Everyone knows that ice cream makes you happy and a scoop or two of the good stuff is the cherry on top of a great day out in London.
The UK’s capital is home to dozens of delicious ice cream shops selling everything from homemade creamy ice cream and freshly made sorbets to generous ice cream sandwiches and kooky concoctions involving dry ice.
Living in the city, we spend a lot of time researching where to go for the best ice cream in London. We’ve discovered family-run favourites and soft-serve experts, larger chains specialising in Instagram-friendly gelato flowers and ice cream trucks with a good selection of vegan options.
The following list includes what we think are the top places to get the best ice cream in London – let me know if I have missed anywhere out!
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The best ice cream in London
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Where to go for the best ice cream in London
The following are not only our favourite places to get ice cream in London, they’re some of the city’s most popular ice cream shops. Fans of the Milk Train in Covent Garden will be sad to learn that this ice cream store – famous for it whimsical candy floss decorations – has closed down.
Chin Chin Labs
Chin Chin is less an ice cream shop and more Willy Wonka inspired laboratory where quick freezing liquid nitrogen is used to create gourmet ice cream. Flavours change with the seasons and range from traditional to completely bonkers – Pantyhose Thai Tea and an (alcohol free) Guinness & Marmite have featured recently on the menu.
There are two Chin Chin Labs in Central London, in Soho and in Camden.
La Gelatiera
Winner of dozen of awards and makers of very good ice creams is La Gelateria.
Home to “London’s finest artisan gelato”, this small chain of ice cream stores does a fun run of flavours including Raspberry & Alphonso Mango sorbet and Sicilian Pistachio Sorbet & Madagascan Vanilla gelato. Last time we visited they had Dubai chocolate gelato for a limited time (it was delicious).
La Gelatiera has various locations in London including in the East Village (Stratford) Covent Garden and the Oxo Tower.
Hans & Gretel
This fairytale-inspired ice-cream parlour in Camden is heaven for anyone who loves a sweet treat or two. The decor is colourful candy kitsch with oversized lollipops, marshmallows and cakes hanging from the ceiling. But what you’re really here for is the highly instagrammable ice cream and sweet treats.
Not only does Hans & Gretel serve a range of ice cream flavours (these all come with toppings and sauces as standard) they also serve bubble waffle cones, doughnuts, freak shakes and cotton candy.
Their speciality are chimney cakes: sweet, caramelised cookie dough which is toasted and then filled with ice cream and a selection of sweets.
Be prepared to queue, Hans & Gretel is very popular.
Amorino
There are numerous Amorino outposts in London, which means you are never far away from their social media-friendly ‘flower cones’. These are easily among the prettiest ice creams in London, thin slabs of gelato arranged artfully like petals on an ice cream cone using a spatula. Fortunately, it’s not all about the presentation and the gelato is excellent.
Their stores stock a vast array of flavours from Pistachio, Vanilla and Strawberry to Organic Blood Orange and Ginger, or Organic Mandarin and Barbados Cherry.
They also create waffles and crepes, gelato macaroons, gelato cakes and top notch hot chocolate.
Udderlicious
If I had to choose just one London ice cream store to go to then it would be the brilliant, family run Udderlicious. This small chain of stores serves some of the best ice cream in London, created from organic milk that is “hand-moo’d” in store daily, and the flavours are fantastic.
Udderlicious run a monthly competition where ice cream fans can suggest a new Flavour of the Month meaning that new ice cream flavours appear regularly. If you’re lucky enough to have your flavour chosen, then you receive free ice cream for 30 days. Past flavours have included Marmite, Bourbon Carrot Cake and even Seaweed.
More traditional flavours are also available and I can highly recommend the Raspberry Cheesecake and Salted Vanilla Cookie Dough.
Ice Cream Union
One of our more recent ice cream parlours discoveries is Ice Cream Union. The company have been making top notch ice cream and sorbets for years in a range of delicious flavours made using the freshest of ingredients. Their main focus is on supplying some of London’s best restaurants but they also have a small hole-in-the-wall store right near Sloane Square.
Ice Cream Union produces over 50 flavours but you won’t find that many in the store; flavours rotate regularly. Standout flavours when we visited included Dulce de Leche, Honeycomb and Raspberry Ripple.
The Real Fruit Ice Cream Company
Soft serve ice cream gets a glam makeover at the Real Fruit Ice Cream Company. Served from a bubblegum pink mobile trolley, this ice cream company only hit the London ice cream scene last year in 2024 but it quickly proved to be a big hit.
This Kiwi concept ice cream stand offers creamy soft serve mixed with a blend of frozen fruit (berries, mango and banana are all options) and topped with a huge variety of sweet treats – everything from gummy bears and Biscoff spread to chocolate flakes and hundreds and thousands.
You can find one of the pink stalls at Spitalfields market but they also pop up at events around the city over the summer months.
The Real Fruit Ice Cream company will be popping up again from May – check their instagram feed for details.
Anita Gelato
Anita Avital has been making delicious homemade ice cream for the last 20 years and has stores around the world but they only opened their London branch of Anita Gelato in October 2023.
You’ll find the London outpost of this popular ice cream store in Covent Garden where all the ice creams are made on site. Altogether Anita Gelato has 200 flavours and you’ll find 36 of these to choose from in store.
