Declaire

Recently opened just outside the city walls, this new shop features a spacious, elegant room decorated in shades of white, with gilded, wooden accents that warm the atmosphere. The food is authored by pastry chef Davide Ferrante, whose style tends towards contemporary tastes. Ferrante brings good technical skill, creativity and methodically selected ingredients to his work. The assortment of baked breakfast goods ranges from croissants with cream, pistachio and jam, to danishes with cooked cream, sticky buns with cream and fresh berries, and various types of braids. Don't miss the veneziana (one of the best in Vicenza), with its soft, fluffy dough redolent of vanilla (the tiramisu and custard versions are also both excellent). A wide choice of single-serving sweets is characterized by well-balanced combinations of flavors and textures. Examples include the Declaire (a soft base topped with hazelnuts, creamy passion fruit, caramel, hazelnut chantilly and crunchy caramel pearls) and the Sole (breton sablé, lemon jam, yuzu cream and white chocolate mousse). There are plenty of mini pastries as well, available in a measured repertoire ranging from cream puffs to layered creations, cestini and mousses. A lovely, varied selection of cakes (mainly in creative combinations) is available. The service is still working out a few kinks. Convenient parking is a plus worth mentioning.