Dolce Vita Bakery Cafe

We can’t say enough good things about this place. We eat here twice a week and always get the special. Their service is impeccable, food is fresh and their bakery items are addicting! This is truly a hidden gem in our community and a future staple when visiting Gainesville.

I wanted to wait on writing this review until I tried several different menu items here, just to make sure this place really is as great as I originally thought. and boy, is it! I have visited Dolce Vita about a dozen times now and can honestly say this is an excellent sandwich shop and one of the best bakeries I have ever been to in my life. I used to have my mom bring me back a pound of rainbow cookies from NY when she visited, but Dolce Vita’s is better than any rainbow cookie I’ve had from NY.
Other great pastries I’ve tried (more than once) include their vanilla and chocolate crème french horns, neapolitan cream-​stuffed cronuts, pistachio lace cookies, Italian butter cookies, peach and strawberry bear claws, and their assorted mini cheesecakes. While I have to admit the Italian rainbow cookies and french horns are my favorite, every pastry I’ve tried here has not been less than excellent.
As for their sandwiches, anything served on one of their flakey, buttery croissants is heavenly. I have had their breakfast sandwich– a fried egg with your choice of gourmet Boarshead meat and cheese (I opt for ham and smoked gouda usually) several times and it is always delicious. And for lunch, you cannot go wrong with ordering their rotating special of the day which includes the sandwich, chips, and a drink/​coffee, all for under ten dollars. If you happen to go on a day where they are serving the french dip as a special, GET IT. It was seriously to die for. I sincerely believe this place is one of [if not] the best places in Gainesville to get a delicious pastry and/​or sandwich and is definitely worth the trip down 34^th St.

I had heard about Dolce Vita from word of mouth a number of times, and after completing a successful dental exam i decided had to do the logical thing and eat some sweet, sugary pastries! Walking in, the décor is very whimsical. Greens, reds, whites and yellows adorn the store. A refrigerated cooler rests near the door, and a pastry case filled baked goodies greets me dead ahead. The proprietor was quite friendly, chatting up the two ladies that were in front of me. There was a wide variety of pastries on display from cookies to muffins. My eyes were caught by the chocolate croissant and the guava pastry. The two women noticed my hungry gaze at the pastry case, and then directed me to the baked cronuts in the cooler case that I walked by upon entering the store. I knew I had to get all three!
While the cashier (owner?) was getting me my pastries she was happy to tell me about the other items they sold. Not only did they bake pastries, but they also had Boars Head sandwiches, and did specials like French dip and meatball subs. They even offered take home dinners such as lasagna, and shepherd’s pie.
I triumphantly returned home sweets in hand, and my wife and I dug in. We were both in agreement, while the pastries aspect of it could use a little tweaking, the fillings of the pastries were amazing! The shortcoming of the pastries were that the outer shell was a little too dense, and not flaky on the croissant, cronuts, or guava turn over. The filling of the cronut was heavenly though. I am not a fan of vanilla crème, or chocolate crème, but this cronut made me a believer. The strawberry icing contributed a great punch of sweet strawberry. The guava pastry was loaded with guava filling. I did not have to go looking for it, it practically dominated my eating experience! There was also copius amounts of dark chocolate in the chocolate croisant.
I can easily see myself craving these pastries in the future. Dolce vita has not seen the last of me! It did not suck!

Take your girlfriend here, she will absolutely love it! The nutella croissant is really good. I also tried the mini cheesecakes, which are just perfect. The girl behind the counter was funny and the shop is beautiful. They bake in the morning, so the earlier you arrive, the more options you’ve got. I heard so many good things, I had to check it out. Dolce Vita is everything it’s made out to be and more!

I found out about this place because of their cronuts and was happy to say that they lived up to the hype! I tried the fried cronuts, which were hot, fresh, and covered in cinnamon sugar. The cronut wasn’t too greasy, was light and flaky, and made me want to buy another one! It reminded of a lighter and flakier version of Auntie Anne’s cinnamon sugar pretzels!
In addition to their fried cronuts, they also have baked cronuts (which I did not try but look good too if you like icing). These are available right at the entrance in the fridge. Their selection of pastries also includes cookies (Reese’s, Oreo, chocolate chip, and more), which tasted soft and fresh. They also have fruit tarts, which weren’t too sweet and had a great variety of fruits! I also had something along the lines of a breakfast pie/​pastry that seemed to be a special that day, and was happy I tried it! The pastry was soft and flaky and the ham & cheese filling wasn’t over powering or too salty. It was a great breakfast option if you’re looking for something less hearty.
The space is small, not surprising for a pastry shop. There is seating both inside and outside. Both times I went, it wasn’t that busy and seating was readily available.
If you enjoy sweet breakfast spots, this local bakery is definitely for you!

