D'amato's Bakery
1124 W Grand Ave
(between Aberdeen St & May St)
Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 733-5456
- Nearest Transit:
Chicago (Blue)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Sat 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sun 7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
4 reviews
Neighborhood: Montclare
"Checked out this place for our wedding cake after receiving a tip from one of our Polish friends. All in all, I was flexible with cake and…" read more »
22 Reviews for D'amato's Bakery
This is the ONLY Italian bakery I will go out of my way to drive to.
Fresh, inexpensive and a GREAT selection of things! I'm talking all sorts of breads and rolls, 6 types of foccacia, arancini (2 types!), cannoli, cookies, pastries, cake and of course sheet pizza. I just bought a baguette that is literally 4 feet long and I think I paid like 2 or 3 dollars for it. Everything I have ever ordered has been excellent. You can walk in off the street or pre-order. I would recommend the latter if you need a certain amount, flavour, etc.as I have been there just as they have run out of something I wanted. Oh yeah, bring cash, they dont take credit cards!
Independent businesses rock and I am so glad to support this one!
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Feels like a neighborhood institution when you walk in, and you know it deserves to be once you bite into what you decided to try. I've had their classic Italian not-too-sweet butter cookies in all shapes and sizes and with different kinds of frostings and embellishments, and they're all good. My roommate swears by the U-shaped sandwich cookies. I've also tried their basic whole wheat and Italian white breadloaves, and while both are good, the delicate white bread is addictive. They also have a cool antique cash register.
I really like their focaccia! The bottom of the crust is kind of crunchy, and I love love love it. The folks who work here are really nice and their bread is cheap.
I have a lot of respect for mom and pop bakeries, and this is one of my favorites--ever. If you've ever worked for one, you'd know just how much labor goes into each and every bit of love they bake. The breads here are really quite good, and you can tell that there is a lot of experience behind everything you take home from D'amato's.
You're not addicted to the carbs in your bread, you're addicted to the love.
I don't buy a whole lot of bread, but I am HOOKED on their spinach aranchinis (rice balls).
I swear I could live on those things.
So if you like a good vegetarian aranchini, I gaurantee you will not be disappointed.
I can't speak for the meat ones, haven't tried them.
Oh, did I also mention D'amato's has gelato?
I disagree with what one reviewer said about parking -- just look on the side streets, not on Grand itself.
Oh, and if you're driving here - watch out for the cop with the speed radar hidden behind the sign at the "marathon" gas station.
Try one of their mini tomato breads, and you will be HOOKED.
The combination of bread, tomato and italian spices are sooo good, and you can taste the freshness of all the ingredients!!
I will definitely have to go in and try their Italian cookies and pizzas. mmm... cookies :)
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I have been coming to this place for years! way before it was known.......it was just the local italian bakery my dad took us too to pick up Italian bread.......tomato bread and the pizza bread!
It's awesome!
The tomato bread is out of this world.........you can buy the big one or the mini's! The pizza.......isn't the cheapest........but it is great! I have family and friends who come to town and ask if we can go pick up some of that "pizza bread".
The bread itself is delicious........nice hard crust.....makes great sandwiches and better yet........TOAST!
if you are in the area, stop in and check it out!
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The perfect Bari companion. Stop in here and grab a tasty canoli for dessert after you get your Bari italian sub and before you head back to your triple parked car.
The sheet pizza on top of the counter is classic as well. Dee-lish as Retched Rachel would say. Seriously though, it's pretty damn good for pizza made in Chicago.
I like their sub rolls, obviously, and they have lots of other tasty baked goods. Try them all. If you're dying for a French-style baguette this isn't the place. But it's an Italian bakery so you already knew that.
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1st BRING CASH! They don't take any cards! Also parking really stinks.
I've been looking for good Italian cookies like my mom would get when I was a kid. I've tried so many bad cookies in the last 6 months but I found some spectacular cookies here and at a good price. I brought them to a friends house for dinner...I ended up bring home the box. So good! I'll have to come back with more cash to try the bread and cannoli. I'll definitely be back soon!
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Secret pizza, secret dessert...
As far as Italian bread carbs are concerned, if I am gonna eat 'em, I get my fix HERE. First, this is one of the oldest Italian bakeries in the city. One time I needed to get some bread, but they were closed. The owner saw me and waved me in. He brought me to the back and the smell was INCREDIBLE. I'll tell ya, the only other places that have that kinda history are bakeries in Europe. Making bread is as much an artform as it is a labor of love. The wood tables, paddles and ovens were just amazing. You could smell the care and the love this place has for bread, and we are lucky enough to be able to get it every day.
Back to the food:
BREAD - Remember, it's an Italian bread. French bread sometimes is like cake, while Italian bread is firmer. The regular loaf (like a baguette) has a crisp and chewy crust, and a soft center, great for garlic bread or bruschetta. The sandwich loaf looks like a traditional bread, but has this amazing thin but crisp and chewy crust, with a perfect center.
