Caffè Sorrento — Restaurant in Garden City

This review is mostly for the owner I went in at 9 30am on a Saturday at the state st location. When I got there, the line was out the door with about 12 people ahead of me and it took me 36 MINUTES TO RECEIVE MY ORDER. I only purchased pastries which were already made. First off the line is confusing and unorganized. There's one line for both food and coffee which is fine, but there's people still standing in the TINY area waiting for their items with the people waiting in line. It adds confusion to both the customer and employees not to mention it gets ridiculously crowded with people trying to squeeze through the line to get out the door. I waited in this confusing mess for 36 minutes before I got to the register. As I waited I watched the employees packing the food. Today it was the owner who was packing the orders. As I was waiting there the line grew to about 30 people I'd say. All GOING OUT THE DOOR. Meanwhile, the owner is packing the orders at a literal (not exaggerating) SLOTHS PACE. You would think with 30 plus people in line you would show a little sense of urgency and try to pack orders in a reasonable time. But no, slow as ever, meticulously placing orders in a box very slowly as if with extreme caution. He was writing the orders on a piece of paper, placing each item in the box one at a time and crossing it off his list very slowly. Why not pack the order as they are ordering it instead of writing down, placing, crossing off, repeat?? This process slows everything down and is unnecessary. After all the waiting, I finally tried my cannoli which was okay but not great and certainly not worth the wait. If the owner is reading this review, I want to say that I dont mean this review to be hurtful. I want you to take this to heart to better your business and make it an overall better experience for your customers. Please make the line situation more organized and pack orders as people order (no list necessary). That would eliminate people waiting for their order in the same line as people who have not ordered. Also, maybe have one person dedicated to making drinks and one to making other food and one...

Not affiliated with Caffe Sorrento (sad it needs to be said in a world of paid reviews, bots, and reviewers leaving copy/paste just to up their Google Review points).

Have lived in Boston's North End and travel to Chicago and NYC often, even spent a few weeks in Italy with locals. I have a decent idea what true Italian pastry should taste like; I crave baked goods, avoid chains and touristy pastries, and never pass up a treat. All that out of the way here are my opinions.

A+ in the following: parking is easy, outside seating is good, I did not get stuck in the long slow lines others mentioned, and the service is PERFECT and friendly. The interior is spotless.

B: the in-store layout to order and pickup. It reminds me of B. Patisserie in San Francisco: Order on the left then make your way to the right, cutting through customers walking in or looking at the case or picking up orders. Obviously it's a floorplan situation and they've made the most of it. I only mention this because it can be confusing and I'm guessing when the place is slammed it's a total cluster you know what.

B minus: my maritozzo brioche was dry. Not quite 24 hours old dry. I don't know if its the butter quality, their oven or the bake time. If this brioche was a standalone item in the bread aisle I would not buy it. Thankfully the cream was very good. Not overly sweet, not bland. The cannoli was terrific. The almond biscotti was A+. The pistachio biscotti was too dry. FYI, we've never seen their $6 tiramisu (as listed on their site). We've been first thing, mid day and near close. Never. Seen. It. Guessing it's a special order $50 sheet of tiramisu, not ala carte for $6.

I live near Sorrento and would not hesitate popping in for a sweet tooth craving or quality sandwich. It's different enough from the French, Russian, and Middle Eastern Boise bakeries, you should give Caffe Sorrento at...

Let’s start at the beginning…

I first met the owners when I was performing HVAC PMs on the roof and they were doing a walk through of the new space. I took the time to chat with them and hear what their plans were.

All I have to say is that when I heard “Cannoli” I was hooked. They are dangerously good and it’s hard to find ones that are freshly filled. I found them on FB and followed, of course to know the opening day haha

When I say that their pastries are absolutely INCREDIBLE I mean it!

The Maritozzo are creamy, smooth, flavorful and normally come in a variety of flavors. The Cannoli are freshly filled, absolutely smooth, CRUNCHY and one cannot go wrong with the good ole mini chocolate chip style. By all means the other flavors are on point.

Filled cookies, tiramisu, mini Cannoli, biscotti, an assortment of different cookies I could go on…

All in all, I am very happy to see these folks running a business with such heritage here in Idaho, and mind you Cafe Sorrento did not originate here but has made quite the home here.

100/100 would recommend. They will be moving to their new location here soon, and I wish them all the best and look forward to checking out the new location when they do.

If you have read this far, you need to go check them out, find them on FB or where ever. They have a massive following and usually sell...