Cafe Zucchero

To be honest, I’m surprised to see the extremely mixed reviews for this café. My husband and I came here for a much-​needed brunch after a night of indulgent fun, and we enjoyed their food immensely. The service was relaxed, friendly, and attentive. Our coffee and water were regularly refilled, and our server was very pleasant. The décor is sweet and evocative of a true Italian café. All-​around, it was a charming and lovely place to dine.
My husband and I both ordered an omelette for our breakfasts, and he also added on a side of corned beef hash. Everything was cooked just as you would hope from a laid-​back breakfast joint. The omelettes were flavorful and balanced, the toast was perfectly done, his hash was apparently sinfully delectable, and the flavorful potatoes were just what the doctor ordered for a hungry couple. Even the coffee tasted pretty decent considering how awful it is in most breakfast spots. We were pleasantly surprised by how well-​prepared and truly tasty everything we ordered was.
At the end of the day, I would honestly highly recommend this restaurant, at least for a hot, hearty breakfast plate. It felt like an Italian diner, but in a great, nostalgic kind of way.

Delicious classic Italian pastries. Delicious coffee. Great ambiance. Also Music! I feel like we’re in Italy.

Possibly the best cannoli I’ve had. The filling was so good and dense. Pleasant service

Good service. But food was very miserly. An 18 dollar shrimp dish was served with three pieces of shrimp. Our first time there. Will not go back.

After running the San Diego Rock N Roll my cousins and wife stopped in for lunch. My cousins split a plate a pasta, my wife had a pizza and I had the sausage calzone. Everything turned out very tasty and we had leftovers. My 1^st meal after running 26.2 miles definitely did the trick!

Blueberry Cheesecake! Yuuuuum!!! Staff is very friendly, and engaging. Prices are reasonable, and everything is DELICIOUS!!!

After seeing the pictures of the iris pastry, I had to come and try it for myself.
–Iris pastry: You can basically get this pastry in three forms (fried, baked, or a shortbread cookie). The filling is the same sweet, creamy ricotta filling. I went with the fried version, and holy Virgin Mary, it was delicious! The fried dough isn’t greasy, and it’s got the perfect amount of chewiness to it. I would’ve liked it better if it had a thinner amount of dough around the filling, but there was a lot of ricotta filling to go around. This pastry is big enough to share too, unless you have an inner fat kid like me :)
–Pear tart: The hubs got this and I took a bite. I’m not a big fruit tart person, but this one was good as far as fruit tarts go. It wasn’t too sweet with a good amount of pear slices.
–Lemon meringue cheesecake: This is basically what happens when a lemon meringue pie and a cheesecake have a baby. Points for creativity and it was good!
Service:
–The waitress acted as if it literally hurt her to form her lips into a smile. We witnessed a rather cold exchange between her and the man in front of us, and we almost left but my desire for the iris pastry won out. I don’t know that I’d dine-​in here due to the service, but it’s fine for a quick pastry to-​go.

Bakery has never let me down. I come for a personal cannoli then grab a box of fruit tart and small pastries for a host gift when I visit friends. Everybody loves the fruit tart and cannoli. The Sangiovese is like a cream puff. Mmm

We were able to walk to this cute café/​bakery from our hotel in Little Italy. Getting a table on the patio wasn’t a problem early on a Saturday morning, and that’s where you should sit for sure.
There is a Unilocal check in deal… free coffee with a pastry purchase. But if you’re ordering from the menu in the restaurant, the pastries aren’t listed. So you should get up, walk into the bakery and pick out the one you want… then place your order with your server. Because pastry sure seems to be the way to go here.
I totally loved my «Jesuit» pastry… flaky, puffy crust filed with a sweet cream… delicious! Perfect breakfast with some decent coffee. It was $ 6… a little steep but hey, with that Unilocal check in the coffee was gratis so… it worked out.
But my SO wasn’t as lucky with her choice. She got the Frittata omelet ($ 8.95) with zucchini, asparagus and parmesan. It looked good, but it was pretty seriously overdone. There wasn’t enough cheese to overcome the inherent dryness and it desperately needed some avocado or sour cream or something in addition to more cheese. The breakfast potatoes served alongside were good — standard issue. The toast was a nice thick piece served with a lot of soft butter, but unfortunately the toast was cold.
If I was in Little Italy and looking for breakfast, I would recommend Café Zucchero, but I think I’d stick to the bakery side of things. The croissants looked delicious and that Jesuit was delightful. The entire bakery case is like a salute to sin… so pick something from there to enjoy on the cozy patio. And your Unilocal check-​in coffee freebie of course!

I was craving dessert and left this place so disappointed. They had a variety of pastries and the girl behind the counter was very friendly. A round powdered sugar covered pastry caught my eye (the «genovese») and she described it as a cookie shell filled with sweet ricotta and chocolate chips. (basically cannoli filling) She let me try a spoonful of the filling squeezed from the pastry bag and it tasted creamy and delicious so I ordered the genovese. Unfortunately, that pastry must have been sitting all day because it was terrible. The cookie shell was stale and dry. The filling was not creamy like the freshly squeezed sample but hard and clumpy. The case’s temperature must have been too cold because the cookie was just too dry. No flavor at all and just crumbled all over the plate. Definitely not fresh at all.

