A guide to NYC's best Italian treats
Italian cuisine is among the most popular in the world. While the country is primarily known for its seemingly endless variations of pizzas and pastas, its classic desserts are equally deserving of praise. Pastries such as sfogliatella, tiramisu and cannoli rank among the most famous but other perhaps lesser-known treats such as crostata and zuppa inglese are just as delicious.
New York City is a hotspot for Italian cuisine, a legacy founded by the first Italian immigrants to the city in the 19th and 20th centuries. While the Big Apple is home to hundreds of pizzerie and trattorie, it also boasts a number of Italian pastry shops that pay homage to the country’s sweet tooth. America Domani has compiled a guide to New York City’s best Italian pastry shops, a list that is sure to satisfy your sugar cravings at any given time. Below are the top 10 highest-rated and most-reviewed Italian pastry shops, according to Yelp. Buon appetito!
Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffe $$
Veniero's has all their pastries in the front counter. Pictured, rainbow cookies, their Camilia cake, a Napoleon Cake, raspberry tarts, and lemon cookies (Photo Credit: AJ Forrisi)
Veniero’s is an intergenerational bakery located in the East Village. Dating back to 1894, it is currently run by the 4th generation of Veniero's. The pastry shop maintains many of its original details, including ornate marble floors and hand-stamped metal ceilings. They serve a variety of large and miniature pastries, hand-made Italian butter cookies and biscotti as well as traditional cheesecakes and specialty cakes. Enjoy them at the pastry shop with a warm cappuccino or take them to go to eat at your leisure.
Pasticceria Rocco $
Pasticceria Rocco has all their pastries on display, letting you choose what you want (Photo Credit: Jason Forrisi)
Established in 1974 by Italian immigrant Rocco Generoso, this West Village staple serves a variation of Italian coffees and classic Italian pastries including butter cookies, cannolis, meringues, and cheesecakes. Pasticceria Rocco is also notable for serving all-day breakfast and lunch, offering clients classic American dishes such as pancakes and burgers.
Ferrara Bakery and Cafe $$
Located on Grand Street in Little Italy, Ferrara Bakery is one of the largest and most famous bakeries (Photo Credit: Jason Forrisi)
Serving coffee and Italian pastries since 1892, Ferrara’s is one of New York City’s most famous bakeries. The Little Italy institution, which originally opened to serve opera lovers, has been run by the Ferrara family for five generations. Ferrara bakes and imports over 200 classic Italian dessert specialties, including soft pignoli cookies, chocolate truffle cakes, and sfogliatella, all of which can be shipped nationwide.
La Bella Ferrara Cafe $
On Mulberry Street, this smaller bakery has a large selection that you can walk in and pick what you want (Photo Credit: Jason Forrisi)
Located on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, this quaint cafe is particularly known for its cannoli and sfogliatella. Established in 1970 by Sicilian-born Nick and Frank Angileri, La Bella Ferrara serves Italian classics such as tiramisu, gelato, and Italian rum cake. The bakery has always been a lively hotspot – scores of celebrities have stopped by for a treat, visits that have been preserved through the bakery’s celebrity photography wall, and Frank Angileri used to perform traditional Italian songs on the weekends.
Angelina Bakery $$
Angelina Italian bakery has two locations, one in Times Square Mid-town (pictured) and another in Hell's Kitchen (Photo Credit: AJ Forrisi)
Tucked away amid the hustle and bustle of Times Square in Midtown West is Angelina Bakery, an Asian-inspired Italian bakery. Created by Antonio “Tony” Park, a chef of Korean descent who was born in Palermo, Italy, and raised from a young age by an Italian family, Angelina’s serves baked goods derived from recipes passed down by his Sicilian grandmother. Aside from sweet pastries, the bakery, which features a transparent kitchen, serves savory pastries, pasta, salads, pizza, and panini.
Court Pastry Shop $
This antique bakery has been in business since 1948 and has been a neighborhood staple ever since. (Photo Credit: AJ Forrisi)
Located in the heart of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, Court Pastry Shop was founded in 1948 by the Zerilli family. A neighborhood institution, they sell traditional Italian pastries and cakes as well as macaroons, seven-layer cookies, and lobster tails by the pound. Don’t miss out on their specialty flavored ice in the summer!
Pane Pasta $$
Pane Pasta offers more than just your typical Italian pastries but also pizza (Photo Credit: Jason Forrisi)
Pane Pasta is a Sicilian eatery located in the West Village. Their organic baked goods and pasta are derived from the creators’ grandparents’ recipes. Pane Pasta serves homemade pasta, arancine, panelle and Italian pastries such as profiteroles, ciambella, cannoli and tiramisu.
Caffe Roma $$
This small pastry shop has a smaller selection, giving it a homey feeling (Photo Credit: Jason Forrisi)
Serving homemade gelato, Italian desserts, and coffee since 1891, this quaint Little Italy pastry shop is largely considered to be New York’s oldest bakery. Caffe Roma sells a wide array of cookies, pies, and miniature pastries alongside coffees and teas in a cozy, old-school setting.
Fortunato Brothers $$
Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a large selection of cookies, pastries, and gelato. They have table service for those who want to dine in. (Photo Credit: AJ Forrisi)
Established in Williamsburg in 1976 by three Italian brothers, Fortunato Brothers is a Williamsburg landmark selling cappuccino, cakes, pastries, and gelato. Although Williamsburg has changed over the decades, Fortunato Brothers have retained its traditional essence with the same original recipes passed down to the next generation.
Villabate Alba $$
Villabate Alba has luxurious cakes, cookies, pies, and so much more (Photo Credit: AJ Forrisi)
Villabate Alba is an intergenerational bakery located in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn that has been serving Sicilian pastries, cakes, cookies, and breads since 1979. The bakery was founded by Angelo Alaimo and his son Emanuele. The duo was bakers in their small town of Villabate in northern Sicily for many years before immigrating to New York City. The bakery is currently run by the third generation of Alaimos.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy, currently pursuing her master's in journalism at New York University (NYU). In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, and The Christian Science Monitor. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.