Excellent choice for lunch! We went to check out their bakery & had the best lunch. They also sell boar’s head lunch meat & cheese by the pound. A wide variety of fresh baked goodies. Fresh baked bread… limited select menu but very worth the drive. Very clean & modern café. Staff was very friendly & helpful.

The cinnamon and sugar cronut was excellent. The éclair wasn’t as good as Publix and roughly twice the price: vanilla pudding for the filling? The staff weren’t very friendly. Honestly, for the price, quality, and service I’ll just go to Publix next time.

Hands down best pistachio muffins! I got lucky and found this place on Unilocal.I wanted something sweet And I was in town for a dr’s visit. This bakery is so cute the set up is old school Italian. I haven’t had some of those cookies since I was a kid. The prices are decent and the bakery is clean. I ended up with a big bag of goodies to bring home for my husband and kids. Everyone was happy:-)

Great little bakery. The apple strudel is awesome, as are the apple turnovers. I was surprised that they make cappuccino, which was hand made, and not «vending machine» like some coffee places. Get there early so you can have a nice selection. It is worth the drive.

Love love love Dolce Vita! The cronuts and macarons are my personal favs, but I have a weakness for anything with cream and fruit as well. Definitely a good idea to drop by early if you want a cronut as they sell fast! The employees are friendly and patient if you’re like me and you freeze up and gawk at all of the selections for a while before finally deciding on something. If you’re not in the mood for something sweet, they also offer sandwiches that are delicious. My favorites are the ham and cheese croissant and the tomato and moz panini. All in all it’s one of my favorite Gainesville stops!

This is a small little restaurant and I couldn’t find at first! However, upon finding it, I’m glad that I had made the trip. I didn’t know that they also served sandwiches because I had just eaten lunch elsewhere and came for desserts, but I wish I knew because their menu looked appetizing.

Consider a trip to Dolce Vita akin to the classic phrase «like a kid in a candy store», only with the most decadent baked goods imaginable. My sweet tooth is about as big as they come, and even if you choose to visit under the guise of «getting breakfast» or «getting lunch» you need to find a way for these goods to get in your tummy pronto.
The Space
Necessary to my well being, Dolce Vita is tucked a fair way north on 34^th just where it starts to bend east. The store is quaint within a pretty large outlet-​type building but the bright green logo makes it a cinch to find. Stroll through the door and immediately find yourself next to a fridge of deliciousness, with a large case of more deliciousness in front of you.
As others mention, there are a few tables around that can accommodate a couple grabbing lunch of a post-​meal treat, but don’t bank on them being available unless you arrive at a slow time. The bathroom is also kept notably clean.
The Service
With treats as sweet as these, you better believe the owner is a drop of sunshine. I distinctly remember my very first trip here because I was overloaded with the choices and she offered to sample a couple of her goodies with a big grin. With the size of the place, the shopping process is what you think: find what you want, approach the counter, and collect your bounty.
The Goods
Where to begin, where to begin! The offerings range from small, sweet bites to rich, decadent indulgences you’ll need an excuse to buy. From-​scratch macaroons, cakes, danishes, cookies, pastries, and more. This doesn’t even cover the more tame breakfast pastries that I imagine are an experience in themselves, nor the quality Boar’s Head sandos you can snag if you want a tasty lunch.
If you’re honest with yourself, though, you know you came here for the good stuff. A fresh, original-​style cronut still escapes me because she makes them early in the morning so they’re gone quick. I’ll set an alarm soon enough and have this one under my belt (and an added notch to my belt as well)
I’ll list out everything I’ve tried and remark on what I recall her having:
— Lobster Tail (A): Flaky, buttery pastry with a creamy, smooth filling.
— Lace Cookies (B+): Tiny, chewy cookies coated in white or chocolate icing. I’ve brought these to pot lucks and they’re an affordable hit!
— Bread Pudding (B+): Sampled this and, as much as I find the dessert typically average, this one was moist, dense, and packed with flavor
— Truffle Cookies (A-​): You read that right… a cookie carefully baked with a silky, rich chocolate filling.
— Cherry Danish (B+): I’m a sucker for cherries in a cheese-​cream dessert and this one didn’t let me down
— Iced & Filled Cronut (A+): Take a cronut, add icing to the top, cut in half to add chocolate filling, eat with glee
Final Thoughts
There are some really solid bakeries in town that all produce tasty goods, but most spots choose to lean more toward bread or pasta. Dolce Vita is the only place in town I am aware of that focuses on the sweeter side of life, and even though they’re far away I make a point to go semi-​regularly. Do yourself a favor and come here at least once to treat yourself… but maybe come with a full tummy so you don’t go overboard.

