Sugar Factory

Here’s the question: What would happen if somebody decided to create an entire restaurant based on completely over the top desserts, eye-catching design, and all kinds of food basically designed to look good on Instagram? Well, we have the answer: Sugar Factory.

Sugar Factory is a national chain that started out in Las Vegas, and they’ve expanded across the country. But this is their first location in Massachusetts, it’s in Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall. And the only way I can describe this place is: complete sensory overload.

It spans almost twelve thousand square feet over two floors. There are 2 full bars pouring all kinds of crazy cocktails, there are floral walls, neon signs, beautiful chandeliers, lots of their signature rubber duckies, even a full candy story. So sweets are definitely the main attraction here, but it’s not just candy and dessert.  This is a full service restaurant serving lunch, dinner, and brunch.

First and foremost, you gotta see their milkshakes… or Insane Shakes as they call them. And yeah, they’re pretty insane alright. This one is called the Rainbow Brite Insane Shake. So it’s vanilla ice cream in a tye-die inspired mug covered in sprinkles, topped with an entire slice of vanilla rainbow cake, with a tall multi-colored lollypop sticking out the top.

And since this is Sugar Factory’s first location in Boston, there are a couple of shakes designed exclusively for Faneuil Hall. There’s a Boston Cream Pie Shake served in a dark chocolate mug decorated with white chocolate curls and topped with an entire Boston Cream Donut.  And here’s the one I would get: the Boston Cannoli Shake, inspired by the Italian bakeries of the North End. So this one has a chocolate mug, chocolate curls, chocolate chips, and of course, three full cannoli on top.

On the savory side of things, Sugar Factory actually has a lot of tasty options as well.  The signature starter is the Rainbow Sliders. And obviously, these ain’t your typical mini burgers. You get five sliders to an order, each one with a different colored bun, topped with melted cheese, crispy onions, pickles, and a special sauce.

And this burger might be even crazier. Check out the Flaming Hot Cheetos Burger. It’s an eight ounce Angus patty, topped with Flamin’ hot Cheetos. And it’s served on a bun that’s smothered in even more crushed hot Cheetos.  So I guess this is a good counterbalance to all the sweet stuff.

For something not quite so spicy, but still with a nice kick, there’s a Penne alla Vodka. This is made with hot Italian peppers, and a tomato cream sauce, with a big ball of creamy burrata cheese on top.

Of course, a lot of tourists like to come here. So, they had to put a Lobster Roll on the menu, and honestly it’s a good one. You have nice chunks of fresh poached lobster, all nested in a nicely toasted brioche bun. With a basket full of fries on the side.

Now, the desserts here are just ridiculous. They’re huge and colorful and crazy. One of my favorites is the Fondue. It’s basically a big bowl of melted chocolate and marshmallows. Served with fresh fruit, cheesecake, brownies, and gummy bears. So this is very interactive and fun.

This might be the most over-the-top dessert in all of Boston. The world famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae. We’re talking twenty scoops of ice cream, with hot fudge, caramel, strawberries, caramelized bananas, marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies, a glazed donut, a cupcake, and basically every kind of candy you can think of. And it’s all served in an oversized bowl that can feed a table of twelve… and in case you were wondering, it costs about a hundred bucks.----

Now let’s get some brunch. And at Sugar Factory, brunch is certainly not boring. Case in point: the so-called “Insane Double Stack Rainbow Pancakes”. So these are nice and fluffy buttermilk pancakes, obviously they’re made in all different colors. It comes with a side of maple syrup, but let’s be honest, do you really need that too?.---

Then there’s the S’mores Nutella Waffle. So you have a golden, fresh-made Belgian waffle stacked with chocolate, hazelnut, bruleed marshmallow fluff, Hershey bars, and graham crackers. And at this point, I feel the need to call my dentist and just apologize for even showing all this food to the world.

But first, I could use a cocktail. And yeah, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. Total insanity. There are regular cocktails, and then there are the Goblets which come out the table smoking from a little dry ice. This is the Twisted Hart Peach Lemonade Goblet, designed by comedian Kevin Hart for some reason. It’s made with Tequila, fresh peaches, and homemade lemonade, with two twisted unicorn lollipop straws.

So, you don’t come here if you’re on a diet. You DO come here if you’re celebrating a birthday, or you’re having a little stay-cation, or you just want to truly indulge, at the Sugar Factory.