Ferrara Bakery & Cafe

we got to go a piece of cheesecake, canolli's,and a fruit tarte..
very good wonder if they can ship cheesecakes out?

Pros: GOOd desserts

Posted 11/03/09

This used to be THE spot for an after meal in little Italy.
What happened???
I understand that we went there late (11pm), but they were still open, so there were no excuses.
The place was busy but not packed. Even though they were plenty of tables for 4 empty, we were told to wait by a hostess with an attitude.
After a couple of minutes we were seated, and a waiter pretty much threw the menus on the table without stopping.
It took a long time for our waiter to show up, and when it did, we couldnt help but noticing how dirty his uniform was, it looked like he had been wrestling on the floor with the other waiters, who looked equaly disheveled and dirty. His attitude wasn?t much better.
After that it took him 3 trips to the kitchen and a 5 minute span to bring 4 desserts and 4 coffees?
For a pricey place, with the amount of history Ferrara has, my expectations were different. I'll guess it will be a while before we return

Pros: Food quality, decor, location

Cons: Server's/hostess attitude, dirty uniforms, ambiance

Posted 09/06/09

Ferrara Bakery and Cafe has given my family and I great memories through the years. I think that it has come such a long way incorporating the very same traditions from years ago when I used to go when I was a child with my parents to today taking my family there after a dinner in Little Italy to enjoy some pastry, espresso or gelato. When going to Ferrara?s I always receive good service along with the excellent food and great atmosphere that they have to offer. From the second that you enter the establishment you are greeted with the fine aroma of the great pastry that is offered along with being treated as a very welcomed guest by the courteous staff. Some of our favorites that we cant live without, not only having one while we sit but taking a few home to enjoy the next week are the cannoli?s, lobster tails, tiramisu, and New York cheesecake that is out of this world. Even to my surprise it seems the prices have been slightly lowered during this hard time! I would suggest Ferrara Bakery and Cafe to anyone that is interested in experiencing the best of the best in food and service!

Pros: Ambience, Service, Fine Pastry

Cons: Parking

Posted 03/11/09

Absolutely awesome! Best pastry that i have had in a long time and reminds me of my childhood and when my family and i used to go to Italy for the summers. I would recommend Ferrara Bakery and cafe to anyone that is interested in the experience of the find foods and the history that this establishment has to offer. I recently rented out the room that they have to offer on the second floor for an office party and the staff besides being as courteous as they were worked well with my needs and tried to accommodate everything that I needed. The Cannoli?s, chocolate covered and regular are out of this world and I can never seem to get enough of them! The decor is beautiful and I feel that the staff compliments it nicely! After the many great experiences that I have had there, we chose to order my daughters sweet sixteen cake there and came out exactly the way we expected! The office staff and staff downstairs wanted to make sure that my experience with Ferrara was one that was memorable and I want to make sure that people know where to go when looking for the freshest pastries around!

Pros: great party room on the second floor, Great atmosphere and decor and excellent food

Cons: must find your own parking, and very crowded on a saturday night ( must mean its good!)

Posted 03/11/09

Can't stand this place. My first experience coming to this place was so-so and I came in with my friends a couple nights ago because they wanted to try it and were greeted with snobbish, pretentious people- presumably the owners of the place. The staff was nice of course. We bought a variety of about 10 pastries from them and was utterly disappointed. They were stale and the flavors were mediocre. There are better patisseries! Don't be fooled with the nice decor.

Pros: Nice Seating area, Clean

Cons: Rude owners, stale old pastries-not so fresh products,

Posted 02/09/09

I love this place. I have been going to Ferrara's for over 20 years. I purchased my wedding cake from them and every year I get a replica of my wedding cake for my anniversary. I get all my birthday and special cakes from them. Their strawberry shortcake is great! The item i like the most is their TIRAMISU it is the best i have ever had. during the holidays they make struffoli, pasteria, and pizza rustica which i ship to my family in California. I can't wait until they start making their St. Joseph Pastries which are to die for i love the one that is filled with bavarian cream...delicious!!!!

Pros: best tiramisu, st joseph pastries and cakes in town! and they some of their items

Cons: none.

Posted 01/20/09

Hands down, the BEST cheesecake I have ever had. So creamy, with a delicate crust and perfect sweet strawberries. I took some biscotti home and wasnt disappointed with that either! Great desserts, beautiful and unique pastries. Table service is fine, but the line at the counter is long and slow.

Pros: great history

Cons: boring dining room, bathrooms upstairs

Posted 09/25/08

Lobster tails are crispy with a wonderfull yellow cream filling, crispiest on a cool dry day. Not the best cannoli I have tasted the most authentic are found in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn area similar to what you would find in Sicily. Coconut macaroons are delicious.

Cons: Expensive

Posted 01/21/08

This bakery has every baked good imaginable, except it was somewhat disappointing. I had an eclair which tasted fine but the texture of the filling and the puff pastry was dense and stale. My friends loved their cannoli, and lobster tail. Again, the filling and pastry taste fine but the texture seemed day-old. It seemed they froze the items and defrosted them but not long enough. The taste is there but who can enjoy a rock hard eclair. At least the baristas cranked out the boldest espresso outside of Italy. The take out line often winds out the door on the weekends, but cafe seating is plentiful.

Pros: Espresso

Cons: Slow service on weekends, stale pastry?

Posted 01/05/08

Stopped off here for cheesecake and hot chocolate and it was well worth it. Great atmosphere, good service and beautiful food and drinks.

