The Best Ice Cream Spots in London
When the sun’s out, there’s only one thing to eat. Whether you fancy gelato or sorbet, these are the best ice cream spots in London.
London’s not known for being sunny, but when blue skies do finally grace our city, us Londoners know how to make the most of it. Whether it’s a daytime picnic in your local park that turns into a night out at the closest beer garden, or popping to one of London’s many lidos, there are lots of ways to soak up the rays. And what goes perfectly with a spot of sunshine? Ice cream, of course.
Luckily, there are plenty of *incredible* gelato spots here in London, selling everything from classic soft serve cones to experimental flavours with wild toppings. And thanks to Happy Endings, London’s love affair with the ice cream sandwich is still going strong and you can find HE’s signature serves in restaurants and cafes throughout the city, as well as at the brand’s own spot in Mile End. Ready to treat yourself?
This is an absolute hidden gem in Stoke Newington. The ice cream here is some of the best in London but it’s kind of an unknown spot unless you live in the area (which luckily we do!). When the weather’s nice there’s usually a queue down the street for this authentic Italian gelato, with flavours including ricotta and fig; salted caramel; supreme pistachio; and extra dark chocolate sorbet.
If meal deal sandwiches are not for you, Happy Endings offer the perfect alternative. Yup you guessed it, we’re talking about ice cream sandwiches, like malted milk parfait in an oat biscuit and salted caramel & miso parfait between chocolate Guinness cake. You can order direct from Happy Endings or add them on as a pud when you next get a Yard Sale Pizza.
Minus 12 degrees (named after the ideal serving temperature for gelato) is the small-batch ice cream shop slinging homemade, Italian-style gelato and sorbet to the people of South London. You can expect weekly changing flavours including the likes of malted dulce de leche; chocolate smoked salt; caramel gelato with whipped Nutella and banana bread; and ricotta gelato with crushed cannoli shells, toasted pistachios and pistachio cream. There’s plenty of vegan ones here too.
From creating a nitro ice cream parlour in Camden to collaborating with Cadbury to create a Creme Egg Sundae, Chin Chin know how to make weird and wacky ice creams. At both their Camden and Soho joints, they mix luxe chocolate and caramel flavour ice-creams with cakes, cookies and ice-cream sandwiches. There’s always a bunch of toppings and sauces to pick from, and with a wide variety of vegan options as well, there’s something for everyone here.
With its blue-and-white tiled decor, you could easily be in Italy and not the middle of Soho. Here, it’s all about authentic Italian gelato made with fresh and natural ingredients. But strictly traditional this ain’t; as well as your classics, Gelupo scoops up the likes of avocado sorbets and mango sticky rice gelati.
For those wanting a fancy ice cream experience, you probably can’t do any better than The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason. The Parlour offers a range of decadent ice creams based on retro British faves like the knickerbocker glory and the banana split. And for those who want to push the boat out even further, there’s even the ‘Afternoon Tea in Ice Cream Form,’ which is exactly what it says on the tin.
La Gelatiera makes traditional artisan gelato according to their ‘Slow Food’ philosophy, so all their gelato is egg and gluten free, and lower in fat than most ice creams you’d find in the supermarket. So you can eat more of it, right? Their East Village store even has its own gelato-making lab so you can watch a fresh batch of ice cream being made whilst you scoff yours down.
You can’t get more traditional than Venchi who have 140 years of gelato-making experience under their belts. They have five stores across London, but with a gelato lab and a running chocolate tap, their Covent Garden shop is the one to head to.
The Hammersmith shop specialises in Icelandic-style soft serve ice cream, with flavours like golden syrup sponge; peanut butter, banana & chocolate shard; and rhubarb crumble & custard, which can be topped with all manner of fruit, sauces and chocolate.
This Balham dessert bar serves up fresh ice cream made with organic milk in flavours like caramel popcorn, vanilla honeycomb, and cold-pressed coffee. If you don’t want just one scoop, you can also get stacked sundaes, milkshakes, waffles, crepes and more.