I Dolci di Nonna Vincenza

Stopped by for a quick cannolo and espresso, and it was amazing! Definitely the best cannolo I've had so far. The girl recommended the one with pistachio and ricotta. It was nice and creamy, the shell crunchy, and not sweet at all which I prefer. Will definitely come back here for more!

We had the opportunity to visit Catania this trip and stayed at Liberty Hotel. As a welcome gift they had this almond cookies for us in the room. Their cookies filled with marzipan and they were absolutely delicious. We went to the store and is a beautiful setup. I can't remember the name of the girl that took care of us but even with the language barrier she was pleasant, friendly and great customer service. Everything she gave us to try was delicious. We got some cookies to bring back home to our daughter and 20 days later the cookies are still fresh and taste delicious. If you like sweets I highly recommend this place!

Excellent gelato, maybe the best in town, especially dark chocolate and hazelnut. Other gelaterias pale in comparison. Nice homemade almond milk. Very friendy and kind servers.

This review was saved by the samples of almond cookies (croccatino di mandorla). I think it might have been better if I came earlier in the day. Like others have commented, there was a single employee and they just plucked a chocolate coated Cannolo from the fridge. Unfortunately my Italian wasn't good enough to ask for a fresh one. The Cannolo itself wasn't bad. The ricotta had good flavor but I didn't love the chocolate-covered interior. I know the covering is there to prevent the biscuit from getting soggy but this wouldn't be a problem if they were filled on demand.

Best cannoli in Sicily, only here for a short stay but will make sure to return this same trip just to taste this pistachio perfection one last time!

Cappuccino is very tasty! Good cakes! I like it.

Very nice little place with very good deserts. I recommend even to take to go to eat on the road or at the hotel

We had high hopes for this place but we got disappointed. While other places in the vicinity were full and crowded this one was almost empty. This was a sign that something was not right, but anyway we ate some cannoli and they were just average. There was only one employee, which was enough considering the lack of customers. I guess this place was either good in the past or it has the good rating due to better service in their other stores.

If you are looking for "Saint Agatha's tits" (sorry, I am not making this up, I am quoting directly as they are called "minnuzzi ri Sant'Àjita" in Sicilian dialect), you must visit the "best pasticceria" (pastry shop) in Catania, I Dolci di Nonna Vincenza. In a nondescript building in a piazza just off of Via Vittorio Emanuele (they actually have four locations in Catania), my Sicilian wife was looking for Minnuzzi di Sant'Agata (aka St. Agatha's tits - it's a long story), a Catanese specialty, to take to her relatives in Erice (near Trapani). I mean no disrespect as I am only telling you the story of Saint Agatha's breasts as told by Sicilians. The short version being that Saint Agatha's breasts were torn from her body during her martyrdom and she is now the patron saint of breast cancer patients as well as Mount Etna. The Catania Duomo (cathedral) is also named after this venerated 3rd Century saint. How the tradition of cakes in the shape of breasts and fondly called "St Agatha's Tits" (translated from Sicilian dialect) came to be is unknown to me or any of the locals I talked to. The ricotta filled pastries bearing her name actually look like a lovely white breast, red nipple and all. You can apparently only get these extremely sweet pasties, I mean pastries, during the Christmas season and around her name day (February 5th). The filling is sweet ricotta and covered by an extremely sweet sugar-based shell, topped with a red confection in the shape of a nipple. If you eat them the right way, like a pizza, with more filling than sugary shell, they are actually quite tasty. After all, I never tasted a tit I did not like (sorry Saint Agatha, I could not help myself). Anyway, back to I Dolci di Nonna Vincenza ... The shop, which was recommended and known by every local we talked to, sits on the side of a piazza and looks quite small, even smaller as you first walk in. But if you walk up the stairs to your left, you enter the first large room filled with cookies and candies. Go around the corner to the next big room filled with cakes and St. Agatha's breasts, both large and small. At €2.50 ($3) a pop, St. Agatha's breasts are not a cheap treat. It is, reportedly, the "best" pasticceria in Catania, but the prices I saw were rather high and not a "great value" in my eyes. CombatCritic Gives I Dolco Di Nonna Vincenza 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Breasts, I Mean Bombs, Are Better!

What a lovely old style pasticceria! The owners did a very good job of marketing Nonna Vincenza's specialties and now they even have two sales points in Rome. Here you can find Catania's traditional desserts and cakes, some good ice cream and recently also some home made liquors, jams and spreads. Probably you will find better quality in town but this place really is lovely and the service the kindest you'll get.

It's inauthentic. Terrible food. An absolute insult to the catanese cuisine. Don't go.

Gorgeous old-style Sicilian pasticceria near the port of Catania. Too many choices, so we just got a few mini canoli and pistachio covered sweets. Great service and perfect decor. A business that's proud of their heritage and their place in Catania.

We were in Catania for one day on a cruise, but researched where we should go to buy the best Canoli as we had been in Catania before. This bakery was listed as #1 and I thoroughly agree. The Canoli were the best we ever had. The cream was delicious and not overly sweet with pistachios at the ends. We tried other cookies and the gelato while we were there and they were amazing as well! Not far from the main square and the port, this is worth leaving the ship for!