Pastry Shops in Como: Where to Eat Brioche and Cake

What a Como pasticceria does in the morning

The default Italian breakfast is a brioche and a cappuccino, eaten standing at the bar, and Como runs on the same rhythm. A pasticceria is a pastry shop first, so the counter carries fresh brioche in the morning alongside cakes and small pastries you can buy by the piece or take away boxed. Judging a shop on its brioche and its coffee is fairer than treating it as a cake shop only, because that is what most customers order before nine.

Order and pay at the till first if the shop asks you to, then hand the receipt to the barista; in many pasticcerie you simply order at the counter and settle at the end. Sitting at a table usually means table service and a slightly higher bill than standing, which is the trade-off for a leisurely breakfast. If you want a fuller morning meal with eggs and savoury plates, breakfast in Como covers the options beyond the pastry counter.

Pasticceria Vago on viale Giulio Cesare

Pasticceria Vago has been on viale Giulio Cesare since 1960, and brioche is its calling card: the shop fills with the smell of them baking from early morning. Fabio Vago and his wife run the place, and the range of fresh brioche is the reason locals mention it first when talk turns to colazione, the Italian word for breakfast. Go for a plain or filled brioche and a cappuccino, and take a box of pastries away if you are heading for the lakefront.

Arte Dolce Lyceum on via Cesare Cantù

Arte Dolce Lyceum sits at the corner of via Cesare Cantù and via Giovio, in the heart of the walled centre, and has the feel of a historic meeting place rather than a quick pit stop. Locals use it across the day: students at breakfast, office workers for a mid-morning coffee, families for ice cream later on. Treat it as your centre-of-town stop when you want a sit-down coffee and a pastry between errands, and expect it to be busier at the classic breakfast hour.

Because it is inside the walls, it makes sense to pair it with a morning wandering the duomo streets rather than a dash to the station. The café side is as important as the pastry case here, so a coffee and a small cake is a reasonable order if you have already eaten. If a cold dessert is what you are after instead, the best gelato in Como points you to the right counters.

La Vecchia Como on via Lambertenghi

La Vecchia Como has traded since 1987 and describes itself as traditional pastry, coffee and local sweets, with brioche baked fresh in the laboratory next door. It recently expanded into a larger, welcoming space on via Lambertenghi, one of the streets of the historic centre that has filled up with places to eat. Order a brioche from the morning bake and a coffee, and look at the local sweet counter if you want something to carry home.

Its position on a street of the historic centre makes it a natural stop before a day of walking the centre, and the adjacent laboratory means the brioche are fresh from the bake. A small, popular room fills quickly at peak breakfast time, so arriving early buys you counter space. For more sit-down options nearby, cafes in Como is the companion list.

Capriccio on viale Lecco

Capriccio di Como grew out of artisan gelato making, with a thirty-year background that began in the 1980s before the pastry shop opened on viale Lecco. In 1992 Davide Tarzi set up the current Capriccio di Como, which has become one of the better-known pasticcerie in the area. The pastry team bakes and decorates its range every morning, and breakfast is when the counter is busiest.

The shop sits on viale Lecco just outside the walls of the historic centre, a couple of minutes from the lake, so it suits a breakfast on the way into the centre rather than a detour. You can sit at the tables inside or take pastries away. For the gelato side of its history, best gelato in Como lists the counters worth your time.

Not Olly Caffè on viale Varese

Not Olly Caffè is a modern pastry-bistro on viale Varese run by the historic Panificio Silvani, one of Como's established bread and cake producers. The shop opened as a contemporary space for a good start to the day, and a newly restored courtyard makes outdoor breakfast possible in the warmer months. Taking a table in the courtyard if the weather allows is the reason to choose it over a standing-only bar.

The bakery pedigree shows in the bread as much as the pastries, so a savoury order alongside a coffee is a sensible move if you want something more substantial than brioche. It is also handy for a working breakfast, being a short hop from the centre. If you are weighing up cheap options across the city, cheap eats in Como covers the low-cost end of the map.

Counter versus table, and how to pay

The counter is the fast lane: order your brioche and cappuccino, drink it standing, and you are out in minutes for the lowest price. A table brings service and a calmer pace, but the bill is higher and you may need to wait to catch someone's eye. If you are unsure of the routine, watch what the person ahead of you does at the till and follow suit.

Cappuccino is a morning drink in Italy; ordering one after a meal will draw a look, so switch to espresso later in the day. Many pasticcerie also sell cakes whole or by the slice, and larger orders are usually placed in advance. If you want to see how the rest of the city handles coffee and aperitivo, aperitivo in Como is the place to start.

Choosing between the five

If you are staying in the heart of the centre, start with Arte Dolce Lyceum, in the walled centre, and La Vecchia Como on a street of the historic centre; both do a proper sit-down breakfast. Vago, Capriccio and Not Olly Caffè are spread across the ring streets and beyond, so pick whichever is nearest where you wake up rather than by reputation, and you will eat sooner.

For a quick counter stop, Vago is the obvious pick; for a slower courtyard breakfast, Not Olly Caffè; for pastries to take away, Capriccio is the practical choice. The best restaurants in Como covers lunch and dinner once breakfast is done, and the best pizza in Como sorts the evening if you would rather keep it simple.

If you are planning a longer stay, the cooking classes in Como are a way to take the pastry knowledge home rather than just eating it. The day is easily shaped around one breakfast stop and one coffee stop, with the rest left free.

Which pastry shop should you pick?

Pick Vago or Capriccio if you want brioche and coffee without crossing into the centre; pick Arte Dolce Lyceum if your morning starts in the heart of the walled centre, or La Vecchia Como for a street-of-the-historic-centre stop. Not Olly Caffè is the one to choose when you want to sit down outdoors with something more than pastry. All five run on the same brioche-and-cappuccino logic, so the choice is really about where you are and how long you have.