The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Best places in Scotland for an ice cream
WITH the weather heating up, this is the ideal time to treat yourself to an ice cream. And while 99 cones from a van are nice enough, there are plenty of great quality ice cream parlours out there if you know where to look.
1. JANNETTAS GELATERIA, ST ANDREWS
Where? South Street, St Andrews
Open Monday-Saturday 9am -10pm, Sunday 10am- 10pm
01334 473285
A St Andrews institution, locals are used to seeing queues out the door of Jannettas Gelataria as soon as the sun shines. It has an impressive 54 varieties: vanilla for traditionalists, or chilli chocolate and key lime pie for the adventurous. It has even been known to make a malt whisky flavour for special occasions.
2. CASA DI GELATO, ABERDEEN
Where? King Street, Aberdeen
Open Tuesday-Wednesday 9am-4pm, Thursday-Saturday 9am-9pm, Sunday 10am-5pm
01224 632855
Sundaes are a speciality in Casa di Gelato, with authentic, smooth ice cream and no skimping on portion sizes. You can choose your own flavours for the scoops but you might struggle to narrow it down to just three (although the cream egg comes highly recommended).
3. THE DERBY CAFE, GLASGOW
Where? Clarkston Road, Glasgow
Open Every day 10am-10pm
0141 637 2311
This homely, cosy cafe has been one of the best-kept secrets in Glasgow for decades. Tucked away in the south side, it is worth a visit for its velvety ice cream and tasty cakes. And if that wasn’t enough, they have just started offering takeaway sundaes (strawberry, knickerbocker glory and chocolate fudge). Convinced?
4. MILK BARN, FALKIRK
Where? Glen Farm, Glen Village, Falkirk
Open Every day 10am-5pm
01324 630703
Set in the middle of Stirlingshire hills, this artisan ice cream parlour is fast becoming a popular foodie visitor attraction. The ice cream is certainly fresh – coming straight from the milk of the cows in the surrounding fields, which is then churned at the farm. The flavours are adventurous too, with toffee crisp, birthday cake and even bubblegum Smurf to pick from.
5. NARDINI’S CAFE, LARGS
Where? Greenock Road, Largs
Open Monday-Friday 9am-8pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am-9pm
01475 675000
One of Scotland’s most famous ice cream parlours, the distinctive Art Deco features of Nardini’s are recognisable to many. Built in 1935, Nardini’s reopened in 2008 after a multi-million-pound refurbishment but the rich and creamy recipes are unchanged. If you fancy a challenge, order the Clyde Coast Extravaganza: a gargantuan 12 scoops of ice cream to be shared between two.
6. MIELE’S GELATERIA, INVERNESS
Where? 92 Church Street, Inverness
Open Sunday-Thursday 12pm- 9pm, Friday 10am-10pm, Saturday 11am-10pm
01463 717864
Considered to offer some of the best ice cream in the Highlands, Miele’s has a great wee shop in Inverness (and Aviemore too). It has a whole host of flavours to entice you, but none is more appropriately summery than the luscious pina colada sorbet.
7. S LUCA’S ICE CREAM, MUSSELBURGH
Where? 32 High Street, Musselburgh
Open Monday-Saturday 9am-10pm, Sunday 10am-10pm
0131 665 2237
First opened by Luca Scappaticcio in 1908, this cafe has become one of the best-known destinations in Musselburgh (with a shop in Edinburgh’s Morningside, too). There is a good mix of traditional and modern flavours, but its authentic Italian stracciatella is particularly tasty.
8. DINO’S CAFE, HELENSBURGH
Where? West Clyde Street, Helensburgh
Open Every day 9am-9pm
01436 674667
With homemade, reasonably priced ice cream and plenty of seats outside, Dino’s is a great destination for a sunny day. Fans of coconut will particularly enjoy the bounty flavour, and the classic, creamy vanilla is also a winner. The tablet on sale is delicious, too.
9. VISOCCHI’S, BROUGHTY FERRY
Where? Gray Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee
Open Sunday 9.30am-8pm, Tuesday
9.30am-5pm, Wednesday-Thursday 9.30am-8pm, Friday-Saturday 9.30am-10pm
01382 779297
This Italian institution has some of the most indulgent ice cream flavours in Dundee. Choose from snowball, raspberry jelly donut and cookie dough, along with traditional “Scottish” varieties of tablet and Irn-Bru.