SECRET PIZZA - Secret pizza, remember? They make 3 (it used to be 2) kinds of pan pizza - cheese, sausage, pepperoni. It's not ordinary by any means. It's a rectangular, 1 inch thick slice, with a fragrant tomato gravy (dats right, REAL Italians call it dat) topped with a fontina, romano or something sharp. The cheese is just right, and just below it, the tomato flavor is incredible. If you're lucky enough to get a chewy edge, marron! Order of favorite - cheese, sausage (pepperoni is too strong and takes away from everything). We used to order this BY THE TRAY and it would be gone.
They also have foccacia, arancini (stuffed rice balls), a new gelato bar, cookies, pizelle, rolls, etc.
SECRET DESSERT - Man, I have no idea why they hide these things, but if you find em, GET EM. Chery slices, apple slices, napoleons, huge chocolate eclairs, and, of course, cannoli. It's like these were just like a little hobby they do back there, yet these are just so perfect, not too sweet, not to heavy, that you wonder why they don't make MORE.
Slices - 2 x 4 x 4 inch pies with perfect fillings and vanilla icing. One of each.
Napoleons - thin pastry dough with vanilla custard and topped with vanilla icing. I'll take TWO.
Eclairs - 5 inch chocolate covered custard eclairs (that are FILLED, baby, no skimping here!). I can only eat one, but I WANT 5.
Cannoli - 4 inch delicate round cookie tubes filled with sweetened ricotta and chocolate chips, edged with nuts. Always gimme TWO.
Don't go hungry or you'll leave with a few bags.
COST - Inexpensive
CAVEATS - It small and parking is tough. Be patient. You will be rewarded.
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Two words - chocolate cannolis. Cannolis dipped in chocolate. So incredibly sweet that all I need is one or two bites and I'm good for the rest of the month.
The tiramisu could be more. I like whip cream, but calling a fluff of whip cream and some soggy thin cake tiramisu, just doesn't do it for me.
The foccacia bread is ok. Eat is fast! It always seems to spoil in a few days of sitting out. Nothing worse than going for a bite and seeing fungus on your bread. Traumatizing.
The pizza is good. Rich, thick homemade pizza, not the cut-out cardboards of a fast food chain.
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For $1.50, this is the best cannoli in Chicago and they always taste fresh. Knowing that they provide bread for numerous sub places around town, I can attest that this is also very high quality.
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Their dark baguettes get 5 stars. I love the thick crusted hearty Italian bread. Maybe they just have a really awesome oven, because the dough doesn't seem all that complicated. It's all about the crust.
Everything else is pretty good too; you won't be disappointed. Cash only!
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Popped in here one day for lunch. Good Italian sub. Liked that it was a bakery, the bread was tasty. Wasn't awesome enough for me to crave going back.
So one of my fondest memories from growing up was going into a small Italian bakery by our house in Mamaroneck, NY and buying fresh out of the oven rolls for a quarter. It was always a special treat for me walking home from school.
So my mom decides that she needs me to find some Panettone to bring east for Christmas. I begin the hunt for this elusive bread and find myself on the west side of the river at D'amato's. Immediately when I walk in I have a rush of childhood memories and feel like I am back in that bakery again in NY.
We ended up with the panettone as well as some yummy cookies to tie us over until then. Everything was great and I walked out of there with a ton of stuff for less then $20. I wold have bought some more BUT they only take cash so I had to stay within the boundaries of what was in my pocket.
All in all, mom will be happy I found the panettone, I got some cookies, and I got to try a new place and find a piece of my childhood again.
PS- the next day I saw some Panettone in Dominick's but I would not have traded my time at D'amato's for anything.
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Simply the BEST tomato bread in town. Susan, the prettiest girl I work with, just loves their pan pizza!
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Mmmm, my dad has been bringing me food here for years. Last week I finally went with him and got Italian Ice (light tasting), tomato bakery pizza (like one yelper said greasy, but it is good), and am not sure the name but this amazing bread they have that they cut into loaves and it tastes soo good toasted. Good expierance!
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Its not a bakery you can sit at and enjoy pastries and such but its a great place to get fresh bread to go with your wine or dinner! They have good pizza too
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D'Amato's offers a wonderful selection of authentic Italian baked goods. The focaccia is my personal favorite, but I can't say I've ever tried a thing I didn't like. You won't be disappointed!
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Bakery-style pizza you just can't beat and a selection of pasteries and bread as well. The staff is super friendly, very italian. The only downside is they don't take charge cards, so stock up on cash before you go.
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This is one of Chicago's finest Italian bakeries. There are a couple of locations so the selections can vary from location to location.
Here on Grand Avenue youll find breads, foccaio, cookies, and pizza. If youre planning an entire Italian dinner I suggest a stop next door at Baris Italian grocery.
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My fingers just experienced the best aromatherapy oils ever. The pizza bread was fantastically greasy, topped with a generous helping of cheese and very flavorful sausage. I just got a loaf of sourdough bread. I don't even eat sourdough bread. But I figured that since I already made the trek out there, I had to do the right thing and buy their signature bread.
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the smell of this place alone gets it 5 stars. yum.
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