Catania Bakery

A local and historic gem. Come on Friday or Saturday mornings from 730-1030, the rest of the time they're just for delivery / catering. The croissants are amazing, if you get there at the right time and they're fresh out of the oven, buy them all :-) Or if you get there, and they just sold out, it might be because I got there ahead of you with my coworkers (our tradition is to go every Friday morning).

I love this place so much. Me and my fiancés favorite thing to do on Saturdays is to grab some delicious bread and chat with Al. The bread and pastries are fantastic. It’s the only pleasant place on the block, really.

An adorable place! The owner is a very sweet person who will give you excellent food recommendations. The croissants are also pretty darn good. Try the strawberry or chocolate! I only got a pic of the blueberry muffin (yum!) and the sfogliatelle (citrus ricotta filling)..I ate the croissants too fast.

Catania Bakery is a small shop only open Saturday mornings for pastry and bread (they primarily do wholesale during the week). The croissants are cheap and amazing! The cookies are handmade - a bit pricier because of the ingredients but so amazing. Their shortbread tarts taste like Christmas and joy. It’s run by a sweet, older couple who make A+ morning conversation.

I love this place is open only twice a week Friday and Saturday for a few hours each day. If you’re in the area I only recommended to stop bye All baked good insanely delicious

I took the bus then metro to get here to try the cannoli. I patiently waited behind a woman ordering many items. Then a man came in that knew the guy working. He stopped helping the lady, she only had to pay. They proceeded to talk what seemed like forever, go in the back get a card for him then give him the last cannoli for free. It was unbelievably disrespectful of my time, energy and money it took me to get there. The arrogance and entitlement of the customer was also mind boggling. It might be ok but I won't be going back. It's a shame because I lived in Italy and was looking for a good Italian bakery since I just moved to the area. It probably isn't very good though because the guy said the best Italian food in THE WORLD was in Scranton PA.

The only thing that gets me up early on Saturday mornings is the promise of quality bread and other pastries from Catania. The owners and the patrons are pillars of the community, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better loaf and a better way to spend your Saturday morning. My advice: go early, because they regularly sell out.

Catania Bakery is a historic bakery in Truxton Circle that opened in 1932 when the area was largely Italian. The bakers from Sicily baked breads to deliver to the Italian homes. As the neighborhood and demand changed, they moved to wholesale baking bread for DC's restaurant scene. Because of that, they are only open for retail Friday mornings and Saturday mornings for a few hours. However, the owners mentioned they may open every morning during the week starting in the Fall of 2019. They bake pastries and bread on Fridays and Saturdays until they run out. It's cash only so bring a few bucks to try their chocolate or butter croissants. They are among the best in the city. They have coffee brewing in old school diner pots on a table near the cash register. The current owners bought the bakery from the original owners in the 1970s and tell the stories of the original owners through frames on the walls. It's no frills, but that's what makes it wonderful. It's a true off the beaten path find in the city!

Best Italian bread in town! Has been my whole life Hard rolls to die for from Louie to Nicole always a favorite place to visit. If you're an Italian from Washington DC it's a must try place.

Awesome place. Only open to public sales 730-12 on Saturdays but worth the visit. Small and no place to sit inside, cash/venmo only but again worth it. Great bread and great pastries. Pastries at $2.75 each, traditional Italian bread for cheap and the nicest guy behind the counter who loves to chat, you could easily spend an hour chitchatting and listening to his awesome stories. A great old world, classic bakery you wish there were more of around

finally made it here! the bread! the pastries! come as early as you can. delicious across the board

Catania Bakery is a historic bakery in Truxton Circle that opened in 1932 when the area was largely Italian. The bakers from Sicily baked breads to deliver to the Italian homes. As the neighborhood and demand changed, they moved to wholesale baking bread for DC's restaurant scene. Because of that, they are only open for retail Friday mornings and Saturday mornings for a few hours. However, the owners mentioned they may open every morning during the week starting in the Fall of 2019. They bake pastries and bread on Fridays and Saturdays until they run out. It's cash only so bring a few bucks to try their chocolate or butter croissants. They are among the best in the city. They have coffee brewing in old school diner pots on a table near the cash register. The current owners bought the bakery from the original owners in the 1970s and tell the stories of the original owners through frames on the walls. It's no frills, but that's what makes it wonderful. It's a true off the beaten path find in the city!

