Rose & Joe’s Italian Bakery

So Pizza is good as others have said but their pies are not so good. It’s canned fruit filling or at least tastes just like canned fruit filling. Too sweet and not good. The crumb topping is good and homemade tasting but it’s not enough.

The most delicious cream puffs ever – and the price is right. Get both the chocolate iced and plain, and make sure you get the powdered sugar on top. Superb cream filling and the perfect size. This bakery is tops and the service is so friendly. Also love the Irish soda bread.

The cashiers are so rude… one morning i went in and heard one of the girls arguing with a man because he paid with a 20… today i went in there and asked if i can a pastry from the back… the cashier, a hispanic looking women about 40 years old had an attitude and got into an argument with me in front of other customers over my request… i was so embarrassed… i later went back to tell the manager about the incident and another employee jumped in to tell me how her friend (the other cashier) was right and i was wrong… they just didn’t seem like they cared about my business… all i wanted was a fresh pastry… if u want better pastries and great customer service with no attitude… LA GULI’S is right down the block… dont waste your time or ruin a day going here

I’m so happy this is my neighborhood bakery. My favorite breads are their country white, semolina, and olive breads. I’m not even ashamed to admit that I’ve eaten an entire loaf of olive bread in one day, it’s that good.
Their lemon cookies are my favorite lemon cookies in all the land.
They also make a mean palmier, fresh rainbow cookies, and a rich, smooth lemon pound cake.
No Irish soda bread will ever compare to my mother’s, but theirs is the closest I’ve had, which is saying something.
Even if this wasn’t my neighborhood bakery, I’d go out of my way for the olive bread and lemon cookies.

Like all the little bakery joints on Ditmars I love Rose & Joe’s because you can order two cookies for less than a $ 1 and walk away happy. What makes Rose & Joe’s even better though are the pizzas they serve out of the back. I wish they were open later because their margherita pizza is perfect. The crust is crispy and not too thick, the sauce is just faintly sweet, the cheese is thin and melted and doesn’t slide everywhere while you eat it.
This is a staple of the Ditmars area and it’s conveniently located right under the train. You really can’t go wrong.

I think this place is great for cheap and affordable baked goods but not like a go to place for a pizza slice. That’s probably where the negative reviews come in. I didn’t even notice they sold pizza to be honest because we were in a rush and late to a birthday this weekend. Picked up some cupcakes near the cash register. I noticed they had a wide array of rainbow cookies, italian cookies, cannoli, cakes, fresh loaves of bread. The cupcakes were cheap — about $ 4 for 4 of them. Nothing bougie but pretty simple on decoration: vanilla and chocolate icing with sprinkles. I split a chocolate with light yellow cake later in the night and it was super moist and delicious.

The cookies are amazing. I’ve eaten almost all of them by now and none have disappointed yet. I actually first came in here just for the bread sticks. Its crazy how many sesame seeds they get to stick on them. Delicious pizza bread too!

In an almost wasteland of good pizza neighborhoods, Rose & Joe’s is a welcomed surprise. I grew up in Brooklyn and I took for granted that I was a stones throw from many great pizza places. Ditmars just doesn’t have a lot to offer in terms of good pizza unfortunately.
Rose & Joe’s is a great place for bread. They are baked fresh and I often drop by just to grab a roll or two. However, one day I ventured to the back of the store. There hides a small glass case with Margherita pizzas and square pizzas. This isn’t your normal NY slice but the bread was really good obviously. The secret to good pizza is definitely in the bread. You have to get that right.
Overall a cute little place to grab a small specialty slice. It still doesn’t satisfy the classic NY Pizza cravings but for what it is, it’s a decent slice. While the pizza is only something I get once in awhile, I come for the breads!

We popped in here on a whim when I saw the sign across the street from the restaurant we were out here to try. I’m glad I did — after hitting up a quite lackluster bakery in Manhattan yesterday, I was very happy to be eating a pastry that was actually worth eating. Specifically, we tried one of their vanilla cream puffs, which was pretty much perfect, and some kind of chocolate twist, which I was expecting to be soft like a cream puff, but was actually crumbly. Still very chocolatey and all around tasty, though. Everything was about half the price the same thing would probably be in Manhattan, too, so that was nice.

