If there’s one dessert that can never do any wrong, it ought to be ice cream. Everybody loves ice cream, and enjoying the British summer on the streets of London with a scoop in hand is a total vibe itself. The London ice cream scene has developed quite a bit over the years as artisanal ice cream and innovative creations now take over the market. Are you searching for a velvety gelato or smooth soft serve? Or are you looking for funky flavours and unique creations? No matter your preference, London has definitely got you covered. In this blog post, let’s explore the world of London ice cream as we uncover the best ice cream parlours and unique gems around town.
Where to Find the Best Ice Cream in Central London
- Badiani
- Bilmonte
- Araw Ice Cream
- Darlish
- Hotel Chocolat
- Gelateria 3Bis
- Rosslyn Coffee
- Venchi
- Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream
- Chin Chin Ice Cream
- Gelupo
- La Gelatiera
- Udderlicious
- Greedy Goat
- Festok Lebanese Ice Cream
- Milksha
- Bake Chinatown
- Tsujiri Matcha
- DAPPA Vegan Ice Cream
- Secret Nicky's
- Soft Serve Society
- Knoops
- Humble Crumble
- Other ice cream spots
Badiani
From Firenze to London, Badiani has been my top spot for the best gelatos in town. The Pistachio gelato is my go-to, featuring their trademarked Buontalenti gelato laced with pistachio, offering the most ridiculously silky velvety texture. Other favourites include the award-winning La Dolce Vita, Coffee, Caramel, and many more. Additionally, they also do gelato cakes (which make great birthday cakes), gelato cookies, pinguinos, etc!
Location: Various
(see list of locations here)
Bilmonte
Bilmonte brings a taste of Sicily to London, and its pistachio gelato reigns supreme in town. Expect to queue, but it would be very much worth the wait. Make sure you grab a mini cone of chocolate or pistachio sauce on your gelato as well, or enjoy them sandwiched in between brioche buns – just like the Sicilians do!
Location: Soho
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Araw Ice Cream
Handmade artisanal ice cream with flavours so good and creative that offers you a taste of escape with every bite – that’s what Araw is all about. Expect out-of-the-box creative flavours that represent different cultures & cuisines, delivering vibrant yet nostalgic tastes that get you hooked. Think of Ube Halaya, Pastel de Nata, Dirty Horchata, Basque Cheesecake, Kalamansi with Gochujang, Banana Tahini, etc. All ice cream from Araw is made from natural ingredients and is vegan-friendly, free from any refined sugar. Find them at their pop-up shop on Regent Street (inside Brityard), or find their ice cream tubs at Selfridges, Gopuff, or directly on their website for nationwide delivery.
Darlish
Following the success of their summer pop-up in 2019, Darlish has been returning every year to satisfy your ice cream cravings! They are known for their Baklava Ice Cream Sandwich and unique range of Middle Eastern flavours. My favourite combo is the Iranian Pistachio served in baklava. For standalone flavours, I also adored the Chocolate Halwa, Saffron & Rose, and Turkish Coffee ice creams!
Location: Spitalfields
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Hotel Chocolat
Like their chocolate gift offerings, the ice cream from Hotel Chocolat is no short of extraordinary. Infusing a mix of Jersey milk & cream with pure roasted cocoa nibs, their ice cream offers an incredible & unique flavour note. It may seem bold to call themselves “Ice Cream of The Gods” but it’s definitely one up there for best ice cream in London!
Location: Various
(see list of locations here)
Gelateria 3Bis
Gelateria 3Bis brings glorious Italian sunshine to London from Rimini with its delicious gelatos. Expect high-quality ingredients and exquisite flavours, but that’s not the best part yet. Whether you are having a cup or cone, ask for chocolate sauce at the bottom – you can thank me later!
Location: Notting Hill / Borough Market
Rosslyn Coffee
Rosslyn Coffee might not be an obvious choice for an ice cream stop as it is an artisan speciality coffee shop. But they actually serve up some exquisite soft-serve ice cream in the summer! In collaboration with Happy Endings Ice Cream, their Coffee Soft Serve features a vanilla-infused milk base (using The Estate Dairy) and it is then blended with a 24-hour cold brew from Origin Coffee Roasters and dusted with Mork Chocolate.
Locations: Mansion House / Moorgate / Liverpool Street
Venchi
Venchi is a world-recognised Italian gourmet chocolate brand and also makes some heavenly chocolate & hazelnut gelato that’s adored globally. We’d highly recommend grabbing their chocolate & hazelnut-decorated cones as well to complete the dreamiest flavour profile. Additionally, you can also enjoy their gelato over some freshly made crepes if that’s what tickles your fancy!
Locations: Covent Garden / Chelsea / Hampstead / South Kensington
Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream
The Filipino ice cream and dessert parlour swept the London market off its feet with its striking purple-coloured Ube ice cream and desserts. Apart from Ube, Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream offers a range of unique flavours such as Black Charcoal Coconut, Queso (i.e. cheese), Calamansi, and many more. My favourite treat ought to be their Bilog, which is a sweet toasted Filipino bun filled with ice cream and it’s mighty delicious.
Chin Chin Ice Cream
Chin Chin is the first to bring liquid-nitrogen ice cream into the London market and took it by storm from the get-go. Classic flavours include Tonka Bean, Burnt Butter Caramel, Valrhona Chocolate, Coffe & Olive Oil etc., with a wide range of toppings available to choose from. But if you want something more extravagant, they serve up a mean Tiramisu Sundae (no alcohol), Sticky Toffee Pudding Sundae, and many more eye-popping creations. Additionally, they are also known to make some of the best hotel chocolates in London with halal s’mores.