10. ALANDA’S GELATERIA, NORTH BERWICK
Where? Quality Street, North Berwick
Open Every day, 11am- 8pm
01620 894444
This small, family-run business uses local ingredients in its creamy gelato, and this summer sees the introduction of four new flavours: rhubarb crumble, walnut and fudge, Belgian chocolate and elderflower and raspberry. And if you still need persuading, the fact that it’s on Quality Street is surely a good omen.
11. THE ICE CREAM SHOP, CULLEN
Where? Seafield Street, Cullen, Moray
Open Every day 10am-6pm
01542 840484
This town might be best known for Cullen skink soup, but it also hides an impressive ice cream parlour up its metaphorical sleeve. It might be unassuming from the outside, but inside it’s a nostalgic-looking sweet shop with both creamy and whippy ice cream – which you can eat from wafers, cones and oysters.
12. BIG LICKS, GLASGOW
Where? Finnieston Street, Glasgow Open Every day 1pm-11pm
The ice cream itself is tasty, but once you combine it with the cafe’s special cookie dough it becomes even better. This half-baked, warm dough is the Big Licks speciality and is a great compliment to the ice cream – especially with caramel or Nutella sauce added on top.
13. GIACOPAZZI’S, EYEMOUTH
Where? Harbour Road, Eyemouth
Open Sunday-Tuesday 9am-8.30pm, Wednesday-Saturday 9am-9pm
01890 750317
Giacopazzi’s makes its ice cream in the shop every day and its location beside the harbour is ideal for enjoying a cone or waffle cone. For children (or big kids), its knickerbocker glory does not disappoint.
14. DRUMMUIR FARM, DUMFRIES
Where? Clarencefield Road, Collin, near Dumfries Open Every day 10.30am-5.30pm 01387 750 599
Particularly good for children, this family-run farm produces its own ice cream and has an outside play area to let youngsters run around in. There is an array of flavours to choose from – including the slightly obscure liquorice or ginger – with a service where you can phone in advance to check if your favourite is available.
15. AUNT BETTY’S, STONEHAVEN
Where? The Promenade, Stonehaven
Open Monday-Thursday 10am-9pm, Friday-Sunday 10am-10pm
01569 763656
This shop might be tiny but what it is missing in size it makes up for in taste. There is often a queue out the door when it is sunny, but the wait is worth it for the choice of flavours and the thoughtful sweeties added on top. As a useful bonus, it provides a hand wipe to avoid sticky fingers.
16. STEWART TOWER DAIRY, PERTHSHIRE
Where? Stewart Tower Dairy, Stanley, Perthshire
Open Every day 10am-4.30pm
01738 710044 With its motto being From Cow to Cone, you can’t get much fresher than Stewart Tower Dairy. The ice-cream comes direct from the milk of the cows grazing outside, and then enjoyed as a scoop to take away or an indulgent sundae.
17. MARY’S MILK BAR, EDINBURGH
Where? Grassmarket, Edinburgh Open Tuesday- Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm
Not just a trendy name, in this cafe Main image: Owner Alison in the homely Derby Cafe, Glasgow Above: The distinctive Nardini’s parlour in Largs
Left: Children enjoying an ice cream
there is a chocolatier called Mary making all its ice cream from scratch every morning. She trained at the Gelato University in Bologna so it’s fair to say she knows what she is doing – making a roster of creamy flavours that change every day to avoid customers getting bored.
18. REDBERRY, DUNDEE
Where? Crichton Street, Dundee
Open Monday- Friday 1-11pm, Saturday- Sunday 12-11pm
01382 293384
Open until late, Redberry is a great place to stop for a sweet treat if you have been out for dinner – it’s almost as if you are in Italy. The ice cream is pretty good too, with eye-catching blue bubblegum and mango on offer.
19. VANILLA JOES, IRVINE
Where? Montgomery Street, Irvine Open Every day 11am-9pm
01294 271100 Good news for vegans – Vanilla Joes has dairy-free flavours, tasting so creamy that you would be forgiven for thinking it’s the real thing. But don’t worry if you aren’t a vegan, there are plenty of traditional dairy options to enjoy too.
20. GELATO ULLAPOOL, ULLAPOOL
Where? West Argyle Street, Ullapool
Open Every day 9am-5pm
01854 612228
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can have your ice cream served up in a brioche bun, Sicilian style. The flavours change throughout the week so you can keep coming back without getting bored, although their creme brulee is always a winner.