I haven’t tried the cookies or any of the pastries… they do look good though. The bread however is just OK. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. I think Italian bread should have a good crunchy crust, but theirs doesn’t. I tried it twice and it was just OK. And it’s a bit overpriced too. However, the people who work there are very nice.
I also haven’t tried their pizza. I have tried the fresh dough, which is good, but also a bit expensive.

Anyone who follows my reviews or knows me understands that I am not a cheese or margherita slice dude. They bore me, as I’ve rarely found one with enough going on to tantalize my taste buds. Gimme at least pepperoni and sausage, if not meat lovers, AND a buffalo chicken slice. Now we’re talking!
One bite of R&J’s margherita slice has firmly locked it as my favorite in the city, more so than my cherished meat-​laden slices. I was sad when I was done with the slice, because I’d only purchased one. I could have devoured an entire pie on my own.
It was pizza perfection.
I also tried all Sicilian options they had (pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and olive). Damned fine slices… and I am usually not a fan of Sicilian slices. I kept wanting each new bite. Tons of flavor. Just good, handmade awesomeness.
The stromboli was fine. Weighed to determine price. Nothing to write home about. But solid. Didn’t need extra sauce on the side, per my usual.
Four Sicilian slices, one marg, and a heavy slice of stromboli came out to $ 23.50. With the flavors and joy I received, I have no problem with that pricing, especially to a local merchant.
Is the little lady behind the counter rough around the edges? Yup. Is that par for the course and part of the charm of this area’s home grown mom & pop joints? Yup.
Truth is, she’s actually a tough softy. I threw back a little polite/​jovial sass, and she was smiling, laughing, and calling me sweetie at the bat of an eye. When in Rome, people. When in Rome.
I was very tempted to pick up some bakery items, as they looked amazing, and the breads smelled so good. But I was short on cash. Next time.
Destination spot? Not sure. But MOST definitely a spot to try if you’re in the area!

Amazing, the bread from here is just amazing, you don’t even need butter or anything! By far the best bread for miles around!

Would’ve given it one more star if not for the mold I found inside one of my cream puffs (see pic). I did not want to believe it, because I really enjoyed my Sicilian slice which I ate first, but that little green monster stared me in the face after I bit into my chocolate cream puff. What gives??! I’m still sort of in denial. Maybe someone can analyse my pic more and tell me I was actually hallucinating, and I’ll come back and edit my review with one additional star.
((I still ate the other 3 cream puffs and ate as much of the infected one as socially acceptable))
Besides that, the Sicilian was delicious. Just the right level of cheesiness and not greasy at all. I appreciated that they wrapped it up for me in aluminium foil to keep it semi-​warm. The cream puffs, the fungal surprise aside, were yum. Not to mention, everything came out to be a little over $ 5.
Service was pretty quick; maybe a 3-​minute wait for them to heat up my pizza (they’d ask if you wanted it warm for people who want to eat it right away). Staff weren’t too smiley but they were courteous and helpful. You order and pay for pizza in the back, bread and pastries up front.

Oh it’s good. It’s so good. That cannoli is some of the best I’ve had. It’s SOFRESH, which means a crunchy shell (that manages to stay that way for a day — I bought a few so I had leftovers the next morning) and creamy filling with hints of cinnamon deliciousness. My friend got a slice and I had a bite and it was yummy too.
I also sampled their rainbow cake, which was light, crumbly (but not too much so), and SOTASTY. I bought a cinnamon crumb cake which was also very light, buttery and sweet but not syrupy sweet like so many bakery cakes.
I was floored. It’s been a long time since I’ve had legitimately good bakery cake that wasn’t heavy or overly-​sweet. I’m comparing this to the «top» places too, like Magnolia, Crumbs, Momofuku, etc.
And that cannoli. Deargod.

