About three weeks ago, I was clowning on my buddy for his story about going to NY, going to Shake Shack, and having a cola. This past 8th of June, I went to Café Palermo and didn't get a cannoli...shame. But alas, I enjoyed other things. Pistachio gelato, a chocolate ice cream of sorts that I forget the name, amaretto, and my sweet, beautiful young lass, Kimberly J. We were sitting center table, facing outboard, and enjoying people watching. Interesting city New York is, but I can definitely point out which ones are the tourists, which ones are locals, and which ones watch entirely too much TV. Anyway. I know what you're thinking. What's with the three stars? Assessments? What gives? It's A-Ok. As far as it goes, the desserts were good but not mind blowing. Plus service here looks like a hit and miss...maybe if I had a cannoli, it would be so mind blowing that I'd 4/5 star the place. But I had gelato in a cannoli place. That's like having a hot dog in a burger joint... read more

TOURIST TRAP (My gf and I walk in) Waitress: You gonna sit down? Me: No, can we just get some cannolis to go? Waitress: (rolling eyes) Go to the front. (We walk to the counter) Man behind counter: What do you want? Me: Hi, can I have 4 small cannolis? Man: (grabs 4 small cannolis) Ten dollas. I guess manners would've been another ten. I got the feeling he had to work REAL hard to not say, "the f***" between What and do. After this experience, I was hoping the taste of the "world's best cannoli" would wash the taste of this experience out of my mouth. Nope. The first thing each person that ate one said was, "This place in Boston had such good cannolis" "There's a place on court street that sells good cannolis." "These are really small." I agree. The best? Only if best means tiny... or if it's opposite day. read more

Ferrera's still puts out the superior cannoli, but Palermo is a more than adequate Plan B. The lines at Ferrera's can get ridiculous so do yourself a favor and take a short walk around the block and head to Palermo. Not only will you not be greeted by a line, but you'll be more than satisfied with their large or mini cannolis. To-go orders must be done at the counter, otherwise you'll have to tip your server. Nothing wrong with Plan B... read more

The sign outside the cafe reads: "Best Cannoli on Planet Earth!!!" OH HELL to the NO! Maybe these are the best cannoli's on the planet Saturn, or maybe the planet previously known as Pluto... but not Earth. Who are they kidding ... there's an entire country known as ITALY, maybe they've heard of it, that makes better cannoli's than this place. In fact... I've had way better cannoli's from Safeway. I'm sorry Palermo... but your connoli's are far from "The Best" in any realm. read more

Cannolis are BOMB! I also tried the cheese rolls which taste like a cheesecake rolled into a sugar cone. Also DELISH!

Best cannolis I've had. Had trouble finding this place I thought it was called Cannoli King

Literally the best cannoli out there! They're $4 each but so worth it! The cannoli filing is rich & creamy and the exterior is nice and crunchy! I enjoyed every bite of my cannoli and hope to come back here soon. Little Italy has a ton of dessert options but you should give this one a try first. read more

Caffe Palermo - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Came in for some cannoli, I'm not a fan of them because they're so darn sweet. The girl who worked in the front was nice. read more

Caffe Palermo - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Increíble Place!! Great food. Great environment. Owner managed. Owner and waiters go above and beyond to please. Recommended. Be part of the Italian Family read more

I really like Caffe Palermo. So about 2 years ago I had family visiting and of course wanted to do NYC. We spent the day touring around and ended up in LIttle Italy. I thought it would be nice to end the day with a nice coffee and pastry somewhere and ended up at Ferrara which was a huge disappointment. This time I did a quick yelp search which landed me at Palermo. The pastries are to die for - the prices are on par with Ferrara but I thought these were better tasting overall. They have a big banner inside claiming to have the best tasting cannoli and I think they can back that claim up completely. I loved it so much that on my lunch break I walked all the way (from the WTC area) to buy more to bring home. read more

People are just doing it wrong if they don't get the cheese cone. It is one of the best sweets I've ever had and hands down the best cheesecake "dish" I've ever eaten. The cannolis are very good and to be honest the best cannolis to me taste very similar BUT the damn cheese cone..... wtf is all I can say. I would suggest coming here specifically and ultimately for this sweet cone from heaven. It's a hidden gem in a city that has so much to offer. Trust me I've tried most of it! read more

They had huge signs outside saying "best cannoli" which worked to get us in. But I was pretty disappointed, I mean it was okay but I've had better. I felt like maybe they've been sitting out on display too long? We had cappuccinos with it, which I loved. read more

