Barcelona's best ice cream

Massimo Pignata’s DelaCrem has become a Barcelona fixture since opening in 2010, and with this newer adventure, he experiments with new flavours and allows patrons to see part of the ice cream–making process. They still offer the classic flavours, but they’re also developing new recipes, such as vegan cashew cream, apricot and cashew, and roasted apricot with rosemary. Apart from ice cream, Obrador Delacrem has a simple café and also makes up horchata. Don’t leave without trying the house speciality, ‘affogato’: a scoop of ice cream inside a cup of coffee with milk ‘drowned’ by espresso. 

At Parallelo, craftsmanship, proximity and seasonality are top priorities, and they use the best local products to 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 and green pineapple from the Costa Brava, infused with cream. The intention was to reproduce the aromatic notes of the Mediterranean forest. 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. Whether you're looking for experimental, out-of-this-world flavours and textures or high-def classics, you will not be disappointed.

Takashi Ochiai is one of the great pastry chefs in Barcelona, and as of late 2019, he's also had his hands in ice cream. With the help of Italian artisan Andrea de Bellis, Ochiai has developed a traditional Italian ice cream parlour with Japanese touches. As with their pastries, the ice creams are made with only quality and local products, and you can get gorgeous flavours like the strawberry, lime and 'yuzu' sorbet, or the chocolate and ginger. Try the amazing black sesame ice cream, or ask for a 'tayaki' – a puffy fish-shaped cone used in Japan that's worlds better than the often indigestible wafer you might find at lesser establishments.

'When you see that an ice cream parlour has more than 25 flavours and calls itself artisan, you have to be suspicious of the place. They don't have time to make them.' Alessadro Gaetano, a partner at OGGI (Officina Gelato Gusto Italiano), is blunt in this regard. In 2016 he opened his first space outside of Italy, and is proud to do it all from scratch using no pastes or ready-made ingredients. Refreshing flavours like wild fennel, mint and basil – a Sicilian classic – colour the palate in high definition. And if you need divine intervention to get you to try them, know that OGGI are official suppliers to events in the Holy See.

Possibly one of the best Italian ice cream shops in the city. They have a huge variety of flavours, and all of their products, including the Sicilian cannoli, are prepared with natural ingredients and no artificial colouring or preservatives. It’s paradise for lovers of healthy treats. Viva Italia!

This artisan ice cream parlour specialises in ice cream made with tropical fruit: its owners are from Venezuela, and you can try flavours made with exotic fruit you might not be used to, but they are and only too happy to share, such as guava, cherimoya and soursop. The owners learned their ice-cream making in Italy, and all their ice cream is made by them. There are specialities that are pure gluttony, like the Madagascar chocolate cake with passion fruit. If you're a fan of peanut butter, ask if they've made any that day; and the pistachio is the best you'll ever have. Their waffles are also good, and home-made with quality butter. They're open all year.

The fundamental pillars at artisan ice cream parlour DelaCrem are daily production and the meticulous selection of ingredients to guarantee the highest quality of the final product. Massimo Pignata and his team show pure passion for making their ice cream by hand, slowly but surely, and with pride. Plus, during the production process, they use only gluten-free products, so that all flavours are suitable for coeliacs, and their fresh-fruit sorbets do not contain any derivative of animal origin so are ideal for vegans.

If you’ve ever wondered what exactly sets ‘artisan’ ice cream apart from the regular stuff, the mint chip at Natas is a case study, with its fresh, natural flavour of peppermint leaves like you’d get in a mojito. Other selections promise more pleasant surprises at Natas, where some of their best is on the menu of seasonal flavours that you can’t find elsewhere – during summer try the mango lassi, which flawlessly converts the popular Indian yoghurt drink into ice cream. And if you like alcohol in your dessert, there are always options like the Valenciano, which combines vanilla with orange juice and rum.

