London’s best ice creams, sorbets and gelatos – and where to get them
Cool down with one of London's best ice creams and gelatos, made with seasonal fruits, the finest ingredients and a whole lot of creativity
Published: Tuesday 15th June 2021
When it's hot outside, there's only one way to keep your cool: a creamy, dreamy ice cream or gelato. But any old ice cream just won't do – it's all about finding the very best; the silkiest soft serve, the zingiest sorbet. No Twisters or Choc Ice here, thank you very much. No, it's all about artisanal ice creamists (yes, that's a thing) using the finest ingredients.
Of course, not all ice creams are created equal. Gelato, or ice cream made in the Italian method, is particularly revered. It's made with butterfat whole milk and sugar, but despite its creamy texture tends to be lower in fat than your usual frozen dessert. And because of the way it's made, it's got less air in it – giving a dense, flavour-packed texture that we just can't resist.
Sorbet, on the other hand, just contains fruit and sugar, which means no dairy (and making it an excellent choice for our vegan friends). It's still made in an ice cream maker, giving it a scoopable texture with none of the creaminess.
Elsewhere, some new-school makers like Chin Chin use liquid nitrogen rather than a traditional machine. This is a faster way to make ice cream, and because it's faster, it makes it less likely that crystals will form – so it's easier to make get the smoothest, silkiest serve. It also makes it easier to transport – just in case you fancied getting your sweet treat delivered to your door.
Whether you want to go all out with a candyfloss cloud cone from Milk Train (extra, but we like it) or fancy a simple scoop from Nardulli's down in Clapham Common, we've got you covered. Here's where to get your grubby mitts on London's best ice cream.
If you're looking for London's best gelato, this family-run ice-creamery takes traditional Italian methods and churns in seasonal British produce. Like the family that run it, flavours represent a fusion of British and Italian heritage, ranging from Kentish cobnut to Amalfi lemon and rosemary. If you're not satisfied with just a scoop, you can take home a tub for all your emergency gelato needs.
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This isn't just gelato. It's luxury gelato. That means handmade ice creams using organic Jersey milk sourced from a farm in Somerset; nuts sourced from the mountains of Italy; strawberries and raspberries from Kent; and a blood orange sorbet that received a Great Taste Award. Visit one of the four boutiques across London or the mini-boutique in Selfridges, order a gelato and feel fancy.
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In London, you're never far from an Amorino: the global gelato giant boasts branches from Clapham to Covent Garden to Camden. But there’s a reason why the gelateria has garnered international acclaim: its ice creams are very, very good. The L'inimitable is widely considered the showstopper here – think nutella in a solid, cold, creamy block – but the the fresh and zingy sorbets (think organic Sicilian lemon, and lime and basil) punch above their weight, too.
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Fortnum & Masons brought us the knickerbocker glory. Thank you, Fortnums, thank you. But if you don't want something quite as outrageously decadent, The Parlour serves up simple scoops of top-notch ice cream – including many in unique flavours – as well as floats, sundaes, frozen yoghurt and sorbets. There's a range of cakes and pasties on offer too, including a Viennese strudel. It would be rude to not get the strudel and scoop of vanilla, right?
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Cremoloso Gelato is the lovechild of the two hometown gelato parlours of its Italian founders. The ice creams are freshly made every morning in the parlour's kitchen and flavours change with the seasons – get a scoop or go for a full-on gelato cake (we know what we'd do). Cremoloso is also big on sustainability, with more than 95% of packaging made from plants. What's not to love?
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Blu Top Ice Cream taught us that good things come in threes – this particular three being two freshly baked cookies sandwiched either side of a generous scoop of house-churned ice cream. Catch these incredible sweet treats at KERB markets all over the city, being served from a blue van called Barbara. Flavours rotate weekly, but when we visit, we’ll be gunning for the brown toast and jam (brown sugar ice cream with ribbons of raspberry jam and crispy cinnamon rye bread crumbs), garden gate (rosemary infused sweet-cream ice cream with fresh honey and candied pecans) and the sweet honey cornbread.
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It's warm out and you're craving something cold and sweet. How does earthy porcini mushroom and chocolate ice cream sound? Or maybe a sugar cone topped with a scoop of Cornish blue cheese and crunchy walnut? What about peppery watercress and lime sorbet? Any of those tickle your fancy? We could go on, but these are just some of the flavours on offer at this tiny, small-batch, artisan gelateria just off Leicester Square, where co-owner Antonio and his team make everything from scratch in store everyday. They've developed over 90 different flavour combinations and the menu changes daily with the seasons. If you can stomach navigating the crowds, then this is definitely one to visit next time you're in Soho on a hot day, because it truly is one of the best around.
