Lauretta’s Italian Bake Shop & Cafe

Decided to try this place for dinner while looking for a Condo or apartment in the area. My first reaction is to say that I’m sure I’ll be a regular here if I end up living nearby! Quaint little place with not many tables but I did not have to wait to be seated. Outdoor seating as well but I chose to sit indoors.
After I was seated, the place filled up quickly.
I had spaghetti with spicy marinara and shrimp. Very good portion and the right amount of spice — very very tasty! The shrimp were good sized and very fresh.
For dessert I had 2 mini cannoli which were filled to order. If these were any indication of the quality of their other baked goods, then I’m going to gain 50 pounds!
Since it was my first time here, I only rated it 4 stars. And, the waitress was so busy, I had to ask her for a napkin as there was no «setup» on the table. Otherwise, this place is great!

I love this place. It reminds me of the treats I got at old NY Italian bakeries in my childhood, except this place has the sit down café option those rarely did. I try to drop in for lunch every time soccer tournaments bring me to the area. It is a good classic Italian bakery, wroth a modest, but solid selection of pastries, and a good diverse selection of traditional Italian bakery cookies (including the old school frosted fig cookie) and biscotti. And the ladies at the counter are always helpful. The «cheese sticks» (sweet ricotta filled puff pastry tubes) are a tasty little novelty.
But then on top of that, they serve real food too. You can come in for delicious pasta, eggplant, salads, and sandwiches. They don’t have a lot of tables, but just enough every time I have been in with my family.
These places are a dying breed, and we need to do what we can to keep them alive. Supermarket bakeries can’t touch the quality of a good mom and pop bakery. Keep the dream alive.

My first five-​star rating.
Start to finish, delicious. A wonderful meal, terrific attentive casual staff.
Portions are perfect with the prices. Don’t feel ripped off, but don’t feel gross after cleaning your plate.
Will be back to sample some more goodness. This place is a gem.

Great find from Unilocal!I pass this shopping center every day on my way home from work and had no idea this place was there. Let’s just say now, that has totally changed. I went here last night for dinner… Quaint little restaurant, probably about 15 tables inside and maybe 7 outside (on a nice day). There was the dessert area, everything displayed behind the glass (like other Unilocalers takes about). I ordered the olive & hummus and the caprese skewers appetizers. Delicious! I also ordered the caprese panini entrée with homemade pasta salad. For dessert I ordered 2 Nutella kalachkis (bad spelling sorry). The food was a little pricey, but worth it. You definitely get what you pay for and more. I will be a repeat customer in the future!

A pricey option for Italian food but if you love fresh, authentic Italian cuisine that’s made-​to-​order look no further than Lauretta’s Italian Bake Shop & Café. All the items I tried exceeded my expectations — prepared simply but with a very satisfying taste due to the quality of the ingredients.
The tomato basil bisque had a delicious sweet sourness, bursting with tomato flavor which matched perfectly with a clear taste of basil. The soft shell crab retained the sweetness of the crab and paired nicely with perfectly prepared pasta. The spaghetti bolognese had a nice hearty meat sauce with just the slightest sweetness. The tenderness of the meat showed that it had been stewed slowly and carefully. The fruitti di mare had very fresh seafood. The shrimp was large and tender and the mussel & clams added a nice flavor to the sauce. The freshness of the seafood was really the star of this dish. The cannoli was filled after we ordered to keep the different elements prepared in the best way possible. The shell was perfectly crunchy and the filling was very smooth and creamy.
Overall, I would’ve liked a bit larger portions and lower prices but the taste and freshness of the food was excellent and justifies another visit some day.

This place is fabulous. It reminds me of the food I had in Highwood when I was a kid. The staff is great… as is the hot garlic bread. A great place for all. Glad we found it.

This place is dope. The food is incredible, the prices are great, and the restaurant is small and cozy.
Real story. They have the best cannolis you will ever eat. No joke, I’ve had cannolis from all over the world and all over Italy. These are the best. They fill them fresh and the pastry is nice and crispy. Get. The. Cannoli

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write a review. I have been a loyal customer to Laurettas for years. The food is amazing and the service is always friendly. I have never been disappointed with anything I have ever ordered but the bolognese is out of this world! I dream about it! This is my favorite place to go and I couldn’t say more positive things.

I just moved to Mundelein and I enjoyed this place. Very homey. A small place with great home-​made food. Their Paninis are delicious. Especially their baked goods. I have not gone during dinner time, but I bet its delicious!

