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Best ice cream in London

The scoop on the capital's best places for ice creams, sorbets and gelati

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Here's the scoop! Check out our sticky-fingered guide to the best ices in the capital.

Think we've missed a great ice-cream parlour in London? Let us know in the comment box below.

Reviews by Tania Ballantine, Simon Coppock, Guy Dimond, Anne Faber, Zoe Kamen, Charmaine Mok and Jenni Muir.

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Ice-cream parlours in central London

  • Amorimo

    Amorino

    41 Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 6HF

    Amorino has a prime location, bang in the centre of Old Compton Street, Soho. As such it’s a perfect little pitstop when cruising the area. Choose your cup size at the counter (prices start at £3.30), and fill it with as many different flavours of gelato as you want. Flavours range from classically smooth hazelnut to more unusual tastes such as grapefruit or speculoos, which is made from traditional Belgian caramel biscuits. The khaki-coloured pistachio ice cream is deliciously nutty.

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  • Freggo

    27-29 Swallow Street, Mayfair, W1B 4QR

    A five-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus, Freggo is the UK branch of Argentina’s best-known posh ice-cream chain, Freddo. Its Argentinian heritage comes across strongly in flavours such as dulce de leche (they have full-fat and light versions), tramontana (vanilla with dulce de leche and chocolate cookies), and malbec and berries. Other options include milkshakes, empanadas and excellent coffee, which you can enjoy in the small, very purple interior. Two-flavour cones cost £3.95, and take-home 250g tubs are £6.96.

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  • Gelatorino

    2 Russell St, Covent Garden, WC2B 5JD

    At Covent Garden’s Gelatorino, the machines churning the ices occupy pride of place: on several visits, they served us gelati scooped straight from the frosty drums. Recipes have been designed by gelato maestro Alberto Marchetti (winner of several Italian national competitions). Be sure to try the ‘breakfast in Turin’ – a milky coffee ice with fine fragments of dark chocolate. It is an iced play on a popular local speciality, bicerin, which is a hot chocolate espresso drink topped with cream. You may also want to plump for the house affogato (£5.50). With two ice-cream flavours, in combination with espresso and the option of molten hazelnut chocolate and whipped cream, it's a decadent version of the usual pick-me-up.

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  • Gelupo

    7 Archer Street, Soho, W1D 7AU

    Gelupo is one of the London’s best-kept secrets – an outstanding ice-cream parlour not even five minutes from Piccadilly Circus. Step inside, and feast your senses. Tastes are free, and prices are from £2 - £4.50, and there's even a huge £6 tub for the gelati-fixated (or people who like to share). The ten or so ice cream flavours are innovative: lemon curd, ricotta and sour cherry ripple, even the licorice-hint of fennel seed and pine nut. The sorbets are an option if you're watching your figure, and flavours include clementine, white peach and even avocado and lemon. Best of all are the granitas – the fruit flavours of these almost-frozen slushes change with the seasons in their native Sicily. One of Gelupo’s best ices is the intensely dark blood-orange granita, with crystals that melt on contact with your tongue. Similarly, the blond almond granita is another modern classic.

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  • Gino Gelato

    Gino Gelato

    3 Adelaide St, Charing Cross, WC2N 4HZ

    Not to be confused with the sickly creations of ’90s mass-manufacturer Gino Ginelli (remember the candied peel Tutti Frutti?), Gino Gelato is the real deal. All-natural ingredients go into a dozen-odd gelati made on site from more than 200 recipes. Classics such as stracciatella (chocolate chip) and pistachio are supplemented by seasonal specials (a Wimbledon-themed strawberries and cream flavour, say). We enjoyed the bittersweet intensity of the dark chocolate and the not-too-sweet praline hit of the creamy almond, while a delicate coconut concoction spoke of far-flung holidays. There’s not much seating, but the insulating takeaway boxes claim to keep your gelato cool for up to 90 minutes – plenty of time to snag a spot in nearby Trafalgar Square.

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  • The Icecreamists

    Market Building, Unit 23 and 47, Covent Garden Market, WC2E 8RF.

