The best ice cream and gelato in London

A cool evocation of Sicily in Soho, Gelupo is strongest on the classics, but also serves scoops of ricotta sour cherry, mint stracciatella and apricot sherbet. You’re always guaranteed a great range of flavours and service is zippy. Italian biscuits, coffee, and an appealing hot chocolate offering make Gelupo a handy spot to know all year round, not just during ice-cream season. Late closing also makes it a cool alternative to the pub after an outing to the theatre or cinema.

Address: 7 Archer Street, Soho, W1D 7AU

If the sun isn't a big enough clue, you'll know its a hot day in Stoke Newington by the size of the queue at Romeo & Giulietta. This artisan gelateria offers silky, authentic Italian gelato as well as numerous serving suggestions about the best combos to try. They're not wrong when they recommend a scoop of Pistacchio with their Ricotta and Caramelised Figs, or for vegans the Extra Dark Chocolate Sorbet with a serving of Black Cherry Praline. 

Address: 137 Albion Road, Stoke Newington, N16 9JU

Across streets and souqs from Damascus to Beirut, booza – probably the world’s oldest ice cream – is served out of cylindrical freezer drums. When Festok opened in Marylebone in 2017, London was graced with a Lebanese artisanal approach to this ancient tradition. There are so many enticing options that multiple trips will be required; from the typical flavours of rose, pistachio and achta – where the frozen milk is stabilized by mastik (arabic gum) and sahlab (orchid powder) – to halva, date, carob, and chocolate. 

Address: 65 Weymouth Street, Marylebone, W1G 8NU

Ice Cream Union offers over 50 flavours, and you can try them every day of the week at the Sloane Square branch, or on Saturdays at their Spa Terminus, Bermondsey factory, which is, tantalisingly, only open to the public one day a week. Flavours include banana split, mango sorbet, raspberry ripple, lemon pie, and Pimm’s. Ice Cream Union prides itself on making its own nut pastes, fruit juices, ripple sauces, and honeycomb. A new Soho location opens this summer. 

Address: 166 Pavilion Road, Chelsea, SW1X 0AW, 8 Ganton Street, Soho, W1F 7QP and Unit 1, Discovery Business Park, St James's Road, SE16 4RA

A Filipino take on an ice cream parlour, Mamasons peddle the kind of tasty stuff you’ll find on the streets of Manila. The signature flavour is ‘ube’ (made with a native purple yam), but brace yourself for salty cheese-based ‘queso’, vegan-friendly kalamansi or goth-tastic ‘black buko’ (coconut combined with activated charcoal made from the coconut shell). 

Address: 32 Newport Court, Chinatown, WC2H 7PQ and 91 Kentish Town Road, NW1 8NY 

The Ice Cream Project is a strange, delicious beast. A pop-up from handbag designer Anya Hindmarch, it takes over 11A Pont Street in Chelsea every summer, with wild flavours based on household condiments and classic sweet treats. Previous flavours have included McVitie’s Penguins, Jaffa Cakes, Kikkoman Soy Sauce, Perello Olives and Maldon Sea Salt as well as Ovaltine flavour. Dare you?

Address: 11 Pont Street, Chelsea, SW1X 9EH

This summer you can find travelling soft serve merchants Soft & Swirly and their airy goodness at E5 Bakehouse by London Fields. Expect grown-up flavours such as loganberry and sheep’s ricotta as well as salted black sesame, honey with lemon and cardamom, and malted vanilla. Sorry kids, this one's for the adults.

Address: 396 Mentmore Terrace, London Fields, E8 3PH

It‘s all about cornets and coupes, sundaes and scoops at this fun (but pricy) spot on the first floor of Fortnum & Mason – although the famous location means that you’ll usually be surrounded by box-ticking tourists and families with kids on a spree. The ice creams are made by an artisanal outfit in Bermondsey and the flavours are classic: ‘Fortnum’s Florentine’ is the house scoop, but also expect mint choc chip, raspberry ripple, pistachio, strawberry, coffee and so on. Cakes, shakes, savouries and boozy floats complete the offer.

Address: 1st floor, Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, W1J 9FA

An oldie, but a goodie, Oddono’s has a whiff of continental chic about it. Tried-and-trusted flavours such as mango, strawberry and coconut will see you right. There are branches across London, including Stoke Newington, Battersea, Hampstead, East Dulwich and Chiswick.

