Pastry Shops in Rimini: Where to Find Local Sweets

Why Rimini's pastry counters are worth a morning stop

The Emilia-Romagna selection in the 2024 Gambero Rosso guide Pasticceri e Pasticcerie d'Italia included five addresses in the province of Rimini, among more than 650 pastry businesses recognised nationally for their baking, surroundings and service. That density within a short stretch of coast is the reason a pastry stop deserves its own slot in your day rather than being an afterthought.

The practical advantage is geography: Cattolica sits at the southern end of the province, Riccione just down the coast from Rimini, and the Rimini addresses cluster in the historic centre near the Arco di Augusto and the Tempio Malatestiano. If you are already eating your way around the seaside town, it makes sense to fold a pasticceria into a morning before moving on to the best restaurants in Rimini for lunch.

What to order: maritozzi, mignon, croissant and the Romagna classics

Start with the maritozzo, a sweet yeasted bun split and filled generously with cream, which appears at both Staccoli Caffè and Pasticceria Tommasini and is the most reliable single order on the coast. Croissants come in more than a dozen fillings at Staccoli, from chocolate and hazelnut to pistachio, and Tommasini pairs its breakfast bakes with bomboloni (filled doughnuts) and veneziane (soft brioche topped with sugar and almonds).

Then look for the Romagna specialities that mark a shop out as local rather than generic. The piada dei morti is a sweet flatbread studded with nuts and dried fruit, traditionally made for All Souls' Day but sold well beyond it, and the ciambella romagnola is a ring-shaped family cake. Canasta and Staccoli both keep them, alongside biscotti and small counter cakes.

Mignon are the other essential: miniature versions of the full pastry range, arranged in the glass case so you can assemble a mixed box. At Tommasini the tartlets, choux and macarons are the ones singled out, while Canasta rotates classic recipes with newer ideas across its mignon selection. Ordering half a dozen different ones is normal and is the cheapest way to taste widely.

For a sit-down pause rather than a box, the savoury side matters too: Staccoli keeps a range of filled savouries, and Tommasini sells stuffed croissants, pizzette (small savoury pastries) and pizza al trancio, the tray-baked slab pizza sold by weight. If that appeals, the best pizza in Rimini is a natural next stop.

Pasticceria Canasta in Cattolica: mother-yeast bakes and mignon

Canasta, on via Risorgimento in Cattolica, is run by Marco Ercoles with his family, and its signature is the careful handling of lievito madre, a live sourdough starter that gives the holiday loaves their depth and keeping quality. The range of leavened bakes is wide, and the fried ciambellina is the item the guide singles out.

Come here for the mignon assortment, a mix of classic recipes and successful modern additions, and for the chocolate work and cakes, which include a yoghurt-and-strawberry mousse with a white chocolate heart and a three-chocolate cake. The savoury counter is solid too, and the biscuit range runs to local items such as the Miacetto and the piada dei morti. It is a bar-pasticceria, so you can take a coffee at the counter or sit down.

Staccoli Caffè in Cattolica: a long-running bar-pasticceria since 1952

Staccoli Caffè, on via Ferri in Cattolica, has been running since 1952 and is now led by Paolo Staccoli and family. The space is large and multi-purpose, built for a pause that can run from early morning to evening, and the coffee side is strong enough that it doubles as one of the area's better breakfast stops.

The breakfast spread is the draw: more than ten kinds of croissant, maritozzi with raisins or cream, and rich fillings from chocolate to pistachio. The mignon case is genuinely tempting, with éclairs, aragostine (lobster-tail-shaped pastries) filled with chantilly, a Pavlova with fresh fruit and chocolate, millefoglie and babà. There is a second address in via XX Settembre.

Staccoli also makes chocolate bean to bar, meaning from the cocoa bean through to the finished bar, and has a dedicated space with a small museum area, courses and tastings. If you want pastry as the start of a longer food day, it sits neatly alongside the trattorias in Rimini and the Romagna hills for lunch.

Pasticceria Tommasini in Riccione: contemporary pastry on viale Ceccarini

Tommasini sits at number 153 on viale Ceccarini in Riccione, the town's main shopping street, and was refurbished in summer 2023, adding a terrace and extending the offer to a gelateria and cafetteria with a self-service corner. The pastry project belongs to Francesco Tommasini, who pairs a clean contemporary aesthetic with generous, well-made recipes.

Order the breakfast leavened bakes first: maritozzi, bomboloni, croissant and veneziane are all called out. The mignon are consistently good, with tartlets, choux and macarons worth a mention, and the modern cakes and single portions include Enigma, built on shortcrust with salted peanut ganache, vanilla mousse and white chocolate glaze.

Because it has grown into a gelateria as well, Tommasini is the obvious stop in Riccione if your group is split between pastry and ice cream. For a wider comparison of the frozen side of the coast, the best gelato in Rimini covers the alternatives.

