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Romolo's Cannoli & Spumoni Factory makes and serves specialty Italian frozen desserts for communities of the San Francisco bay area. Family operated by the Cappello's since 1968, Romolo's is famous for:
Italian Spumoni Ice Cream
Sicilian Ricotta Cannoli
and Ice Cream Cannoli
The cannoli are amazing, and our other treats are equally great, including; ice cream, tartufi and more. Also, our full service cafe is hot all day.
Romolo and Angela Cappello came to America from Sicily, Italy in 1958. With them they brought know how and a dream. Ten years later, the original Romolo's opened in San Mateo. Romolo and Angela worked hard for many years and achieved success in building a business, a community and a family.
To the delight of many, their grandson, Joey Romolo Cappello, has stepped up to carry on the family tradition of Romolo's Cannoli and Spumoni Factory.
Joey vows to continue producing authentic desserts according to the original recipes, from scratch, by hand, using the best ingredients. As well, keep the store open during summers.
Keep cool by treating yourself to the best ice cream and cannoli in town.
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4 reviews
To say that I love Italian food would be an understatement. I am IN love with it, and by far my favorite treat has to be the cannoli. After trying a few different ones, any connoisseur could tell you that not all cannoli are equal. It takes a knowledge, a history, and a true love for what you do to create an excellent cannoli.
Having said as much, many might claim you can not find a true cannoli on the west coast. I may have agreed with such sentiments until I stepped foot into Romolo's. Admittedly, I've never been to Italy(I am moving to Europe in a few months and Sicily is at the top of my list for places to visit), and while my experience in seeing Italy has been mostly limited to the Travel Channel, I must say that it feels every bit like what I've seen of Italy. It's a warm atmosphere that is most definitely a welcome throwback to simpler times where employees and customers saw each other as people first and foremost, and were friendly. I was instantly greeted by Joey, the grandson of Romolo and Angela Capello (the original owners of Romolo's, who came to the United States from Sicily in 1958 and opened the shop a decade later). Joey has decided to take up his grandparents' trade (they are currently in Italy, where they vacation every year from late June to September), and it is greatly appreciated. It is apparent that, in every way, his family has taught him how to respect not only people but what he does for a living. I got a genuine sense that this gentleman actually cared about the people that come into his shop, and wasn't doing it because some employee handbook told him to. I'm expending so much effort on this review because you just don't see that very often, and I'm damn respectful when I do.
Absolutely no expense is spared here. The cannoli are made from the moment you order (cannoli are not cheap hamburgers - you don't make them and then let them sit in the freezer for a month). They offer different versions of their cannoli, though their pride is the chocolate dipped cannoli. Let me tell you - it is the best dessert I have ever had. It has so many different types of flavors in it, all absolutely perfect, such that your first bite is just as good as the last. They also have ice cream filled cannoli, and while I'm sure they're delicious, real men want the real stuff. They also have spumoni (the real stuff, which I got a half gallon of; I will be tearing through it shortly), and regular ice cream if that's your fancy.
If you're like me and sick of giant conglomerate companies that sacrifice customer service, proper ingredients, and proper recipes so they can save you a buck, then this place is the answer. Great atmosphere, great customer service, and unbelievable authentic Italian desserts. Do yourself a favor and check it out.