    While the adjacent, and original, branch on Maiden Lane has become a 'gay ice cream parlour' (until the end of September), this is the straight alternative. The Icecreamists shouts loudest of all the ice cream parlours – but look beyond the publicity stunts, the banging music and the adolescent decor, and there are actually some decent ices on offer, many of them as sundaes, though they do come at a price. Other branch: 15 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, WC2E 7NG

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  • Ice-Cream Parlour at Harrods

    Ice Cream Parlour at Harrods

    Second floor, Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Rd, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7XL

    Once a fixture of the Harrods food hall, master gelato-makers Morelli’s has recently vacated its former spot. Its ices are now merely part of the selection at the store’s brand-new Ice Cream Parlour, which is next to the gift shop on the second floor. Seating more than 50 customers, the dazzling space is tricked out in floor-to-ceiling white with splashes of candy colours. It offers about a dozen crowd-pleasing flavours of ice creams, as well as sundaes and shakes. We were impressed by the fruity burst of flavour in a scoop of fragola (strawberry), and the mix of textures in ‘cookies’ (a milk-chocolate base with shards of chocolate-covered wafers and dark chocolate sauce). There are some downsides, however. Morelli’s bespoke flavour-making service is sadly no more, and takeaways are only available in up to three scoops.

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  • Lick

    Lick

    55 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DT

    Moments from Soho Square, contemporary gelateria Lick is well-placed to serve the sprawling hordes that descend on patches of grass come hot summer days – and it stays open past midnight on Friday and Saturday nights too. True, there’s higher quality ice cream to be had from other Soho parlours, but Lick’s USP is its array of off-beat flavours, such as mojito, red bean or honey puffs. On our visit, a portion of intensely fruity wild cherry impressed, but a somewhat cloying dollop of black sesame fared less well. Surroundings are modish, with a smattering of designer white seating and an upbeat soundtrack.

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  • Polka Gelato

    45 Fitzroy Street, London, W1T 6EB

    Polka Gelato is the latest of an encouraging trend for bijou cafés in the Fitzrovia, serving artisan ice cream in a quiet corner spot. More than a dozen gelati and sorbets (all reassuringly creamy, and pale colours rather than frightening artificial hues) are on show; refreshing fruit-based concoctions steal the show in their number and variety, from peach and pineapple to black cherry and pink lemonade sherbet. We were impressed by the creamy, slightly bitter matcha (a type of strong green tea) and a sweetly herbal rooibois.

  • Scoop

    40 Short's Gardens, Covent Garden, WC2H 9AB

    We’ve always found it a shame that this excellent Covent Garden gelateria doesn’t feature outdoor seating to complete the Italian picture. Still, the Covent Garden piazza and Seven Dials are only a short walk away, so purchase a cone and enjoy it while perched on hot cobblestones. Matteo Pantani’s sheer enthusiasm for his frankly superior product is contagious – and justified. Many of the ingredients for his frequently changing palette of gelati are imported from esteemed suppliers in Italy. The pistachio is one of our perennial favourites, thanks to the distinctive smoky, creamy flavour of nuts from Bronte, a Sicilian village known for its pistachios. There’s also an outlet on Soho’s Brewer Street, and a third one is planned to open soon in Kensington. Other branch: 53 Brewer Street, W1F 9UJ.

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  • William Curley Ice-cream

    William Curley

    198 Ebury Street, Belgravia, SW1W 8UN

    William Curley may be better known for his chocolates and patisserie, but his ice-cream collection is not one to be overlooked. Around a dozen flavours are available in the café-shop at any one time, including toasted sesame, apricot, peanut butter and green tea. More oddball options such as chocolate, rosemary and olive oil or caramelised white chocolate with miso might tempt, too. You’re likely to find popular favours such as the Toscano 70 per cent dark chocolate or the sea-salted caramel to be available most of the time. If you have time, eat at the dessert bar where creations such as strawberry tart with raspberry ripple ice cream and citrus chocolate mousse with Earl Grey and lemon sorbet are served.

