Finding desserts shouldn’t be a hard thing to do. Apart from the usual ice cream or bakery though, there are almost zero dessert venues that are primarily focussed on desserts. Enter Mosquito, a dessert bar that opened in Vancouver back in 2015 that offers dessert on the first page of the menu. Does the dessert-first mentality here make for a great night or should you go to a regular restaurant and ask for the dessert menu? Read on to find out.
Food and Drink:
Team Picky Nibbles came here and I had a taste of the following:
- Champagne Cocktail ($12)
- Blackberry & Sesame ($12)
- Strawberry Latte ($12)
- Camp Fire ($12)
The Champagne Cocktail was my aperitif and it was made of cognac, angostura bitters, sugar cube, and sparkling wine. Though there was a sweet foretaste, the alcohol quickly took over with a wash of bubbles at the end. Thumbs up, though the price approaching the upper midrange of cocktail land. I largely enjoyed this cocktail on its own and justified that it should be consumed before the desserts.
Champagne Cocktail
The Blackberry & Sesame was a matcha crémeux, blackberry mousse with sesame sponge layer cake, mint foam, and sesame brittle. The presentation here was gorgeous as were the finely cut layers of crémeux and mousse, like a modern condo building. The sesame brittle also added a welcome nuttiness to the plate.
Blackberry & Sesame
The Strawberry Latte was a vanilla and espresso panna cotta with strawberry compote, vanilla crumble, and strawberry sorbet. Again with the layers, this was a well-presented decomposed latte. The panna cotta had an even mix of espresso and the crumble was very satisfying for me to dig through.
Strawberry Latte
Finally, the Camp Fire, an arrangement of chocolat cake, bourbon marshmallow, peanut dragée, fire candy, and smoked vanilla ice cream. Every bite of this dessert had a distinctive, charred taste, and perfectly represented the immersive name of this dessert. The marshmallows were also very tasty and rightfully torched. The visual trophy of this display though was the fire candy. Propped up and sculpted in a fire formation, this candy took the cake and turned what was already a cool dessert into a “wow” moment for me. Bravo.
Camp Fire
Features:
Mosquito is a smallish dessert bar with seating for about 20 guests. There are dark booths, a bar counter, and a couple of high tables to suit your fancy. Among the lower tables were cool crescent moon-shaped glass surfaces that fit perfectly with the wooden tables which I thought was neat.
Inside Mosquito
The washroom was an interesting experience. Walking through a blue hallway, one’s not sure what to expect, but once you’re in the unisex washroom, a French-teaching audiobook begins playing. It’s almost as if the air changes. The water faucet appears to drop straight down from the ceiling and the pressure control a firm handle coming out of the wall. This washroom was a magnificent place to be.
Inside Mosquito
Service:
Service at Mosquito was pretty good. There was only one server but for the majority of the time we were the only table there. Apparently it gets busy there later at night but at 5:30pm we were able to pick and choose our own table (the window seat, obviously). Our server was patient with our decision-making, topped up our waters, and did all of this while wearing a simple black t-shirt. Typical hipster Gastown!
Outside Mosquito
Final Thoughts:
Meal: Dessert
One-liner: The most visually-stunning desserts available in Gastown, and possibly Vancouver
Highlight: Camp Fire
Recommended for: When you understand that dessert can come before dinner, or you’d like to impress a date
Would I go back? Yes.