Gelupo
Gelupo prides itself in making “uncompromisingly delicious gelato” and offering a range of deli-inspired gelato & sorbet flavours. Traditional flavours aside, they dared to be different and make unique flavours such as Fresh Mint Stracciatella, Yoghurt & Lemongrass, Kiwi, Blood Orange, etc. In addition, one of the founders, Jacob Kennedy, has written a dedicated cookbook named Gelupo Gelato: A delectable palette of ice cream recipes.
Location: Piccadilly Circus
(click to open Google Maps location)
La Gelatiera
La Gelatiera is an award-winning gelateria famous for its Dark Chocolate & Chilli sorbet. It is a scotch bonnet-infused vegan dark chocolate sorbet that’s made with the finest Domori chocolate, offering a gentle kick to it and it’s one you shouldn’t knock it till you try it!
Locations: Covent Garden / Stratford / OXO Tower / Crouch End
Udderlicious
You can trust that Udderlicious’ ice cream is utterly delicious! Their flavours are experimental & innovative, such as Eton Mess, Chocolate & Marmite, Birthday Cake, Espresso & Chocolate Biscotti, Avocado Stracciatella, etc. Additionally, you get to vote for your favourite 3 flavours each month and the top flavours will be featured in-store for the following month.
Location: Covent Garden / Islington / Wembley
Greedy Goat
Have you ever tried goat’s milk ice cream before? If you haven’t, then get yourself down to Greedy Goat in Borough Market and have a taste! Using British GM-free goat’s milk, the multi-award-winning ice cream features an extra silky texture and a unique flavour profile. You can also get their ice cream in a recyclable jar, making them the first in the UK to package ice cream this way!
Location: Borough Market
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Festok Lebanese Ice Cream
Festok is a Lebanese artisan ice cream shop in Bond Street, offering Middle Eastern ice cream flavours & desserts. If you’re wondering, Lebanese ice cream has a more elastic texture than regular ice cream and is generally lighter to taste. Other than traditional flavours of Achta, Pistachio & Rose, they also offer bespoke flavours like Osmalieh, Halva, Date, Turmeric, Carob and Meghli.
Location: Bond Street
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Milksha
Hailing from Taiwan (known as Milkshop), Milksha is a bubble tea shop that also does Japanese luxury ice cream. If you like fruity flavours, then you must check out their bestselling Mango Passionfruit Sorbet! Alternatively, a classic vanilla & chocolate soft serve swirl is always a good shout too.
Location: Leicester Square
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Bake Chinatown
Instead of the usual waffle cone, why not switch things up and get a Taiyaki cone?! Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, typically in small sizes and filled with sweet red beans or custard. Bake House enlarged them into Taiyaki cones and filled them with either vanilla or matcha soft serve. If you can’t make up your mind on flavour, you can get a mix of both!
Location: Chinatown
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Tsujiri Matcha
As a matcha specialist, Tsujiri uses premium matcha powder to create their matcha soft serve & sundaes, which are some of the best matcha desserts in London. It doesn’t stop at matcha but they also offer hojicha and black sesame flavours.
DAPPA Vegan Ice Cream
It’s all about thick, rich & outrageously creamy plant-based ice cream made from nuts at DAPPA. Find them at Elys Yard in Brick Lane on the weekends (Fridays – Sundays) and enjoy their signature soft-serve with various vegan-friendly toppings. They also supply for various restaurants such as JENKI, Fat Hippo, After School Cookie Club, as well as other regional cities in the UK and internationally in Dubai & Belgium!
Location: Brick Lane (weekends only)
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Secret Nicky’s
Not technically ice cream but Secret Nicky’s is one worth mentioning on the list as they have a unique icy treat to offer to Londoners. Secret Nicky’s is London’s first frozen custard & hot cookie dough cafe, serving you the dreamiest hot cookie dough topped with a swirl of cold and silky frozen vanilla custard. It seriously couldn’t get any more indulging and decadent than this. Want to get it served prettily in a Martini glass? Simply ask for “shaken, not stirred” when ordering!
Location: Covent Garden
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Soft Serve Society
It’s all about dreamy, high-quality soft serve ice cream, whether it be in a waffle cone or an extravagant sundae. You can find them at either Seven Dials Market or BOXHALL City.
Location: Covent Garden / Liverpool Street
Knoops
We all know that Knoops make the best hot chocolate in London. For the warmer months, other than their fantastic iced chocolates, they also do amazing ice cream! Their soft serve ice cream is incredibly creamy & velvety to taste, topped with your choice of 28%, 34%, or 54% chocolate flakes.
Humble Crumble
Their crumbles are a must-try dessert in London and, for the summer months, you can enjoy them with frozen custard as well! Humble Crumble has been dominating the London desserts scene and you can trust that their frozen custard would make the perfect icy treat as delightful as their signature crumbles.
Location: Spitalfields
(click to open location on Google Maps)
Other ice cream spots
- Amorino (various) – the signature flower cone
- Anita Gelato (Covent Garden) – boutique ice cream
- Bear’s Ice Cream (Brook Green) – artisanal Icelandic-inspired ice cream
- Caliendo’s Gelato (Kentish Town) – UK Parlour of the Year 2023
- Gelateria Romeo & Giulietta (Stoke Newington / Leyton)
- Nardulli (Clapham) –
- Oddono’s (various) – the original artisanal gelato in London
- Ruby Violet (King’s Cross) – you can even get a 15 ice cream “tasting” menu!
- Snow Flake Gelato (various)
- Soft Serve Society (Shoreditch / Covent Garden)
- Yole (various) – sugar-free low-calorie frozen yoghurt
