Mike’s Pastry is a Boston institution. If you have out of town guests I guarantee that you will end up taking them there for their famous cannoli, the lines may be long but the sweets are so good that most people don’t seem to mind.

(Once, when I lived in Florida, a friend from Boston brought me six cannoli when she came to visit merely to show off. It worked. Mike’s was one of the few classic Boston places I remembered when I moved here, and the first food establishment I visited.)

I never go there when I need a couple of quiet hours with a cup of coffee and a pastry - no, Mike’s is hectic and they keep the line moving as quickly as they can. If it is your first time time there, don’t be put off by the long queues - the counter service is efficient, which means that you have to know what you want before your turn is up. But don’t worry, most people are here for the cannoli, and that should also be your choice if this is your first time here.

While I insist you have a cannoli I do recommend that you order some other Italian goodies to go - biscotti or torrone, perhaps? Or maybe you are interested in sampling one of their 50 varieties of cookies? Or maybe you are amused by the adorable marzipan watermelon slices?

Whatever you choose, you’ll be able to take it home in one of their famous white and blue boxes - and you’ll fit right in with the masses on Hanover Street proudly toting their pastry boxes by the blue and white string.

Mike’s Pastry
300 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
617-742-3050