Pros: Cakes and hot choc

Posted 02/22/07

Ferrara's is my absolute favorite place to go for italian desserts. Above all, I love their tiramisu. It has the most perfectly balanced flavors, and it has never been anything but excellent. Another favorite of mine is the chocolate truffle cake, which is VERY rich, but if you love dark chocolate, it is absolutely fabulous. The cake is less like cake & more like a chunk of rich, velvety chocolate and it is amazing. Their cheesecake is also something I highly recommend. I have taken many many friends to Ferrara's & they have never been disappointed by either the food or the drinks. The service there is fairly good, and I have never had any problems there at all. Sometimes there is a long line to get seated (sometimes the line is longer for take-out) & it will stretch outside & down the block a little ways. That only tends to happen on weekends during holiday times when a lot of tourists are in the city. So it might not be the best thing to do if you're short on time, but otherwise, it's worth it!

Pros: just about everything

Cons: a little on the expensive side, but that's new york for ya

Posted 01/27/07

we stopped by on saturday to get out of the ugly weather. the place was pretty big and looked a lot like veneiros (or any other italian bakery), with mirrored walls, fake marble-inset tables, & dark wooden furniture. theres also a loooong refrigerated glass cabinet in the front filled with cakes, cookies, tarts, and whatever artery-clogging sweet that you may desire.

we opted to split the plate of 3 mini-pastries (your choice, $6.95). we chose the eclair, cannoli, and sfogiatella. im actually not a fan of italian pastries since they tend to be cold and sort of dry, but i think that these were above average. the cannoli filling was not too sweet and the shell was thin and crispy. the eclair filling was smooth and creamy. the sfogiatella pastry was flaky, but the proportion of shell to filling was too high.

i also ordered the house coffee (~$3). it came in a bulb dispenser and was piping hot. the coffee was great strong and not burnt or bitter. my friend that had the double espresso seemed to like her drink a lot as well.

service is decent. our waiter was slightly condescending (maybe because he thought we were tourists like the majority of their patrons), but he did what we asked so no real complaints there.

Pros: coffee, cannoli, glass display case filled with food

Cons: condescending waitstaff

Posted 09/04/06

I've been buying cannoli's and cheesecake from Ferrara's for years- they are the best- not too sweet and not too cheap, but, worth every pennie. On a recent trip, my boyfriend bought 4 cheesecakes to share with family and friends because the 2 we bought there a few months ago went so fast! We've had lunch there and enjoyed the pannini's and cappuccino. While I can agree the place has become a "tourist trap," it's because they are consistent in the high quality of their food and they've been in the same place for decades. The service may not always be as good as some of the other Little Italy restaurants, but, it's a place people go to relax and have coffee and dessert, not for a 4-star meal. We like to go Sunday morning or afternoon when it's not as crowded as Saturday night. We live in Baltimore where we have our own "Little Italy" with a very nice pastry shop called Vaccaros- but, every few months we travel to NYC because the cannoli's and NY cheesecake at Ferrara's are exceptional.

Pros: exceptional pastries, fresh, consistently high quality

Cons: slow service on weekend evenings

Posted 08/14/06

Everyone loves Ferrara's, so much so, that you should be prepared to wait if you'd like to be seated. If you just want to pick up a bunch of cookies & pastries to go, there's a separate line for that. Ferrara's even serves gelato out front of it's storefront and has benches for you to sit. If you enjoy Italian pastries, this is the place for you; if you're looking for a slice of apple pie or chocolate cake, look elsewhere, though their Death by Chocolate is so rich, you won't be able to finish it. I did have to ask my server 3 times for a glass of water and things were slow in coming, but I guess if you are a fan, you'll overlook it.

Pros: Good desserts

Cons: Lines, Waitstaff

Posted 04/08/06

I've loved everything I've had here. The cheesecake, the eclairs, the cannolis...it's definitely a great place to go after enjoying a meal at another Little Italy restaurant. Highly, highly recommended. The service is slightly sub par but very worth it. Really delish.

Posted 03/01/06

Went thinking I would find "real, authentic" Italian pastry's. Brought my Italian husband, but very dissappointed. Pricey, poor service and looked like a tourist trap. Next time I'm in town I'll find better! They've fallen into getting the tourist dollars.

Pros: Location

Cons: pricey, busy, non-authentic

Posted 08/07/05

over-rated, use to be good 15-20 yrs. ago. desserts are so so tasting & a little pricey. canoli good, but other selections either too sweet, too much creme or too much pastry. uncomfortable seating. busy cuz it's popular. SUM IT: i'd suggest the other 'ferrara's around the corner with better pastries & italian ices. this ferrara's is too touristy for me.

Pros: location

Cons: so so desserts, noisy, parking

Posted 09/21/03

Lovely restaurant, we had a late lunch of veal-stuffed manicotti which was extremely tasty. The ricotta cream-filled cannoli is SO delicious I am still dreaming about it! Endless dessert menu, not a huge variety of savouries but I think anything you ordered would be delicious. We loved this place & will definitely visit next time we are in NY.

Pros: Delicious food, Fun location

Cons: Service a bit slow

Posted 06/20/03

If you have a sweet tooth or want a great cup of joe, then this is the place to go! The dessert list goes on and on. Nothing to dissapoint on the menu.
In the summer months gelato is available too.

Pros: great dessert, ship anywhere

Cons: rest of menu lacking, location

Posted 09/10/02