Sure, you may say you like ice-cream … but if you don’t insist on a scoop with your Christmas pudding, if you’ve never gone down an internet rabbit hole on the history of the Magnum choc-ice … then I’m afraid you’re a mere amateur. Take heart, however, because completing this list of some of the country’s best-loved parlours, vans and holes in the wall should go some way to elevating you to expert status before the summer is out.
1 Swoon, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford and London
Pastry chef and Guardian food writer Ravneet Gill is a big fan of the “excellent” gelato at Swoon’s Bristol branch (and adds that she also “LOVED the soft serve” at the city’s Farro bakery). She orders the pistachio, made with Bronte nuts from Sicily and Somerset milk and, Swoon claims, slow-churned for maximum creaminess.
2 Jelbert’s, Newlyn, Cornwall
The popularity of this little shop is proof that the tyranny of choice is real, because they serve just one thing: very good vanilla ice-cream. The only decision you have to make is whether to have it in a cone or (biodegradable) cup, topped with a flake or a dollop of clotted cream. Personally I’d suggest both.
3 Happy Endings, Victoria Park, London
Terri Mercieca’s justly lauded ice-cream sandwiches, featuring combinations such as malt parfait and bourbon biscuit, or vegan corn and cashew with smoky salted caramel, are available all week from the Pavilion cafe in Victoria Park – but from Thursday to Sunday this summer you can also get her soft serve from the hatch. This weekend’s flavours are milk and vegan chocolate (or both, swirled together, with honeycomb and chocolate chip crumbs).
4 Shepherds, Hay-on-Wye and Abergavenny
If you’ve been to a festival in the south-west or the Midlands in the last couple of decades, then the chances are you’ve come across Shepherds’ deliciously clean-tasting ewe’s milk ice-cream; they believe they may be Glastonbury’s longest-standing trader. With half the fat of traditional ice-cream, it’s incredibly refreshing stuff. Flavours range from homegrown fruit to turmeric and chai.
5 Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream, London NW1, WC2 and W12
Gurdeep Loyal, whose first cookbook Mother Tongue came out earlier this year, recommends the ube (purple yam) and Milo (malted chocolate) flavours at Mamasons, London’s first Filipino ice-cream parlour, which hopes to offer a cultural experience alongside the halo halos (shaved ice desserts). Loyal is also a devotee of Festok’s gorgeous elastic Lebanese ices just off Oxford Street, Tooting’s Lahori Kulfi and Falooda, and Darlish (Hertfordshire and London).
6 Morelli’s, Portrush, County Antrim
As a regular at the Broadstairs parlour of the same name, I was delighted to find what I assumed was an offshoot in the lovely seaside town of Portrush – only to discover it was, in fact, the original one. Though run by different branches of the same family, the businesses are completely independent … and you won’t find flavours like Irish black butter, made with Armagh apples, in Kent. Pair it with the three-star Great Taste Award-winning caramelised hazelnut for a taste of heaven.
7 Cream o’ Galloway, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway
Made using organic milk from sister company the Ethical Dairy’s pioneering high-welfare system, which keeps cows and calves together for up to six months, Cream o’ Galloway offers something really special in 19 different flavours (plus two sorbets) at their visitor centre 3 miles from Carrick Beach in Dumfries and Galloway. As well as the usual chocolate, strawberry and vanilla options, don’t miss local favourites whisky, honey and oatmeal, and Scottish tablet.
8 Moo Pie, Edinburgh
Happy Endings founder Mercieca bemoans the fact she rarely gets out of London (where her favourites include the seasonal flavours at Netil Market’s Soft & Swirly and Broadway Market’s Nonna’s Gelato) but on her last visit to Scotland, she really rated Moo Pie’s “lovely” small batch gelato and monthly-special soft serve (June’s is strawberry yoghurt), also available as a cookie sandwich.
9 Tophams, Bridlington, Yorkshire
I have a predictable soft spot for the wipe-clean glamour of old-fashioned ice-cream parlours, but though Tophams, with its neon signs and vinyl booths hits the spot aesthetically, it’s not just a pretty face. Their knickerbocker glories, complete with whipped cream, strawberry syrup and a glacé cherry, are things of beauty to eat as well as admire, but don’t overlook the peach melba, banana split or coffee royale either. Great value too.
10 Harris and James, various locations in Norfolk and Suffolk
Primarily known for their bean-to-bar chocolate and small-batch roasted coffee, when I called in to Harris and James’s Southwold shop for emergency refreshment during a very hot day’s cycling, I was temporarily reduced to silence by the delicate almond and fresh raspberry flavours in their bakewell tart gelato. Something tells me the coffee and chocolate varieties would also be worth a try.
11 Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, Manchester
When chef Claire Kelsey bought an old ice-cream van on a whim, it was just a DIY project to tackle with her dad. Over a decade later, that same van, thoroughly refurbished, is to be found at local markets, and festivals as far afield as Cornwall and has given birth to a bricks and mortar parlour in Chorlton too. Expect quirky creations like black rice pudding and malted coconut milk, plus an increasing number of vegan offerings.
12 Baboo Gelato, various locations in Dorset
A happy collaboration between Italian-trained gelataia Annie Hanbury, and the rich dairy tradition of the West Country, Baboo is proud to use local ingredients, from elderflowers gathered from local hedgerows to organic Somerset milk, sourcing more exotic ingredients, like Sicilian oranges, direct from the farm where possible. They even produce a special lactose-free peanut butter and banana flavour for dogs.
