Inexpensive, family-run, ethnic restaurants are the best eating in the United States. Alvaro's falls squarely in that category. While it is principally a bakery with great Italian pastries and cookies, each day it offers several specials. Since it was Monday, we opted for green beans and meatballs,and stuffed shells with eggplant. A steal at $12 per plate. Creamy stuffed shells, perfectly fried eggplant, tasty meatballs and a pile of green beans. Like your Nonna would make. Can't decide to get a cannoli to go or eat it now. Maybe both. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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We stopped here for an early dinner and it was so good! The staff was so helpful and nice. I feels like you are eating at your grandmas house and the food is so good! It is cute inside and the prices are so amazing, it feels like you are getting such a great deal for such yummy food! read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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I go to the location on N. Front. Everything is always fresh and the staff are very good at their jobs. My favorite item is the chocolate croissant. But, the sour dough bread is out of this world. read more

Hidden treasure I found when the army moved us here. I always grab a lunch meal or bulk pastries. They have it all & the family is absolutely amazing always!!! read more

Owner was amazing. I love the little shop vibe. Different menu every day. As he said when you have 50 things on the menu you can't make them all great. But focus on 5 and change it daily you can. Pastries and pizzette and chicken parm were amazing. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Cannolis Pizzette - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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Best tiramisu EVER. Such a cute and friendly environment! Came here randomly on a road trip and struck gold. I would come back just for this. read more

Best Italian food in Harrisburg. It's family run and the owners are so nice. Definitely buy some of their sweet and savory pastries whenever you have a chance to stop by here - all of them are outstanding. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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"The happiest accident" is how I would describe my first visit to Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shop. After stopping by a coffee shop nearby, my partner and I submitted to the siren song of the Alvaro sign. Bread and pastry? Say less. The shop is small but clean and well decorated. The cases are long and everything in them looks delicious. We were the second people in the shop on a Saturday morning, and the cases held cookies, loaves, savory and sweet pastries and gelato. We opted for a cream puff with chocolate ganache (outstanding flavor, totally worth the messiness of eating it) and a pan au chocolat (exceptional, great lamination). We also got a boule of sourdough, which smelled divine and made the *best* toast for BLTs the next day. This is how checkout went: Cashier: $12, please. Me: Twelve?! That's it? Did you get the loaf and both pastries? Cashier: $20 goes a long way here, ma'am. And thank goodness it does, so I can go back and get more bread and pastries! Next time, I want to try one of their savory options; another customer recommended a tomato and Parmesan pastry. The only downside of this shop is that it's not accessible; the tables are very close, the area to move to/from the cash register is narrow, and there are steps up into the shop (if memory serves). So beware when planning your visit. read more

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Ah...Alvaro's (contented sigh). This is another hidden gem in Harrisburg's Olde Uptown neighborhood and just over a block from the equally exquisite Little Amps coffee shop. Those establishments are a regular Saturday morning two-for-one treat after a run or brisk hike. Alvaro's offers a tempting mix of baked goods, sweet treats, and hot food selections. I have enjoyed absolutely everything I've tasted from there, including bread, Italian entrees, cannoli, and breakfast specialties. Their quality is demonstrated by the regular line of customers. Yum, yum, yum and my stomach rumbles as I write this. Service is quick and friendly, and the staff patiently answers questions about menu items and the goods on display in the cases. As is the case with its nearby neigbor (Little Amps), parking can be a challenge in this residential area if Victorian-era row homes. To me, that's almost a plus since the Alvaro's experience is best enjoyed with a walk through the pleasant neighborhood. read more

This is one place that definitely should be on your list for breads and Italian dishes and desserts. And breakfast...and pizza, and pasta...the list goes on. I had been meaning to come here for months and my fried brain must have been in good shape this morning to think of coming here for lunch. (Yay, you go all few of you remaining neurons!) Had a giant slice of pizza and a small turkey sandwich. Half the slice came home due to it being enough for two. Everything about the slice is what you want: good dough and undercarriage with tasty sauce and the right amount of cheese all cooked to perfection. Turkey sandwich on their delicious bread came with arugula, tomato, provolone and balsamic reduction. Outstanding and just the right size to sample. Prices are reasonable and this is going to be a regular stop for breakfast, lunch and dinner. read more

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They are simply the best. My personal favorite are the stuffed shells, but literally everything is good.

