Amorino Gelato With Five Locations In London Including Kensington High St
Who doesn’t love an icecream on a boiling hot day?
And sometimes you have to travel to Europe to discover something actually right on your doorstep. Except don’t try to move anywhere with this ice cream in hot weather. It begins to melt immediately and the ice experience gets extremely messy. I’ve tried cones and cups to transport it and you find yourself eating it in such haste to stop getting covered in dripping dessert you miss the enjoyment.
There are a lot of different ice cream companies, some small, some larger, from the independent ice cream van selling 99s at the seaside to Haagen Daz that captured our imagination 65 years ago in the Bronx NYC with the designer boutique experience.
For a brand to endure the flavours and tastes have to be unforgettable, irreplaceable and the experience completely memorable.
Here’s what happened when I first visited Amorino. I have returned a few times since but first impressions do count.
Where have I been, I love ice cream and this French-Italian artisan brand operates globally over 300 boutiques worldwide, 26 across Spain where I spent a few weeks this summer.
On my very first visit I was greeted with one of the warmest welcomes I can remember ever receiving when entering a business, genuine and exuberant, like it was a small business with the owner behind the counter. At this point I had no idea of the scale or size of the business. It felt independent.
My first words “I hope your ice cream is as good as your welcome”
These guys take dessert to a whole new level not just offering simple cones, but gelato filled macarons Laduree style to adorn their creations, in popular flavours like salted caramel, my favourite, pistachio, raspberry and chocolate. Your ice cream is delivered in a rose sculpture, if you order a cone, how they do it I don’t know but it looks like a work of art, to lick is to destroy.
The waffle cones are light and crunchy with a dipped lining of superior tempered chocolate but it was the rich velvety smooth ice cream, possibly the best ice cream I have ever tasted that kept me returning throughout my holiday. When I ordered ice cream in a cup to try and aid transportation from shop to sunbathers it didn’t work though and the cone didn’t get eaten because of the haste required to consume.
I paid €15 for two cones which is standard and I have to say, worth every penny. The ice cream is absolutely spectacular. It was cheaper in a cup, around €12.00 I ordered the second size of 4 options with cones on the side.
In the UK a single-scoop waffle cone at Amorino typically costs between £6.50 and £7.50, depending on the UK location, there are thirty five boutiques across London, the most popular being Soho, Tottenham Court Road, Goodge St, Long Acre, Covent Garden, High St Kensington, Charing Cross, Hampstead and Notting Hill.
Amorino has made famous the signature, rose-petal sculpted gelato. While they charge a flat rate, you are allowed to choose as many flavors as you want on your cone for that price, rather than being limited to just one, which allows you to sample to your hearts content if you cannot make up your mind.
And for Brits at home it’s not just London where you can sample the beautiful ice cream. They have expanded their operation across the UK in recent years.
You can find Amorino in the following UK cities and regional towns.
Edinburgh: 27 North Bridge, EH1 1SB
Birmingham: City Centre
Cardiff: City Centre
Leeds: 22 Commercial Street, LS1 6AL
Cambridge: 9 Market Passage, CB2 3PA
Bath: 19 Union Street, BA1 1RS
York: 39 Parliament Street, YO1 8RU
Canterbury: City Centre
Windsor: 9 Peascod Street, SL4 1DT
Marlow: 105 High Street, SL7 1AB
Bracknell: The Lexicon, RG12
£7.50 for dessert to go is expensive no doubt but if you are an ice cream lover this is one spot worth trying at least once.
The only problem, once you’ve tried the ice cream you won’t be able to stop thinking about these totally delicious concoctions from a simple rose sculpture cone to an elaborate sundae.
Flavours: too many to list. FYI Adding a single gelato-filled macaron to the center of your rose-shaped cone costs an additional £1.90 to £2.50, depending on the specific branch you visit.
It’s all natural which could be the reason it melts so quickly, the only downside, so I’d recommend immediate consumption, try to take it anywhere even a few steps away on a hot day and things get very very messy.