Dianda's Italian American Pastry — Restaurant in San Francisco

Ever since I was a baby my parents bought a cake for my birthday parties from Dianda's. I was born in 1962 which is the year it opened. I was not sure if it was the right bakery since I thought it was on Richland and not Mission St. I have always loved the Rum Custard cake but have not eaten any for years. On what is probably my last trip to San Francisco I ordered what I thought was one of their Rum Custard birthday cakes. There were only two options for flavor when I ordered it and I found it odd when they mentioned it had mango on it. I don't remember the cake of my passed having any fruit but it's been a long time since I ate some. Since there were only two options for flavor I assumed it to be the right one because the other was definitely not it. I was also planning on asking when I picked it up if it was the right one. I asked the woman specifically if it was the Rum Custard birthday cake and she reassured me it was. I'm not even supposed to eat most of the ingredients in it but was making an exception just so I could taste my favorite cake of all time once again. I have been craving one of those cakes for years. I've relocated up to the mountains and dont like going back to my home town. So when I opened the box and tried it my heart was broken. It was not the same cake I remember from my childhood. I had a few bites and threw away the rest. I did not like the taste of the cake. Maybe others would like it because it's not horrible and they do make good stuff. I did not appreciate the fact that when I asked the lady at the counter she told me it was the Rum Custard cake. If she had been up front with me I could have gotten something I liked better than the cake I did end up with. One reason I don't like going to SF is because of the dishonesty. I was misled at Dianda's and I'm very disappointed. So if you order something from them make sure your getting what you want. It's such a let down when your misled especially since I have been craving the Rum Custard cake I remember for over two years....

I am Greek, French, Irish and 6th generation San Franciscan on my mothers side (French-Irish), so I know a thing or two when it comes to bakery’s and some restaurants in “my” city. I say that loosely. My family and I discovered Diandra’s in 2009 and will only order our cakes from them. We haven’t tried their other deserts or pastries but by the line of people that’s always there when I go to pick up our cake order I’m sure they are delicious. Dianda’s is our family’s cake place for every occasion. I make most of our family’s pastries & deserts from scratch at home. My cakes are good, but Dianda’s cakes are amazing. They are moist, tasty, and not too sweet. Order with fresh butter cream or whip cream frosting. The fresh fruit fillings in between layers of cake complement all the other ingredients with perfection. They can be pricey, but worth it, and you need to order ahead of time. Make sure you tell them you are new and to please explain the menu by breaking down what they have to offer and what your choices are in order to get exactly what you want. Highly highly recommend Dianda’s for all your cakes on special occasions: weddings office, birthday, etc. Enjoy… I hope...

Shops that stand out tend to have at least one item that in itself makes itself a destination. I am happy to say that Dianda's very much qualifies as a destination and not just as another bakery. In the case of Dianda's the item would be the St. Honoré Cake named for the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, so okay this is actually a french not an Italians speciality item but not splitting hairs since that this is coming from an Italian bakery given oh so how good this cake is.

What is a St. Honoré Cake you ask ? Well it is a double ring of choux puffs (about 3 dozen plus puffs) filled with pastry cream and attached to each other with caramel and with a center filled with a Chiboust cream which is a pastry cream lightened with a meringue. This is very rich desert that stands out and and a single cake can provide many satisfying servings to a large group (Toro E. has attached a photo of the cake).

Because the St. Honoré Cakes sell so well I suggested you reserve one. If you do this as a spur of the moment purchase you may need a backup plan or buy one of the frozen cakes which will require some thawing.

Strongly suggest trying...