Ice Cream - Gelato, Rome

Traditional Italian ice cream is called gelato, and it can be found all over the city. Rome being so hot, the temptation to stop by a gelateria is sometimes pretty hard to resist! I tried to limit myself to one gelato cone (or cup) per day, but I was always on the lookout for the best - and most unusual - gelato flavours :o) I generally tried to avoid places that looked too commercial, favouring instead the more home-made looking gelato - one good tip is to always look for signs that say "gelato artigianale". There are pretty strict rules in Italy as to what constitutes "real" gelato and what basic ingredients should go in the making of the frozen treat. You can usually select two flavours per cone. I'm sure locals all have their favourite spots for ice cream, but the best ones I got to taste were the nougatine from Gelateria Venchi (Via della Croce) and lime & basil from Antico Caffe dell'Isola (Tiber Island). All I could say after the trip was over was thank goodness gelato is lower in calories, fat and sugar than regular ice cream!

Since I’ve been in Europe, I’ve never seen so many people devour ice cream or gelato! And I really do enjoy how Italians display their gelato for sale; it is so beautiful piled high with fruit or drizzled chocolate. Even though we were in Rome in the winter, Hubby still had to try out the gelato – I think he feels it is his personal quest to sample all gelato in Europe while we are here (in addition to the beer and bakeries, of course) – well, one must have a hobby of some sort!

So my tip for gelato is: try it!

We had a good laugh on our hotel shuttle bus after a long day in Rome. There was a father and young daughter regaling us with their escapades; apparently dad remembered “the best gelato” in all of Rome from a previous visit. He just couldn’t remember exactly where it was (but had the general area). So the pair spent the better part of an afternoon going up and down the streets in search of this gelato shop – they never found it, but they did sample some other places along the way which, in the daughter’s opinion, were excellent. My hubby isn’t as particular – if it is cold and served on a cone, he is happy!

This clearly one of the most written about gelato spots in Rome. It is in very busy part of the old city. This leads to my twist on this Roman classic.

Walk your feet off and then sit down like a king and treat yourself to a very nice gelato and some of the worlds finest people watching.

I know, I know it costs more but it is worth it. The service is excellent and the setting super fine. More than buying at the counter but cheaper than a cafe on Piazza San Marco.

Just do it.

Favorite Dish: Gelato! of course.

Latest comment from VT'r RoscoeGregg:
"Taking a little time from planting cabbage to say thanks. Your tips were so helpful on our trip to Rome. Fior Di Luna was just OUTSTANDING. We went 3 times one day. I wish you could have seen my friend Barb’s eyes pop when she tasted the clementine gelato"

It took me 2 years in this country to find the ultimate ice cream - ice DREAM to be sure!! I consider myself fortunate as it took this family 10 years to develop the recipies they use at FIOR DI LUNA - research the ingredients - and bring these ICE DREAM flavors to us!!

The clue to the flavors you will experience here lies in not only in the fresh fruits but also where they manage to get these ingredients. In their back kitchen you will see daily deliveries of fresh fruits used to make the fruit based flavors - then take a look at where they acquire their licorice and their chocolate -- you will understand what diligence they have applied to make arguably the BEST gelato to be found.

In addition to the favorite fresh fruit flavors such as, peach, cocconut, lemon, bananna and strawberry - you well may find mellon, liqorice and an extraordinary fig gelato.

To further qualify my choice, a recent feature from Amazon's 5-star rated book THE TERRIOR GUIDE - FOOD WINE ROME by David Downie is attached by photos here and details the difference between the gelato produced at Fior di Luna and every other gelato shop in Rome! Take a look - let me know if you visit and taste the difference. I have found no other (including Giolitti) that can compare!
An excerpt from Downie's book states: "The ingredients are simple: pure, organic cocoa, and pure, unrefined cane sugar, and that’s it. There’s no added butter or fat. The result is grainy, almost granular, bittersweet, and with a vaguely medicinal yet marvelous flavor. Using these ingredients, Fior di Luna makes five different chocolates, two milk chocolates, and one white chocolate. The chocolates and ice creams with vanilla beans are wildly good: “friends” of the shop bring in the beans fresh – not dried - direct from Mauritius.
Fior di Luna uses exclusively organic milk from the Agro Romano district south of the city. The hazelnuts that go into that flavor are of the Tonda Gentile variety from the Langhe in Piedmont, the pistachios are of the Smeraldo variety and come from Bronte, in Sicily. The plump pine nuts are from the Parco Migliarino San Rossore abutting Pisa. All the nuts used here are bought raw and toasted for Fior di Luna by a small, specialized firm based in northern Italy. No semi-processed nut pastes are used. As the owners go out of their way to explain, they don’t make Roman or Italian but rather Mediterranean ice creams, meaning they use no eggs, except in the crema flavor, and no dairy products in the fruit flavors, which contain only fresh fruit, water, and raw cane sugar. Happily, the results are not only ethical, organic, and well-intentioned – they’re delicious."

Ask for one of the family - Mama Italia, Aldo, Fabio, Francesco -- and tell them you found them on VT!!

Take a look at their website and you'll have an idea of the difference between this endeavor and other gelato shops.

