Sant Ambroeus Lafayette

"In 2021, Sant Ambroeus opened a coffee bar and gelateria in Soho with nearly 20 flavors and options like an affogato and pastries. Bestsellers are chocolate, vanilla, stracciatella, and pistachio. There’s also the Sant Ambroeus flavor, which tastes like a vanilla sponge cake with a hint of raspberry." - Melissa McCart, Robert Sietsema

"Founded in 1936 in Milan, Sant Ambroeus serves up light, modern Italian fare in a chic, mid-century setting, including salads, panini, pastas, and crudos. There are a couple stylish, pink-bedecked Sant Ambroeus outposts in NYC (plus Southampton and Palm Beach locations), but the Soho one draws a particularly stylish crowd at lunch, especially on Fridays." - Alexandra Ilyashov

"Cake is hard to do well. It can be dry, crumbly, and just kind of boring. However, the Principessa cake at Sant Ambroeus is something we’d go out of our way to eat again. Layers of sponge are soaked with an amount of syrup that feels borderline inappropriate, sandwiched between two different kinds of cream, and topped with a pink marzipan shell that feels very princess-y indeed. Once you have this, it'll be hard to convince yourself to try other desserts here, but you should. We recommend ordering a freddo cappuccino, which has toasty, slightly bitter notes that compliment the cake suspiciously well. Almost as though they planned it. " - carina finn koeppicus

"Hailing from the same city where, legend has it, the panettone had its start in the 15th century, Milanese export Sant Ambroeus restaurant group carries a limited run of its imported panettone and pandoro across its locations in Manhattan. Sant Ambroeus suggests toasting their panettone or serving it as french toast, but a favorite suggestion is to pair it with a side of gelato." - John Tsung

"The Soho outpost of Sant Ambroeus, a chain with locations in places like Sotheby’s and The Hamptons, is one of the most reliable spots for celebrity sightings in the city— but the food here is actually really good, too. We especially love sitting down for coffee and pastries on a weekday morning off, when it tends to be less crowded here, but lunch, dinner, and yes, even weekend brunch all have good options. If you come later in the day, be sure to get a freddo cappuccino and a slice of Principessa cake at the end of your meal." - Carina Finn