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"Dessert's a splurge at lunch, too, but here it's a necessity. The waiter strongly recommends the passionfruit cheesecake gelee. He's absolutely right. Pastry chef Judy Mattera creates a beautiful mold of fluffy cheesecake and tops it with a thin layer of gelee flavored with the vaguely astringent taste of the fruit. Passionfruit seeds dot the top. A little scoop of coconut sorbet and another of mango and passionfruit add more elements of flavor. As a fillip are tiny moonshaped pieces of mango and raspberry gelee that taste like the insides of gumdrops. It's a dazzling finale."
— Alison Arnett, "Ah, the Luxury of Lunch," Boston Globe
"Desserts at the Fed are creatively conceived and skillfully executed. The hot chocolate-banana brioche pudding with banana chocolate chip ice cream and caramelized bananas was really three desserts in one, with the ice cream a perfect counterpoint to the intensely chocolate bread pudding and the caramelized bananas."
— The Improper Bostonian
"Pastry chef Judy Mattera is a master, and her desserts shine. A chocolate ganache with chartreuse cream is a chocolate lover's fantasy, complete with a nearly six-inch web of opaque sugar soaring skyward from the dense cake. A more subtle option is the calvados tart. Accompanied by an apple-jack sorbet, it awakens the palette just enough to help one emerge from the mahogany vault of The Fed to return to the day's work."
— Elizabeth Lorne, "The Fed Raises Interest in Downtown Dining,"
"With its vat of creme anglaise and mortar of sophisticated chocolate sorbet, the light and airy Strawberry Souffle was an alchemist set for creating culinary gold."
— Phantom Gourmet, The Federalist
"Judy Mattera, pastry chef at Grill 23, made a name for herself while working at Olives in Charlestown and Pacifico in Brookline. Judy experiments with Asian ingredients like galangal ginger, Chinese cinnamon and lemongrass. Two of her latest creations for her dessert menu are the striking double layered chocolate custard and galangal crème brulee and a key lime tart in a coconut shortbread crust that is perfect for summer dining.
— Richard Brunson, The Improper Bostonian
