Taddeucci pastry shop: review and pics of the best patisserie in Lucca

If you have never visited the Taddeucci pastry shop in Lucca, then you missed an important piece of Tuscan pastry history. It is from early 1881 that the Taddeucci family produces cakes, biscuits, and cakes, following traditional recipes and paying great attention to the quality of the ingredients.

Think that the mother yeasts they use is an old centenary, born in the early 1900s and since then every day they refresh it and continue to use it for all the main yeasts. But what made the Taddeucci pastry in Lucca famous is Buccellato, the legendary dessert made with bread dough, sugar, anise, anise liqueur, and raisins. Many do it, but Taddeucci’s one is a cut above all the other producers of Lucca, there are no comparisons.

We want to speak about the brioches, all made with sourdough and first choice butter, from Normandy? They are simply delicious. The pralines and chocolate creations are excellent too. And then there is a lot to say about Taddeucci panettone: top-notch pastry stuff here: it’s soft and fragrant and the flavor of these jewels is alway natural and smooth. The black cherry and white chocolate panettone are fabulous, but even the pistachio and lemon panettone is irresistible. The costs are very honest: the classic 1-kilo panettone costs 18 euros, a very acceptable price for a boutique pastry panettone.

Moving on to the “single portions desserts” you will find products that are always fresh and made with impeccable precision: tiramisu, semifreddo, Zuppa Inglese cups, but also splendid cheesecake. Pastries are classic and simple, but well made.

Returning to the Buccellato and the Tuscan classics, we just have to take off our hat: ricciarelli, panpepato, cantucci and “brutti ma buoni cookies” (ugly but good). All are delicious, but Buccellato wins overall: this mythical bread so fragrant, so simple yet fascinating is unrivaled.

The pastry shop is elegantly furnished and during summertime, there is also an outdoor terrace to enjoy the view of the main square of Lucca: Piazza San Michele, where the cathedral stands out.

Are we too excited? Perhaps, but it is the enthusiasm that came to us after a visit in which everything we tasted was of exemplary goodness. Never too sweet, never too pretentious: everything was measured to perfection.

Alfredo Ravanetti