Had lunch here with the current wife Great staff, I believe Sally is her name. Food was delicious, I had lasagna, wife had spaghetti. We ordered a bunch of sweets to take home… and they were marvelous as well. Hope to stop back when in the area.

My husband had the cheese tortellinis w prosciutto, peas and mushrooms! I had the butternut squash ravioli with sage sauce! Out of this world! Everything is fresh and like homemade! I love the bistro atmosphere!

Best Cannoli’s I have ever had! The food is wonderful and the service is great. It would be nice if there was more dining space but it’s not the end of the world.

Been there several times. Many.
Best about it? Fresh tasty food– love the bread, mussels, salads and «lobster tail» dessert filled with pastry cream, and of course our waitress for at least a half dozen of the times we visited: Elly.
Why not 5 stars? Somewhat inconsistent– I go for the garlic bread and three times in a row it was different… and the last time we visited they had run out. Seafood pasta is also sometimes better than others. Not sure why.
I’ll still go back because the place is terrific and the food generally can’t be beat. The bakery products are really wonderful.

This is another wonderful find via Unilocal.You can easily blink and drive bye it or overlook it due to its strip mall location. Don’t let that throw you off. Once inside it presents a warm and cozy feel and actually offers a nice patio for those nice summer afternoons or evenings. The menu offers a wide variety of items and everything I have tried so far has been very well prepared. The sandwiches actually impressed me more than the pasta at this point but have to try a few more items before I drive that point home. They do offer beer and wine although the wine selection isn’t the best it’s serviceable. And if you enjoy Italian cookies and cannoli save room because they have a great selection. The owner takes pride making sure things go smoothly and efficiently. It’s a wonderful option in the area and will be back for more.

They had me at desserts.
I heard about Lauretta’s desserts from Unilocal reviews but I didn’t realize they also had a restaurant side.
We stopped by there a couple of times for desserts but didn’t try dinner until recently. Their assorted desserts & cookies are delicious. There cannolis are also amazing. The décor is very homelike with family photos and knick knacks. They have a small dining area but during the warmer months, you could sit out in their outdoor patio area. Their staff is always polite and friendly.
When we finally went in to have dinner, we noticed there were a few families dining as well as couples. They offer daily specials along with their regular menu selections. They do have a smaller menu selection but this makes decision-​making process easier.
We started off with garlic bread which was really good. We had a choice between soup or salad, I went with a salad. The Mediterranean salad was OK.
With Italian food, I always go with my favorite Eggplant Parmesan. But I noticed that one of their specials was «gnocchi with vodka sauce» — very tempting. But then again I noticed they had lasagna & spaghetti. I could not make a decision, it was driving me crazy. The server raved about their Bolognese sauce. Because of her reaction, I decided to go with the spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. I could not wait to try it out and decide for myself since I am a very picky eater.
Well— the Bolognese sauce was A M A Z I N G!!! The sauce was full of flavor & there was just enough meat in the sauce. The portion was huge (enough for two Luna meal portions).
I tried my husband’s Eggplant Parmesan — it was OK. But I am curious to see how their lasagna is — maybe next time.
Towards the end of our meal, I went up to the dessert section to order 1 pound of cookies as well as 4 cannolis to go. Have I mentioned that their cannolis are delicious? They fill the cannolis when you place your order —-fresh.
I left very content & full. I am still craving that Bolognese sauce.
I would recommend Lauretta’s. It’s always nice to support small local businesses.

Cute shop!
Mussels– just not memorable… BUT chicken piccata was delicious and so was lasagna.
Sweet waitress, very attentive.
Carrot cake was deelish!!!
Gem of a place.
You can get «real food» plus homemade pastries

What a cute little place! Stopped here early on a Friday night, 5 PM, and had a great meal. Glad we were here early as there was a wait to be seated by the time we left.
First they brought some complimentary warm garlic bread, it was so tasty, we went through 3 baskets!
We had lasagna, eggplant parmesan sandwich, Frank Sinatra sandwich, and chicken parmesan. We were full but had to try the tiramisu and the excellent cannoli.
We will definitely be back!