I only came in to try the cannolis, which in my opinion were the best in Little Italy.
We came in super late but the lady was so kind when helping us out!
We ordered two cannolis and went on our way. They are so simple but so good, just try them if you’re in the area!

Authentic Italian food with old world charm. Welcoming attentive service from people that care about your experience.
Don’t miss the amazing fresh bakery offering fine Italian pastries.
Bring the pups because they are welcome on the patio. They’ll bring a water dish for them.

5 stars for the amazing selection and even more amazing cannoli and truffle which paired beautifully with my espresso… I will be coming back for more to try their Napoleon and tiramisu… soon…I will come back

Food was great! I had a egg and bacon panini on a croissant, my fiancé had shrimp Benedict which was also very good. Food is well presented.

Amazing is all I can say! I had Shrimp Benedict and a side of bacon and I’m in love. If I could eat here everyday, I would.

Is the authenticity dying, if your barista doesn’t know how to pronounce stuff than you probably shouldn’t hire her. if she doesn’t know what she’s talking about … You defiantly shouldn’t keep her and if she doesn’t know what’s in a canolli than God Bless her. Che non seprebbe Che cosa è in un canolli.?! Lol it was mediocre. Service was whatever I’ve had better. grazie.

We came here just for dessert after our meal across the street. The café boasts a full menu of savory items which we did not indulge because our original intent was to sample some gelato. But after looking in the cases, we decided to try a couple slices of baked goods which there is a large selection, all looking appetizing.
The café was very busy when we entered with all the tables occupied and some customers standing either waiting or eating. The employees were rushed and short with us because in addition to serving gelato and desserts, they’re responsible for making coffee drinks.
My wife and I ordered the carrot cake and lemon meringue cheesecake respectively along with two lattes. We managed to snag a small table immediately after it was vacated. I was pleased with the cheesecake, tart and creamy. I also had a taste of the carrot cake which was moist with a delicious frosting. Along with the latte, it was a nice finish to our visit to Little Italy.
Prices were elevated but affordable. If you don’t mind the busy area, get a reservation and you can enjoy a full meal because they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner or just make a quick stop for dessert as we did. Unilocalers seem to like the cannolis. They along with the iris forno and the iris fritta pass the eye test and make a return trip very likely so that we can taste more.

I went here last night for a San Diego Paint Nite event. It was very tightly laid out since the place is quite small. They have a back patio with plenty of space but there were about 40 of us tightly squeezed inside to do these paintings. I wasn’t really able to order there as it was hard to get in and out of the seats without knocking something over but I thought it was really cool that during the Paint Nite they allowed you to basically BYOB or bring your own wine and uncork it there. My friend wanted to do this for her birthday so she brought bottles of wine and even her own glasses.

Cute little spot in Little Italy. There’s outdoor seating in the front and back (which I didn’t notice until I was leaving) and of course inside as well. It was Saturday night and there was live music too. This man was have a grand olé’ time, singing his heart out. It was good background music to add to the ambiance.
There’s a lot of options to choose from in the little café from pastries, desserts, gelato, coffee, tea… I had an iced vanilla latte that came in a super cute mason jar, and I indulged in some white chocolate cheesecake. The cheesecake may have looked small and round, but it was stacked high and way too big for one person to eat in one sitting… but no judgment here if you do! It even had white chocolate shavings garnished on top. It was delish.

A good little charming spot for breakfast if your damn hungry and its right in the beginning area of Little Italy. My breakfast was a simple 2 egg breakfast with hash browns and Italian Sausage the eggs were not cooked right, yes I did complain and they gladly made it right. The sausage was dry and lacked in flavor, booooooo hooooooo :(My husband ordered the Corn beef hash which was incredibly tasty and cooked absolutely perfect! I wish I would of took over his plate.
Our waiter was extremely friendly and sweet and very attentive as well as meeting the Manager, I believe some relation to the family empire they have built in Little Italy. I think with such a beautiful & prime restaurant location they must make sure they are stepping up the game with the quality! They certainty have all the components of a wonderful establishment, I think they just need to recapture that ;) as «Little Italy SD» is now on the brink of being the exclusive Italian «Little Italy» getaway while visiting in the states as NY Little Italy is disappearing! :(So many «NEW & INNOVATIVE» businesses looking to move in.
We did also take back home with us Italian pastries which were okay, as mentioned they need to step it up and really take care of this Italian gem!

Wir haben im gegenüberliegenden Hotel gewohnt und sind deshalb am Ankunftstag dort Essen gewesen. Es hat uns so gut geschmeckt, dass wur dann zwei Tage später nochmal dort gegessen haben. Zumindest für mich als Deutschen fand ich die Pizzaauswahl etwas außergewöhnlich, aber sehr lecker. Z.b. Pesto als Grundlage (kannte nur Tomatensauce als Grundlage). War aber gut und der Teig war auch lecker. Bedienung freundlich, rundum empfehlenswert.