Eleven great ice cream shops and parlours
The Great British Summer may be intermittent, but there's some great ice cream out there to be enjoyed.
This summer has been hit and miss for sunny weather, but even during the colder days, we here at loveFOOD are still in the mood for ice cream.
UK ice cream is now a far cry from watery tubs of Neapolitan and saccharin-aftertaste disappointment. Many farmers have diversified into producing their own original flavours, courtesy of their dairy herds, and opened up their farms in a move to attract families for a day out.
There are also dozens of old-fashioned ice cream parlours on our coasts, many run by the current generation of the Italian-born families who opened them. And there is a new generation of producers mixing weird and wonderful (and award-winning) flavour combinations, for example this beer-flavoured ice cream by London gelato maestros La Gelatiera.
So from the farm to the prom, here are some fabulous ice cream producers you can visit around the UK.
Mancini's Italian Ice Cream
Philip Mancini is nicknamed 'King Cone' due to the number of awards he has won for his creations over the years. He was crowned UK champion in the National Ice Cream Competition for his chocolate ice cream this year. He runs Mancini's Italian Ice Cream (which also offers ice cream wedding cakes) and Filippo's Bistro in Ayr, Scotland, where you can enjoy his ice cream in comfort.
Blaze Farm
Nestled on the edge of the Peak District, this farm produces its own Hilly Billy ice cream, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.
Flavours range from the classics to sticky delights such as caramel toffee chunk and and toffee malt ball.
Roskilly’s
A working organic Cornish dairy farm with its own herd of Jersey cows. It has won many awards over the years, including the prestigious Otter Award for its sustainable farming techniques. You can take a walk around the farm for free, which is a nice perk, especially if you have younger children. Bring them to meet the hard-grazing cows who produce the milk Roskilly's uses in its ice cream.
Morelli’s
On the Prom in Portstewart, its legendary Sundae Garden has been a fixture of the town for decades. Alternatively, take a cone of ice cream for a walk along the promenade in the sunshine. The Yellow Man (honeycomb and vanilla ice cream, marshmallows, honeycomb pieces, caramel sauce and fresh cream) sounds particularly tempting from where we're sitting.
Nardini’s
Arguably Scotland’s best-known ice cream purveyor, Nardini’s in Largs has been packing them in to its parlour, with views of the Firth of Clyde, since 1935. There are 32 flavours prepared with fresh Scottish milk and double cream. These are all made on site under the watchful tutelage of Nardini’s Director David Equi, who took the title of UK Ice Cream Champion of Champions in 2006 and 2008.
Verdi’s
Another Italian-run seafront parlour, you’ll find Verdi’s on the seafront in Mumbles on Wales’s beautiful Gower Peninsula. Up to 30 different flavours of ice cream are available to eat in with a sea view or to take away. If you have brainfreeze after your cone, you can cure yourself with an Italian coffee!
Harriet’s Jolly Nice Ice Cream
Formerly known as Westonbirt ice cream, Harriet's ice cream features six core flavours and more outlandish tastes dreamt up every so often to boot. Harriet got her first ice cream maker for her 15th birthday, and soon created her Uncompromisingly Delicious ice cream. You can find this ice cream at the Jolly Nice Farm Shop near Stroud in picturesque Gloucestershire.
Morelli’s
No relation to the Portstewart parlour of the same name, this establishment is on the Kent coast in Broadstairs. Handmade on the premises, Morelli’s wares were originally sold from the back of a bicycle. The family have been making ice cream for over a century and times have inevitably changed, with its parlour now serving gelato made from premium ingredients from around the globe, including lemons from Sorrento and mangoes from India.
Ryeburn
Out in the wild and windy North York Moors you’ll find the Ryeburn café in the town of Helmsley where their award-winning flavours are created. Their innovative Nutella ice cream won the Champion of Champions flavour at the 2012 National Ice Cream Competition.
Granny Gothards
“From pasture to pot in just a day” say the dairy farmers behind this decorated ice cream brand. You’ll find them in the village of Gregory near Taunton in Somerset, and you can email to arrange a tasting session where you can sample the likes of strawberries and cream and the wonderfully-named Chocolate Chuckle. They also have a range of ice creams suitable for diabetics.
Gelupo
A short walk from Piccadilly Circus is one of the stars of the London scene, which has won rave reviews since opening in 2010.
It’s noted for its exotic flavours, which include the likes of chocolate and black pepper and mint granita. It will be opening its new store in Cambridge Circus, London, on 3rd August 2015.
This is a classic loveFOOD article that has been updated
Make your own ice cream:
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