While Manhattan’s Little Italy may not be the tastiest Italian neighborhood in the five boroughs, it’s certainly the most famous, with it’s red checkered tablecloths and Italian flags fluttering in the breeze. Located on the corner of Grand and Mulberry in the heart of New York’s Little Italy, Ferrara Bakery & Cafe opened in 1892, which at the time was called Café A. Ferrara. In the late 1800s, there wasn’t a place where Italians could relax before or after a night at the opera to play cards and sip espresso, so Antonio Ferrara, an opera impresario, offered a solution by opening Café A. Ferrara, which included not only espresso but Italian treats.
To this day, Ferrara remains a family-owned operation, where a fifth generation is now running the bakery and cafe. Ferrara declares itself America’s first espresso bar and pasticceria, which has been serving coffee and pastries to New Yorkers and visitors alike for over 130 years. Ferrara’s menu is lengthy, with a large section of classic Italian baked goods like cannoli, biscotti, and sfogliatelle, as well as cookies like pignoli and tricolori, along with cream puffs, seasonal European fruit tarts and a selection of enticing gelato flavors — a few of which are even non-dairy. The bakery menu also boasts a long list of house specialties, with classics like tiramisu, New York cheesecake, and carrot cake, along with more unique options like cannoli cake, cheminee pastry, and an Italian rum cake. Ferrara also makes torrone, a classic, nut-filled Italian nougat candy.
There’s something delicious for everyone at Ferrara
In addition to a wide array of Italian cookies and pastries, Ferrara, of course, serves espresso-based drinks, where you can practice drinking an espresso like an Italian pro. But the cafe also offers a lively list of dessert and classic cocktails, cordials, spirits, wine, and beer, making it a wonderful spot to relax any time of the day or evening.
Not only does this century-old staple serve silky espresso and Italian sweets to pair with it, but it also serves a small brunch menu until 3 p.m., for those seeking a more savory bite. Plus, Ferrara features both local delivery in the New York area, as well as nationwide shipping for some of it’s more popular items like torrone and tricolori cookies. In fact, the bakery began shipping the shelf-stable torrone during World War II…