Published: 1/16/23

My Search for Boston’s Best Cannoli

Of all the food Boston’s known for, I’ve always been most enamored with cannoli. These delicate, cream-filled pastries are a staple in any Italian bakery, but Boston in particular is America’s cannoli hot spot. The cannoli rivalry between Modern Pastry and Mike’s Pastry is considered one of America’s greatest culinary rivalries.

I truly believe no trip to Boston is complete without sampling some cannoli. My quest to find Boston’s best cannoli has been a fun and delicious element in my two recent visits. If you’re looking to find the best cannoli in Boston, read on!

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Before we talk Boston . . . what is cannoli?

A small tubular pastry, a cannoli features a fried pastry shell filled with sweet cream. Traditionally, the filling uses ricotta cheese, although you’ll sometime see cannoli filled with vanilla custard or whipped cream. The shell edges are sometimes dipped in chocolate. Often, the cream ends are sprinkled with chopped nuts like almonds or pistachios. Although the pastry’s small enough to eat with your hands, I usually tackle it with a fork since the crisp shells shatter under pressure.

People have enjoyed this ancient pastry for nearly 2000 years! Legend has it that concubines of an Arab ruler on Sicily – the large island just south of the Italian peninsula – first made cannoli in the first century AD. So yes, the phallic shape is no coincidence . . . .

Interestingly, despite their ancient origins, cannoli aren’t particularly prevalent in America outside of Little Italy communities, which tend to have high populations of southern Italy immigrants. (We can thank southern Italy for another American culinary favorite: pizza.) Many Italian immigrants in my home state, Minnesota, arrived from northern Italy to work on the Iron Range. Since these northern Italian immigrants arrived skilled in stone working and mining rather than pastry, I’d never tried cannoli until my first venture into Boston’s North End in 2018.

Cannoli or cannolo?

Americans almost always refer to this pastry as cannoli, but you actually need at least two pastries to have cannoli. In Italian, cannoli is a plural term. “Cannolo” refers to an individual pastry. While cannolo and cannoli are like die and dice, no one’s going to bat an eye in Boston if you order a cannoli. Kind of sad, consider how fun it is to say the word “cannolo!”

Where To Find Boston’s Best Cannoli

If you’re on the hunt for Boston cannoli, you want to head to Boston’s North End. Adjacent to Boston’s historical downtown and financial district, this small neighborhood of just .36 square miles is home to a vibrant Little Italy community. In fact, it’s considered one of, if not, the best Little Italy communities in America.

Located on a peninsula jutting into the Boston Harbor, you’ll find more than 80 Italian restaurants and bakeries here. Copper fronted tenement buildings – many built in the striking Renaissance revival architecture style – line the narrow North End streets. Since it’s not uncommon to hear locals conversing in Italian, it’s pretty easy to imagine you’ve been magically transported to Naples or another bustling town in southern Italy.

Of course, that European illusion is often interrupted by decidedly American sites, such as the neighborhood’s three Freedom Trail sites: Paul Revere’s House, Old North Church, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. The North End was also the site of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. You’ll find a plaque commemorating this deadly event on Commercial Street.

The Little Italy of Boston’s North End

Because its access to the Boston harbor meant the area needed lots of unskilled labor, the North End has always attracted immigrants. By the mid-19th century, Italian immigrants began outpacing the neighborhood’s earlier Irish and Jewish immigrants. At one point in the late 19th century Paul Revere’s house even served as a tenement house for Italian immigrants!

By the 1930s, the population of the North End was considered 100% Italian. Today people of Italian descent still make up more than 40% of the North End’s population. Needless to say, it remains a great place in Boston to immerse yourself in Italian culture and do a deep dive into cannoli!

The Modern vs Mike’s Boston Cannoli Rivalry

Considered one of the great culinary rivalries in America, presumably people have been arguing over which Hanover Street bakery makes the best cannoli in the North End for nearly 80 years.

Modern Pastry opened on the east side of Hanover Street in 1930. In 1946, Mike’s Pastry joined Modern Pastry on the west side of Hanover Street.

Although people often refer to the two bakeries as “across the street,” you need to head up Hanover Street through an intersection to find Mike’s about 100 yards north from Modern Pastry.

It’s worth noting that if you’re on the Freedom Trail, you only pass Modern Pastry. The trail zigs off Hanover Street onto Richmond Street to get to Paul Revere’s House before you reach Mike’s. My recommendation: grab a cannoli to enjoy in Modern’s sit-down dining area, go tour Paul Revere’s house, then circle back to grab some cannoli to-go from Mike’s.

Mike’s Vs. Modern Pastry Boston Cannoli Compare and Contrast

Mike’s vs. Modern Pastry Shop Ambiance

The doors of Mike’s Pastry open into a large, white tiled room filled with bakery cases. Photos of their 19 different cannoli offerings line that wall above the counter. When they’re not very busy, the room feels cavernous. But more often than not, the Mike’s line stretches out the door and down the sidewalk.

Although the setting at Mike’s feels a little sterile, the employees give the bakery a definite neighborhood bakery feel. As I waited to order, one employee helped a mom and her two daughters – both wearing their Halloween costumes – who were definitely regulars. She chatted familiarly with them as she handed over their box of treats.

Meanwhile, over at Modern Pastry, you can choose to order from the counter or have a dine-in experience . . . sort of. When I visited in December 2018, Modern offered table service in their small café. Honestly, being served a beautiful, chocolate-dipped cannoli on a white plate formed one of my core memories from the trip.

When I returned post-pandemic in 2022, Modern no longer offered table service. You needed to first order at the service counter and then take your box of pastries to an open table. Obviously, you can only eat items you purchased at Modern in the café area, so if you want to do a side by side comparison of Mike’s and Modern like we did, you’ll need to find a park bench or take your twine wrapped pastry boxes back to your lodging.