You cannot beat this bakery for value and product. Every item we purchased had perfect texture and flavor. Keep in mind that you want to eat what you buy because it is made fresh without preservatives. No place to sit and enjoy there so we grabbed a cup of coffee nearby and savored our delicious goodies. This is a cash only and cash app place. The gentleman that was helping us in this day was friendly and quite the personality. These treats are a rare gem to find these days. You'll be shocked by the value. Don't be deceived by the appearance of this bakery. It looks like it's not even open. They have limited shop hours on Friday and Saturday and it's worth waking up early for their personality, goodies and value!

The bread is always amazing. I get 6 hard sub rolls every time I go in. This past Saturday I also got croissants and a Nutella pastry. The pastries were incredibly good. The folks running the counter are super friendly. They gave me a free roll and an extra pastry. If we didn't bake our own biscotti, I would have gotten some. Definitely worth the trip.

Get there super early! By the time I got there (30 min after opening) they were sold out of cannolis and cookies. I will definitely be trying to get there right when they open next time. Pastry's were so good and cheap ($2.50 each) and the owner is very friendly!

I've never visited, but I pass this bakery every time I drive in to work. As it's public hours are VERY limited, I decided to send a cookie care package via online ordering to family. The cookies arrived quickly and completely undamaged. I'm advised by my surprised and grateful family that everything is DELICIOUS!

I got a bag of macaroons, a chocolate croissant, a Nutella croissant, and a blueberry muffin. They were all excellent ! They also let me try the bread. Very friendly . I love this place !!

This place is amazing and open only 2 days a week, Friday Saturday for only few hours each day. Everything is worth trying over there , me personally I love the small butter croissant but you can choose whatever you think is looks good over there because it's most likely delicious. Highly highly recommended!!!

Catania Bakery is a small shop only open Saturday mornings for pastry and bread (they primarily do wholesale during the week). The croissants are cheap and amazing! The cookies are handmade - a bit pricier because of the ingredients but so amazing. Their shortbread tarts taste like Christmas and joy. It's run by a sweet, older couple who make A+ morning conversation.

A visit to Catania Bakery is perhaps best described as a cultural experience. Open 2 days per week now--Fridays 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM and Saturdays 7:30 AM to 12:30 PM--this is actually a huge improvement from the "Saturday only" of the past. My advice? Look at what's available on the baking sheet trays that are shelved on carts. Those carts possess the most recent of Catania's output--been wheeled straight from the oven into the counter area to cool off. Nothing could be fresher. My favorite item: fruit croissants. However they are not actually croissants. They are more like turnovers. They come in apple, blueberry and strawberry. Not many are produced and if you can snag one, consider yourself a very lucky person indeed. I have been known to park my car at 7:00 AM right in front and wait until the doors open at 7:30 AM (and it's never at 7:30 AM--always late) just to get an apple one. And just so you know, Catania's does make a plain croissant that is a true croissant and yummy. There isn't a huge assortment of baked goods, but what is offered is quite agreeable. The prices are extremely reasonable for DC. This throw back bakery is one-of-a-kind. Been there since 1932. It bills itself as an Italian bakery and it is, but it also supplements with some French and hybrid things. It supplies restaurants, churches, small markets, etc. It's as crazy as the block in which it is located. It fascinates me.

A truly great Italian bread bakery that makes the BEST Italian bread in town bar none. Forget what you've eaten at these other places, this place is the real deal. The taste of this bread brought me back to my childhood where my Italian Grandfather would go into Chicago and pick up a couple of loaves and this was it. No kidding; they do Italian Bread and they do it right.