This cute mom and pop bakery shop has a pizza station in the back. They sell a variety of Italian homemade cookies and bread. I have only ventured here due to the reviews of their pizza. I figure whole wheat margarita pizza is healthier for the body so I will have a slice:) Thats how I justify any delectable junk food entering my system. Well the pizza was not great nor terrible. It was dry and the dough sauce ratio was underwhelming. I sprinkled hot pepper flakes and granulated garlic to revive it a bit. I’m not giving up on this place. It was probably an off day.

Fig cookies — almost certainly overcharged for a quarter-​pound given the posted price, but they were quite tasty.
One of each of their 2 Castagna cookies — crunchy, to be euphemistic… very forgettable
Sicilian slice from the back ($ 2.75) — solid, though not that warm even after a few minutes, but respectable… albeit sadly not matching up to the North End renditions of «Italian bakery pizza»

Am I in the right place?
Normally if you see any small food place that is not a pizzeria but is selling pizza, you should run in the opposite direction. However, I have seen this little bakery showing up repeatedly on lists of the best slices in the city, so I had to come see what all the hype was about.
When you first walk in to the long, narrow shop, you may think you are in the wrong place, as it looks like just a typical Italian bakery, with display cases filled with dusty cookies and cannolis. On the other side of the store opposite the counter is a questionable drink area with self-​serve coffee. But finally, once you reach the back, you see the pizza you came to try.
There is a small separate counter there with a few pies on display, including regular cheese and sicilian. We opted for one of each and the grumpy little lady threw them in the oven.
My wife likes her pizza scorching enough to take your fingerprints off so she asked her to make them extra hot. Instead, they came out a hair above lukewarm, which was a shame, because it was actually really excellent. The square slice they are know for was so good, most notably the delicious tomato sauce. The regular slice was delicious too though, so you might as well go for both if you make your way over here.
Rainbow cookies and those other Italian pastries aren’t my thing, but this little place is definitely worth a visit for the pizza. It’s tough to give higher marks here given the gruff service and the unpleasant environment and lack of anywhere inside to eat your pizza. Perhaps if you are getting some to go and don’t mind the shabby treatment, it’s closer to a 4-​star.

This was stop#2 in our mini bakery crawl. It wasn’t planned but as were walking by the place the promise of a freshly prepared cannoli lured us in.
All we got from here was a single piece of regular cannoli and I enjoyed it more than the one we had just gotten from our previous stop. La Guli. The ricotta filling on this one was lighter, not too sweet and obviously fresher. The shell is also thinner, but it doesn’t get soggy since they fill it up on the spot. The cinnamon notes packs a punch but it’s not overwhelming.
The other thing that looked really interesting to me here were the chocolate cigars. It kind of looked like a chocolate burrito. However there were other items on our agenda that day so we had to take a rain check.

I’ve decided I’m in love with their regular margherita slice for $ 2.50. It’s just so satisfying and has the perfect ratio of crust to sauce to cheese (although it could use more basil!) Crispy on the bottom, reheats beautifully, and man, that cheese is delicious.
Better than Rosario’s across the street, imho.

Old School Italian Bakery & pizza bakery served with an old school attitude. Back in Astoria for lunch at Samastis with a friend. Rose & Joes drew me right in. There were many places like this growing up in Gravesend mixing pastry with pizza– a good one was on 86^th St. near Bay Parkway with one onion pizza that was sooo good and memorable. Many of these spots are a dying breed with owners retiring or selling to franchises.
I was in twice– once to buy pizza, nutella cookies and oggle the gorgeous loaves– amazing– up there with some of the best bread bakeries of Brooklyn and the Bronx.
I returned with my friend Carol who brought pizza in back for the fam. and asked for a bag in front and got major attitude from the old biddies there. Now Carol is Chinese and not sure of the ethnicity of those in front so when they stared at her stupidly, I said «a bag». This is a bakery with many folks asking for a bag upon leaving… they snickered and laughed– not sure why, but attitude is so pase– you work in a bakery, get over it!
I have to add that the pizza really is first rate– the dough and crust are so fresh and the fresh mozzarella slice really rocks– bakery pizza that is so good and the pizza lady in back wrapped it in aluminum foil– ready to heat up, Ladies in front– Lose the ‘tude.