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Ruby Violet is an ice-cream parlour for adults. There are no pastels or outlandish novelty flavours here. But there is wine by the glass, dim lighting and cosy spots to eat ice cream that’s simple, handmade with local ingredients and (sometimes) boozy.
All the best flavours were vanilla-with-a-swirl-of-something, though it wouldn’t be wrong to get a scoop of creamy, delicious vanilla on its own. Kentish Town honey and honeycomb was the clear winner. Legend has it that the swirls of sweet local honey and crunchy shards of honeycomb are so fresh in this flavour that the local bees come out to play while it’s churning. Raspberry ripple, with vanilla and a sweet swirl of fresh fruit, was also a delight, and felt like a lighter, less rich option. Salted caramel with almond brittle and apricot with sour cream were both lovely, but a little too sickly to finish, while tiramisu was nice but (be warned) tasted more like rum than coffee, chocolate or cream.
There are hard milkshakes, hot chocolates and dessert spirits available on the drinks menu. Two hot chocolates (one short and intense, the other long and frothy) were beautifully presented on a golden tray but sadly were otherwise unremarkable.
It’s quite romantic at this branch of Ruby Violet, so the perfect time to visit is late at night when you’re with someone and you’re not quite ready to go home. If you’re here during the day, though, with kids in tow, don’t panic: they’re more than welcome. Plus there’s a Ruby V ice-cream cart parked outside. So cute.