Go early on Saturday....well worth the effort. Had to drive to Union Station, finding myself in DC early enough on a Saturday to finally find Catania's open. You wouldn't think this little shop on a busy street could have real italian bread and you would be wrong. I've read about Cantania's for years and have always wanted to stop by but I'm usually in the city on weekdays. I'll pick up some rolls from I Litteria's but here there are so many things to choose from. I got one of each of the pastries and some amazing hoagie rolls. They are the hard rolls, the kind that soak up whatever sauce you've got. Would be perfect with soup or just dipping in oil. I got a large loaf and already made grilled cheese sandwiches, perfect after shoveling today's snow.

The finest Italian bread anywhere!! None anywhere can compare!! Been going here for 50 plus years, always the same superb quality. A. Litteri carries their products if you cannot get to the store.

The owners and employees are super friendly and the pastries are authentic tasting. It's like taking a short trip back to traditional Europe (the older folks are great to talk with!). Two best combination for any businesses: quality people and product(s).

Living in the neighborhood, I do wish they had retail hours outside of Saturday mornings, but I'll take what I can get! Their baked goods are tasty, although I wouldn't put them in the same league as Pain Quotidien. They do make a fine canoli, but I'm rather partial to their chocolate croissants. Stop by early enough and you can get them straight out of the oven, but take care or that molten chocolate will burn the roof of your mouth. PS: You can find their products the rest of the week at the nearby A. Litteri in the Florida Ave. Market.

AMAZING BREAD! This is the real deal. My family (grandparents, great aunts/uncles) moved from Italy and grew up in DC. They knew the owners here and always took us to get bread here growing up. I have such fond memories going in here and smelling the fresh bread and eating loads of it! They were always so friendly and nice! Felt like I was going to family every time I went in there. Unfortunately I can't have bread anymore, but the rest of my family can and it's still the same! AMAZING! If you go to a nice Italian restaurant in DC odds are Catania made the bread for them! Location is definitely not the greatest, but once you get past the iron doors and into the bakery the smell of the bread will distract you from anything else. So get a nice bottle of wine and some butter, pick up one of their amazing loaves of bread and you have a date night!! Ah just typing this makes me wish I could have some!

An incredible secret for locals in Bloomingdale. This little place on North Cap. is only open Saturdays from 7:30am-Noon (or when they sell out). My advice, plan your Saturday around this place. Grub: Crescent ($1.40): A+ Best crescent I've ever had. Period. I know, hard to believe but trust me, this place knows how to make them right. Chocolate Crescent ($1.60): A++ Skip the regular and go for the chocolate. It's a unique Italian chocolate that is strong and bold along with the perfect bread texture. Make sure to heat it up before you eat. 85 years of baking bread is only the beginning. =v)

Catania Bakery has been around forever. They supply the bread to all of the functions at the Italian Holy Rosary Catholic Church on 3rd and F St NW, including the Annual Lasagna Dinner on Apr 6, 2014, which I attended for 25 years before moving out of the area. My mother always told me the secret to Catania's bread is that the yeast now permeates the air in that place since they've been there so long and, at least in my estimation, the city water in Washington DC is some of the best tasting anywhere. I think you'll agree -- the bread from Catania Bakery tastes wonderful... I have yet to find one that matches it... perhaps only Labriola in South Chicago.

Will update review once we try the pastries. But lovely lady and gentleman own the place. Will be back on that alone for sure!