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Ice-cream parlours in north London

  • Bull and Last

    Bull & Last

    168 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, NW5 1QS

    Since 2010 this gastropub has been selling takeaway ice creams as a sideline, which has proved popular wilth strollers from nearby Hampstead Heath. There are typically five flavours to choose from, which change daily. On one day, for example, there might be Ferrero Rocher, rum and raisin, blueberry marshmallow and millionaire’s shotbread. Nab a few to take on to Parliament Hill.

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  • Chin Chin

    Chin Chin Laboratorists

    49-50 Camden Lock Place, Camden, NW1 8AF

    Most ice cream is made slowly, in a freezer. Not here. The laboratorists freeze ice cream to order using liquid nitrogen: a theatrical process involving a few KitchenAid mixers, lab coats, beakers and lots of ‘mist’. Choose your flavour, and watch the boffins pour the liquidified gas, with a -196C temperature, to create your ice cream. The flavours are always changing, though on our visit ‘sweet cherry pie’ was the week’s special. More recently, cajeta (a Mexican goats’ milk caramel) has been tickling the local tastebuds.

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  • Cremeria Vienna

    145 Blackstock Rd, London, N4 2JS

    Blackstock Road, the stretch between Finsbury Park and Highbury, is best-known for its Turkish grocery stores and cafés. Now, an Italian ice cream parlour is throwing some gelato into the mix. Cremeria Vienna, which already has a previous branch in High Barnet, is making a mark with its daily-changing selection of ice creams and sorbets.

  • Marine Ices
    Book online

    Marine Ices

    8 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 2BL

    Family-run, retro and utterly charming, Marine Ices has been open since 1928 and is a north London institution – which has as much to do with the friendly, buzzy vibe as the ices. All the gelati and sorbetti are own-made, and the range of flavours is stunning. Coffee (made from arabica beans), pistachio (with bits of the nut nestled within) and Caribbean coconut are all agreeable choices, and refreshing fruit ices come in versions such as mandarin, passion fruit and lime.

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  • Paul A Young

    33 Camden Passage, Islington, N1 8EA

    Some of the best ice creams seem to be made by those who dabble in the cacao, it seems (see ChocStar and William Curley). Paul A Young, the acclaimed chocolatier, is dedicated to all that is delicious – it’s only natural that ice creams would be part of his repertoire. Made each morning with all-natural ingredients (proper double cream and the highest quality chocolate, of course), Young rolls out flavours such as his signature sea-salted caramel, as well as white chocolate, milk and dark praline, and a lower-calories dark chocolate sorbet. As if the ice creams weren’t decadent enough, you can also add crunchy cocoa nibs and Valrhona chocolate syrup. The Soho flagship is not currently making ice creams, but both the Islington shop and City branch are. Other branch: 20 Royal Exchange, Threadneedle Street, EC3V 3LP.

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Ice-cream parlours in south London

  • Chocstar

    ChocStar

    Usually located at Real Food Market, South Bank

    As the name suggests, Petra Barran’s sweet treatmobile is a purveyor of all things chocolate, including dense, cocoa-rich ice creams and fudgey brownies (which you can have in a sundae). The dark chocolate ice cream is our obvious go-to flavour, but there’s also tart raspberry sorbet, creamy vanilla and even Nutella flavours. ChocStar can usually be found at the Real Food Market on the South Bank, but alas, the van doesn’t stick exclusively to London roads – this summer, Barran will be touring around the UK, parking up at festivals in Dorset, Sussex and Bromley. She’ll be back at her South Bank pitch on the weekend of August 18 to 20, then again a few weeks later from September 2 to 4.

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  • Gelateria Danieli

    Gelateria Danieli

    16 Brewers Lane, Richmond, TW9 1HH

    Squeezed into a narrow shopping arcade, this small gelateria dishes out superior sorbets and ice creams. Wooden floorboards and a couple of chairs inside make it cosy in winter, when flavours such as marrons glacés, marzipan, and hazelnut and cinnamon come to the fore. In summer, however, the interior seems cramped as queues stretch out of the door, so best head down to Richmond Green to enjoy your selection. Friendly staff invite you to try before you buy when not rushed off their feet. The coffee's not bad, either. Other branch: 47 Queenstown Road, SW8 3RX.

