You can’t get any more authentic than Ferrara Cafe when it comes to Italian dessert. Homemade gelato, traditional pastries, mouth-watering cakes, and more- all align the endlessly long counter. It’s as if someone zapped me back to Italy.
But don’t get too excited. This place isn’t for the faint wallet-ed. Mini pastries run at around $2 and regular sized pastries around $4-6. Gelato runs at $4/scoop and $6/2 scoops. It’s the price you pay to get the real stuff.
After our little excursion at Lombardi’s for pizza, we decided to head here for dessert. By this time, it was already 1pm and the place was hopping. After taking forever to decide, we still couldn’t quite figure out what we wanted. So, we decided to split and order the trios. I chose the trio of miniatures, where you can pick three mini pastries. I wasn’t going to share my chocolate cannoli, so we got two of those and then one eclaire.
The cannoli was great. Even though the custard didn’t quite match to the ones I got in Venice, it was still supurb, especially if you compare it to the average American cannoli. The eclair broke beautifully and seemed to melt in your mouth.
Suzie ordered the gelato combo. We chose the Strawberry, Stracciatella, and Tiramisu. Surprisingly, the Strawberry ended up being the best. It was an explosion of concentrated strawbery flavor within each bite. But, the Tiramisu and Stracciatella were great too. The Tiramisu came in a coffee flavored looking scoop instead of the general white with swirls of chocolate, lady finger, and rum that I’m so used to.
Each trio was roughly $8.95. But it’s how much you’d usually spend for dessert at a restaurant anyway. If you dine in, it’s a bit more expensive. Opt for take out if you’d like to save a couple of bucks.
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Ferrara Cafe
195 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
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