Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread  is in Italian culture.  Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries.  Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions.  Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years.

Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy.  Whether baking bread for home or operating a panetteria  and (or) a panificio, traditions are passed on from one generation to another.  Note:  In Italy, a panetteria is a shop that sells bread while a panificio is a place where a baker bakes bread.  Those lines , however, are often blurred, and the two places may be the same, called a forno (a term which also means oven).   Many of Italy’s bread-baking traditions have largely transcended the distance between the old world and the fruited plain.

One readily apparent example in the Land of Enchantment is Sergio’s Bakery and Cafe.  In 1980, Sergio DeBari purchased the Kitchen Fresh Bakery in Santa Fe and moved it to Albuquerque in 2000 where it was renamed La Dolce Vita (the good life).   In 2012, La Dolce Vita relocated from Lomas Boulevard to a shopping center space on the northeast intersection of Wyoming and Candelaria.  The bakery was renamed “Sergio’s” in honor of the family patriarch and his grandson Sergio who runs the bakery along with his sister Annabel.  Sergio (the grandson) has been baking since the tender age of seven.

Operating out of a 4,800 square-foot space, Sergio’s is everything you could possibly want from an Italian bakery.  In addition to fresh breads, doughnuts, cookies, pies sweet rolls, Sergio’s offers day old baked goods at a discounted price.  You can also enjoy pizza, sandwiches (hot and cold) and even a smash burger (Bill, are you reading this?).   Several shelves are dedicated to Italian comestibles you won’t find elsewhere.  Daily specials are available until the restaurant runs out.  With such specials as “an assorted six pack of French crullers, alongside an awesome limitless pizza, a salad of choice, and wings of choice for only $30,” it’s no wonder Sergio’s is bustling with activity.

Though we’ve driven by Sergio’s many times, we had no idea how bounteous this bakery really is until our friends Lynn Garner and John Martin raved about it.  During our inaugural visit, we ran into several first-timers, every one of which told us they’d be back.  Like many of the first-timers, we weren’t sure about the ordering process (such as whether we should pick out our pastries of choice before ordering our meals) but were accorded so much patience and helpfulness that it’s easy to see why so many visitors return.  As busy as Sergio’s was, our servers made us feel like the most important guests in the bakery.

We had to do a double-take upon espying the sandwich menu which is labeled “Forghedaboutit Subs.”  Had we not noticed the one character difference in spelling, we might have thought something was amiss.  That spelling difference brought to mind how much we miss our very favorite Italian restaurant Forghedaboudit Southwest Italian  and the Yacone family.  There are nine sandwiches on the menu and you can have them crafted on your choice of bread (baguette, bun, rye, sourdough, etc).  On the sandwich menu you’ll also espy a smash burger and a half-sandwich and soup option.  Sandwiches come with your choice of French fries, chips, cup of fruit, pasta or side garden salad.

23 August 2024: For my Chicago born-and-bred bride, no sandwich menu is complete unless it offers an Italian beef sandwich.  To denizens of the Windy City, Italian beef sandwiches are on par with Da Bears.  They’re an institution recently made known to the rest of the world by FX Network’s “The Bear.”  Sergio’s Italian beef sandwich (beef soaked with gravy, hot peppers and Cheez Whiz) on a baguette has all the essential elements though Cheez Whiz is a Philadelphia affectation never found on true Chicago Italian beef.  My Kim ordered her sandwich sans that processed cheese sauce and hot peppers) and asked that her sandwich be dipped in the gravy.  Her verdict–authentic enough to please a Chicago gal.   That means tender tendrils of moist beef seasoned with plenty of oregano and served with au jus on the side.  I liked it, too, though would have preferred it with hot peppers.

23 August 2024: Our friend Lynn has often lamented not finding a good meatball sub anywhere in Albuquerque.  For any of us who have lived on the East Coast, that’s a common complaint.  Throughout the East Coast, meatball subs are roughly the size of a baseball and they’re drenched in a red sauce (gravy, if you will) as wondrous as ambrosia was to the gods of Olympus.  Sergio’s offers Momma’s Meatball or Sausage (Provolone, peppers and onion on a baguette).   As the photo above will attest, the meatballs are tiny and obscured by the cheese and onions (until you bite into the sandwich and sauce explodes out).  Marinara sauce is provided on the side for dipping.  The highlight of this sandwich is the bread, a soft and chewy canvas that makes a great home for any sandwich.

23 August 2024: Sergio’s offers something bakeries in Italy don’t have.  That’s loaves of bread baked with green or red chile.  Also on Sergio’s menu is a green chile stew (potatoes, ground beef, carrots) even native New Mexicans (being one of them, I know) will love.  After not being able to finish my portion, our gracious server filled a to-go cup, giving me a very nice dinner.  This green chile stew isn’t particularly piquant, but it’s got that inimitable aroma roasted green chile offers.

