Palermo Bakery

Saw that the Irving location was open. I was hoping for a little more. I am sure it will improve over time!

If you’re looking for great Italian pastry look no farther displace supplies Marianas food chain as well. I ordered a cakes from them and I was never disappointed

Are you a sweet tooth fanatic? I am! I unabashedly LOVE the sweet stuff! At times, it is all I want to eat. Palermo Bakery helps me hit the spot!
Palermo is a featured partner of Peapod. Each grocery order, I happily decide which 3 donuts or cookies I am going for and my sweet tooth has never been disappointed! Talk about a deal– great bakery goods, delivered in your home with the rest of your food? Heaven!
Chocolate topped custard filled Bismark — I am enamored with these babies! The gooey chocolate on the top shines and begs you to bite. The custard inside is more like frosting to me, and makes my mouth water!
Sugar topped Jelly Donut– These cry for a bite. They are enormous when compared to your normal Jelly donut. They jelly is sweet and tastes of raspberries. You cannot go wrong.
Sugar topped Cronut– The croissant donut mix topped with a bit of custard and a ton of sugar. Delicious and worth every bite.
Happiness is a well done sweet!

Had 2 hours to spare so I took a quick cab from O’hare to Palermo Bakery and got their famous pistachio cookies, some citron and some amaretti. The citron marzipan cookies are definitely an addiction as they go extremely well with pretty much with any drink or wine– just the right amount of citrus without being lemon-​y. Their pistachio is loaded with roasted pistachios & marzipan. WOW, I easily ate 5 on my way back, haven’t had them in a while. I cant decide which one I like better, Bulgarini’s Sicilian pistachio gelato or this. Palermo Bakery sells the largest variety of marzipan based Sicilian cookies I’ve seen here, easily addicting, oft craved.
Tip: Palermo is a few miles from ORD, is in the middle of Schiller Park on Harlem, my favorite Sicilian bakery outside of Sicily. Ask for Mary the owner and she’ll give you a tour of the Sicilian cookies over 30 varieties.
Visits: 10+

This little Italian bakery is wonderful. They have amazing canolli chips with filling dip (an interesting dessert that you wouldn’t think to try but it’s delicious), good Italian cookies and wonderful arancini and pizza bread. The perfect mix of sweet and savories. Going into this bakery is a treat every time. Friendly staff with good recommendations and they get you in and out quickly.

I found this place by purchasing a Group on and was really excited to see that they have LOBSTER TAILS! Anyone who watches Cake Boss will know that these cream filled pastries are really hard to make and look amazing to sink your teeth into! I bought a whole bunch of different pastries… including the Lobster Tails (YUM) and some things I loved and some weren’t for my taste but it didn’t matter, they were all high quality and well worth the trip and the price. By the end of the weekend my family members helped me polish up all that I bought!

I’ve been meaning to check out this bakery and then a Groupon for it popped up. I saw that as a sign and immediately snatched it.
Walking into the bakery I was amazed by its small size and a large quantity of people inside. I wonder if it was the Groupon that brought in all these people or if this is their usual Sunday clientele.
All I really wanted were cannolis, but did not see any, so I looked around for some other stuff. They did not have a lot to choose from– maybe they were just out by the time I got there. Additionally, the pastries were not displayed in an appetizing manner — I mean, there was nothing wrong with the set-​up, but they certainly did not scream «eat me».
Service was good. I did not have to wait long, because they were very well staffed. Fortunately, they had cannolis ready to be filled in the back. I got some other stuff to go with them, paid and left after a total of about 10 minutes in the store.
The cannolis were good. Definitely better than the ones you get at Il Giardino. The custard is smoother and the shell is crispier. As for the other pastries I got, they were just average.
I definitely want to check out their Franklin Park location. It seems much larger and hopefully the selection won’t be so picked clean.

