The lads at Parallelo (Matteo, Marco and Francesco) employ an impeccable artisan ethic when it comes to their ice creams. 'We are artisans in the strict and traditional sense of the word: we do not receive or use any finished product, like processed hazelnut paste; we roast the hazelnuts and make the paste ourselves.' Craftsmanship and proximity are top priorities, and they use the best local product they have on hand, such as hazelnuts from Reus and pistachios from Lleida.
Also of the utmost importance is seasonality: they make ice creams that evoke the sensations of each season. For example, for summer 2020 it was a pine ice cream made with pine nuts from Castilla (at €80 per kilo!) and green pineapple that they travelled to the Costa Brava to pick up, infused with cream. The intention was to reproduce the aromatic notes of the Mediterranean forest. Matteo adds that the milk and fresh cream they use are local, from the Cal Porta farm. In summers past they've made a seawater sorbet infused with pine needles and pine cones, to bring to mind taking a dip in the Mediterranean Sea off a small tree-covered cove.
Parallelo opened in 2017 and has become one of the great artisan ice cream parlours in Barcelona. And whether you're looking for experimental, out-of-this-world flavours and textures (they did a limited-edition yuzu ice cream with caviar!) or high-def classics, like the lemon or strawberry (from Barcelona), you will not be disappointed.
