A & L Bakery

Delightful service, great sfogiatelle, scrumptious cranberry biscotti (but soft, more like a cookie.) ordered an Americano coffee which was quite good too. Inside tables looked inviting (totally renovated) though I didn't sit down because I did takeout.

Newly renovated! Looks so good inside and everyhting is still as delicious as before. If they have Florentine cookies definitely treat yourself to them. Otherwise they have pizza, pastries, to order sandwiches, and coffee.

Sadly, we were disappointed by the sweets. The eclair pastry was stale, the filling wasn't sweet or yummy; and the brownie was boring and bland.

TASTY TREATS FOR A GREAT PRICE!I work around the area and my coworker recommended this place for their bread. I've been here a handful to times and haven't gotten the bread (yet), but I have tried a bunch of their sweet treats. Their prices are great...compared to the North End - probably half to a third cheaper. Here's what I've tried, and check the pics I've posted to go along with this:- Cream cheese danish ($1) - it's good, but there could be a little more cream cheese. The danish part is soft and has a drizzle of frosting on it.- Assorted cookie bag ($1) - 7 cookies. The blue sprinkled egg shaped cookies ARE SO GOOD. They are a little soft, not what I would have expected based on the type of cookie, but it is only that much better. And sprinkles only make it better. The pink cookie half covered in chocolate is SO FLAVORFUL. I didn't expect much from just looking at it but it's packed with flavor. There is also a chocolate covered cookie with a jellybean on top. - Chocolate croissant ($1.25) - large crescent shaped croissant filled with milk chocolate. This croissant is bigger and cheaper than Starbucks' chocolate croissant, which is fantastic...more bang for your buck. Also, the chocolate is creamier...like it's not a hard chocolate since it's been melted into the croissant. - Apple scone type treat ($1.25) - I don't know the name of this, and couldn't pronounce it for you after hearing the woman say it. It looks like a calzone, but it has a fruit filling inside. The calzone shell is a pretty hearty cookie, not flaky like an apple turnover shell.- Canolli ($1) - haven't tried these but my friends say they are good.BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the area, and have a hankering for something sweet, stop by A & L. It's a nice small bakery with great prices. I want to try the black and white (75 cents) and their other cookie (50 cents) that's probably a little smaller than my hand.

I've been a regular customer for nearly 2 years. The value and quality far surpasses the North End. It's cash only and friendly. I am the hit of a dinner party when I bring a ricotta pie ($10) or $5 fruit pie (lemon, apple & blueberry). The bread....scali, Tuscan, wheat, etc. are all excellent. We buy or own small rolls for sandwich-making. The Sicilian pizza, cannolis and muffins are awesome too. I will occasional phone Antonia to order a pie for company and she is very accommodating. We gave up sugar and carbs in the household but the freshness of the products are so worth the quality and taste.

This bakery is a neighborhood gem! I live right down the street but somehow it took me ages to stop by. Once I did, I was hooked. Bread is always fresh and delicious, not to mention dirt cheap. You can go in with a pocket of change and come out happy. Love this place.

This place feels like walking in to a family member's home, always great cordial welcome and their baked goods are legit!

Great pastries. I love their coconut macaroons. Their cream puffs are delicious. I love supporting small businesses like this. Definitely check it out!!

We're done with A and L Bakery.First, on a positive note, A and L's, baked, fresh daily, breads and rolls are good. Their bagels, forget, they are disgusting (Dunkin Donuts bagels, which are horrifying, are better than A and L's bagels).That's it for the good; it goes downhill from there.In my opinion, A and L needs to scout out the quality of other Italian bakeries in the Boston area, taste their products, and compare them to A and L's. I am unimpressed with a number of A and L baked goods (e.g. cookies and the like) that have no crunch; they're soggy, mushy, and limp; no crunch (it's almost as if the baked goods are designed for seniors with no teeth, or residents of nursing homes). A and L's muffins taste like they are of supermarket variety, and taste soggy, again, no crunch. From the North End, Bova's (our favorite), Modern (our second favorite), and Mike's (our third favorite), A and L Bakery does not compare, or even come close. Bova's is far superior to A and L Bakery. In East Boston, Spinelli's Pasta and Pastry Shop is superior to A and L Bakery. We thought we'd try A and L's new panini's; our paninis were not good. There's something not right when you staff your bakery with one staff person, tie that person up making a not very good panini, with a George Forman like grill, and keep a growing number of customers waiting (while your one staff person is tied up making a panini). That equation is flawed. It does not work in a bakery with one staff person. Our panini's were bad, they lacked flavor and texture, not good.Finally, if the sign on your store front says that you close at 7 PM, what's with the locked door, with staff inside at 6:50 PM? In my opinion, A and L has a lot of work to do, to come remotely close to the high quality Italian bakeries in the Boston area (of which A and L is not one).

A & L Bakery has been in business for 42 years.You just know they have to be doing something right.They seem to be able to do everything right.First off, the family who own and run the bakery are genuinely very nice people and always wear smiles.The breads are absolutely delicious. ALWAYS.They offer some really nice pastries. The cannolies can be filled to order, so order some. Delicious.I have to careful and make certain that I'm not really hungry when I go there because I'm apt to buy up $20.00 worth of pastries for myself. Do yourself a favor. Check them out. You won't regret it.