6 June 2025: Most of us are guilty of it. When we read labels like “Italian beef sandwich” and “muffuletta,” we assume those delicious creations had their genesis in Italy.  According to Lidia Bastianich, an Italian-American celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur, “The Italian beef sandwich seems to have its roots in Italian weddings and celebrations as a frugal way to offer meat.”  However, she clarifies, “Chicago is the birthplace of this sandwich.”    Numerous other sources confirm that you won’t find an Italian beef sandwich anywhere in Italy.  Similarly, you won’t find a muffuletta…at least not the type of muffaletta which originated in New Orleans.

Now, the Sicilian Food Culture website tells us that in Sicily, a muffuletta is a “a rounded sesame loaf, typical Sicilian, very soft, fragrant and perfect to be stuffed in various ways.”  Moreover, “muffulettas date back to the times of the Roman Empire when Sicilian bakers used to mix doughs with recipes of Middle Eastern and Greek origin, to witness the role of the hub of the Mediterranean.”  If you’ve spent time in New Orleans, you’re probably quite familiar with the Crescent City’s version of the muffuletta.  It’s so much more than just a loaf of Sicilian bread.  In New Orleans, it’s a classic Italian sandwich stuffed with cured meats (ham and salami), Provolone cheese, olive dressing and great bread. The olive dressing sports chopped green and black olives with onions and olive oil and spices, and the bread is a round sesame-seed roll big enough for sharing.

Having lived for eight years on the Mississippi Gulf Coast just 90 miles from New Orleans, we were frequent consumers of the city’s best muffulettas.  Only on very rare occasions have we discovered a restaurant offering a muffuletta in the Land of Enchantment and most of those places were short-lived.  To say we’ve missed one of the most delicious sandwiches in the world is an understatement, so it was a thrill to discover that Sergio’s offered a muffuletta as a special.  Sergio’s Facebook page warned that the sandwich often sells out.  “Please tell me you haven’t sold out of the muffuletta,” I pleaded at the counter.  Fate was with us.

Sergio’s muffuletta wasn’t Frisbee-sized like the muffulettas we enjoyed so much at New Orleans’  Central Grocery.  That sandwich could feed a family of four (or just me back in the day).   Though I’m no longer the trencherman I was in my youth, the addictive flavors of an outstanding muffuletta meant I would be finishing it all.  Every element of a perfect muffuletta was there: the round sesame-seed roll with a delightful crunch outside and warm, fluffy interior; an olive tapenade with its salty, briny, umami-enhancing notes; and the combination of cheese and cured meats.   I’ll be monitoring Sergio’s Facebook page to find out when the muffuletta special will next be offered.  It truly is a special special.

6 June 2025:  It’s always made sense to me that great bakers should be able to bake the very best pizza you can find.  After all, a great bread is the canvas upon which ingredients are placed. Pratt and Chris Morales at Golden Crown Panaderia certainly validate my contention.  So do the great bakers at Sergio’s.  Though we had often espied pizzas being delivered to tables throughout Sergio’s, my inaugural pizza was in the form of a slice.  No ordinary slice was this.  A golden crust speckled with light char was topped with sausage, ham and green chile.  The green chile was eye-opening with a potent piquancy New Mexicans can respect.  The slice was thin, especially where it tapers to a fine point.  You’ll need your fork for about a fourth of the slice, but after that you’ll enjoy picking it up and eating it the way pizza is meant to be enjoyed.

6 June 2025:  Not surprisingly, desserts at Sergio’s are worthy of multiple visits.  You’ll be hard-pressed to decide what to have from a seemingly endless variety of pies, pastries, donuts, cinnamon rolls, oh my.  My early favorite is the apple fritter, luscious deep fried donuts filled with apples and cinnamon and drizzled with a light frosting.  Crisp, tart and sweet, they’re donuts self-actualized.  For my Kim, it’s the creampuff, classic French dessert filled with cream and dusted with powdered sugar, that calls loudest.  Both of these diet-devastating sweet treats are wonderful.

Immediately next door to the cafe portion of Sergio’s is a bakery in which Annabel creates custom cakes for any and all occasions.  It’s yet another reason Sergio’s should be on your “must visit” list.

Sergio’s Bakery and Cafe
2740 Wyoming Blvd N.E., Suite 8
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 554-2602
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 6 June 2025
1st VISIT: 23 August 2024
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 23
COST: $$
BEST BET:  Green Chile Stew, Italian Beef Sandwich, Meatball Sandwich, Cinnamon Roll, Muffuletta, Slice of Pizza,
REVIEW #1416