Caffe Palermo - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Recent visit with a good friend has left me with a bad taste on New Year's Day 2009. This restaurant is totally a tourist trap. The service was very lousy yet crowded but the waitress was very inattentive as it was just a job to her. Despite of not able to produce a number of traditional Italian coffees from their menu the waitress was not smart, as she does not know the ABC of sales. She gave a rude scowl of look at the couple next to us while denying the couple nearly every request. They were out of stock yet failed to produce another suggestion or recommendation as a substitute for lack thereof. Caffe Palermo definitely uses sales puffery to enhance their cannoli which is far from the best. read more

Honestly the almond cheesecake cone thing I had at San Gennaro was the single best thing I've ever eaten in my life and I'll dream of it always. read more

Hmmm, Best Cannoli in NYC? I was all excited to come here and try my very first Cannoli but sadly it wasn't as good as I had thought it would be. It was incredibly sweet and I wondered is this what Cannoli is supposed to taste like? My Italian counterpart assured me it wasn't the best Cannoli she had had either but we both agreed the cheesecake was amazing! I would highly recommend checking out some of their other desserts. Very cute little cafe. The perfect place for a little sweet on a cold day. read more

To start off, I wasn't too pleased with the fact that they gave me a bottle of water when I was expecting a glass (isn't New York known for their high quality tap water?). And on top of it, I was charged $2 for the water (I wasn't expecting to be charged, since "bottled water" was nowhere to be found on the menu - maybe I'm naive, but I just wasn't expecting it). Also, my friend had ordered a "pear soda," expecting a pear-flavored Italian soda, but was instead given the tiniest bottle of pear nectar, which was less than half the size of my bottle water and cost even more. Onto our meal: It's true that this place is known for its canolis, not its paninis, but they probably served my friend and I the worst panini I've ever had.. Okay, fine.. it wasn't that bad, but it was just satisfactory, definitely not worth what I paid. I was surprised when it came out so fast (then again, we were the one of two parties at the restaurant), but the chicken tasted really cheap and the sun dried tomatoes were not up to par. The panini wasn't even that warm. Dessert: My friend just had the canoli, but I also ordered a "Fruit Fantasy," which is basically a fruit tart. This place boasts "the best canoli on planet earth," but I beg to differ. Sure, it was pretty good, but not the best I've had. The fruit tart really disappointed me, though. I could definitely tell none of the fruit they used was fresh, except for maybe the kiwi. It was just dry and unsatisfying. Overall, with the high prices and low quality, I'd hardly recommend this place over others you could find in Little Italy. read more

Delicious cannoli! Friendly staff. Functioning bathroom. $4 per cannoli, but what are you gonna do? It's in Little Italy. Ambiance...well, it's a place to enjoy desserts not revel on decor. I'd go back for another piece! :) read more

Caffe Palermo - Cannoli creamy goodness ...best consumed with milk - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

See all

Rude service, super expensive, horrible soapy-tasting cannoli and they charge for table service even when you get the food yourself. If I could give a 0 star rating, I would. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place at all cost. read more

I've never been to Italy, but I'd like to someday, so I'm sure the gelato, tiramisu & cannolis are THE best in its home country. Until that day comes, I found my favorite place for all 3 - CAFFE PALERMO! Even with a full stomach of, gasp, street vendor food (which I will admit was also yummy), we stopped over for some sweets. By nature, gelato melts, but I've never had such smooth & delicate gelato that melts like clean/fresh air that envelopes your every tastebud in a warm embrace of nothing but sweetness. How overdramatic, you say? Yeah and???? THAT'S HOW STINKIN' GOOD IT WAS! And although the cannolis were richer than I'd like, I couldn't put them down. The tiramisu was great as well - man, aren't you getting a sugar high just reading my review? read more

After being stuffed with yummy italian food down the block, we were walking in the hurricane caliber winds and saw a sign boasting "#1 Cannoli King". Usually you see "#1 NYC Pizza" or such claims to be the best of the best - all... yes all of which fail to live up to the selfproclaimations. For some reason, despite being gluttonously full and skepticism for the sign, we went in anyway. This may be the one place that comes close to living up to what their sign says. I do believe that I had said out loud "This is Jesus in a cup" while eating the Coppa Mascarpone. If i could remember what was in this, I would be scrambling to recreate the awesomeness. Our mistake was ordering one of each (regular and chocolate dipped) of the cannolis in miniature form. We should have ordered them in all their glory. Now, as a person who usually hates cannolis, these were pretty amazing. They fill the shells to order with the amazing cream. Some cannolis I have had in the past had too strong of a flavor, soggy shells, or odd textures. This cream was just delightful. I am actually regretting not taking a few to go back home! read more

