Lezza Spumoni & Deserts

As far as Italian bakeries go, does Lezza’s outshine all others in terms of authenticity?
This was my burning question and I needed to put out the fire…
I mean, we all know they’ve been killing the wholesale market for decades upon decades, but that’s another story…
Knowing the name Lezza is famed in the Italian dessert world of Spumoni, Cannoli and Italian Ice since 1905 (yes, over a century) without a doubt, they’re doing some things right. After moving its retail shop from Bellwood to Elmhurst, I was in need of dessert for a dinner party and headed straight for the cases to find ANY traditional ITALIAN pastry I could…
Nope. I wasn’t here for Italian Ice or Spumoni…
No doubt you’ve seen the name in the freezer section of select grocers; various gelatos & Ice. The cannoli you just ate at the restaurant your dining at, it was probably from Lezza’s too. Its a name many have grown up with and have associated with authentic Italian treats… many except me. Only thing I remembered about Lezza’s was their Spumoni, a treat I haven’t had in years…
My Selection:
Sfogliatelle (aka Lobster Tail), Napolean, Monachini (named Monageen here — semi open faced pastry filled w/​either cannoli or custard, I chose cannoli)
& 1 Cannoli.
Tiramisu, Pasticcioti, Rum Baba, Tartufo and Cannoli cakes were Italian classics featured as well.
Americanized desserts displayed: various cheesecake slices, cakes, muffins, brownies, cupcakes, coffee cakes and danishes. Another case with assorted Italian cookies and one with gelato. Various flavors of Italian ice. They use Lavazza for their espresso and cappuccinos.
Now — there are a few outstanding old school bakeries my family & I have been going to for YEARS, so I know what I like. When it comes to custard and cannoli, I am VERY particular and this is the standard by which I always judge a good Italiano bakery. If you grew up as a 1^st generation Italian, your probably picky too… there was simply no way to escape them as they were at every family function, celebration or dinner table…
There were 4 girls working behind the counter and service was efficient and helpful with a fair amount of customers inside. as well as a few occupying tables while enjoying their treats… Plenty of tables, bar stools along the wall and a separate room for private parties. They keep this place spotless.
Wanting to sample the gelato, I tasted the Cannoli flavor. It was more vanilla than anything. They make a seasonal Cinnamon Vanilla (fyi) I was hoping to try, but it wasn’t offered.
I grabbed 4 Italian Cookies — Chocolate Nut, Lemon Cookie, Soft Biscotti w/​dried fruit & nuts and Paste Burro. none of which were memorable. The chocolate in the Chocolate Nut was so mild and cookie was dry. Lemon Cookie had a forward lemon flavor from the icing alone that threw me off… The Biscotti was soft and not bad… Paste Burru is a butter cookie and was topped with pistachio crumbles… just ok. Cookies were very mediocre to me.
As far as the pastries, they were very fresh but I was not impressed AT ALL and neither were my non Italian friends. If I had to choose one, it would be the Cannoli. Crispy shell, filling was thicker & a little sweeter for my taste when I really just want that whipped ricotta to shine… The ricotta is everything in a cannoli for me. Wasn’t the best I’ve had, but not bad.
While the Sfogliatelle (lobster tail) looked gorgeous and visually perfect, the end result was disappointing. Beautiful layers of crispy, flaky pastry, but after one bite — crunch was all I heard. Overkill on the crunch.
The filling — — sparse. Little custard with candied lemon. I was hoping for more here.
Traditionally, these can be filled with French or whipped cream or custard.
This didn’t leave me wanting more…
Napolean was the sore loser of them all. The flaky pastry layers were ok. Instead of being layered with custard, this was layered with what reminded me of a sweet buttercream. I’ve ONLY ever had Napolean’s with custard. I’m all for variation, but it missed every mark for me.
After my purchase, a friend and I grabbed a cappuccino and split a slice of Key Lime Cheesecake. We both felt it was overly sweet and not the creamy light texture we were hoping for… I stopped after 2 bites. We were told everything is scratch made, cheesecake included.
Cookies — $ 10/​lb. or .48 cents each.
Pastries — $ 3.25 each. Cannoli — $ 2.25.
Having grown up with Italian cookies and pastries,
I’m going to be a tough critic. Honestly, Chicago Pastry (formerly Turano bakery) was better.
You, on the other hand may love the Italian (or other) offerings…
Heaven knows they don’t need my business!
*inserts giggle*
3 stars for a good cannoli and very friendly, helpful service.
May Lezza’s «Live Long» and continue to prosper.

Spectacularly sweet! Authentic Italian pastries that never disappoint and hand crafted spumoni, Italian ice, delicious cakes, to name a few.

I ordered cupcakes for my party last week. I sent them a photo of the very detailed decoration that I wanted. They did a great job — they looked EXACTLY like the photo that I showed them. Couldn’t be happier! And they tasted fabulous! Thanks so much!

Fantastic service and even better pistachio gelato. We also sampled several pastries and spumoni… must say, well worth the stop in South Elmhurst.

Met a friend for coffee and something sweet. The coffee had absolutely no taste. How hard is it to make coffee? I had a spumoni biscotti which was tasteless and my friend had a crêpe, which was ok. I’ll probably give it one more try based on other’s reviews but not in a hurry. Nice inside and outside seating.