I used to buy their focaccia bread at produce world by Cumberland & Lawrence but it’s often moldy there so I figured I might as well go to the actual bakery since it’s so close. And for the records, the mold is produce world’s fault for not switching out their products.
I stopped in over a year ago and bought some products but didn’t make it back there until about a month ago because I can only make it over there on the weekends. I bought a certificate off of a deal site and was really excited that I was able to purchase multiples (I bought 2). When I arrived the bakery wasn’t too busy considering it was Valentine’s Day weekend and there were a few young kids working behind the counter. A gal and guy assisted me (I think he was in training but he had a lot more personality than the gal) and I noticed there was a different kind of focaccia bread out. I asked what it was and she told me «artichoke». I said «ok, I’ll take one of those and two of the regular» and then I ordered some cannolis, a cute valentine cake for $ 3.50, and some tiramisu. I was giving some of the treats as gifts so they boxed stuff up separately but I don’t think they were very happy to do so.
When it was time to pay I pulled out my deal and handed it to the gal. She didn’t know how to ring it in so stepped to the back and returned to ask me if I had ever been there before. Her tone was a bit rude so I was confused as to why they asked. I know most places would prefer new customers to be using online deals but since you could buy multiples and there weren’t any provisions stating «new customers only» (which is impossible to enforce), I didn’t really get why she asked it in such a tone.
My total was a little over $ 30 (my deal was for $ 24) so I handed over the cash and left. When I got home, I was really disappointed to find that I was only given one of the regular focaccias and 2 of the artichoke ones, which turned out to be anchovy. I was bummed out but didn’t have time to go back and fix my order. Luckily, the cannolis and tiramisu were great! The cannolis were chocolate and I thought it just meant they were made with a chocolate dough but these were regular shells dipped in chocolate. So delicious! I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat non-​chocolate dipped cannolis again.
Overall, I’m going to keep returning to Palermo and I highly recommend others to check it out!

First and most importantly: I LOVE PALERMO BAKERY WITH ALL MY HEART AND MY STOMACH!
Yes, I looked at Unilocal before I headed into Palermo and yes, I still went to this bakery without ANY hesitation. Yes, yes, yes. Some Unilocalers can be quite cruel online because it is so easy to type things. But will those Unilocalers ever actually take action by trying something different at the bakery or discussing why something tasting odd with the owner? No, they will not because moaning and groaning online is always easier. Paula, the owner who I met and is truly a considerate and wonderful person, is simply a baker at her finest who knows how to appreciate delicious food. She is willing to take action, online or not, to get everything done right.
Now onto the food. First my friend and I started out with the Tres Leches cake. YUM is all I could mutter as I took the first bite. The amount of cream, cake, and milk was perfect harmony. We also had cappuccinos, which were right on spot. They aren’t sugared up Starbucks drinks – this is real Italian coffee. They even sell the espresso at the bakery. I got a Sicilian focaccia because sweets always make me want something savory. It was a perfect combo of sauce, onions, and soft bread. My friend had eaten lunch beforehand, but I still convinced her to try the focaccia. She ended up eating half of it. That’s how good it was.
The prices were all a good deal. You can get a pound of unique cookies for less than $ 10 or a big, delicious coffee cake for $ 4. There are tons of pastries even some as low as $.89! I mean come on where can you get a good brownie for less than a buck? You just can’t go wrong here. I ended up buying a box of cookies and three pastries. My mom loves tirami su’, so I bought her some from Palermo. Now she only wants tirami su’ from there!
This place sounded so tasty that I was willing to ride on the CTA for 50 minutes. So yes, I recommend this bakery. Ask for Paula the owner, say that her customer Tasha convinced you to stop by. That day forward, you will always be treated like family :)
P.S It is NOT dark in here. How can a normally lit bakery be dark? I just don’t understand.

love, love, love this bakery! the pastries are amazing! palermo’s catered my pastries for my wedding, and they were a huge hit. you can not get anymore authentic then this place! it is just like being in italy, if not better. i am surprised there are any bad comments on here. some people absolutely have horrible taste in food.