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  • La Grotta Ices

    La Grotta Ices

    Usually located on Maltby Street, Bermondsey, SE1 3NY

    Kitty Travers’s tiny van is a rather unassuming vehicle for such a range of unusual ice creams with flavours that defy convention. She can usually be found pitching up at Bermondsey’s Maltby Street on Saturday mornings, and the ‘menu’ frequently changes depending on what ingredients Travers has sourced direct from farmers, from contacts or from foraging herself during the week. Elderflower, cucumber and sour cream, blackcurrant custard and peach leaf ice creams have all featured at some point, while a pink gooseberry and hazelnut crumble offering is one of her newer creations. And while the locations and ingredients change constantly, the milk and crème fraîche reliably come from Ivy House Farm.

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  • Nardulli

    29 The Pavement, Clapham, SW4 0JE

    This small, simply decorated ice-cream parlour is handily located on the northern perimeter of Clapham Common. It’s a low-key, traditionally Italian affair, with a score or so of the more traditional flavours made by Lorenzo Nardulli and his small team. The ice creams here are smooth-textured and clean-flavoured – just like a proper Italian gelato should be.

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Ice-cream parlours in east London

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Ice-cream parlours in west London

  • Dri Dri Gelato

    189 Portobello Road, W11 2ED (020 3490 5027/www.dridrigelato.com).

    There are around 20 flavours of ice cream and sorbet at the Notting Hill branch of this Italian gelateria. All ices are made in house, and seasonal ingredients are used to make a flavour of the month. Other branch: Chelsea Farmers' Market, 125 Sydney Street, SW3 6NR (020 8616 5718); St Martin's Hotel, 45 St Martin's Lane, WC2N 4HX.

  • Foubert's

    2 Turnham Green Terrace, Turnham Green, W4 1QP

    A curiously plain-looking place tucked into the bottom of a Chiswick townhouse, Foubert’s continues – as it has since 1978, though not at the same site – to dish up a couple of dozen flavours of ice cream in the ultra-vivid colours beloved of under-tens. Well-textured and creamy, the coffee, rich wild cherry and tangy lemon sorbet flavours came as a monstrous £4 ‘large’ portion in a cardboardy old-style cornet. The place really comes to life as soon as the severe-looking old lady locals simply call ‘Mamma’ has a child to dote on: you’ll have eavesdropped on an entire dictionary of Italian endearments before your cone even starts to melt.

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  • Gelato Mio

    Gelato Mio

    138 Holland Park Avenue, Holland Park, W11 4UE

    Despite having spawned a handful of younger, shinier offshoots across London, this original branch remains popular as ever, with queues often stretching down Holland Park Avenue. Cheery staff in bright orange T-shirts dish up generous portions of gelato in a score of traditional flavours (think pistachio made from nuts dried in the Sicilian sunshine), along with sorbets, sundaes and shakes. On our visit, we sampled a terrific amareno (delicately creamy fior di latte with chunks of marinated dark cherries); classic stracciatella (the same subtle base, but this time swirled with shards of chocolate), and an intensely dark and cocoa-spiked cioccolato. Other branches: 37 Pembridge Rd, W11 3HG; 138 St John’s Wood High St, NW8 7SE; 495 Fulham Palace Rd, SW6 6SU; 204 Haverstock Hill, NW3 2AG.

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  • Gelateria Valerie

    9 Duke of York Square, Chelsea, SW3 4LY

    Duke of York Square, near Sloane Square, is prime territory for people-watching. Pull up a chair outside the glass building where Chelsea Gelateria Valerie sits, and savour creamy gelato in flavours such as Irish cream, after-dinner mint, tiramisu or blueberry under the shade of the big, bright-blue umbrellas. Handmade on site each day and with more than two dozen flavours on show at any one time, the selection should sate even the pickiest of gelati connoisseurs. If you’re eating in, the coolly decked-out interior offers swivel stool seating all along the glass frontage. In addition to the gelati, they have a range of ice-cream sundaes, like the ‘Picasso’ (£6.70), which combines seeded vanilla and wild strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and raspberry sauce.