Apparently this place is voted #1 for their cannolis and is the Cannoli King of all cannolis.... Uhm way too sweet for my liking! It is hard to bite into without all the cream stuff squirting at you. It was too sugary, sweet, and creamy.... I love sweets but that was just too much! I needed a drink after to wash it all down. Love how it is in Little Italy though! The atmosphere literally feels like you stepped onto the streets of Italia. Then if you walk down the block, you hit up Chinatown! :) Now I don't need to travel the world. JK I love planes so I am going to travel all across the world! read more

Their Cannoli is below average. Their Gelato is dreadful. Their pizza is worse than Cafeteria or even frozen pizza. If your a tourist from the Midwest and don't know good Italian food you may find this place appealing. But for anyone who has had a cannoli from anywhere other than a supermarket, prepare to feel tricked, disappointed, and robbed. Their pizza is hands down the worst in NYC, maybe even the worst on the East Coast. Their Gelato tastes like freezer burnt disgusting frozen yogurt. I went into this place because it looks adorable. I was tricked and defrauded. Please learn from my mistake! You could throw a rock in NYC and find a place with better food. read more

Delicious desserts and nice wait staff. You will not be disappointed by this bakery. There is plenty of seating inside to sit with friends and share some coffee and sweets. read more

Caffe Palermo - Delicious chocolate cake - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

First time having a cannoli and I was not disappointed however my boyfriend and I got a speciality drink with alcohol in it. He got a Irish something and I got the millionaire coffee and it was not as good as it sounded even though the waitress recommended it.. read more

Go see "Baby John," he's AMAZING! You will feel as if you are walking into a families home. SO SO welcoming and truly an amazing experience. Canoli's YUMMY read more

Soooooooooo good. I am speechless already. Many thanks to Ben who took me here. This place & the tiramisu cup made me dance around. read more

It's definitely not the sexy trattoria you envision in a Venetian Palazzo, but the food and drink might be every bit as good. $10.95 is a bit much for a coffee beverage, even if it does have alcohol in it, but holy heck it was darn good. They have about a dozen of them on the menu, and frankly, I forget which one I had. But it was really amazing. The desserts look wonderful. I guess what brings it all down a notch is the experience, which is a little dull. McDonald's-esque tables, mirrored walls, tile floors, a nonchalant (though friendly enough) waitstaff. Still, it's definitely worth a stop, especially for the cannoli. read more

This place is AWFUL! We were in NYC on vacation and were hungry in Little Italy and this place was hoppin', so we decided to have an easy dinner here. Big mistake! The first indication that dinner is not their strength is the menu... the first ten pages of the menu is all desserts. Then they have yummy sounding dinner options like paninis and pizza. We ordered up coffee to start and it was disgusting and old. We couldn't even stomach a second serving. I ordered the eggplant panini and it arrived as white bread with burn marks to resemble a panini press! (I am not the first to comment on this either) and the eggplant was not cooked so I couldn't bite through the sandwich! I sent it back and opted to not order anything else. My friends ordered the pizza and it was obviously from the discount grocery freezer. It was so bad that we were embarrassed! The place is so cramped and they overfill it so there is no room to relax and enjoy your meal or company. The bathroom was the worst I saw in NYC and I considered just waiting to find a different location. I would NEVER recommend this place! read more

Horrible service. I was entertaining some guest from out of town and stopped for a night cap at Caffe Palermo. I don't really drink coffee so I ordered an Italian soda. The waitress asked what flavor and I responded "what flavors do you have?" because none were listed on the menu. The waitress gave a loud sigh and walked away...presumably to find out what flavors were available. I really don't know because she didn't say anything and just left. She came back and completed the order but I was over it at that point. The cannolis are just OK. I won't be returning. read more

One of my favorite desserts in the world is their peanut butter cup cheesecake. Every time I go to NY, I end up at CP at least once. The service isn't the best. The prices aren't the best... but this pie has me hooked. The first time I had it, I bought a whole pie to take back to California. It was insane carrying it all over Manhattan... to the top of the Empire State, through the airports, etc... but it was worth it! read more