Review based on their cookies…
We finally stopped in here after dinner at another place in the area. It’s a small place located in a strip mall off Route 45.
As you enter, there is a glass case with some cookies inside. As my wife and I were hovering trying to decide, the women behind the counter told us that there are other cookies and items around the front of the desk/​case. More choices «Now we’re talking».
As I mentioned before the place is small so it’s tight inside. As we were choosing the cookies in the case we kept getting in the way of the staff. I felt bad at first but then we were there to by some cookies from them and it’s their floor plan. I went with my favorite Italian cookie «Lemon Cookie» and a coconut cream pie while my wife went with her usual choices. We then asked if they have cannoli. Where she said that they do and that they fill them to order. We ordered three to go.
The coconut cream pie was delicious. The coconut on top was tender while the filling was creamy and the crust was perfectly made.
The lemon cookie is fantastic. It is very soft and has a fluffy texture and of course a nice lemon flavor. It literately melts in your mouth.
The cannoli is the best I’ve ever had. The cookie is nice and crisp while the filling is deliciously creamy. With the pistachios on the outside it gave it a nice fresh overall flavor. As I stated earlier, I bought three cannoli, one for my wife, one for my son and one for me. I’m not sure that I mentioned this to my son that we got him one so I may end up eating his cannoli as well. Just saying.
We will definitely be back for cookies and will be back to try their dinner. A solid 4 stars.

Small authentic Italian café tucked away at the end of a small strip mall across from Bills Pub in Mudelein.
Service: Very warm, friendly and accommodating. I was offered samples of various Italian pastries and left with a good variety. Lots if conversation. I felt very welcomed. Service was quick and attentive. Food came out pretty quick and everything was pretty darn good.
Atmosphere: quaint for a strip mall. Includes a side patio that is a must weather permitting.
Food: Great. Just great. Everything is made from scratch and tastes great. Had a Mediterranean salad and chicken sandwich. Everything tasted fresh.
Value: moderate price with top notch food quality. Portions were good.
Note: The proprietress is the daughter of Gino… who owns and runs Maria’s bakery café in Highwood… another fav of mine :-))

UNEXPECTED ITALIAN
We were driving down the road and needed to find a place for dinner. We pulled out the Unilocal App and we saw that this place was coming down the road. We saw it from the road noticing an outdoor patio and we pulled in.
The patio was packed but we were able to grab a table on the inside. Our waitress Elly was a sharp cracker for her age. She was very friendly and took a liking to our little one. She even wanted to know all of our names. It was really cute.
The location is small on the inside. It doubles in size when the patio is open, so they must love the warm weather that is finally here. I have no idea how the cook gets all this great food out. He has one oven with six burners. I wanted to watch him for a few minutes as he just made pasta dish after pasta dish. It was impressive.
All entrees come with a salad or soup. The Mediterranean salad came with mixed greens, red onions, olives and beans. It was a very thoughtful salad for being included with the entrée. The cup of minestrone was good too but our little one claimed that. She loved it so much she had to tell the owner Lori herself. We learned that Lori made the soup, so she definitely deserved the compliment.
My girls ordered the Meat Ravioli in a Bolognese sauce. Elly our waitress was nice enough to have the order split and served on two plates. We didn’t even have to ask her. The sauce was delicious and the meat inside the ravioli was ground very fine. They were delicious. I was having pasta dish envy.
My order got screwed up but I couldn’t say anything because our waitress Elly was so nice. She was working so hard and I just couldn’t do it. I wanted vodka sauce and meatballs. I asked Elly if I could get vodka sauce with the Spaghetti and meatballs. She said no problem. I ended up with Spaghetti with a Vodka Bolognese Sauce. I kind of said to myself Bolognese is like crumbled meatballs. It was a long day for us and I just wanted food. I wasn’t going to let this little mishap ruin or delay our dinner. I must say that the dish was really good. It was also piping hot. I had to let it sit for 5 minutes and it still had steam rising up. The combo sauce of bolognese and vodka was yummy. It was an honest mistake but it was a delicious one.
I can’t forget about the complimentary garlic bread for the table. It was so good. There were real bits of garlic on the bread. I must say that there is a lot of thought in every dish that comes out of the kitchen.
At the end of dinner we were able to talk to Lori the owner. I was happy to hear her family was from Sicily. Who knows maybe we are cousins! I learned from Lori that her Dad owns Maria’s and that the bread and baked items come from there. I thought that was really cute. There is a large selection of Italian cookies available. Lori was nice enough to let our daughter pick out a cookie for herself. They also have coffee and espresso available.
So if you find yourself in the area and you are hungry for some homemade Italian, then this is the place. The owner and staff are very sweet and they work really hard to keep the customers full and happy.