A restaurant obsessed with desserts is now open in Allen: Called Dessert Lab, it’s part of a small local chain, which just opened in a former boba shop at 975 SH-121 #160.

Dessert Lab was founded by Amaan and Shima Patel, young co-owners who left their careers in health consulting and chemical engineering to launch this sweet concept. They opened their first location in Richardson in 2022, then a second shop in north Dallas at Frankford and the Tollway in 2024.

"Our love for doughnuts, ice cream, and waffles started at a young age, and we always dreamed of opening our own shop in where we can share our passion with others," the couple says.

They offer a dizzying variety of options: doughnuts, doughnut sandwiches, crepes, cheesecake, ice cream in 18 flavors such as Dutch chocolate, cotton candy, and blue monster with cookie chunks, milkshakes, and waffles in flavors such as Nutella and Caramel.

But the buzzy item du jour is Dubai — the chocolate-pistachio flavor combo inspired by the Dubai chocolate bar viral sensation.

They have a Dubai chocolate ice cream cup. A Dubai chocolate crepe and a Dubai chocolate waffle -- both with pistachio cream, tahini, shredded phyllo pastry, ice cream, and Nutella.

  Dessert Lab Dubai crepe  Dessert Lab  

“It’s something that's been highly in demand in Dallas, and we wanted to make sure that more people in Dallas get to experience this viral dessert,” Shima says.

Other items include iced and hot coffee drinks, affogatos, mangonadas, and rooh afza falooda, which is a South Asian milkshake with basil seeds, rose syrup, and ice cream.

In an unusual twist for a dessert shop, they stay open late: until midnight on weekdays and until 1 am on weekends. The couple originally found themselves wanting sugar late at night, and found few places that kept those hours. They also cater corporate and private events.

The shop's interior is bright and pink, with a spiffy chalkboard-style mural of the Dallas skyline; a wall of greenery with an "I heart Dallas" neon sign, and a depiction of their logo, featuring a doughnut on an ice cream cone with their motto “Donut say no to ice cream.”

This location was a great fit for the next location because its closer to some of their regulars at the other shops.

“Allen is a different market because we were getting a lot of demand from there,” Shima says. “We wanted to make sure we were more accessible for those customers.”