Four Winters Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

Four Winters, from the name itself you know they play around with seasons. They pride themselves by using the most seasonal ingredients to represent different seasons with their ice creams. Apart from a creative collection of flavours, their ice cream is made fresh and frozen instantaneously in front of you, one cup at a time.

Basically they are liquid nitrogen ice creams. As mentioned before, liquid nitrogen ice cream offers a creamier and smoother texture as well as a more outstanding flavour. By using liquid nitrogen at -196C, you get to see your ice cream freezing instantly with a blast of the gas. What’s special about Four Winters is that they’ve actually patented their special machine that freezes the ice cream. They aim to introduce an “ice cream revolution” that “brings together culinary art and innovative technology”. And here they are.

Four Winters has three branches across London: one in South Kensington, one at Notting Hill, and one in Soho. They also have shops in Saudi Arabia as well as Jordan. I visited the one at Notting Hill, which is conveniently located along the Portobello Road. The shop was quite quiet when I visited. It’s not a huge shop but it’s a very bright and cute space.

There are loads of options to choose from, and they are not just your regular ice cream flavours. They have the standard flavours like Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Coconut. Then they have the fusion ones such as the German Chocolate CakeCereal Crunch, Fruit ParfaitPeanut Butter Cup, etc. Last but not least, their summer special flavours include the Birthday Cake, Raspberry Cookie, Key Lime Pie, and Red Bell Pepper. 

Knafeh Ice Cream – Regular Size (£5)

From all the incredibly interesting and innovative flavours, I decided to go for one of their fusion flavours – the Knafeh one.

I got really curious on how they manage to turn this classic Arabic / Turkish dessert, which involves cheese soaked in syrup, into an ice cream flavour. The staff explained to me that it’s made with their sweet cream ice cream as the base and then topped with typical Knafeh toppings.

So first things first, they picked out the sweet cream ice cream liquid from the fridge and start their ‘gas blasting’ procedure to freeze the ice cream. In the meantime, the staff lined the ice cream cup with vermicelli-like Phyllo pastry and some rose syrup. Then it was topped with the ice cream after it’s ready. Lastly, it was topped with more of the Phyllo pastry, some pistachios, and another drizzle of rose syrup.

It was certainly a very interesting flavour combination. Ice cream was smooth and velvety, with quite a firm texture. Flavour-wise it didn’t seem to pop out as much as I expected. The best part is the texture. The pistachios and crispy Phyllo pastries add a really nice crunch to the velvety ice cream.

Summing up, did this unique ice cream flavour blew my mind? Not quite but I really enjoyed it regardless. I felt the flavour could pop out a bit more and have a more distinctive touch to the palate. The texture was brilliant so it definitely have the potential to be even greater. I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about Four Winters so I’m keen to try out more flavours and hear what you guys have to say about it too!

RATING:
  • Food
  • Value
  • Atmosphere
  • Service
3.6

Website: fourwinters.co/

Nearest Underground station: Ladbroke Grove

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