Get your ice cream served with a dose of happiness when you order Sicilian artisanal ice cream from Cosi Duci. What sets it apart from other Italian ice creams? Owners Fabio Pitrola and Laura Alaimo say it's their generosity, explaining that they serve their portions up with shovels, not in scoops. They also opt for strong flavours with plenty of substance. They praise the work of their Tuscan ice cream maker, Samuele Querciola, who crafts all the ice creams every day and excels in vegan varieties and citrus flavours like lemon and basil.

The ice creams at Gelatomania are fantastic, whether you opt for one of the classic flavours (there are up to 25 of them) or creations that owner Roberta Bernasconi, originally from Lombardy, Italy, comes up with, such as the mascarpone cream with apple. Without coming off as pretentious, she claims to have the key to a good ice cream: a good product and the balance between fat, sugar and air. Her workshop in view of customers, and the prices are friendly.

The walk-in, walk-out Gelateria di Michele offers rich and natural home-made scoops that manage to avoid tasting too sweet – the trap many ice creams fall into. The selection is small, but that’s a good thing here. As for combining flavours, try Oreo and coffee together for something unique that you’ll want every time you go back. Michele’s classics such as the chocolate and the mint are exceptional too, and if you’re looking for something outside the box, try the peach, or one of his frozen yoghurt selections. You could also just walk in and ask for Michele’s recommendation; you’re sure to be satisfied. 

The ice cream at Rocambolesc isn't made and stored for serving in the usual pozetti for scooping, but rather each time the lever of their machine is pressed, the ice cream is made instantly from an artisan base and into fun shapes, like the finger of the Columbus statue you see at the foot of La Rambla. The result is a creamy sorbet and a nuanced, less cold ice cream that spares the icy shock to your teeth. They have six flavours you can get with garnishes: we highly recommend the incredible baked apple flavour made with caramelized apple. 

Gocce di Latte is yet another example of the Italian dominance ove ice cream parlours in our fair city that makes us green with envy and eternally grateful all at once. Mateo and Rita opened Gocce di Latte in 2012, and in addition to the tradition of Italian excellence, they bring an original and popular repertoire of flavours: turmeric, mandarin and rosemary, or cardamom and dates, for example. So precise are their creations that a bartender at a five-star hotel confessed that he was inspired by their ice creams to combine flavours in his cocktails.

Cookona is German owner Sabrina Trier's vision of cookies. She redefines sliced ice cream by making sandwiches with her amazing cookies and an ice cream filling as well as cookie dough, all from her bakery, and home-made production. Imagine vanilla ice cream nestled between a pair of red velvet and banana cookies. Or a cookie cup filled with liquid caramel, a scoop of chocolate ice cream, another of cookie dough and dipped in solidified chocolate. And lest we overlook the three-layer brownie, with a ridiculously chocolatey brown base, topped by cookie dough and chocolate ganache.

The first organic ice cream shop in town makes all of its ice cream from cow’s milk, using fruit that has not been treated with chemicals. The fruit ice cream may not be that bright, radioactive red you’re used to, but the flavour makes all the difference. They have varieties such as crema catalana and dark chocolate, which is a real favourite.

Elisabeth Veciano is the owner and heart and soul of La Glace, an ice cream parlour that also offers other treats, like horchata, churros, cookies and even empanadas. The display of ice creams in classic flavours that she purchases from a quality artisan supplier include chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, coffee, pistachio and coconut, and sorbets in raspberry, lemon, mango and passion fruit. The philosophy behind La Glace is to provide a space where you can get something good to help you enjoy every moment.

Get a show along with your ice cream hand-made on a plate at cooled to -30°C. They start with a base of skim milk and yoghurt (it's light and adapts well to the flavours you choose), then crush in more ingredients (fruit, cookies, chocolate...) as they mix it all together on the cold plate. The mixture solidifies as it's worked, and then it's scraped off into coils, and these 'waves' are put into a tub and sprinkled with a topping.