Good price, awesome portions, very family oriented, a must try. And they have a whole bunch of sweets! Will be back to try some more of their menu. Their pizza was delicious! read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Veggie pizza & gnocci - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Great little romantic lunch.. the food was excellent portions We're very filling. The service was excellent. The food is outstanding.

The new restaurant on front street is delightful. Facing the river one can sit outside drink one of their coffees and eat a delicious pastry. Or lunch on a variety of sandwiches on the most fabulous bread made in their kitchen. There are platters of various types. All so tasty. Can't wait till they open for dinner read more

the food never lasts to get a picture for the review and the prices are awesome. the service is amazing and the ambiance feels classy.

What an amazing find in the middle of Harrisburg. Stopped in for some quick lunch and found Sicilian pizza the size of my head while listening to Sinatra! The americano coffee was delicious too. Grabbed some mini loafs for dinner. This is such a hidden gem... Parking is tough but worth it. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Bread pizza and rolls! - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Alveros is close by and when I do go I always think I should go more often. I've only stopped by for pastries and pizza and am meaning to stop by for their dinner. I've had some good pastries and some average pastries from here but definitely always good enough to go back to for more. I like their thinner crust pizzas, very tasty. Good all around, I'll keep returning for sure! read more

Stopped in for the first time after years of intent. Worth the wait. Delicious, friendly, authentic. The atmosphere is charming, neighborhood vibe. We ordered pizza; one slice pepperoni and two slices arugula/moz/tomato. Both varieties were outstanding. Ate Al fresco since we parked our bikes out front. Will be back again for sure!!! read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Arugula Mozzarella and tomato pizza - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

You gotta love these guys. They put so much into their product. Make some homemade pastas but call and check first what they are making the day you want pasta. Bread is great and fun cookies and entrees are spot on, I like their new location on Front St, just such each parking and access walking in read more

Great mom and pop shop with a good mix of pre-made baked goods and ones made on site. Lunch was delicious and there were a good amount of options available. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - a sandwich on a plate - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

An alluring and charming corner old world Italian restaurant in the historic district that makes you forget you're not too far away from the general hustle and bustle of downtown. They bake their own breads and make most pasta fresh. Also, the gelato is amazing! read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Peffer Street - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Super tasty super solid lunchtime excellence from people who care. Tasty portions and lots of flavor. Also great coffee. You want to eat here. Do so. Strangely enough I did not care for the canoli. I'll wager the other desserts are better. There is a formidable selection. read more

Bakery review haiku ... Whole wheat sourdough And grab a slice while you're there Pine nut cookies BAM! read more

Tucked away on a corner in a residential area is this Harrisburg gem. We just happened to be driving by and I wanted to stop to try it. When you walk through the doors, the smells of fresh baked bread fill your nostrils. They have a couple cases full of treats like tiramisu, baklava, cookies and more. There is a hot case where the pizza is and it looks so yummy. On the wall are chalkboards with the specials for the day and other items they offer. Every customer that came in couldn't say enough about it. One customer told me they have the best sausage and peppers (my fave!!). We already had lunch plans so we grabbed $60+ worth of cookies to share with friends and a few loaves of sour dough and Italian bread. The Anise cookies were amazing as was the bread. The owner was so friendly and helpful and was a pleasure to chat with--his mom is the cook. Truly a family owned small business! He told us they do dinner on Saturday night but reservations are required. I can't wait to go back to try the food! read more