Favorite Dish: Fig gelato - dark chocolate - liquoric - vanilla

Take your time and don't eat expensive nonsense offers.
It is not easy to find a place to eat in Rome where price and quality match, at least measured against the Italian income level.
Here you won't get deceived: Although central located, the aim of the place is to serve local food of good quality. I think the price won't be excessively high for each plate.
You come in and can try some dish kept behind the bar front.

A general tip to eat cheap: Suppli (fried rice balls) and crocchette (fried mashed potato balls) cost only 80 cent each. Coffee (caff`e) has also a standard low price between 70 and 80 cent. You can order it lungo (if espresso is too strong for you), macchiato. Cappucino is not so much more expensive, at this time (November 2009) it uses to cost 1 Euro.

The suppli was very good there.

But better it is between Trieste and Nomentano! There is an express bus to Pzza. Bologna (90? Or take any bus leaving to the right after leaving Policlinico metro station), which is to be left after having crossed Regina Margherita. In that square, on Regina Margherita, Nomentano and adjacents, you will find rosticceria and tavola calda where the quality is good and the price a bit lower than in Termini and touristic places. Try pizza, suppli, arancini and anything else what seems good. Nearby is the Villa Torlonia parc to be visited.

More difficult can it be to find 3 balls of ice cream for 2 Euro (2 for 1,50). But you will even find best quality and about 40 originally tasty sorts to try at
Viale Aventino n. 55 (near Circo Massimo)

Italian icecream is good-if you ask where it is best,you will have hundreds of answers.We thought it was best here.It had some stickers of travel agencys and some contest,where red"best ice cream 2005""best ice cream 2006" and so o and so on,so we weren´t the only ones to love it.

Favorite Dish: Coconut and pineapple-they had real coconut-flakes in coconut-icecream and so on.

Best ice cream in Rome. I tried the “cream al whisky” and was very impressed. I heard it was made with aged high end malt. I also enjoyed the Miel (Honey) and Nocciola (Hazelnut). If you are near the fountain of Trevi or Piazza de Espagna then please take a visit, you will not be disappointed. There also a few other locations around Rome, so please check there weboste for directions.

Favorite Dish: I enojyed the:

1. Whisky
2. Honey
3. Nocciola

I've been to several gelaterie now, in Rome and in other places in Italy, and this one is the best by far! Amazingly enough, it's also the cheapest and the one who serves bigger quantities.

There are usually a lot of people waiting in line, and it's such a torture to see people coming out with ENORMOUS yummy icecreams in their hands while you wait :(

My favourite taste of all is yoghurt - perfect combination with fruit flavours such as strawberry and pineapple... The chocolate, pistaccio and caramel are also divine... I just keep coming back for more! (the last time i was in Rome, I went there almost everyday)

There is a gelato place on pretty much every street in Rome. Gelato is like ice cream, but better. I ate it every day in Rome (sometimes several times a day!), and tried all sorts of flavours. Aside from restaurants and bars that sell gelato, there were also vendors with gelato stands close to the tourist attractions

This is my favorite gelateria in Rome. Is the ice cream any better than that of any other gelateria? Probably not, but this shop, located just to the right of the Fontana di Trevi, holds special memories for me. I took my niece to Italy for her twelfth birthday and we stayed at the Hotel Trevi around the corner. Every night, after a long day of sightseeing, we would get a gelato and sit on the steps of the Fontana...talking about the day we had, the food we ate, and the sights we saw...as well as planning our next day's adventures.

So I urge all of you to find your own special place, and return often as the memories will remain and return each time.

Favorite Dish: Fior de Latte gelato

Just outside of Termini, across the square filled with cabs on your left hand side on.

Pleasant friendly relaxed...and airy on a hot day in the capital with several sets of double doors open

Favorite Dish: Great gelateria and pasticceria, it's a view-and-point counter rather than a menu!

I've had gelato all over America, including Boston's Little Italy, and then in several different cities in Italy. This is my favorite! Best flavor, best selection (over 100 flavors), and best texture. I heard this reviewed as a bit of a tourist trap, but I honestly thought it was better than some of the much smaller operations around the country.

Favorite Dish: Their "Mousse" variety, whipped gelato, was my favorite. You could always get a four-scoop and try four different varieties. ;)

Beautiful little Italian building which inside serves Ice Creams and pastries and is also a small bar. Outside,Downstairs or bar seating.

Favorite Dish: The Ice creams are immense and the bottled water is the cheapest I came across whilst in Rome.

In our small guided tour in Rome our guide had recommended us that place. He’d told us it has the most delicious ice creams of Rome. I am not fond of ice cream; I easily get sick and start to cough. So I ate tiramisu when my friends were enjoying their ice creams. As I tasted from Eylem’s (artonice) ice cream I can recommend you this place. But…
Their tiramisu is AWESOME! I enjoyed every little piece of it.

Don’t miss!

Favorite Dish: Tiramisu

If you are in a diet please don’t come to Italy. The reputation of Italian ice cream its world known and they are delicious and
A good suggestion to spend a warm night in Rome is to buy an ice cream in one of many coffees in a square and sit down appreciating the taste of the ice cream.