffee bar. Any of the cakes or cheesecakes are great picks—like a spongy boston creme torte or the white chocolate amaretto cheesecake that both come slathered with fluffy whipped cream. Plus, if you’re looking to pair your dessert with a Turkish coffee (a hard find in Atlanta) or a cappuccino spiked with almond liqueur, they have the most comprehensive coffee menu we’ve ever seen in the ATL.

Open 24 hours, Monday-Sunday

There aren’t a lot of restaurants in the A anymore with a 24/7 business model. But downtown's Landmark Diner is still slinging breakfast and dinner at all hours of the day (and night). That includes their desserts, which are usually in a display case in the middle of the dining room. Don’t expect anything gourmet here—think simple staples like an OK cheesecake or a slice of apple pie that taste better than the frozen ones your auntie always tries to pass off as homemade. And occasionally the display case looks similar to our fridge when we haven’t been to the store in three weeks. But when a 3am sugar craving hits, you can’t be too picky.

Open until 11pm, Sunday-Thursday | 12am, Friday & Saturday

Located near the GSU campus, Sweet Stack may single-handedly be responsible for raising a few GPAs. When you need an immediate sugar rush, the ice cream here is super sweet. And it’s open late when you need to level up before a midnight study session. For the ultimate dopamine boost, get their famous ice cream donut sandwich. Your choice of ice cream is squished between two glazed donut halves, warmed in a panini maker, then topped with caramel syrup and cereal.

Open until 12am, Friday & Saturday

Sugar Shane’s is hidden behind a halal grocery store on 14th Street, so just follow the steady trail of speeding gig work drivers doing cookie deliveries for Georgia Tech students to find it. As soon as you make it through the door, there's a rush of bright lights and loud music—look at it as setting the scene for your incoming sugar high. Expect giant, dense cookies so overstuffed that a heavy-lifting warning feels appropriate. And they're good. Flavors like the banana pudding are packed with big chunks of vanilla wafers and vanilla chips, while the Dashing Delta has pieces of Biscoff and an oozing cookie butter middle.