As well as creamy gelato, the shop sells soft serve frozen yogurt and sorbets, plus vegan, fat-free and sugar-free options.
Gelatorino
For the best gelato in London, the kind that you typically only find served in Italy, head to Gelatorino in central London. This Gelateria serves amazing ice cream, made in-house using artisanal ice-cream machines from Italy and then stored in pozzetti, traditional Italian tubs.
There are no tricks or theatrics here, just smooth, creamy, utterly delicious gelato in a range of traditional Italian flavours.
You’ll find another branch of Gelatorino in Richmond.
Ruby Violet
Named after founder Julie Fisher’s maternal grandmother, the story behind Ruby Violet is almost as good as the great ice cream that they serve.
What started as a hobby – albeit a very serious one that involved freezers in her living room – has transformed into a magical store where ice cream is made on site in small batches using seasonal fresh fruit.
The flavours are wonderfully creative and in the past have included Chocolate Orange, Masala Chai, Early Grey and Pink Gooseberry Hazelnut Meringue.
As for what will be available when you visit, you’ll just have to wait and see! The original shop is located in Tufnell Park, in north-west London and a Ruby Violet ice cream van can be found during summer months the perfect spot Granary Square in Kings Cross, just near the splash park.
Tsujiri
Matcha lovers should make a beeline for Chinatown where Tsujiri delivers matcha soft serve alongside seasonal flavours including Houjicha (a type of Japanese green tea), sakura and black sesame.
Tsujiri has another outpost in Camden.
Snowflake Luxury Gelato
With over 50 homemade good gelato flavours to choose from, there’s something for everyone at Snowflake Luxury Gelato. Choose from firm favourites such as Dark Chocolate and Pistachio to more unusual taste sensations such as Popcorn with Sea Salted Caramel and Honey and Date.
All their gelato is made by hand, the traditional Italian way, so each one is naturally unique – just like a snowflake!
There are several branches around town; the flagship Snowflake boutique is on Edgware Road near Marble Arch.
Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream
For ice cream with a Filipino twist head to Mamasons. “Dirty ice cream” is the nickname given to ice cream made with ice and salt in a steel drum in Manila, The Philippines, and is what you’ll find here in London’s Chinatown.
Mamasons’ eclectic ice cream parlour, decorated with palm-leaf print walls and neon signage, serves all manner of Filipino desserts but their speciality are bilog, the Filipino answer to the ice cream sandwich.
Other treats on offer include halo halo, dessert pots filled with everything from coconut shavings to wafers, as well as ice cream. Don’t come expecting vanilla or chocolate flavours, however, this is where you’ll find Black Coconut, Bark Coffee and Ube (a type of purple yam). And they’re all delicious.
Gelateria Danieli
Unless you are based or staying in south London then it’s a bit of a trek to get to Gelateria Danieli, but the journey is more than worth it. After all, Danieli’s vanilla ice cream was served to the late Queen Elizabeth II on her 80th birthday.
The family-run business has been creating authentic Italian gelato for the last 20 years and continues to create innovative ice cream and sorbets. Favourite flavours include Salted Caramel, Honeycomb and Cherry.
Gelateria Danieli is located in Richmond.
Romeo & Giulietta
As far as we’re concerned, Romeo & Giulietta is in the top three of London’s best ice cream stores.
Located in Stoke Newington, this small independent Gelateria serves homemade Italian-inspired gelatos that are absolutely delicious. They offer a range of classic flavours as well as combinations including Ricotta and Fig, Speculoos Biscuit and Strawberry Cheesecake. They also serve a range of vegan sorbets.
Gelateria 3bis
Located in Borough Market is this excellent Italian ice cream shop selling the perfect gelato. The name comes from the address of the lab where the founders created their first artisanal ice cream. Today, they’re a Borough Market stalwart .
You can watch the 3Bis team hard at work in the market creating fresh batches of gelato daily using traditional Italian equipment, including an authentic machine from the 1950s.
As well as gelato, 3Bis create shakes, yogurts, waffles and crepes.
Soft Serve Society
For crazy colours, fanciful creations and gravity-defying ice cream cones, look no further than the Soft Serve Society. We discovered the Shoreditch branch and it has quickly became a family favourite. There is another branch in the Seven Dials Market.
As the name suggests, this dessert bar specialises in soft serve ice cream. There are only ever a handful of flavours on offer – vanilla, charcoal coconut and matcha – but it’s how the ice cream is presented that is unique.
‘Cloud 9’ features popping candy, berry candyfloss, strawberry sauce and strawberry crunch as well as ice cream, and ‘Oh, Snap!’ comes with salted caramel sauce, salted caramel bits, gingerbread crumbs and waffle. Or you can create your own; choose a black ice cream cone, sprinkle on some toppings and then top it off with some marshmallow fluff.
If you want to go all out, order one of the Freakshakes, an enormous milkshake decorated with all manner of toppings.
Gelupo Gelateria
Located on Archer Street in Soho, this Italian Gelateria, Gelupo Gelateria, was opened by Jacob Kenedy, the restaurateur behind the excellent Italian restaurant Bocca Di Lupo.
The gelato is delicious, made daily by hand using natural ingredients. Choose from Salted Caramel, Coconut, Bitter Chocolate, Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn and many more. They are all excellent!
