Fine Italian Bakery Voglia Di Pane, Woodpark

Remember the old skool bakery? We're talking giant vanilla slices, sugar-crusted long john donuts and fruit tarts glazed with apricot jam. Fine Italian Bakery (Voglia Di Pane) goes one better, churning out all of the above plus a bonanza of Italian sweets and pastries - everything from crisp cannoli filled with custard to panzerotto donuts stuffed with ricotta to sfogliatelle puffed up into flaky golden layers.

We dare you to walk into this Woodpark bakery and not break out into a grin, especially when you see the prices.


Italian breads behind the counter

At the back of the shop you'll find shelves groaning with Italian breads: Pugliese loaves, ciabatta and focaccia for only $3.50. Wire baskets in one corner hold dinner rolls in all kinds of shapes, including ciabattine, bocconcini, triangoli, torpetini and rosettes. Leftover bread gets baked into pane al biscotto, packaged up in cellophane bags tied with ribbon. I bought a bag and have been breaking these up into croutons for gazpacho.


Pizza $5

In the corner a Vietnamese banh mi pork roll station seems out of place at first, but it's a cheery testament to the entrepreneurial partnership of owners and staff here. Locals crowd the handful of tables inside and outside the cafe, each littered with a merry combination of meat pies, coffees, pizza slices, banh mi and Italian pastries.

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Display cabinet of sweets

Because let's talk about pastries. There isn't one display cabinet. It feels more like an entire supermarket aisle. A relentless army of sweet treats will break down all your defences. You can almost hear your imaginary Italian nonna imploring you to take another pastry. "Just one more. You look too thin!" Oh nonna, you always were my favourite.


Coffee and pastries... just a few

Perhaps this is how three of us end up with a table covered in pastries. For breakfast. And research. [Side note: my double shot flat white is pretty impressive, with an intensity that's devoid of bitterness].


Orange custard mini donut $1.50
and panzerotto with ricotta and choc chip $1.50

You could go nuts (hyok) over the Nutella donuts here but we narrow in on the classic panzerotto, a moon-shaped donut stuffed with fluffy ricotta studded with chocolate chips. The mini donuts come piped with custard orange custard, caramel, jam or Nutella. At $1.50 each, you could easily be tempted to buy one of everything.


Bee sting with custard and cream $3.50

Bee sting cake, or bienenstich, is one of my favourite German sweets, combining a honey-glazed dough with a pastry cream. This version is a little heavier than I prefer but the commitment to embrace non-Italian cakes is applauded.


Mini riccia $2 each

The riccia puts us back into the warm embrace of Nonna's arms again. Riccia means curly, and refers to the more complex version of sfogliatella that separates into distinct layers. Sfogliatella translates to many leaves or layers. The mini riccia are bite-sized pastries hiding a citrusy almond paste filling. A loud crack marks the first bite as icing sugar and pastry flies everywhere.


Vanilla slice $3.50

We succumb to the classic vanilla slice, a multi-tiered construction of flaky pastry and custard. It's impossible to eat this without making a mess, and we wouldn't have it any other way.


Chocolate custard and ricotta choc chip mini cannoli $2 each

But my favourite of the lot has to be the cannoli. The pastry shells are still holding their crunch, providing a terrific snap before your teeth sink into the silky filling. The chocolate custard is good but the ricotta choc chip is even better, with a gentle nuanced tang against the occasional bursts of bittersweet chocolate.


Prosciutto and olive pizza $5

And how do you get past the sugar coma? With pizza of course. A slice of pizza draped with thick carved prosciutto is the salty hit we need. I reckon Nonna would have approved.






Fine Italian Bakery Voglia Di Pane
35 Dell Street, Woodpark, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9892 1112

Opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday 7am-5pm


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