When I was out of any other options for sweets, I opted for Lezza. This place is perfectly located with spacious seating. It serves mainly bakery stuff, ice cream and cookies. I had lemon knot and coconut macaroons, both tasted below average.
I also tried Fudge bomb pastry which was very usual in taste. I was expecting more but it failed. nothing special about it !!!
Thanks to my husband who helped me out in finishing it.
I would like to try more from the menu next time. Especially the cheesecakes.

Good bakery and gelato and decent coffee. Just wish they had savory items so we could enjoy a meal.

I believe this is the same Lezza that’s located in Bellwood which I’ve never been to in the 15 years I’ve lived out here. My family and I decided to go here since we were at a nearby event in the park. They had free samples of donuts which was nice and also very delicious… kinda like gourmet munchkins. LOL They had a chocolate covered and cinnamon donut which were really good. I’m glad they had the free samples because the gelato I ordered was a sample size. I was shocked once she brought it out to me! I literally laughed out loud! I thought it was a joke! She asked for another size up, but I didn’t feel like bothering and it was expensive enough for the small.
Overall, it was a bit expensive and wouldn’t come here often.

Leeza Spumoni & Desserts, Inc. is relatively new, with bright displays, scrumptious appearing delectable sweets and eager staff who «love everything» they sell. Went there wanting to bring a few desserts home for family & friends to try. Everything looked perfect. The staff is sweet, just not helpful when I want to buy a small box of treats, but certainly not everything they’re hawking. I was still on my own when I asked what their specialties were, as both the lady and young gentleman said «everything is fantastic.» Okay… Once again, I’m not here to buy out the shop or enough treats to feed the City of Chicago. So, I randomly picked some items that the guy behind the counter said were great. Here we go again, but I guess when you’re exuberant about your workplace, everything seems wonderful. Something to note, their shopping bags are really quite nice. In an age where you’re lucky to get a bag at all, it’s nice to see this place put some artistic energy into their bags. If anything, it’s good advertisement as these bags are made well and appear to be usable several times over. Keep in mind, Leeza is a chain and they’re all over the USA. Perhaps this is why I love the look more than the taste of the product.
Here’s an opinion of what we tried:
Cannoli — probably the best dessert of what we tried. The shell was perfectly crunchy, slightly sweet and complimented the filling perfectly. While I’ve had better, these are worth returning for.
Flourless chocolate cake — eh. We’ve had better. Moist, relatively decadent but definitely not the rich dark chocolate flavorful as it looks.
Pumpkin cheesecake — good, but not great. The pumpkin flavor was slightly weak and the cheesecake wasn’t the New York style I anticipated. It was tasty, just not memorable enough.
Turtle cheesecake — good, not great. I think it’s because the cheesecake itself is slightly blah, perhaps missing the density and strong tastes of New York style cheesecake, which this just isn’t. The walnuts, chocolate and caramel are a nice accompaniment, but would be better with a more dense and more flavorful cheesecake.
Butter cookies are fine, but nothing spectacular. Grocery store cookies are just as good. The Italian Ice looked good, as did the gelato, but neither had the flavors nor the appearance to grab my attention. A decent place for desserts, but not something that can rival Chicago’s best.

Great new bakery in Elmhurst. Much needed for this side of town. We love to walk there for a gelato or Italian ice with the kids. Love the Italian cookies and their cannolis. Reminds me of my childhood. Coffee isn’t the best but that’s not what I go for.

This place is fantastic. Everything I’ve tried so far (which is a lot, I keep finding reasons to stop in!) has been very high quality. I ordered a cannoli cake for my daughter’s baptism this past weekend, along with some cookies and pastries, and everyone commented on how delicious it was. They were so easy to work with and custom decorated my cake and made it look beautiful. Lezza will be my go-​to bakery from now on, and I’m so happy they moved so close to me!

Outstanding! This is the real deal. Family owned~this bakery has authentic Italian delights that remind me of my childhood. I’m so glad to have somewhere to just walk down and grab a cone with my daughter or even stop in for treats to bring to work.
The cakes and pastries look beautiful – so much better than grocery store bought. I’m willing to pay for QUALITY desserts. Love that they also do cakes for birthdays and cupcakes for events – this will be our new go to place.
We are so excited to see this side of town blossom… I told the owner I feel the value of my house just went up b/​c of them!

So excited to see this place open in Elmhurst! So many goodies to be found here. Instead of the same ‘olé frozen yogurt, we’ve got Italian ice in not just 2 flavors, but 8 different kinds and loaded with flavor. Same with the Gelato. So smooth, so loaded with personality. Do NOT forget to take some Spumoni home. Candied fruit and whip cream center with 4 layers of ice cream (chocolate, rum, pistachio, and strawberry). We grabbed some cookies but I forgot the names of them all so couldn’t tell you which we liked best but they were all very good. Guess we’ll have to go back :).

This place has the product along with the Family history! This is a must stop for anyone visiting Chicago! Spumoni, Cannoli, Pastries, Italian Ice, cakes, you name they have every Italian dessert made to man.

Great bakery and gelato place! Love the cannoli cake the most! Can’t find better in the city.