While Hallie Meyer grew up in Gramercy, she found her calling in Rome. With a love for all things ice cream (and restaurants—her father is Danny Meyer, after all), Meyer spent five months living in Italy, working her way through kitchens and gelaterias across the capital. When she returned to NYC, she brought her love of gelato with her, opening Caffè Panna in 2019. New Yorkers quickly caught on, and even to this day, lines remain out the door for just a taste of her Italian-inspired ice cream. In 2024, Meyer brought her famous ice cream to Brooklyn with a second outpost landing in Greenpoint.
The tan brick building that houses Caffè Panna is relatively easy to spot, with a constant line wrapped around the corner. While you wait, it's common for a staff member to greet you, allowing you to plan your order before approaching the window. Every sundae starts with a base of your choice, from house classics such as the Vanilla to coffee bean-infused stracciatella. You can find rotating varieties of the day here too, from Marshmallow Croissant to swirls of Blackberry Cheesecake. Dress it up with a drizzle of fudge, strawberry or even a few glugs of olive oil, and get a little crunchy with a topper of homemade Oreo brittle or flaky sea salt. No matter how you mix and match, each creation receives a dollop of the airy, whipped panna on top made with ingredients imported from the motherland. The newest location also serves granita, a middle ground between Italian ice and sorbet. Surprise, surprise—flavors of this Italian frozen treat rotate as well, from coffee-infused to fruit-forward.
When the weather is nice, the ice cream shop sports a few tables and chairs outside, while standing on the sidewalk is perfectly acceptable. But if you need a bit of AC, you can always hang around the interior and even peep beyond the glass partition to see how the ice cream gets made. Check the ice cream shop's IG for daily specials or show up and be surprised by what's new in the freezer.