Mike’s Pastry

Mike's Pastry was founded in 1946 by Michael Mercogliano in the North End, and its Hanover Street shop has become a well-known stop in the neighbourhood. For many visitors, a cannoli from here is part of a classic North End walk.

Cannoli are the main draw, and the shop makes many varieties, with flavours such as chocolate chip, strawberry, chocolate mousse and mint chocolate chip. The chocolate-covered cannoli with a chocolate custard filling is a favourite with chocolate lovers. Large photographs of the different cannoli on the front wall help you decide while you queue. Beyond cannoli, the counters hold Italian pastries, cookies, pies and cakes, including taralli, ring-shaped biscuits dusted with icing sugar, and bocconotti. The shop also sells cake rolls, muffins and biscotti through its online store and ships nationwide.

The North End shop is open from 8am to 10pm. It is larger than the other famous pastry shops nearby but is often crowded, with queues out of the door at busy times. As a general tip, mornings and weekday afternoons are usually calmer than evenings and summer weekends, and having your order ready when you reach the counter keeps things moving. If you are buying a box to take away, cannoli are best eaten the same day.

Mike's suits families, first-time visitors and anyone with a sweet tooth, and it makes an easy, inexpensive dessert stop after dinner in the North End. It is primarily a takeaway counter rather than a place to linger over coffee, so plan to eat your pastries as you walk or on a bench nearby. If you prefer to stay in, delivery is available through the main delivery apps.

If you are buying for a group, a mixed box lets everyone try several flavours, and it is worth asking staff which cannoli travel best if you are not eating them straight away. Paying attention to the order of the queue helps too, as the counter area can get busy and noisy at peak times.

Hanover Street is the main street of the North End, and Mike's is close to the other well-known pastry shops, Modern Pastry and Caffè Vittoria, so comparing cannoli between them is a popular way to spend an evening. Old North Church on Salem Street is within a few minutes' walk, which makes it easy to combine a visit with the Freedom Trail.