As you all probably know, because of our profound love for sweets, my family and I are always on the hunt for renowned dessert restaurants and cafes in NYC. A few weeks ago my sister was visiting from college and wanted to find a new dessert place to go to for ice cream. After searching, she decided we try going to a Zagat rated cafe called "Brooklyn's Farmacy" in Brooklyn.
It was a brisk Sunday night in Carroll Gardens and outside it seemed like everyone was home resting up for Monday's back to work/back to school routine. My husband and I just drove with our daughter to the address my sister gave us without even looking up what the place was all about. For some reason, we just really trusted my little sis' better judgement that night.
The exterior of the cafe literally looked like a vintage pharmacy from the 1920's. Walking in, I felt as if I had just gone through some kind of time machine and was nearly 100 years back in time! The wooden shelved walls were so brilliantly filled with vintage apothecary bottles. The interior infrastructure of the cafe were kept with all it's original architectural designs adding to the vintage setting. Almost as if it was all on purpose, they were playing classic Christmas songs which, immediately filled me with a warm, cozy, nostalgic, holiday mood.
We sat in one of the big round wooden tables in the back, right next to a wooden shelf. The shelf next to us was conveniently filled with all kinds of books (even baby books), card games, dominoes, and more. My little sister had arrived before we did so, when she pointed out to us that we can play games, I immediately got excited. What's better than eating ice cream sundaes and playing games with your family while listening to Christmas songs?! From my side view, I could see the group sitting in the big round table right beside us. They were enthusiastically playing an "I Love Lucy" board game.
I started off by ordering a macchiato and my husband ordered a regular cup of coffee. (We ended up switching drinks because the macchiato was way too strong for me...I always do this to him when we go out.) Once we intensively studied the dessert menu and made our decisions, we started up a game of cards, trying to look like we were patiently awaiting our order. I'll let the images below speak for themselves so you can understand our reactions when the waitress showed up to our table with these in hand.
I had the "Warm Brownie Sundae", my husband and my daughter shared "The American Dream". My little sister had her own modified version of the "Bandana Split", which she ended up really loving it being that it had been the first time she tried ice cream with banana.
Although the items on the menu may seem a little overpriced, you can get a half size on some of them and they are most definitely worth it! (The brownie sundae pictured above actually is a half size, which is still pretty big. I did not finish it all on my own.) Not only were the desserts made to perfection, but the ambiance and experience of the cafe is like no other place I've ever been to. This is the perfect place to visit if you are looking for a relaxing, fun, and most importantly delicious dessert restaurant to spend some time with loved ones.
P.S.: I loved this place so much, I returned the following Sunday for a girls night out. My older sister, my cousin (also my daughter's godmother), and I wanted to take my grandmother out before she left back home to the Dominican Republic. I also invited my mother in law, her sister, and my husband's girl cousin. This time around, we got there early enough to try their actual food. Most of us got the "Cuban sandwich" which came with a side of chips and I also ordered a tomato soup for my daughter. As far as desserts, this time I decided to go with the "Cookie Monster". Everyone was as pleased with the place as I was hoping they would be!