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  • Oddono's

    14 Bute Street, South Kensington, SW7 3EX

    Known for its popular kiosks in Whiteleys and Selfridges, this renowned gelateria also runs a standalone outlet on a South Kensington side street. Genial T-shirted staff go out of their way to make people welcome, waving at children and treating regulars as family. On offer are around ten flavours of gelato, mostly of the chocolate or nut varieties, plus five sorbets. On our visit, Sicilian pistachio came packed with nutty fragments, while the bacio flavour combined milk chocolate gelato with swirls of dark chocolate and pieces of hazelnut to great effect. Other branch: Selfridges (020 7318 3344); Food Inc, Whiteleys (020 3489 7561).

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Map of the best ice-cream parlours in London




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Comments

By Francesco - Jan 31 2012

You are missing the best one..... LA GELATIERA

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By Giancarlo - Dec 8 2011

I tried Disotto Foods new Vero Gelato at the Restaurant show and it was amazing!!
It is a completely natural product and is so clean, smooth and great innovative flavours! it has just been launched and I cant wait to see it in shops as unlike all the other gelato out there it completely natural.

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By simon - Nov 29 2011

Have any of you tried Purbeck Ice Cream? They seem to be getting around the country now and they make really nice Ice Cream

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By LotBeegeSex - Nov 25 2011

AQICOGJKJUCGJ http://www.wolfwebdesign.net TMOFPVLWRTUYE http://www.huesitoslandscaping-llc.com WJMODJUGBBDAQ

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By Ben Hepworth - Sep 12 2011

The very best ice cream i have tasted is in my local chip shop called The beach Hut at Highbury barn off Highbury Park Road, its from meadow cottage farm and they are the only London outlet for this i,m told. They do not advertise at all and i have no doubt that when Time out discover this unique shop it will soon become one of Londons best.

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By Lee - Aug 6 2011

I love gelato so much and just had the Blood Orange sorbet at Zizzi and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. So cool that Kitty from La Grotto mentioned in this list, created it for them. Combo of this and the crema was so delicious.

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By Katy - Aug 6 2011

RILEY's in Crouch End...the most delicious Lemon water ice I've ever tasted and a great selection....cannot believe this wasn't on your list!!

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By Aiescia - Aug 6 2011

I will definitely put Zazà in Canary Wharf as my favourite. I'm dairy intolerant and I eat only fruit ice-cream, it's very difficult to find nice, tasty, fresh and creamy fruit ice-creams without dairy in it. When I tried my first 'frutti di bosco' scoop last year I was amazed, I felt like back home in Italy! People, you must try it, I think they have a shop in Westfield too.

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By Les - Aug 5 2011

It would have more useful to grade all shops with stars and even more helpful to post prices. Some shops charge an arm & a leg !!

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By Kim - Aug 5 2011

If you want great ice creams and alcoholic sorbets go to the 'Ice Bar' a small 'bar' in the schoolyard section of Broadway Market where they sell Minghella [Isle of Wight] ice creams and sorbets including Pina Colada, White Russian, Absinthe Sorbet, Mango Vodka Bellini to name just a few. It may not be an ice cream parlor but it's great.

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By plucker - Aug 4 2011

I've been to Marine Ices twice and both times it was disappointing. The gelati are not good quality -- the pistachio is fluorescent and the sorbets are sickly sweet. Been to Gelupo a couple of times as well and I must say that I am not totally impressed with it either. Flavours are very original, however, quality and taste are poor and tend to be on the sweet side. Portions also border on the small side as well. Scoop is a perennial favourite. Great gelati with a more classic range of flavours. Agree with the authors that the pistachio is one to try. I always have it when I go. The portions are generous and good value as well! Contrary to the review, I really liked Lick and the black sesame flavour is really good! It was creamy and rich and tasted exactly like what black sesame should taste like. Try it! I also had hazelnut at Lick and it was very tasty with crunchy hazelnut pieces throughout. Prices are a tad bit on the steep end though.