Address: Try the South Ken spot at 14 Bute Street, SW7 3EX 

Founded in Florence almost a century ago, Badiani arrived in London in 2015 and now has 10 shops across the city – some concessions, others full-on cafés. Don’t skip the fresh ’n’ fruity strawberry sorbet or the milky coffee flavour. The dark chocolate-chip sorbet is intensely bitter, definitely one for grown-ups (steer kids towards milk choc instead). Badiani’s signature flavour is named Buontalenti (after a Renaissance gelato innovator) and is a pared-down hit of cream and sugar; it’s also available with a gooey ripple of pistachio, swirled in upon serving. Extra novelties on offer include chocolate-covered mini cones and gelato ‘burgers’: a toasted brioche stuffed with ice cream.

Address: Try the Chelsea cafe at 303 Fulham Road, SW10 9QH

Funny name, seriously good ice cream. Located by Borough Market, white-tiled 3Bis (the postcode of Italy’s first ice-cream factory, apparently) has a playful feel, with cabinets full of chocolate-splattered lollies and a whirring gelato machine churning away in front of you. Quality doesn’t come cheap, but it’s totally worth it. A second branch is now trading on Portobello Road.

Address: Borough Market, 4 Park Street, SE1 9AB and 178 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11 2EB

Those nitro-fuelled experimentalists at Chin Chin are the Willy Wonkas of the ice cream world, and this Soho shop is an ostentatious showcase for their wares. There’s some seriously elaborate stuff going on here, as well as a range of signature ices (anyone for burnt butter caramel?), ice cream sandwiches, and desserts.

Address: 54 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 3DS

With ten London outposts (Battersea, Covent Garden, Soho, Hampstead, etc) Venchi are now about as well-known here as they are in their native Italy. Venchi started out making chocolate in 1878, before wisely getting stuck into the gelato game. Their cold, creamy wares encompass over 90 flavours, from the esoteric (extra virgin olive oil or parmesan, anyone?), to the classic (pistachio, nougatine, stracciatella, tiramisu), while using their own rich, potent chocolate. 

Address: Try the Covent Garden flagship at Unit 18, The Market, WC2E 8RB

Udderlicious is one of the jolliest organic ice cream parlours in town with its bunting, pompoms and swing seats. Not surprisingly, it has a devoted following – customers can even suggest a ‘Flavour of the Month’, and the resulting winner is rewarded with a free scoop every day for four weeks. With flavours ranging from peanut butter and chocolate to raspberry cheesecake, you’re spoilt for choice.

Address: 187 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1RQ

The ice cream at this cute café near the Royal Opera House is churned fresh every day in machines from Italy, kept in traditional lidded pots at the counter and served with a spatula – it’s so super-smooth there’s no need for a scoop. The flavours, too, are unashamedly old-school, and all the better for it: the nougat, panettone and gianduja are exceptional, while the coffee-flavoured ‘Breakfast in Turin’ is a worthy signature lick.

Address: 2 Russell Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5JD

If putting a smile on people’s faces was an Olympic sport, La Gelatiera would definitely go home with a gold. Their spot in East Village, E20 in Stratford, is more sociable than the Covent Garden original, with a ‘theatre’ where you can watch the gelato being made. They rotate the menu each day, but the stockpile of 90-odd flavours (including sorbets) is always intriguing. 

Address: 1 West Park Walk, East Village, Stratford, E20 1DH

On sunny Saturdays, the queue for Nardulli stretches most of the way back to Clapham Common tube station. You won’t find any techy whizz-bangery here: just classic gelati (Valrhona chocolate, liquorice, macadamia nut) made the old-fashioned way. There are a handful of tables, but we’d recommend you skip them and take your choice out onto the Common. 

Address: 29 The Pavement, Clapham, SW4 0JE

Born in Italy but now trading across London, cheery family-owned Unico is part gelateria, part caffè. If you fancy a luscious lick or two, there are 13 ‘classic’ and ‘gourmet’ flavours to choose from, plus vegan options and some guest stars (they’ve been known to whip up the odd batch of Vegemite gelato). Can’t choose between a cone or a cup? You don’t have to, thanks to their portable – and edible – wafer ‘goblets’. There are branches in Notting Hill, Fulham and St John’s Wood, in addition to the UK original in Bromley.

Address: 78 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UE