When on holiday, it is always a challenge to find the right pastry shop for every moment of the day: breakfast croissant is very different from the petit pastry to enjoy at tea time, or from the cake to buy and enjoy in private on a patch of grass by the Naviglio canal.
There is probably no single right place for a tasty break. There is the café with the richest assortment of pastries with unusual flavours, and the bar that offers fine and unusual coffee products. There is also the family-run bakery that bakes warm pastries all night long for an alternative night-time snack. For an afternoon treat, single-portion desserts and assorted bite-sized pastries are a must, pleasing every palate and allowing you to discover new flavour combinations.
For those with a sweet treats, nothing beats the delicacies offered by the artisan pastry shops along the Brenta Riviera. Among them, we recommend the historic Zaggia pastry shop in Stra, strategically located in the main square, not far from Villa Pisani, a comfortable stop during a pleasant stroll along the Naviglio . Over the years, it has maintained excellent quality in its desserts, pastries and brioches. Every day, the workshop of young pastry chefs Gianluca and Alberto produces delicacies for the most discerning palates: brioches and croissants, pistachio cream puffs, mousses, chocolate croccantino, the much-loved millefoglie with custard, and many other specialties. The pastry shop, managed by Silvia Nobile, is the ideal place not only to buy pastries or cakes for special occasions, but also for those who like to stop for a few minutes to have breakfast, sip a coffee, or simply don’t want to miss the quintessential Venetial ritual: the evening aperitif.
Not only pastries, but also artisan ice cream has long been one of the Riviera’s finest excellences.
A prime example is Gelateria da Simone, whose owner, Simone Valotto, has opened three shops between Miranese and Riviera del Brenta (Olmo di Martellago, Noale and Oriago di Mira), offering a high-quality stop, thanks to its particular attention to tradition and innovation. Gambero Rosso has ranked his gelaterias among the best in Italy, winners of the technical award at the Sherbeth International Artisanal Ice Cream Festival. While strolling along the Brenta and its Venetian villas, or admiring the ancient towers in Noale’s square, a scoop of salted gelato or the more traditional pistachio— strictly made with the finest ingredients and available in a dairy-free version—brings a few moments of pure happiness.
In a building dating back to the 1600s, once used to provide rest and carriage services to travellers, you can enjoy one of the Riviera del Brenta’s finest confectionery products: the historic Torronificio Scaldaferro. In 2010, the international magazine “Gambero Rosso” awarded it the title of producer of the best Italian almond and hazelnut nougat).
Its production techniques, passed down from generation to generation for over a century, along with the high-quality ingredients and honey used, are the secrets behind this prestigious product – so good that it is often served in combination with savoury foods and cheeses. For some years now, it has also been possible to taste the special gourmet ice creams of Gelateria Artigianale Veneziana Scaldaferro, located within the Locanda alla Posta, which share the same production philosophy as the nougat.