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By NorthLondonmum - Aug 4 2011

What about Gelato Mio in Muswell Hill? Gr8 one there and much better than most of the others listed

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By Veggiegirl - Aug 4 2011

Would be even better if you mentioned whether they are veggie friendly!

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By Rachel - Aug 4 2011

La Grotta ice cream is indeed amazing! I had a gooseberry crumble one YUM.

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By MC - Aug 4 2011

There's a really good place called Slice of Ice in Hampstead (village), one of the little back streets, that does FAB ice cream. Good coffee too http://www.slice-of-ice.co.uk

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By Antoine - Aug 4 2011

How about Gelato mio? The strawberry sorbet is just the best in London!!! You guys should include them in this list

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By ohmissjones - Aug 4 2011

You have some glaring omissions from this list! really doesn't seemed to have changed much from your previous years article...
What about Zaza in Canary Wharf or Lab G in Brixton Market. Both amazing gelato places, with great flavours that actually taste of something! I still don't understand why Scoop is on this list, i found their gelato bland and tasteless, ESPECIALLY the pistachio!!

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By Luisa - Aug 4 2011

Waiting for the new Jumbled Frozen Yoghurt to arrive at Tossed Westfield Stratford on 13 September - healhty or naughty or a combination of both.

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By Simon - Aug 4 2011

South London has had a bit of an ice cream revolution of late – Brixton has two geletari serving Argentinian ices (one with an amazing salty caramel), and a certain French chocoletier in Peckham is buying in some delicious scoops made locally, not to mention the goats milk icecream van in Borough market with its hokey-pokey-with-a-twist...

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By Simon - Aug 4 2011

...and at prices generally starting around £1.75...

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By Judy - Aug 4 2011

I visited Gelato Mio, Notting Hill on Tuesday and was disappointed as the serving was a 1/3 of its usual size.

Gelupo is excellent, I tried the ricotta and cherry flavour at the Soho food feast. I'm looking forward to visiting the shop.

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By Judy - Aug 4 2011

I'm usually a big fan of Gelato Mio but was served a cone in the Notting Hill branch at a third of the usual size on Tuesday :(

Gelupo is exellent - tried the ricotta and cherry at the Soho food feast. Looking forward to visiting the shop.

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By Caterina - Aug 3 2011

You are so right about Gelatorino. We are addicted. It is better than most gelato in Italy, and I should know as I spend half my time there. As far as I know, no one else in London uses this old-fashioned method which is great. Thanks for existing Gelatorino!

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By Dotty - Aug 2 2011

The brand new geletaria on Warren Street called Polka Gelato - opened less than a week ago - is fabulous. Grab a scoop and then relax in the beautiful and historic Fitroy Square nearby.

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By Katie - Aug 2 2011

Frae frozen yogurt is where it is at!

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By Gavin - Aug 2 2011

Rendezvous in Leicester Square has a great range of ice creams and frozen yoghurts. Lots and lots of flavours to choose from.

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By Siobhan - Aug 2 2011

I agree with most of the choices. On the southbank you must add Caffe Alba - part of a row of shops/cafes/galleries under the oxo tower - tasty, well-textured ice cream with super cute servers (worth paying a visit just for them).

Internationally, Venice airport has surprisingly good gelato so do try the stunning fior di latte

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By Anna - Jul 31 2011

So I am moving to London from New England and can't live without Ice cream... and I mean Ice cream not gelato...HELP!!!!

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Kármen Geszler
By Kármen - Jul 30 2011

Gelato Mio is really the one of best place to get really nice ice -creams.. just 2 sec. walk from Holland Park Tube station :)

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By simona - Jul 30 2011

I think the best ice-cream in London isat Gelato Mio. You should have definitely included it in your list!

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By LB - Jul 30 2011

there's a new (well to me at least!) ice cream place in Crouch End called Riley's that's really good. They have fantastic chocolate ice cream, as well as Turkish Delight that's pretty interesting. hopefully they do well and stay for a while, Crouch End needed a good ice cream stand!

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