Salvo is the best and most delicious Italian bakery in the Netherlands
Bread is insanely expensive, but we keep stumbling upon more and more amazing bakeries where we happily spend half a month’s salary. We actually queue (!) for the filled croissants from Fort Negen, devour our favorite French pastries and can no longer walk briskly past Salvo. Because those brioche creations from this Italian bakery… OH BOY.
Italians love a sweet breakfast, and they prefer to have it quickly, on the go. In the bakery around the corner, they pick up their favorite baked treats in the morning to eat on the way. A fresh sfogliatelle with custard, for example. Perfect espresso alongside it—what a dream start to the day. And you can have that too, because at Salvo you’ll get the most delicious breakfast you could wish for.
Si, si: open
Salvatore put my favorite maritozzo on the menu at the Amsterdam Hermitage market, and won my heart in the process. When news followed that he was going to open his own bakery in the city, I checked his Instagram by the minute to prevent him from opening the doors without my knowledge at all costs, and regularly tried to peer through the blue-covered windows of his premises, without success.
But luckily, here it is: Salvo Bakehouse is open and is already the best in the whole of the Netherlands, if you ask me.
An Italian mission
Seven years ago, Neapolitan Salvatore Lioniello came to the Netherlands with his wife. When they couldn’t travel to Italy for Easter during lockdown, he decided to start baking: ‘Like many other Italians, we became homesick. I made pastiera for my friends, a Neapolitan pie that is traditionally served during Pasqua.’ Word of mouth brought in the first orders, from fellow Italians suffering from homesickness, but also from Dutch people curious about the pie. That latter group inspired Salvo to take on a mission: introducing the Netherlands to more than just tiramisu and cannoli.
Maritozzi: get to know them
According to Salvo, Italians haven’t put their sweets on the international map enough, even though they have so much to offer. Since every region has its own specialty, he doesn’t focus solely on Neapolitan sweets. At his pop-up stall at the Hermitage market, he already made food-loving Amsterdam embrace maritozzi, a Roman brioche filled with fresh whipped cream. At Salvo Bakehouse, you can always find this classic in the display case, along with a monthly special—this month with coffee, pistachio, hazelnut and cardamom.
Cannoli to die for
The brioche creations are also Salvo’s specialty. From brioche dough, he also makes the Veneziana (a kind of alternative to panettone, which, contrary to what the name suggests, originates from Milan) and Iris (deep-fried Sicilian dolce filled with creamy ricotta). But if there’s one tip you shouldn’t miss, according to Salvo, it’s his cannoli: ‘In the Netherlands, it’s difficult to find really good cannoli, because they’re often filled in advance and therefore become soggy, or there’s a layer of chocolate inside to keep the tube crisp. Our dough is very light and brittle, and we fill the cannoli fresh.’
Hop, hop, off to Salvo Bakehouse, where from Wednesday through Sunday you can go on a journey of discovery through the world of Italian pasticcini. And do it properly, the Italian way: early in the morning, with a dolce beside your caffè al banco.
Salvo – Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 9-11 H, Amsterdam
Also read:
- Trendy in croissant country: cube croissants
- These filled croissants are the hit of the moment
- Say what?! Most bakers sell supermarket croissants
Image: Salvo