I am absolutely obsessed with Catania Bakery and I absolutely love the lovely woman who owns it. There, I said it. And while anyone living in DC still has a chance, you need to stop by, grab some delicious bread, cannolis, and bags of almond cookies while learning some serious history about DC and hell, perhaps even about yourself. The various types of bread have a beautiful outer crispness followed by a warm softness in the center with the just a slight saltiness upfront and then a smooth sweet finish. I once got an entire loaf of bread and finished it before I got back home which was only three blocks away. It's heaven when it comes to bread and you can tell she has been doing this for a very long time. The cannolis are stunning - there is that delicate brittle crispiness of the pastry and a slight sweetness of the cream. It's the perfect cannoli. Other cannolis can be way too sweet and way too overpowering. And those almond cookies are decadent as the batter is mostly made up of crushed almonds, a little sugar, and some hints of butter followed by a whole almond on the top. They melt in your mouth. It's pure bliss. The window is very small as she is open only once per week on Saturday morning until about noon so make sure to get there. Plenty of parking around with very little risk of getting a ticket - only watch out, this is a rough neighborhood. This is no cute boutique, and certainly isn't a pretty place and I suspect its heyday expired literally about a half-a-century ago as it turns out, all of the North Capitol Street Corridor, some of H Street and much of what we consider NoMa was a thriving Italian community which could have survived as DC's own 'Little Italy' had it not been for the wholescale corruption, the numerous fires, and systematic neglect that plagued the city for decades to come which effectively turned the entire area into a huge slum which is only now recovering. And Catania Bakery is the only surviving evidence of that as very little has been done with the interiors and the exterior and the equipment is literally the same used fifty years ago. You will hear many stories from the owner and she will keep you standing on your feet for a long time giving you plenty of history. And it turns out, she knew family of mine who lived in the neighborhood about 40 years ago when I gave her my last name - I was shocked as I knew exactly the family member she referred to but had no idea they lived only three houses away from mine. She will talk your ear off and tell you about everything and anything and for these super low prices for legendary bread and pasties, it's absolutely worth it.

What a wonderful bakery! By the off chance, I needed 20 Cannoli's for a dinner party on a Saturday night but, a good Italian Bakery in DC is hard to find. Searched GOOGLE first listing was Catania Bakery, Family owned and operated for 80 years. WHAT A FIND! The cannoli's were fresh, DEELICIOUS! I ordered an additional Italian pastry and a loaf of crusty bread to go . Nicole was amazing the staff very accommodating. They service many restaurants throughout the city and the majority of the time, closed for the wholesale operation. Too bad it's ONLY open retail for passerby's on Fridays 7:30am - 10:30am and Saturdays from 7:30am - 12:00pm. Tip: go early, has a neighborhood following, family oriented. A neighborhood gem and one of DC's best kept secret's, will return next Saturday for a pastry or two.

This is a true neighborhood gem! My fiance and I stopped by this morning, and we stayed for a good 20 minutes chatting with the owners who are very welcoming and nice. The bread is phenomenal, and the blueberry croissants were out of this world! The prices are much lower than anywhere we've ever been in DC.

We had been looking forward to trying this place and finally had a chance to make it out one morning. Since it was snowing, we called ahead and were told they'd be open until noon. When we got there, the door was locked even though the Open sign was lit up and no one was inside. Very disappointed that we drove across town in the snow for nothing.

Catania Bakery also sells its bread inside of Litter's Italian Grocery in the Union Market at 517-519 Morse St NE, Wash DC. They sell til it sells out.

This place is great. I try to make it a point to stop for breakfast here after night shifts on days they're open. The people are really nice and all the products I've tried taste fabulous. And what else could you ask for?

This old school Italian bakery is a real find. Only open for retail on Saturday mornings, the rest of the week, it's producing baked goods for Washington DC's finest Italian restaurants. Croissants, plain and filled with chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, a variety of muffins, and of course the bread. This is definitely off the tourist route but is frequented by the local fire stations -- so you know it's good. Doesn't look like much from the outside but don't let that fool you.

The Anise Biscotti was great. And the price is right too!

Awesome bread and croissants. Very friendly people there. They sell bread wholesale to delis and restaurants in the area but are open on Saturdays from 7:30am-11:00am to sell to people. Definitely worth trying.