couldn't have asked for a better pastry shop. Great selection of morning pastries but it's the…read moredesserts that are to die for. All pastries are so fresh and they will pack them with paper and ribbon for to go. I loved their rum brioche, and every chocolate or cream filled pastries for breakfast and desserts. It's busy all day long and if you can get a table across the street, it's your lucky day

This little bakery in the heart of Lucca was very busy and popular with locals. We stopped by in…read moresearch of a quick breakfast and were almost overwhelmed by all the choices. We chose a mini lemon fruit tart, croissant, palmier, and some kind of cream-filled choux. The croissant was our favorite with perfect buttery layers. Nothing else stood out in particular, but everything was fresh and well-made. Prices were reasonable. There's no seating in the bakery, which is to be expected in Italy, but there is outdoor seating a short walk across the street. On a nice day, it's really quite lovely sitting outside and people-watching while you enjoy your pastries.

Walk past any bakery in Lucca and youre bound to see foccacia in their shop, but this is the place…read moreto go for the straight up, no toppings needed foccacia. My family picked up a fair amount of plain foccacia to make our own antipasti and foccacia+moz+pesto for appertivos at our airbnb... but it was so good for nibbles, only one small piece lasted until antipasti time. The dolce foccacia also caught my eye and man oh man do I wish I got more/could find something so simple yet indulgent close to home. Guess I need to re-visit Lucca sooner rather than later. Also helped that the people working behind the counter were helpful and friendly.

(4/4/2014) Great little place for a good, quick, portable snack to go while traipsing around the…read moretiny alley streets of medieval Lucca. Got a 4" x 6" inch (sorry, American, I have poor metric skills) square of Olive Focaccia. It was very chewy, sparkling with coarse sea salt, glowing with baked in olive oil; was 1,15 euro, seemed worth it to me. This place is just off Piazza San Michele, essentially the town center. Spot is quaint, staff are friendly and thankfully not condescending to tourists. Prices seemed reasonable.

Yowzer this was a good bread. I went for the buccellato an got a small slice just to try. I went…read moreback for a small loaf the next day. Delish!

While visiting Lucca, we had to stop by and try the local raisin bread, buccellato, along with…read moreother favorites. The buccellato was baked perfectly, but admittedly not my thing. However, I completely devoured the half-dozen cookies I ordered in near record time. Everything was light, flavorful, and fresh. There's nothing quite like baked cookies from someone with a lot of experience and traditional training. If you're around the piazza, I highly recommend grabbing some selections and sitting down on the church steps outside. It's one of a kind experience that you'll remember for the rest of your life.

What an absolute treat! From cookies to gelato, and featuring a variety of coffee options,…read morePasticceria Giovannini is worth the stop. The cookies are all crumble in your mouth fresh, with an attention to quality that is immediately apparent. Each offering has a unique style and flavor, and everything is very reasonably priced. The staff is super friendly, especially if you're making an effort to communicate in Italian. And as you'd expect, this cafe has a neighborhood, local feel. It's stylish and lively, but not overwhelming. One of our favorite spots in Montecatini.

Words don't do this place justice! Amazing pasticceria!!! Friendly staff, super affordable, amazing…read moreespresso and the desserts are out of this world. My mother and I were on vacation in Montecatini at a hotel that was a 1 minute walk away (dangerous). Our morning routine was to get a cappuccino and un caffe. The espresso was strong and full of flavor. Most days we came back later in the day and tried other varieties - all great. Now about the desserts....nothing like I've ever tasted in America! Everything was so clean, had unique tastes with a perfect amount of sweetness - just mouthwatering. The prices were super low too. One visit we got 5 pastries for 8 euros. Giovannini makes me want to vacation there again ASAP!!

All pizza joints in the tourist area of Lucca were charging at least $5 for a slice of pizza. But…read morethis place located in the residential area just inside the old city wall charged $1.20 per slice. We shared 2 slices of tomato, a slice of olive and a slice of cheese, yummy! We liked the place so much, we brough a couple of chocolate biscotti for snack on the way out of the walled city. Only 4 stars because there is no sitting area and no fresh made caffe available.

