dagnino {sicilian pastries in rome}

February always presents a problem. In theory I’m still in the post holiday “eat-less” mode. But at the same time it’s really cold outside, and my body is begging more for calories (even if it knows full well it doesn’t need them).

So while my mind is telling me to eat a nice piece of fruit, my legs are walking me in another direction. Often towards one of my favorite pastry shops in Rome, Dagnino.

Dagnino has got to be one of the strangest and most wonderful places in Rome. This Sicilian pastry shop is absolutely stuck in a time warp that takes you back to the late ‘Sixites. The setting is in a sort of underpass/mall that runs beneath a  modern building from one street to another, a block from Piazza Repubblica. If you didn’t know it was there, there’s no way you stumble upon it.

Why do I love it so much? First of all, the above mentioned time-warp thing. The interiors have all the original decoration and furnishings: banquet seating, vintage murals, marble floors and cloth covered  wooden tables.

I also love the colors. On a cold and windy February afternoon there is something about the pastel tones of bright pink ‘gelato di campagna’, the moss green cassata and glistening candied clementines that just makes me happy. I mean, who doesn’t love looking at a bright and shiny row of marzipan tomatoes?

And the sound track to my reveries? A pianist (I kid you not) playing away on a shiny grand on Sunday afternoons.

But back to the pastries, which is what brings me here in the first place. While I usually go for one of the Sicilian specialties – a mini cassata or a cannoli – I’m just as likely to load up on whatever seasonal holiday sweets are on offer. If they have any sort of fried pastry stuffed with sweetened ricotta, just buy it, and ask questions later. Or, if you’re there in the next few weeks, their frappe and castagnoli for Carnevale are among the best in Rome.

I wish I could say I also go there for the excellent service. But I can’t. For some reason everyone in the shop – from the owners to the pastry girls and barmen – has taken a cranky pill. But don’t let that put you off. One look at the pastries – and a dose of the piano lounge – will brighten up your winter doldrums.


















Dagnino
Galleria Esedra
Via V. Emanuele Orlando, 75 Roma
06.481.8660
Note: This is also a great place for lunch, since their tavola calda features delicious Sicilian dishes like arancini and baked pasta.