The best ice cream spots around the world, that know only summer!
A good ice cream can melt away troubles and bring joy and smiles in the grumpiest face! It’s incredible how a frozen sweet treat can turn on the pink glasses of love and bring sunshine no matter the weather.
So buckle up and travel with us through the best ice cream spots in the world so if you happen to be close to one of them; divert a little by adding an ice cream cone to your day!
Sugar Hill Creamery, New York
Launched in 2017, this ice-cream store run by husband-and-wife team Nick Larsen and Petrushka Bazin Larsen offers classic flavours alongside unique creations inspired by the couple’s midwestern and Caribbean backgrounds, as well as Harlem itself. The coffee-based “Tuma Buna”, for instance, is named after Harlem music influencer Tuma Basa and an Ethiopian coffee-making ceremony. Another flavour, “Rucker Park”, pairs watermelon and black sesame. Other branches have opened in Hamilton Heights and Dumbo. Ajesh Patalay sugarhillcreamery.com
Jymy, Aura, Finland
Despite its subarctic climate, Finland is one of the world’s highest consumers of ice cream per capita. Horst Neumann of Jymy tells me this is due to a culture of private indulgence and because Finns like to celebrate their excellent dairy. (They even have a tradition where people from all over the country come to watch cows released into the fields after winter.) Jymy’s flavours are Nordic classics: liquorice, lingonberry jam and pine – the last created in 2017 to mark the centenary of Finland’s independence from the Russians. It’s a flavour that reminds people of the hardships of eating pine needles when food was scarce: as an ice cream it’s delicious, with a resiny hint of forest after rain. Camilla Bell-Davies jymy.fi
Gelateria della Passera, Florence
It’s a tiny hole-in-the-wall on the piazza of the same name, but it makes up for its unassuming dimensions with a selection of organic, hand-made gelati that run the gamut from the standards (pistachio, hazelnut, coffee) to some creative riffs, like an almond milk-based confection with camomile. And then there are the three kings I’d travel the length of the peninsula to get a taste of: fior di latte with fresh mint, rosewater, and lavender. Maria Shollenbarger gelateriadellapassera.it
Morelli’s Gelato, Broadstairs, Kent
There are now Morelli parlours everywhere from Baghdad to the Philippines, but the family-run mothership on the Kent coast dates back to 1932 – a glorious deco throwback of Formica and pink leatherette booths, with a jukebox and soda fountain. Everything that goes into the elaborate sundaes is made on-site with fresh ingredients, and no artificial colouring or flavouring. They’re purists here and don’t offer it willingly, but the holy grail is a scoop of pistachio with vanilla soft serve on top. morellisgelato.com Mark C O’Flaherty
Jones Ice Cream, Berlin
Some of Berlin’s most innovative culinary entrepreneurs began their restaurants in food trucks, and that includes Gabrielle Jones, founder of the city’s beloved Jones Ice Cream. Jones gained a cult following for her decadent ice-cream sandwiches after moving here from Paris in 2013; today, she and her partner, Jan Diekmann, have a permanent location in the Schöneberg neighbourhood. Although the duo no longer do ice-cream sandwiches, they offer a scoop on their chewy homemade cookies. Locals are lured by the wafting scent of waffle cones – they make 800 a day – and the tantalising flavours, from Carrot Cake to Yogurt Rhubarb Crumble. jonesicecream.com Gisela Williams
Two Islands Ice Cream, Abersoch
There’s good reason the queue in the beach village of Abersoch in north Wales snakes to the door of the old bank. Now transformed into the small-batch ice-cream parlour Two Islands, its owners Laura Reynolds and Jack Pollitt make ice cream so delicious it makes grown men and women want to cry. Created entirely from scratch – right down to the ripples and cakey chunks – the ice creams vary daily, depending on the best natural local ingredients to be found. Not a stabiliser in sight. Raspberry Ripple is the cult classic, selling more than all other flavours combined, but if you visit on a Coffee & Cookies day, you’ve hit the jackpot. twoislandsicecream.co.uk Sophie de Rosée
The Ice Cream Bar, San Francisco
This 1930s-inspired soda fountain and ice-cream bar in Cole Valley – a few blocks from Golden Gate Park. It launched in 2012 with an old-school menu of floats, frappés, phosphates, malts, lactarts and boozy fountain drinks, including its now iconic Dublin Honey (Guinness, caramelised honey ice cream, Valrhona dark chocolate syrup and 10-year tawny port). The servers, known as “soda jerks”, wear bow ties and crisp white hats. Also, among the all-American ice cream staples are fudge brownie, banana puddin’ and vegan coconut peanut brittle. theicecreambarsf.com Ajesh Patalay
Apiary, Singapore
With three locations, including one on buzzing Neil Road, as well as a current pop-up, Apiary brings old-fashioned ice-creamery tradition to the Lion City. ut unleashes some unexpected taste notes alongside the mint chocolate and plain vanilla: there’s Korean perilla leaf, one called Blue Milk (milk base, blue pea flowers, sea salt), Pink Peppercorn (speaks for itself; not for the faint of palate) and black sesame. The ingredients have feel-good pedigrees, coming from Tanjong Pagar, the local market, and hydroponic farms across the island. apiary.sg Maria Shollenbarger