Mike’s vs. Modern cannoli flavor options

Mike’s offers 19 different kinds of preassembled cannoli. As of October 2022, those flavors were: ricotta, yellow cream, chocolate cream, chocolate dipped, mint chip, chocolate chip, pistachio, pecan caramel, mousse, chocolate covered, Florentine, espresso, amaretto, hazelnut, chocolate ricotta, strawberry, limoncello, Oreo, and peanut butter. I opted for their more traditional Italian flavors, selecting chocolate dipped and pistachio cannoli.

Modern handles their cannoli options a little differently. You build your own cannoli at Modern, choosing from a plain, chocolate dipped, chocolate covered, or mini shell. Available fillings are ricotta, vanilla custard, chocolate custard, whipped cream, or Chantilly cream. You can top your cannoli with chocolate chips, pistachios, or almond slices. Our waitress in 2018 told us the best cannoli is a chocolate dipped shell with ricotta filling and almond slices. I think she’s right!

Cannoli Preparation

The word on the street is that Modern makes their cannoli shells in house. Meanwhile, Mike’s buys their shells from the Boston wholesale cannoli shell bakery, Golden Cannoli.

FYI: Golden Cannoli recently partnered with Williams Sonoma. If you’re wanting to recreate a Boston North End cannoli experience at home, now you can make cannoli very similar to Mike’s with the Williams Sonoma mini cannoli kit.

There’s also a notable size difference between the two stores’ cannoli. Modern’s cannoli shells are both shorter and thicker than Mike’s. Modern cannoli are approximately 4.5” long, while Mike’s clock in at a whopping 6”. I’m no math whiz, but I’d say Mike’s cannoli have about a third more material than Modern’s. If you’re looking for a delicate little treat; Modern’s the place to go. Mike’s cannoli are huge!

The differences don’t end at the shell. The cannoli at Mike’s sit in the bakery case preassembled. When you order at Modern, the employee ducks into the back to assemble your cannoli to order. That said, my mother thought her server at Modern came back awfully fast with the two traditional cannoli she ordered for the “assembled to order” claim to completely hold water.

The taste

At the end of the day, the title of best cannoli in Boston’s North End all hangs in the taste. We carefully transported our four cannoli from Modern and Mike’s back to our apartment, grabbed some forks, and dug in. Other than the obvious difference in size between the two stores’ cannoli, we noticed a couple distinguishing characteristics right off the bat.

Modern is often praised for their homemade cannoli shell. While our Modern shells certainly tasted good, they were very crisp and a little thick. Whenever we pushed a fork in, they shattered. We actually preferred the premade shells used by Mike’s. They were a little lighter, thinner, and yes, tastier.

However, we found Modern’s traditional ricotta filling far superior to Mike’s. The creamy, smooth, faintly citrusy filling is truly spectacular and just sweet enough. Mike’s filling is a little less smooth and almost cloyingly sweet. Did we still lick our fingers when we finished our Mike’s cannoli? Absolutely!

Price

Despite the notable size difference between the two shops’ cannoli, both Mike’s and Modern sell their cannoli for $5.00 a piece. Modern Pastry also offer mini cannoli for $2.75. To me, the mini cannoli option at Modern definitely wins them some points in the rivalry since it allows you to quickly and easily sample several flavor combinations. You’d be hard pressed to eat more than one cannoli from Mike’s at a time; they really are the equivalent of a full meal!

If you’re motivated by the idea of “value” then Mike’s is your Boston North End cannoli winner, hands down. As a Roger Pratesi so succinctly wrote: Tourists like Mike’s, locals like Modern.

So who has the best cannoli: Modern or Mike’s?

Back in 2018, I boldly declared Modern Pastry the best cannoli in Boston . . . without having ever eaten another cannolo in my life. When I returned to Boston in October 2022, I knew I needed to venture out and at least try Mike’s so I could do a proper compare and contrast.

After carefully sampling both Mike’s and Modern, we compared notes. Our verdict? We’re all winners here. If you want a tasty treat, you’ll find one at either Modern or Mike’s.

For variety, get yourself to Mike’s. For a smaller, more delicate treat, try Modern. Whichever one you choose; it’s going to be good.

Don’t forget your cash

If you take away anything from this breakdown of Modern and Mike’s cannoli offerings in Boston’s North End, it should be this: bring cash! Both bakeries are cash only.

Everyone deserves a North End cannoli so make sure you slip a $20 in your billfold before you board the plane to Boston. I want to spare you the heartbreak of my poor sweet sister-in-law who ran over to Modern’s on a work trip but realized she had no cash. By the time she’d finish her work obligations and hit up an ATM, it was late in the evening. The line at Modern’s stretched out the door and she had to miss out on her cannoli. This is literally the saddest story I’ve ever heard, so I made sure to eat an extra cannoli for her on my last visit. Isn’t that nice of me?

Not the only Italian bakery in town

Don’t let this, or any other article about Boston cannoli fool you. There are plenty of other Italian bakeries to check out in the North End and I’m sure their cannoli are just as mind-blowingly delicious as Mike’s or Modern’s.

One other North End bakery that comes highly recommend is Bova’s. This bakery on Salem Street is actually older than both Modern and Mike’s, opening in 1926. Although we were too full from doing our cannoli debate due diligence, we passed this 24-hour corner bakery during our North End wanderings and it looked absolutely delicious.

Do you like cannoli? If you’ve been to Boston, what’s your favorite treat to get?

If you liked this post about Boston cannoli, check out my other Boston content!