I’m sorry if I offended you. this was just my opinion and maybe your right my taste isn’t everyone elses. but also recently tasted a birthday cake from your establishment and the cake drenched in modeling chocolate almost wasn’t ready on time, although the banana cream was tasty inside the outside modeling chocolate also wasn’t appealing to me or most at the party. im sure you have people who enjoy your kind of things or you wouldnt be in business, johnny t has your whole menu posted on his review keep up the

Like some of the other reviewers, I probably wouldn’t have set foot in here if I’d read the owner’s response to a bad review. (One of the things I’ve learned as a writer is never to argue with bad reviews — you’ll always come across looking like a real jerk.) However I’m glad I went in there on a whim a couple of weeks ago because I think the baked goods are very good.
We bought a pound of cookies, a loaf of bread, a chocolate ring cake, a sfogliatelli (something like a crispy cloud) and two genovese (cannoli cream in a short crust) and found them all delicious. Also? Cheap. I ended up spending well under $ 20 for all that.
If I have a quibble it’s that there’s no numbering system so that you really have to rely on the honesty of the other customers and your own memory to figure out who’s next to be taken care of. It’s a busy place and the line can move fairly slowly so it’s a short step from waiting impatiently to elbowing someone else out of the way to get your cookie fix.
But once you’re being waited on, you’ll find the counter gals really pleasant. Though I have to say that one of them failed to describe the sfogliatelli properly (It was even better than her description.)
If I remember correctly, there are a couple of little tables outside where you can eat what you’ve purchased there. Unfortunately the day we went, Harlem Ave. had turned into the sun’s anvil, and sitting out there, even without a cup of coffee, would be inviting the kind of heat stroke where your brain boils right out of your ears. And then, the street is usually pretty busy, so the fumes are a little off-​putting. But it’s still a nice grace note.
This is yet another of the small, local, ethnic places that really ought to be cherished, not only for the quality and the great prices, but because we need more businesses like this. Stop buying your baked goods at super markets! Patronize local bakeries if you can find them.

To be honest, if we had read the owner’s responses to the low-​star ratings before we went there, we would have gone elsewhere. That said, we ended up with gorgeous cakes that were exactly what we wanted.
We had a very particular look in mind, so we half-​expected a CakeWreck because our geeky idea idea of the Portal Weighted Companion Cube cake was really esoteric, but they did an amazing job. The almond paste was so delicious, and much better than fondant would have been. We got a tiramisu cake, though I don’t recall ordering a tiramisu, but it was a huge hit at the party. Our second cake (The Cake Is a Lie…) was beautiful and unbelievably gorgeous. They followed our reference photos to a T, were affordable and very friendly.
I’m also a huge fan on whipped cream icing/​filling over heavy buttercream. If you’re looking for buttercream and fondant, this might not be the place for you. But if you like a lighter cake with a nice fluffy icing, I highly recommend it. That said, I’m still very turned off by the rude response by the owner to those who didn’t enjoy the bakery and feel very fortunate we didn’t have any issues. That alone gives me reservations about returning.

This is a wonderful little Italian bakery! I LOVE the sicilian pizza bread (great to order for parties) and so reasonably priced. They also have a decent selection of cookies! (the butter cookies are my favorite) My dad is currently addicted to ther cannolies, and they have small little bite size ones too which IMO are taste better than the regular sized ones. If your looking for a sweet treat give this bakery a try.

