Review: Dessert Castle

Posted on 14 June, 2014

As many of you know, I have a serious sweet tooth. So I was very excited to hear that a new dessert place would be opening right near my work/home (as well as thinking ‘Oh, this could be dangerous…’). Its name is Dessert Castle, and, now I’ve been there, I can promise you it’s like nothing else in Canberra.

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 The first thing you notice when you walk in is the décor, which is an eye-catching mix of old and new. Impressive giant head chairs sit to the right as you come in, as well as some others that are a bit cheeky (you’ll have to go there to see what I mean). A gorgeous stone wall lines one side of the shop, with the other side featuring a wall of futuristic looking panels that house the frozen yoghurt dispensers, and that CHANGE COLOUR! And so do the impressive arches that stretch over the shop!

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 The attention to detail in the design is astounding. Every piece of furniture and decoration has been carefully chosen, and even the wooden panels underneath the display benches are beautifully edged, and look like portrait frames. This all became even more impressive to me when I learnt that one of the owners actually designed the fitout, and made a good deal of it himself, including the tables and the beautiful futuristic arches and frozen yoghurt wall, as I’ve now decided to call it.

Speaking of the owners, they’re two local Canberra guys who’ve been friends since college. ‘We wanted to create something unique,’ they told me. ‘The ultimate dessert destination with a wow factor.’ They first came up with the idea more than a year ago, chatting as friends do, and then decided to make it a reality. Planning took a while, and because the concept and design was so unique, so did the approvals processes, because there were no precedents. ‘We purposely chose a design that was challenging,’ they said. ‘Things that people had said ‘you can’t build that in a shop!’ we wanted to do.’

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 With a fitout like Dessert Castle’s, you would hope that the food is as good as the décor, and I’m happy to report that it is! I was lucky enough to attend the VIP pre-launch event where I decided I needed to try as much as my stomach would let me—for the purposes of research, of course. I split a salted caramel tart, chocolate and hazelnut mousse dome, and mango and raspberry mousse with my friend. All three were amazing—the kind of dessert where you can’t help but exclaim after your first bite, because they are just that good.

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 We also got to try a not-so-mini version of Dessert Castle’s DC burger, and were very happy to hear that we’d be able to buy full-size ones when the shop opened, because they were seriously delicious. That’s right—for those of you who can’t handle too much sweetness, or want a bit more of a balance, Dessert Castle will also be selling savoury food, ranging from breakfast options (hello, Eggs Benedict!) to sandwiches, pasta, salad, and burgers, and including gluten free dishes (and desserts). The chef is a college friend of the owners, which I thought was nice to hear.

After eating a few more canapes, my friend and I optimistically decided that we could also fit in hot chocolates—the Dessert Castle version is made with Belgian chocolate. While delicious, we had to concede defeat, only managing to get through half. I had toyed with the idea of buying a frozen yoghurt to takeaway, but for once reason prevailed and I decided to use it as an excuse to go back again another time.

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 If you follow HerCanberra on Facebook, you’ll know that another time turned out to be less than 18 hours later. Yep, I have that much self-control. I had actually gone just to chat to the owners and find out more about the shop, but seriously, how could I resist Nutella and peanut butter frozen yoghurt??

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, Dessert Castle offers self-serve frozen yoghurt. You pick up a cup, fill it with the frozen yoghurt flavour(s) of your choice, then add toppings. The price is calculated by weight ($2.20 per 100g). Dessert Castle has more than 20 flavours on its books, with 10 available at a time. They range from taro and cookies and cream to pomegranate, cherry, and chocolate, and toppings include popping boba, m&ms, marshmallows and lots more. For those of you who are froyo afficionados, it’s worth noting that Dessert Castle’s interpretations of the flavours are their own, so won’t be like the ones you can get anywhere else.

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 For me, Dessert Castle is a welcome addition to the Canberra eating scene. It’s designed, as the owners told me, to be somewhere where friends and families can come in, eat, chat and hang out, without feeling like they’re being rushed so the table can be turned over, like in some other places. So do yourselves a favour and check it out!

 Dessert Castle opening special: from Monday 16 June to Saturday 21 June get $2 coffees and 50% off frozen yoghurt.

the essentials

The place: Dessert Castle
Where: Childers Street, Canberra (ANU campus, near the UniLodge and Shanghai Dumpling House)
When:  Monday – Friday 8am-10pm, Saturday 10am-10pm
Food: Desserts, handmade chocolates, slices, frozen yoghurt, snow ice cream, as well as café-style savoury food including burgers, pasta and salads
Drinks: A range of hot and cold, including coffees, Belgian hot chocolates, juices, and smoothies
Contact: Visit the website at www.dessertcastle.com.au or check out their Facebook page