Caffe Vittoria

Lavazza espresso and a North End pastry case

The espresso here is Lavazza, poured in a North End room that has been doing this since 1929 and is known as Boston’s first Italian cafe. The hot list runs the full classic sequence: espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, caffe latte, caffe mocha, caffe Americano, caffe corretto, latte macchiato, hot chocolate and steamed milk, all available iced, with whole, skim, soy and almond milk. Tea is a real part of the menu rather than a courtesy, with Republic of Tea selections including Earl Grey, British Breakfast, Asian Jasmine, Chamomile, Blackberry Sage and Ginger Peach.

What holds it together is that the drinks are built for the pastry case rather than for a takeaway queue. This is a dessert room as much as a coffee bar, and it works best after a meal elsewhere in the North End.

Four levels, three bars and a tin ceiling

The building carries the character. Four levels hold several rooms, three liquor bars and a cigar room in the basement, and the details repeat consistently through them: tin ceiling, mosaic tile floors, marble tables, metal-rimmed chairs, old-fashioned hanging lights, bay windows, a long marble-topped bar, art deco coffee posters, old coffee urns and vintage espresso machines among the photographs and wall objects.

Service is casual and staffed, with waitress service at the tables. The result is not a minimalist espresso bar but a layered Italian-American cafe-bar, used through the day for coffee and pastry and into the evening for after-dinner sweets, liqueurs and specialty coffee drinks.

Cannoli first, then tiramisu or a spiked coffee

The pasticceria list is the heart of a visit. Cannoli come with a crispy shell and sweet ricotta cream, and the chocolate version uses a dark chocolate-dipped shell with chocolate chips or pistachio. Tiramisu is made with savoiardi soaked in espresso and mascarpone. Beyond those, the case carries cheesecake, sfogliatella, napoletane, eclair, limoncello cake, rum cake, chocolate ganache cake, chocolate mousse cake, ricotta pie, flan, fruit tart, lobster tail, red velvet cheesecake and biscotti.

Frozen desserts extend the sweets further, with gelati in pistachio, hazelnut, vanilla, cappuccino, chocolate coffee, spumoni, mint chip, strawberry, banana, coconut and maple walnut, plus sorbeto in mango, lemon and raspberry. For a heavier finish, the specialty drinks are the ones to know: the Caffe Vittoria with Kahlua, brandy and tiramisu liqueur, the Caffe B-52 with Baileys, Kahlua and Grand Marnier, Wild Irish Coffee, the Nutty Irishman, and the Italia, a hot cocoa with hazelnut liqueur, Kahlua and brandy.