I have no idea what's up with this place. The reviews were all from years ago, so I wasn't sure it…read morestill existed. We walked over around 8:30 AM and found that it was still there, but it was closed and had a sign that said they opened at 9:00 AM. We walked by again around 9:15 AM and the place was still closed, completely dark, and with no signs of activity. I figured the business had gone away. We found baked goods elsewhere and went on with our day. Later that afternoon we happened to pass by again, and the store was open with a small selection of cannoli and some other sweets. So it seems like in its current state, this is a mid-afternoon bakery of confections. Or something. If you want bread, go to Crai.

Delicious fresh pastries and bread tucked in a cute alleyway in Monterosso. Service is friendly as…read morewell. The older lady behind the counter noticed my daughter couldn't figure out what she wanted and so she made some recommendations for us and gave her a piece of focaccia bread that she enjoyed on the house. I also noticed local cafes get their bread from this bakery. Highly recommend.

The bread here is outstanding. We got 3 varieties and each was gloriously fresh, with a thick and…read morecrispy crust with a light, fluffy inside. They also have a really good panforte. I hate fruitcake but this stuff was stellar, boldly spicy, perfectly sweet, and packed with just the right amount of pistachios, almonds and fruit. Oh yeah, they have amazing cheese and onion foccacia. This place would be a 30 on Zagat if they were in NYC, though it would surely be ruined by commercialization and Americanization within a year. I'm glad they're stuck in Greve!

Extraordinary effort here by everyone from baker to server. Returned several times over two weeks…read moreand recommend it to others who love Tuscany and great stops for a treat or supplies for home cooked meals. Cannot say enough how excellent it is.

Adorable spot in a tourist spot. Slices are $5 a clip…read moreVery good Wished it would have been hotter Pesto was the best one and the picante was very good.

Every once in a while, you discover a simple, street-side food location that simply rocks your…read moreworld. I'm talking about the kind of food that elicits an audible response moments after your first bite. The focaccia bread at Pacifico Focacceria is like taking a bite out of heaven. Crisp, yet soft and chewy, these breads are the perfect handheld bites to take with you on the go, or stand at a nearby table and indulge in. My wife and I enjoyed two varieties - pesto and mozzarella and one with onions and sausage. Both of them were absolutely fantastic! In fact, if I didn't have to catch a ferry, I easily could've ordered two more and sat down and enjoyed them with a bottle of wine. I've enjoyed many great focaccia breads in Italy, but these easily rank among the best for me.

Focaccia is one of the local specialities of Cinque Terre, so we definitely planned to indulge in…read moresome when visiting. Panificio Rosi is a small shop in Riomaggiore that specializes in focaccia. While we stayed in Manarola, it was a short 10 min train ride from that town and we had planned to hike back to Manarola via the Via dell'Amore. Since it was an early morning we were the first customers, so they had plenty of fresh focaccia ready to eat. They have a large variety of focaccia with toppings to choose from, I picked the pesto and tomato focaccia and it was delicious! I would definitely recommend giving this shop a try for focaccia.

4.5 stars If you think focaccia is a plain, boring…read moreflatbread, then think again! The varieties at Panificio Rosi include everything from focaccia with rosemary, anchovies, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, and even chocolate! My pick was the focaccia with artichokes, pesto, and stracchino cheese, and eating this was a revelation. The bread itself was perfectly crusty on the outside, and soft and pleasantly crumbly on the inside. The artichokes added a surprising textural contrast, and the creamy stracchino cheese and the herbaceous basil pesto added great flavor to every bite! I also tried the focaccia with anchovies and capers, and while this version was on the salty side, it was full of umami goodness. All the breads here were sold by weight, and the friendly server heated up our focaccia before we enjoyed this delicious snack!

My husband and I were walking on the walls of Lucca and noticed this amazing building!!! Inside it…read morewas this magnificent restaurant really chic and trendy. There is also a garden and we decided to eat outside. The food was superb. I had deep fried squids, prawns and veg, my husband ordered seafood risotto. Dessert was typical italian with lots of fruit and italian ice creams to choose from. Overall great food in a magnificent location!!!