It’s nearly Valentine’s Day, and while some people are relishing in the lingering happiness of a special day with significant others and chocolate, some of us are just looking forward to the discounted candy rack at Target. Both are flan-tastic boats to be in. Either way, we cannoli hope to help satisfy that persistent sweet tooth with a list of our top dessert picks this V-Day season.

Gadani

139 Berkeley Square, Berkeley, CA 94704

Located in Downtown Berkeley and the subject of all of those Snapchat stories, Gadani is a great place to grab a sweet treat.  They are famous for their in-house warm egg puff cones and constantly rotating, unique flavors of ice cream. Make sure you give yourself some time to digest before hitting the place up or grab a friend, because the egg puff waffle and ice cream combination is an ambitious thing to take on alone. It’s also a tad on the expensive side at approximately seven to eight dollars for the combo, so keep that in mind!

Cinnaholic

2132 Oxford St., Berkeley, CA 94704

Also located in Downtown Berkeley, Cinnaholic is a vegan cinnamon roll dessert place that is oh so heavenly. Cinnaholic has been featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and offers desserts that are complete dairy & lactose-free, egg-free and cholesterol-free for those who have dietary restrictions. For those who don’t have any restrictions, these customizable cinnamon rolls still taste amazing!

Cupcakin’ Bake Shop

2391 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704

Located on Southside, this cute cupcake shop is the perfect stop for celebrating your roommate’s birthday or just satisfying a craving. They offer vegan cupcake options and have recently opened up a new, larger location just across from the old one.

John’s Ice Cream

2204 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704

When John’s first opened, all ice cream was priced at one dollar, but they’ve since raised the price to just under two. Still, it’s one of the most affordable and popular local dessert places in town. They’ve got a wide variety of delicious flavors, toppings and cones! Definitely worth a try, likely when the weather in Berkeley lightens up a bit.

Icicles

1812 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 94703

This is a fairly new addition to the Downtown Berkeley area, and an exciting one at that. The “rolled ice cream” trend has swept the Bay Area in the last few years, and Icicles caters to this popular trend by offering crazy, delicious combinations of rolled ice cream and other mixed ingredients. Some of the recent menu options include “Mai Tai” (traditional Thai tea), “Nutella n’ Chill” (Nutella, bananas, graham crackers), “Teas Me” (Thai tea and matcha), “Wake Me Up” (hazelnut coffee), and “Cereal Killer” (Choose from: Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch or Cinnamon Toast Crunch).

Little Gem Belgian Waffles

2468-A Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704

Located on Southside, Little Gem is a go-to for students who love their waffles. Little Gem offers affordable, delicious waffle combinations with names like “Golden Bear” (Churro-fle, Crème de Gem, Bananas), “I’m Gemmin’ It” (Nutella, Strawberries) and “Rise N’ Shine” (Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Butter, Bananas). Check it out if you haven’t already!

Secret Scoop

1922 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

A self-described “Thai Gelato and Dessert Café”, Secret Scoop is well-known in the Berkeley area for its sweet, decadent desserts that incorporate Thai culinary influence. In addition to ice cream and gelato, Secret Scoop offers Thai teas and sticky rice.

Uji Time Dessert

2575 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

Known for their picturesque Taiyaki (fish-shaped waffle cones), Uji Time is a great dessert place to try out with friends. They offer unique ice cream flavors, such as black sesame, sweet corn and tofu, and also offer macaron ice cream sandwiches! If you’ve never tried Taiyaki before, this would be a great first place to try it out!

From the bottom of our tart, we hope that you try some of these places out (if you haven’t already)! With luck, some of these dessert shops will strike you as “mint to be.”  If not, donut worry, just know we’ll never dessert you.