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specialty breads Italian,sour dough and olive, Italian cookies, pastries , daily lunch and dinner specials all excellent and a family of great people who take pride in what they do. When I am in the burg Alvaro's is a must stop and I recommend it highly. Mangia read more

cannolis and sfogliatelle are delic! coming from someone who lived closed the the bronx and little Italy. I know my pastries well, they are top notch. the bread is also excellent. thanks! and the one on front street. what. a nice view of the Susquehanna river to eat outside under a canopy. very nice. in a very good area on front street. prices are reasonable. staff is friendly living about an hour away will make the trip at least every 2 months to stock up on bread and get pastries. took almost 7 years for us to find this gem. everything we found to the east near Allentown was good but way too. expensive and not in best area. I tell you if you are a cannoli person you have to go it's a must the best one ive ever had and ive been to many Italian pastry shops in the bronx, Manhattan, westchester NY. will be visiting before every holiday. a tip - if you are gonna get there in late afternoon, call ahead to order bread, and pastries they will hold them for you in boxes/bags, because if not, they sell out early. I wasn't able to find a good not even decent bakery anywhere near where we live in any direction for miles. finally did. a little short trip but man is it worth it. we are so happy. read more

Great hidden gem in Harrisburg. Love everything about their food. Family owned and run. Don't let this shoppe slip your mind.

Best authentic Italian food in the area.. well priced, family owned, fresh menu that consistently rotates. The lunch specials are great & the staff is welcoming The picture attached is of the stuffed shells with eggplant parmigiana, but honesty every dish I've tried thus far has been exceptional. Skip the chain restaurants and make it authentic!! read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Stuffed Shells 3 Cheese with Eggplant Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Lunch at Alvaro was wonderful. Outdoor under the umbrella on a beautiful sunny day eating great Italian food. From pizza to a caprese sandwich to penne with sausage and peppers in vodka sauce, it was all good. read more

Everything we had for dinner was good (spaghetti and meatballs, tortellini and meatballs, and stuffed shells). But the tiramisu cake was AMAZING! It's a must to try. read more

Our first visit to the Bakery we visited the Front Street Bakery . We chose a variety of treats and didn't matter They were all mmm mmm good So if you're looking for a Bakery to please that sweet tooth go to Alvarado Bakery in their two locations in Harrisburg One located on Front Street in Harrisburg way up Front Street before you reach Fort Hunter and the other located on Green Street close to McClay street Enjoy read more

Yum! We were on a road trip and wanted some dinner and breakfast to bring to our airbnb for the night. Alvaro's was the perfect choice. Delicious lunch food was still available for takeout dinner around 5 pm on a Monday and croissants and turnovers for breakfast were perfect. The cookies were good too. Will definitely try to stop here again if we come this way. read more

Food is amazing. And their fresh baked desserts are delicious! Nice place to grab food to go, or sit outside on their patio/sidewalk.

Please update hours on yelp. We are from Atlanta visiting friends over an hour away. This please sounded amazing so we made the drive, just to find it is closed on Thursdays. read more

I ordered two of the Alvaro Care Packages for a dinner with my family of 6 last weekend and it was absolutely perfect! The care packages are different each week and their contents are announced mid-week on social media. I ordered on Thursday afternoon for pickup on Saturday. Each package included 1.5 lbs of pasta (ravioli last week), 4 rice balls, 8 meatballs in sauce, 1 pint of pasta sauce (vodka last week, but I also got a pint of marinara), a loaf of their Italian bread (to DIE for), and a container of Parmesan cheese. I ordered two packages, which was more than enough for four hungry men, my mom, and myself. I even had enough for leftovers at lunch the next day! Each box came with instructions for heating all of the food, and I was able to get everything onto the table within 20 minutes of picking it up. Fast, easy, and such a godsend for the nights I cannot bring myself to cook. Everything at Alvaro's is clearly made with precision-like care. From baked goods and pasta made fresh each morning to a nice dinner out, this will surely be a regular spot for us. read more