This is a great place for bakery deserts. They also have good sandwiches for lunch with boars head meats.

This is by far the best bakery I’ve been to in Gainesville and I’m originally from up north were bakeries are in no short supply. The pastries really take me back especially their lobster tails, rainbow cookies, and their Italian butter cookies omg I could just die. Tasting everything is like biting into a lil bit of heaven every time. Not only are the pastries delicious but they’re cakes are insanely amazing however if you need one for a birthday they do require 48 hours of notice. But they have cake by the slice sometimes which is also excellent they serve breakfast and lunch and the the customer service is absolutely top notch the environment is always so warm and welcoming as well as the staff. If your ever in need of something fresh and delicious this is the place to go.

This bakery is small and tucked away in a strip mall that’s seen better days and now is the home to a hair salon, a business services outfit (people to do your payroll and what-​not) and a hodge-​podge of other small offices and retail shops. It’s easy to miss and not exactly easy to find, but worth locating. The quality of the baked goods is impressive and the owner, who is Serbian, has a high understanding of Eastern European and Italian traditional baking that comes out in her products. She’s also very outgoing, friendly, and eager to explain what she has for sale. The actual baked goods expectedly rotate somewhat so you’re best to just go in and see what she has baked on a given day.
Beyond baked goods – cheesecakes, cronuts, pastries and such – they also do salads and sandwiches and I got the impression they’d like to move into this area even more and to perhaps even carry some imported European groceries at some point. Everything I’ve had from here is very fresh and quite tasty.

The service was great and I got to try their Power Salad– it was absolutely amazing. It is big enough for two people so I would recommend people to get other baked goods and one salad to share!

I love this place! The staff here are always so friendly and warm. The pastries are amazing. The cherry danish is my daughter’s favorite. The also have chocolate chip cookies stuffed with an entire Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or an Oreo. I would have to say that my favorite dessert here are the Coconut Rum Balls. I had a box of pastries put together for a party and they were a hit!
The prices are very fair. You would almost expect to pay much more for these desserts. The dining area is always clean, but could use some upgrading. The chairs are the plastic-​type lawn chairs.
I have also had the tuna salad sandwich twice and it’s the best! This place is just great. I believe Dolce Vita also make an appearance at the Farmers Market Downtown (Bo Diddley) on Wednesdays, so you can get their pastries there!

Tried the cronuts with the three different flavors of creamy deliciousness inside — wonderful! Also tried vanilla and chocolate cupcakes — also wonderful! Butter croissants were melt-​in-​your-​mouth terrific!
Cute bakery with lots of pastry choices in their case and a friendly and helpful staff.

My husband surprised me for my birthday with an awesome cake from here. It was fantastic. Yellow cake, thin layer of icing on the outside. Layer of custard and chopped strawberries in the middle. Then sliced strawberries on the outside. Amazing. Light, fluffy. Perfect! I consider myself a pretty good judge of cakes and this is really up there on my list. Would make this my regular spot for birthday cakes year after year if we stayed in Gainesville.
Thanks!

I’ve only been here once and the best thing about it is how warm and friendly the woman working there was. My husband and I shared three pastries, ranging in price from $ 2.75 to $ 3.50 which seems reasonable to me. We tried three pastries:
The cronut was very good! We got one with raspberry, chocolate, and pastry filling and they were all creamy and airy.
The lobster claw was ok, but the pastry part was a weird, overly chewy texture that made it seem as though it may have been sitting out for a while and getting stale.
Our turnover was mediocre. The filling very much tasted like it had been dumped in straight out of a can with a very processed taste.
We were only visiting Gainesville for a few days, so I don’t know if there is a better bakery around, but overall, I felt like this one was pretty good, but I’m not terribly eager to return.