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If you really want to try something different, dive into Borough Market and make your way to Greedy Goat's small-batch artisan ice cream stall, near Southwark Cathedral. Made with fresh goat's milk sourced from its farm in the south west, the ice cream is creamy and smooth with a texture not dissimilar to Italian gelato. The menu changes monthly to reflect seasonal produce, but expect to see plethora of quirky flavours, like strawberry and balsamic vinegar, gin and tonic, carrot cake or raspberry and chilli.
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Milk Train is a sugar addict's dream. There are only three flavours on offer here (matcha, vanilla and the daily special), but that doesn’t mean you're limited – this tiny "icecreamist" just off Covent Garden is home to the Insta-famous candyfloss cloud cones. Pick your flavour and watch as your waffle cone is cocooned in a puff of candyfloss, and decorated with more toppings than you ever thought one ice cream could possibly hold, from Oreo crumb to popcorn, and rainbow drops to panda biscuits. It's finally finished off with a drizzle (read: deluge) of sweet, sticky sauce. The multitude of combinations is endless, and the trip to the dentist afterwards is inevitable.
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Mamasons' offering becomes a whole lot more appetising when you find out that 'dirty ice cream' is simply a term for the stuff that's made and sold by hawkers on the streets of Manila. Black coconut and ube (purple yam) are listed on the menu alongside the famous 'bilog' – an ice cream-filled Filipino milk bun.
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We know, we know, another Italian ice cream place, but the country is known for its gelato for a reason. This particular place belongs to the Bocca di Lupo stable, so you know it's going to be some of the best gelato around. The flavours are made fresh daily and you'll find your usual culprits alongside more unusual offerings like honey with black pepper. Yuuuuuum. And if that weren't enough, Gelupo has even just released its first recipe book. Warning: sugar addiction incoming.
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Italy meets Notting Hill at this authentic-feeling gelateria in West London. From Nutella to stracciatella and panna cotta, there's a lot of traditional Italian flavours going on. But that's not the best bit. Instead, turn your eye from the rows of freshly churned gelato and focus on the river of melted chocolate cascading from a shining silver tap on the marble counter. We probably don't have to tell you this, but the warm hazelnut chocolate sauce is probably the most indulgent way to top off a cone of the sweet stuff.
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The ice cream 'chefs' at Chin Chin Labs cook up a whole host of madcap flavours on a weekly basis, using liquid nitrogen create silky smooth, crystal-free serves. Recent varieties have included tonka bean vanilla; burnt butter caramel; avocado and tequila curd; and – our particular favourite – peach, blue cheese, whipped cream and balsamic nuts, and they have vegan options, too. If you don't fancy trekking to Camden to try them, you'll also find Chin Chin at Street Feast's Hawker House – or you can now get the ice cream delivered, too.
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Julie Fisher’s career as an icecreamist started in 2011 with a small Saturday market stall in Tufnell Park. Six years on and she has two permanent sites (one next to Kings Cross and another on Fortess Road) and over 150 different flavours under her belt. Made from organic milk, free-range eggs and fresh fruit, the ice creams on offer change between sites and seasons, but some of her previous flavours include aromatic white chocolate and cardamom; seville orange marmalade ripple; floral violet and honey; and spicy pineapple and chilli.
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If the distant sound of the ice cream van used to make you dive under the sofa in search of stray coins as a child, then Soft Serve Society is definitely for you. Find its team pulling silky smooth swirls of – yes, you guessed it – soft serve ice cream in a tiny 3m-wide lot in Shoreditch's Box Park. Or you could just order it on Deliveroo... The rota of insta-worthy flavours changes weekly, but word on the street is that the on-trend charcoal and coconut in a jet black waffle cone, topped with a giant toasted marshmallow, is a must-try.
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You can't get a much more perfect location for an ice cream shop than by the grassy expanse of Clapham Common, particularly when the gelato on offer is as good as Nardulli's, which has worked its authentic Italian magic on every flavour from fior di latte to licorice and After Eight. It does damn good coffee, too, along with paper-thin crepes, cakes and semifreddi – semi-frozen mousse-like sweet treats made of eggs, sugar cream. Like its traditional Italian counterparts, it's open until well into the evening, making it the perfect pit-stop on the stroll home from dinner.
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