Queens Gazette

Il Fornaio Bakery Café


 

 

Il Fornaio Bakery Café is the perfect spot for breakfast, lunch, coffee and desserts, where all their fabulous cakes, pastries, and cookies are made on premises at this delightful corner Café. Il Fornaio means “The Bakery” in Italian and you can stop in any time for a slice of cake, cookies, or cannoli to pick you up on your way home from work. Con- sider bringing a sweet treat and cappuccino with you across the street to Athens Square Park where the summer concert series is underway for an extra special evening.

Il Fornaio Bakery Café opened 11 years ago by Marco Vicari, the very friendly owner, who opened a second location just up the road at 33rd Street. Each location does its own baking on the premises and includes a “Morning Bites” menu with flaky croissants that are plain, multigrain, or filled with almonds, Nutella, or apricot jam. Cheese danish are light and golden with a touch of sweetness while the apple turnovers are drizzled with icing. Flaky strudel pastries are filled with peaches, raspberries, or apples and served warm, if you like along with a hot beverage.

 

 

Start your day with a steaming cup of Il Fornaio’s coffee, freshly roasted and ground to make the best cappuccino, latte, espresso, macchiato, and the most popular: mochaccino with a touch of chocolate ganache. Americano coffees and all specialty coffees and teas can be served on ice to help you cool down this summer. Pair your drink with a freshly baked lemon-poppy muffin, cranberry, chocolate chip, or blueberry muffin, or a hefty slice of marble pound cake, one of my favorites. Take home a whole pound cake for the family along with some blueberry topped crumb cake and enjoy.

Il Fornaio lets you have your cake and eat it too! With dozens of eye-dazzling cakes, available whole or in slices, you can try a different flavor every time you visit. Tiramisu cake, cookies and cream, cannoli cream, moist carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, red velvet cake, chocolate fudge layer, and Nutella cake (avail- able in mini size too) are some of the hits, with the most popular berry Napoleon leading the list.

Custom cakes are almost too pretty to eat, with specialized themes such as a Chanel purse, Cartier bracelet, Nike sneaker, and children’s favorite characters such as Elmo, Cookie Monster,

Pokemon, Dora the Explorer, and anything else your heart desires can be custom made. Visit their website and Instagram for more examples and inspiration for your next special occasion.

Kids and their caretakers from the school across the street come in daily for specialty cupcakes, delicious cake pops, colorful macarons, and lots of rainbow cookies. One of Il Fornaio’s specialties is a rainbow pastry layered with cannoli cream and iced in chocolate for a triple treat. Large chocolate chip cookies, black and whites, brownies, biscotti, and pignoli cookies are great to stay or to take home by the pound so stop here on your way to your next party. The impressive Nutella mousse is light and fluffy, adorned with a mini jar of Nutella on top, and their famous banana cream pudding is a classic, reinvented here. The wooden spoons are cool too, and environmentally friendly, something we can appreciate.

Il Fornaio Bakery Café has a “Lunch Club” menu with top quality Boars Head cold cuts piled onto Il Fornaio’s fresh baked bread and rolls. What could be better than a honey turkey sandwich with pepper-jack cheese and mustard or mayo on crispy bread baked just hours ago? The “Steinway” sandwich layers ham and salami with cheese, lettuce and tomato to eat at one of their tidy tables, or to go. The “Marco” is full of prosciutto, mozzarella, and sopressata on Italian bread…buonissimo!

Visit Il Fornaio or Il Fornaio Due, open seven days a week from 6am to 8:30pm on weekdays and from 7am to 8:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. Order your custom cake for your next special occasion and lettering is always free. Make your custom cake inquiries at ilfornaiobakery@gmail.com or pick up the phone and call for your next birthday, wedding, anniversary, shower, or corporate event. “Rock Bar” is also owned by Marco, located inside ROCK Fitness to offer healthy juices and snacks before or after a workout. Their web- site has a fantastic photo gallery with dozens of cakes to inspire you. With freshly baked cakes, pastries, cookies, cupcakes, biscotti, coffees, tea, and more, Il Fornaio Bakery Café welcomes you!

29-14 30th Avenue,, Astoria | 718.267.0052

www.ilfornaioastoria.com

Follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Il Fornaio Bakery Due

33-14 30th Avenue

ROCK BAR Juice Bar

(inside ROCK Fitness Gym)

Healthy Shakes, Smoothies & Protein Bites

22-06 31st Street

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