Here’s the UWS Dish: La Bomboniera’s Nutella Bomboloni (& Other Delicacies!)

By Abigael T. Sidi

In Rome, Florence or Naples, La Bomboniera (tucked away on West 82nd, a few steps down from Amsterdam) would be just another random cafe on a random street corner, serving simple but stupendously high-quality coffee, panini and pastries. On NYC’s Upper West Side, however, La Bomboniera, as its name suggests, is a gift from the gods, a portal to dolce vita that will fill your heart with a mix of joy and peace, if only for a few minutes out of your week. It’s the perfect place to just hang out with friends, or people-watch (go for the outside tables, weather permitting!), while sipping a seriously good cappuccino and/or biting into pretty much any sweet or savory items on the menu.

My most recent visit to Bomboniera was under completely different pretenses than the one guiding my review today; it was a couple of months ago, for a college interview that, for a lack of better words, had me very stressed despite the super friendly alum conducting it. (I ended up on the waitlist for that one, but no hard feelings, as I got into the school’s long-hated rival and intend to make them pay at The Game this year, and the next three years after that!)

In my first few visits to La Bomboniera, I had only ever indulged in their coffee. I learned from my trip to Italy (I’m never going to stop talking about it, sorry) that even the concept of “iced coffee” is taboo in a traditional Italian cafe, so I’ve always opted for the very typical cappuccino ($5.00). The coffee is nothing short of exquisite by New York City standards, offering the freshness, boldness, and intensity that you’d expect from even a sub-par European espresso.

This time, however, upon exploring the menu, I realized that the Italians do indeed have their own version of an iced coffee: the shakerato ($6.00). Most comparable to a shaken espresso, a shakerato is simply a freshly brewed espresso that has been vigorously shaken with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, served straight up. The espresso is sometimes mixed with a little bit of simple syrup or sugar. The result of this intricate method is a slightly creamy looking drink (despite the lack of milk), decorated with a small layer of velvety foam on top. It was exquisite (no ice cubes), intensely refreshing, and an extremely exciting discovery for me.

But the deliciousness didn’t stop there. Next to their impressively diverse “cafeteria” is an equally vast “pasticceria” section, which includes seven classic Italian pastries and desserts. After learning my lesson about ordering too much from last week’s trip to La Farine, I decided on only two treats for the day: a bomboloni ($5) and the torta formaggio ($9). Okay, okay, I also ended up caving to their prosciutto panino ($16) after hearing the crunch of it and the “aaaaah” of it from a nearby table; it was impeccable, served with a slice of provolone heated to the exact melting point, and seasoned with just the right amount of balsamic glaze. 

Before discussing the bomboloni, which clearly won the day, I’ll give the torta formaggio some credit. The name of this dessert translates directly to “cheesecake”, and it is described on La Bomboniera’s menu as an “Italian ricotta cheesecake.” Unlike the American dessert, the torta formaggio uses pasta frolla (a sweet Italian shortcrust pastry) instead of a graham cracker crust, and incorporates ricotta and mascarpone into the main batter to create an airy consistency rather than a dense one. The cake was moist and light indeed, elevated by flavors of fleur d’oranger (French for “orange blossom”) and vanilla. Cheesecake, with style.

But it was the seemingly humble, Nutella bomboloni that truly won me over, with an extra sweetness and plain yumminess that instantly took me back to the streets of Siena, where we enjoyed MANY of these babies while waiting for the Palio to start. (The Palio di Siena is the city’s centuries-old annual horse race, run on the crowded, central, Piazza del Campo; it’s an exuberant, glorious celebration of tradition that remains one of the greatest moments of life.) Just as the Torta Formaggio resembles a cheesecake, the closest comparison for the bomboloni would be a Boston cream donut (one of my personal favorites). Made from a yeast dough that is deep-fried until golden, a traditional Tuscan bombonolo can be stuffed with a variety of rich fillings – the most common being a smooth crema pasticceria (pastry cream), Nutella, or fruit jam – and is topped with a generous layer of powdered sugar.

La Bomboniera’s Nutella bomboloni absolutely held its own – the dessert is served fresh and warm, causing the Nutella to spill out upon taking a bite. I was amazed by how the Nutella tasted when melted that way; complex and super intense, it was a revelation. Overall, it’s a messy, unapologetically chocolatey dessert: donut, with style.

 Also with style is La Bomboniera’s affogato, where the server will pour the coffee over the scoop of vanilla ice cream at your table (so chic!); the charcuterie and cheese plates; and pretty much everything else on the menu. Owners Artie and Nela Hidric did a fantastic job recreating the unique atmosphere of the unassuming, unpretentious, yet low-key sophisticated, traditional Italian cafe, complete with multiple outside tables lined up on the sidewalk (again, my favorite spot there). La Bomboniera is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

The Dish: Nutella bomboloni ($5)
The Restaurant: La Bomboniera, 203 West 82nd Street (between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway)

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