What a hidden gem! Truly authentic Italian food, great family run restaurant! I've been to Alvaro's multiple times, usually for lunch but more recently I've gone for dinner. When it comes to lunch, they offer delicious daily specials-pasta dishes. But my favorite lunch is the pizza, they only make a couple pies and once the slices are gone, you're out of luck. When it comes to dinner, they recently (in the last couple weeks) introduced a new dinner menu. Dinner is BYOB, they have wine glasses on the table when you come in. Even if you forget your corkscrew, they are more than happy to open your bottle for you! The bread and olive oil dip is yummy, but try to not go overboard because the dinner portions are on the large size. Also, I'm pretty certain that dinner is by reservation only. Desserts (cookies, tiramisu, cannoli, gelato, etc) are all wonderful, you really can't go wrong. Here's a snap from Valentine's dinner, the tiramisu was AMAZING, tasted even better with a fresh cup of coffee. read more

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe - Italian Near Me - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

This is a small restaurant that I stumbled upon a few years ago when I lived in harrisburg. Their good is very yummy from the fresh made bread to the meatballs! I have never had anything bad here. The son that works there is always very nice as well! read more

This is a hidden gem! Delicious/ authentic food Friendly / helpful owners Great neighborhood vibe - they give back to their neighborhood too! read more

Met a friend for lunch - they have tables outside. Their lunch specials change daily - they usually have three items, each with its own side dish, but you can mix and match. I had chicken parm and green beans, and my friend had a stuffed meatball with green beans. Delicious. My juicy chicken parm was pounded thin, fried just right, and topped with just the right amount of sauce and a small amount of cheese. Her meatball was the size of a baseball, made of good mixed ground meat and stuffed with cheese. The flat Italian green beans (a huge portion) were a little mushy, but studded with lots of garlic and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Both meals came with a softball-sized roll that was perfectly crusty outside, soft and chewy inside, perfect for sopping up the olive oil and tomato sauce at the bottom of the container. After lunch, we went back inside to get food to take home. I got four slices of pizza (for dinner) and a pound of cookies. The pizzas are Sicilian-style, with thick, chewy crust, baked in a rectangular pan. A single slice is huge, bigger than your head, and fills a small pizza box. The mushroom pizza had onions and the mushrooms were big, fresh and cut in half rather than slices. The meat lover's had a lot of pepperoni and sliced sausage. The cookies are always a highlight for me. I ask them for a little bit of everything because they have a large variety of cookies with a few unusual ones. This time, a pound box had lemon shortbread, neapolitan petit fours, moist coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate, lemon petit fours, sesame cookies, shortbread cookies stacked with jam and dipped in dark chocolate, chocolate cookies with a candied cherry on top, dipped in white chocolate, and something rolled in confectioner's sugar. Fun and delicious! The service is always great - the family members at the counter, esp. their son, are helpful and fast. read more

I am fairly stingy with five star ratings but Alvaro deserves it in every single way. I went there for lunch with my husband last Wednesday. I hadn't been here in years and he'd never been. This charming place is a little off the beaten path, on the corner in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They have café tables set up outside and a few tables packed closely together inside. Their menu is small but this is a huge plus. Because their food is authentic, handmade, and so special, you want them to focus on your plate. When you get your food, you know it will be something special. Looking around as we waited to place our order, everything the other people were having looked amazing: antipasto salads, garden salads, the pastas and desserts. We both ordered the chicken parmesan. I had mine with stuffed shells. The hubs had his as stated on the menu, with ravioli. When the plates came out this wasn't the overly gooey chicken parm you get elsewhere. There was no mozzarella to be seen, blanketing the chicken to hide inferior quality. This was a generous portion of beautifully fried chicken cutlet, pounded to even thickness, blanketed in one of the best tomato sauces I've ever tasted, with huge leaves of fresh basil, topped lightly with real parmesan cheese. Words cannot express how delicious it was. My stuffed shells were thick pasta, filled with ricotta and topped with sauce. I savored every bite. I would have preferred the option of real silverware to go with the real plates. The people there were friendly. The price was right. We will return. Frequently, for lunch. read more