Saturday Sweets: The Betsy Hotel Serves Up Sweets to Beat the Miami Heat
The Betsy Hotel on Ocean Drive has easily become one of my favorite South Beach escapes. This boutique family owned hotel is nothing like what you’d expect while strolling down Ocean Drive. It’s home to a cozy coffee shop that serves Panther Coffee (and plenty of pastries), LT Steak & Seafood, The Alley, and The Ventanita. Each is filled with their own share of delicious desserts, making it not only a great hotel on South Beach but a perfect spot for a Saturday sweet or two.
All of The Betsy Hotel’s desserts have been created by the property’s Chef-Partner Laurent Tourondel and are made fresh on-property by pastry chef Gabriela Amelunge.
LT Steak & Seafood serves up a variety of desserts from traditional warm chocolate cake to Cuban Flan, Tres Leches, and more exquisite offerings like the Guava Torticas de Moron. “At LT Steak & Seafood we push the fine-dining bar in Miami. The desserts are composed with a lot of finesse and flavors that push the boundaries that you won’t find anywhere else,” says Executive Chef Danny Ganem.
While LT Steak & Seafood is busy serving fancier desserts, the gelato is the real star at The Betsy Hotel. All of the gelatos are made in-house using the freshest and highest quality ingredients in the market. Each spot on the property is home to its own special flavors of gelato.
“At LT Steak & Seafood we serve our Banana-Passionfruit gelato, which can be found on the Ananas Gildas dessert. Over at The Alley we have our Frozen Orange dessert, which is a really cool, eye-catching dessert with a delicious orange creamsicle flavor,” says Executive Chef Danny Ganem.
Over at The Alley, the focus is on traditional Italian offerings, including homemade gelatos and traditional Italian tiramisu. The orange creamsicle gelato is served inside a hollowed orange making for a presentation that’s just as pretty as it is delicious. There’s also chocolate gianduja, rum raisin, biscotto, amaretto black cherry, salted caramel, lemon ricotta, pistachio-orange. The biscotto made with biscotti cookies tastes like cake batter and I’m guilty of eating way more of it than one person should.
Outside in the alley that leads from Ocean Drive to Collins Avenue you’ll find The Ventanita, a grab and go window. Here they are serving unique gelato flavors in homemade waffle cones, and fresh, made to order crepes. Guests have the freedom to mix it up a bit and make their own gelato cones with a variety of toppings.
If you’re craving something sweet and you’re on South Beach stop in for a scoop of gelato (or two or three). In our Miami heat, there’s not much that can beat fresh gelato. It’s the perfect refreshing treat that will keep you cool and satisfy your sweet tooth!
1440 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139