Pastizzi NYC

Authentic Maltese pastries delivered fresh

Taste tradition

Bringing Malta’s beloved Pastizzi to the heart of NYC with every flaky bite.

A Family Tradition, Reborn in New York

In the bustling streets of Zabbar, Malta, our family’s story began.

In the 1940s, Manuel Cassar, known as Tal-Haybu, launched his chain of bakeries, Gazin’s. It was there that he perfected the flaky crust and creamy ricotta filling that locals came to love.

That craft did not stay with one generation.

He passed it down to his son-in-law, George Darmanin, known as Talkina, teaching him every detail, every fold, and every bake. The tradition continued exactly as it was meant to, by hand, with care, and with pride.

In the 1960s, the family brought that tradition to America.

By the 1980s, the next generation, twin brothers Manuel and Grazio, known as Gemelli, carried it forward in New York. They opened Valletta Bakery in Astoria, Queens, named after Malta’s capital. For thirty years, it was the heart of the community, where the same recipes and techniques lived on.

The journey did not stop there.

From Valletta Bakery to JMJ Baking Corp, and later to Leli’s on Broadway in Astoria, the family continued to shape pastizzi side by side, keeping the tradition alive through decades of hands-on work.

Over time, those places closed.

And with them, something rare disappeared. No one was baking authentic Maltese pastizzi in New York anymore.

But the legacy never left the family.

Today, Zizzi’s Pastizzi brings it back.

Launching this May 2026 in Merrick, New York, Zizzi’s Pastizzi continues a tradition built across generations, rooted in Malta and shaped through decades in New York.

This is not something new.

It is something that was always meant to return.

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