Alisé Pâtisserie in Rimini: French-leaning cakes near the Arco di Augusto

Alisé, on corso d'Augusto in Rimini, opened its current premises in June 2023 with a terrace facing the Arco di Augusto, while production continues at the via Marecchiese site that supplies the shop. Denise Vagni and Alessandro Vernocchi work in a French-influenced style, with close attention to decoration and presentation.

The single portions and brightly coloured cakes are the reason to come, with Alba and Exotique named among the best, alongside classics reworked in a modern key such as Saint-Honoré and Black Forest. The crostata with shortcrust, frangipane, custard and fresh fruit is a highlight, and the croissants come in many shapes and fillings. It is the address to choose when you want a composed, sit-down cake rather than a counter snack.

Rinaldini in Rimini: macarons and fruit gelée

Roberto Rinaldini's pastries are sold as far as Milan, Florence, Rome and Tokyo, but they are made in the Rimini workshop on via E. Coletti, and the detail is the point. The macarons, sold as MacaRal, are the signature, alongside the small Gnam-belline and brightly coloured fruit gelée. Rinaldini appeared among the 24 best pastry shops in Italy in the 2019 edition of the Gambero Rosso guide, so treat that listing as history rather than a current ranking.

This is the shop for a gift box: macarons and gelée travel better than cream-filled pastries and make a sensible present to carry home. Buy a small selection rather than a large box if the weather is warm, since the fruit gelée and macarons are delicate.

Pasticceria Il Duomo in Rimini: celebration cakes near the Tempio Malatestiano

Il Duomo, on via Maurizio Bufalini in Rimini near the Tempio Malatestiano, has been run by Massimiliano and Silvana since 1987 and specialises in celebration cakes. Whole cakes can be ordered online for collection or delivery within Rimini, including a Saint-Honoré, a profiterol, a double-dark-chocolate cake, a pistachio-and-blueberry cake and a cheesecake. The shop opens every day except Tuesday, from 7:00 to 20:00.

The holiday range is the other side of the business, with panettone in traditional, pear-and-chocolate, pistachio and tiramisù versions available to order in the same way. For a visitor, the useful move is to plan a birthday or a gift around one of these, since the shop is built around commissions and celebration orders.

How ordering and eating pastry in Rimini works

At a bar-pasticceria such as Staccoli or Canasta, there are two ways to eat: stand at the counter, which is normal for a quick coffee and a croissant, or take a table, which usually means table service and a slightly higher bill. For mignon, look into the glass case and point at what you want; staff will box them or plate them for a table, and mixing half a dozen varieties is standard practice.

The morning rhythm is coffee first, pastry second, and it is fine to drink an espresso standing at the bar in a couple of minutes. For a fuller sit-down breakfast in the centre, the breakfast in Rimini guide sets out the options; if you would rather learn to make the bakes yourself, cooking classes in Rimini cover the local repertoire.

Two practical points decide the shape of the day. First, large leavened cakes and celebration cakes are usually ordered ahead, while mignon, croissants and maritozzi are bought on the spot. Second, if you are combining pastry with a proper lunch of pasta, keep the morning light: a single maritozzo and a coffee leaves room for the best pasta in Rimini later.

Rimini versus Cattolica and Riccione: which pasticcerie fit your day

Choose by geography and by what you want to eat. If you are staying in Rimini's centre, Alisé near the Arco di Augusto, Rinaldini on via Coletti and Il Duomo near the Tempio Malatestiano are the three town addresses, and they cover French-style cake, macarons and celebration orders respectively.

If you are heading south along the coast, Cattolica gives you two strong stops in one town: Canasta for mother-yeast baking and mignon, Staccoli for the full bar-pasticceria experience with coffee and chocolate. Riccione's Tommasini slots in between and adds a terrace, gelato and easy shopping-street access.

The distances involved are short enough that a pastry crawl across the province is realistic in a single morning if you start early. Pair the sweet side with the savoury: the piadina is Romagna's flatbread, eaten folded and stuffed, and the Piadina in Rimini guide covers where the good ones are made.

Picking a pasticceria when the seafront is busy

On a hot summer weekend the seafront fills quickly, and the obvious response is to move inland or a street back from the beach. The Rimini centre addresses around the Arco di Augusto and the Tempio Malatestiano put you in the older part of town, where you can eat a cake at a table and walk it off through the streets afterwards.

For an evening rather than a morning, the pastry shops close and the aperitivo hours take over; the aperitivo in Rimini guide covers that side of the day. Use the morning for mignon and coffee, then shift to savoury food and a spritz later.

Which pasticceria should you choose?

For a single stop, pick by the bake you want most: Canasta in Cattolica for mother-yeast loaves and a mixed box of mignon, Tommasini in Riccione for maritozzi and a terrace, Alisé in Rimini for a French-leaning cake at a table. Add Rinaldini if you need macarons to carry home, and Il Duomo if there is a birthday to organise.

Build the morning around one pasticceria and one coffee, keep the order small and specific, and the rest of the day stays open. The wider eating plan, from lunch restaurants to the seafront, sits in the Rimini Attractions: 4 Visitor Guides hub.