So overall with my experience I would not return unless it was for the cookies everyone raves about, but I will narrate my experience so you can judge for yourself.
It was great to realize that this place made tiramisu as I was looking forward to this for Thanksgiving Day so I price checked the cakes the week before and was told that I could order them on Monday, but it turned out that on Monday they were closed. So after deciding to order the cake from this place I was happy to hear on Tuesday that my order could be ready the next day because I wasn’t told that they would be open on Thanksgiving and I assumed they would be closed. It was great that they made the order in 24 hrs, but then lets get to the day we got the order.
I got there about an hour after they opened and I thought the place was nice. Small and cramped but in a nice way just like Weber’s Bakery. I saw the cake and the cake looked beautiful it was absolutely precious. They put pilgrims on the cake from the same whipped cream. That is where I had a problem. When it came time to pay I thought it was a lower price and I never got the person’s name on the phone when they gave me the prices, so no big deal because if the cake is great who cares. Then I was a bit annoyed that they were going to be open Thursday, but I thought it was for the better because I would be running around doing other things anyway and how bad could the cake get in one day. They told me that it would be fine. For a small place I thought it was great that they had plenty of staff on hand when the store was empty.
So Thursday comes around and to much anticipation I get a huge slice for me. The taste was absolutely bad. I was so looking forward to eating this tiramisu from this great bakery and I was so shocked. I still can’t get over how bad it was because there was actual whipped cream on the cake. To this day I had yet to try a tiramisu with whipped cream. Now I don’t know if that is how they make their special order tiramisu’s or not, but I really wish I had just overlooked this place and went with a place I had already known for good tiramisu. So if you are looking for tiramisu be cautious and if you love whipped cream this is great for you. I don’t like whipped cream, but the whipped cream was good, but it just doesn’t belong on this type of cake. I could hardly taste anything else.
So while the cake looked beautiful the opposite was true of its taste. I was so embarrassed at dinner too, everyone had a funny look on their face when they took a bite. Needless to say half of the cake was left over and went in the trash.
The place gets two stars because the service was great and the cannolis are a 5 star item.

Went there around Saturday afternoon. For the amount of stuff they have, the bakery felt rather cramped. Here’s what I got:
Cheese & Sausage Panzerotti ($ 3.50 Pasta Fresh nearby are better)
Slice of Pizza Bread ($ 2.25 pretty good)
Coffee Bar Brioscie ($ 1.65 pastry bars filled with custard & chocolate chips, delicious)
2 semolina half-​loaves ($ 2.78)
Pistachio Amaro cookies ($ 8.29 @ lb. but my favorite)
Foccacia ($ 2.89 for 8-​inch)
$ 18.93 grand total
Not too many pastries but, the bakery is more known for their cookies instead. Their pistachio amaro apparently take 3 days to make. Service was kinda in the middle. I kinda got the feeling that the lady seemed impatient because I was shopping with an empty stomach & pretty much had a hard time deciding what to get when I really wanted a little of everything there. Would go back to get more of those Pistachio Amaro & the other cookies I never had a chance of trying.

Wow! So glad I finally stopped at this place in my neighborhood. Great pastries and ridiculously cheap. I ordered a couple pastries, a couple cannoli and several little cookies. I whipped out the credit card thinking I’d be around $ 15 – 20, only to found out the lot came to $ 6.95. I look forward to getting back here to try their bread, focaccia and pizza.

The is the best bakery in this neighborhood. There isn’t much selection around here, so I frequent this place often. I recently got my husband his birthday cake here. I didn’t have a chance to pre-​order and the only ones they had available were cannoli and tiramisu. I went with the tiramisu. My husband loved it.
I agree with the other reviews that the best part of the bakery is their cookies. I usually get them as gifts. They box them for you if you let them know your purpose, they will put pretty paper inside. It’s a nice touch.
Parking is a problem, and so it the traffic, but I think that’s the problem everywhere you go in the city.

I really like the tiramisu and cookies, i think horseshoes, with mocha filling!
I like the Franklin Park location, closer to me, and actual parking

Decent little Italian bakery at Harlem & School. A good selection of fresh bread, hot items (like arancini, pizza, etc) and small pastries. But the highlight of this place is the vast selection of Italian cookies available. An entire case devoted to them, and there’s a lot of flavours not often seen. Things like Pignoli Amaretti (pine nut cookies), Anginetti (iced lemon cookies), macaroons and of course biscotti are some of the ones I remember. Cakes are also available but I did not see any examples the day I went.
Sadly, the cannoli did not live up to expectations. The chocolate coating was incredibly waxy, the filling way too smooth and super-​sweet. But that’s OK, as I am glad I found this place for its cooky selection as well as the lovely breads & foccacia. The prices are excellent too!
Parking can be bad — no lot and lots of traffic on this section of Harlem.