Kiosko del Castello by Rinaldini

A pastry kiosk at the foot of the castle

Kiosko del Castello stands beside Castel Sismondo on Piazza Francesca da Rimini, a compact kiosk-café that opened on 19 May 2022 and put Roberto Rinaldini’s pastry directly into the traffic of the historic centre. It is the official Rinaldini kiosk rather than a café borrowing the name, and it is separate both from the main Rinaldini store on the seafront side of town and from the house’s addresses in Milan, Rome and Parma. A kiosk is a hard format for pastry, because everything has to hold up in a small space with people passing on every side. The idea behind it was described at launch as a revolution of the chiosco: one small structure where pastry and savoury cooking sit together instead of in different shops.

Macarons, gelées and a gluten-free line

The pastry range is the reason to stop. Macarons and fruit gelées are the small formats, chocolate cakes the larger ones, and frollini the biscuits to take away, with savoury items alongside them. Rinaldini’s production rules are specific: no hydrogenated fats, no palm oil, no preservatives. Removing palm oil and preservatives is easier to claim than to do in a kiosk, where shelf life usually does that work. Gluten-free baking is part of the identity rather than an afterthought, and the Tenerina cakes are where to look for it. The brand language leans on Italianità and artisan production, and the kiosk is where that shows up in its most casual form.

Morning, midday and after dinner

The kiosk is built to work three times a day. In the morning it is closest to a classic Italian pastry bar, coffee alongside Rinaldini sweets. At midday the offer moves toward cooking rather than pastry, which is the part of the concept that separates it from a pastry counter. Later it shifts again to desserts and drinks, which keeps it attached to the life of the surrounding piazzas once the shops close. The house is a Relais Desserts member, so the standard behind a macaron taken away in a bag is the same one behind the boutique cakes. Expect counter service and a small footprint rather than a restaurant room. The square in front does the seating, which is how Italian kiosks have always worked, and the castle wall does the rest.