My favourite Millefoglie cake and hot chocolate in Padua

The Pasticceria Graziati is a Pastry Shop dating back to 1919. Its specialities are the Millefoglie Cake and the Pazientina Cake but there you can also drink a delicious hot chocolate in Padua.

Since I was a young girl, almost all my birthdays were distinguished by the presence of Graziati’s superb Millefoglie Cake. How tasty is it? Let’s just say that I start craving it only by seeing their unmistakable green three-wheeled delivery vehicle passing by around town. Pasticceria Graziati [pahs-teech-cheh-REE-ah grah-TSEEAH-tee] is definitely one of my favourite places in Padua. The thing I enjoy the most is sitting in the little cosy tearoom, calmly savouring a sweet treat.

Once you enter, the bar-counter is on the left and the check-out stand on the right. Straight, after climbing a few steps, you can see the pastry-counter. On its right, a staircase will lead you downstairs to the tearooms. They were obtained at the end of the 90s, when the underground floor was salvaged, unveiling archaeological finds.

In order to make an accurate report for the blog I had to go back twice. How brave am I? 🙂

The first time

It was a Saturday afternoon for a delicious merenda (snack or tea break). If don’t know ehat merenda means, here is my post about Italian merenda. Me and my husband were lucky enough to find a little round table on the corner of the room to enjoy our cioccolata calda con panna (hot chocolate with whipped cream) and our cakes. We discover with pleasure that the menu also contemplated the mezza porzione di torta (half serving of cake) so we were able to taste both the specialities of the pastry shop, la Millefoglie and la Pazientina.

The Pazientina is a very peculiar cake, originating in Padua and dates back to 1600. It consists of a layer of shortbread dough and one of spongy cake, filled with zabaglione cream and topped with thin chocolate sheets. The name means “patient”, maybe due to the patience required to prepare it. Particularly appreciated by my husband, the cake was an interesting combination of different textures and the liquor was not too intense.

I preferred the Millefoglie because of its sweetness: a delight of flavourful custard between layers of crispy flaky pastry, covered with powdered sugar.

The hot chocolate was, as usual, perfect: very creamy and slightly bitter, topped with copious and properly stiff unsweetened whipped cream. For me the best hot chocolate in Padua.

About the service, the young waiter was kind and smiling.
The only flaw was that we didn’t feel we could relax too much and enjoy slowly our merenda. All tables were taken and there were people waiting for us to finish in order to take our place. In conclusion, it would definitely be better to come here in less crowded times of the day.
Total price: € 13,40. Very reasonable in my opinion, considering location and quality.

The second time

It was a Saturday morning and we ordered two brioches, a cappuccino and a ginseng coffee. Since we went quite late, the tea room wasn’t crowded at all and we took our time to enjoy our breakfast.

The lady who served us was very cheerful. The beverages were proper. As for the croissants, the custard was absolutely delicious, but I prefer a different kind of pastry. It was nonetheless very good. Total price: 8,50€.

Info

PLUS

• In the heart of the old town centre
• Outdoor tables during the warm season, directly in the Piazza della Frutta, facing the beautiful XIII Century Law Palace (Palazzo della Ragione)
• Cosy Tea Rooms in the basement floor, one of them with vaulted brick ceiling
• Best Millefoglie Cake and hot chocolate (so far) in town
• Great Almond Cake, Pazientina Cake and Croissants

MINUS

• Really crowded bar-counter during breakfast because of the narrow space
• Often crowded the two Tea Rooms, too (especially during weekend’s afternoons)
• Tea Rooms in the basement floor only reachable by stairs
• Outdoor tables lovely, but beware of the pigeons!
• Complex to use the WIFI