Caffe Palermo - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Just thinking about this place leaves me down a dreamy, slow motion cyclone. Fast cut to me taking a bite of Tiramisu and a sip of coffee and a massive wave of satisfaction. I remember my cappuccino coming in a sundae style glass. The foam was dense, but fluffy and the shot was caramel sweet. Not because I added sugar, but just by itself. I'm not a huge cannoli fan, but the puff pastries, layered cakes, cheesecake is SO darn scrumptious. If you have a sweet tooth, this is where you need to be!! read more

We chose this spot for a Little Italy dinner for two reasons: one, there were other diners already inside, and two, they didn't have an annoying barker out front trying to cajole us into dining with them, like every other spot on the street. Unfortunately, the meal was regrettable. The house wines were little more than grape juice (we each ordered a glass, and didn't bother finishing them), and the pizza we ordered was more like grocery-store frozen than New York pizza, with a crust that reminded me more of a solid cracker than of pizza dough. Perhaps they're better at desserts than entrees. read more

Male employee behind the counter was rude. When I asked for a dozen cannolis, a prepackaged box of cannolis were removed from the fridge behind the counter not the fresh ones in the display case which I thought was strange. When I opened the box at home, instead of a dozen regular cannoli's, inside the box were only 11 mini cannoli's that were soggy. Probably because they were inside the box in the fridge for an unknown period of time. Total rip off, I will not be going back there again for anything. read more

The desserts were good however they over charged us and didn't even try to hide it. I asked for an itemized bill and got stared at blankly. Then was given a rude explanation that when you sit to eat in the restaurant, the prices are more expensive but the additional fee that they claimed still did not add up to our final bill. It was clear they took advantage. Be advised to check your bill before leaving. read more

Cute little cafe, perfect for dessert. We ate dinner down the street, and after checking yelp for a good dessert spot, I found Caffe Palermo. It didn't disappoint. The cannoli king was here (the owner), he was very friendly and the assortment of sweets was amazing. A friend and I shared toasted tiramisu, sea salted caramel cheesecake, and of course a traditional cannoli. We also both had a latte, and they were great. I will be back for some sweetness! read more

After an extensive (and fattening) analysis of the cannolis of Little Italy, I feel confident that Caffe Palermo's are the best. They have a front counter full of wonderful tasty items, such as Italian cookies, pastries, etc.... Be sure to try their lobster tail, as it is awesome! At the end of the day, however, this place is certainly known for its' cannoli offerings. I've had many fun nights here after a dinner in Little Italy. In the summer it is often full with drunken revelers gourging on sweet treats. The staff are usually very busy at such times, but manage to stay polite. Caffe Palermo is absolutely worth a trip. read more

Odd establishment operating under odd rules... my wife and I wanted some pastries and coffee in Little Italy after a Chinese dinner and found this place. After being seated, we were asked by 2 waitresses 2 times each if we were ready to order, all within 90 seconds of being seated. After ordering, I realized what was going on... the waitstaff compete to claim a table, so whoever gets the customers to order gets the table. As the pastries arrived, I asked for 2 glasses of water and was told that they only serve (that is, sell) bottled water. I've been eating out in NYC my whole life and have never come across such a rule. Just to clarify, this is not a problem with the waitstaff (in fact, our waitress brought us glasses of water anyway, undoubtedly at risk of being reprimanded.) It's the owner who sets the rules, and it's up to the waitstaff to keep their customers happy within the confines of those rules. The pastries and coffee were fine enough, but I'd rather go somewhere where getting a glass of tap water is not a clandestine transaction. I've been to Caffe Roma 3 or 4 times, just up Mulberry one block... they're liberal with their tap water. read more

There's no question they have the best cannolis in the world. Cheesecake was out of sight. Tiramisu was second to none. And the coffee drinks were spot. Thank you John for making our vacation complete!!! read more

Caffe Palermo - Bakeries Near Me - New York, New York

Baby John is an exceptionally warm and funny person. He is personable and really takes care of his customers. We had some great dessert at his place and he recommended a few great places for us to have dinner at. We will definitely be back to see Baby John and have some more desserts! read more

Three stars: clean and well-kept place, nice atmosphere, friendly staff, but so-so desserts. I haven't had many cannoli in my time, but if this is the best cannoli on planet Earth (their claim) then cannolis have a long way to go. We ordered the mini cannoli sampler, plain, peanut butter, and chocolate, yet we could not tell the different between them. They were good, quite sweet, but flavor and texture weren't eye-opening. The cappuccino was good, but it should be, so I can't give high marks for reaching the bar. The rest of the desserts look great, things I have never seen before, but with the cannoli not turning me on I am not obliged to try other things. Maybe another time... read more