[title]
Home to the flagship Hummingbird Bakery, several crêpe stalls and, now, the second branch of gelato parlour Morelli’s, this short stretch of Portobello Road is a sweet-toothed shopper’s dream. The constant throng of customers by the chiller comes as no surprise – curveball flavours like peach bellini, wildberry sorbet and Kilimanjaro coffee alongside the usual Italian gelato suspects makes the selection process positively fraught.
Mercifully, staff offered samples without prompt and the Morelli family’s recipe – passed down through five generations – is creamy, smooth and remarkably light. The lurid alphonso mango and bright white coconut gelato both zinged on the tongue and the Sicilian pistachio was satisfyingly bitter. The humbly named chocolate velvet was the surprise star of the bunch – silky vanilla shot through with hazelnut and chocolate spread. Nutella nirvana, basically. There are kitsch pile-em-high sundaes too but, honestly, such celestial flavours deserve to be left unsullied. It may not look like much from the outside, but grab a cup or cone from Morelli’s and you’ll be one step closer to la dolce vita.