It may well be September, but summer’s far from over yet in London. And that means you’ve every excuse in the world, during a short break spent in the UK capital, to check out the treats on offer at its trendy, innovative and always awesome ice cream parlours.
In fact, should you book a chic stay at the likes of the Montcalm Marble Arch hotel London, giving a gelateria or two a go one day during your stay’s a fine idea, given the fact the best of them are practically on your doorstep – they’re mostly to be found tucked away, fittingly so, among the plethora of stylish, cool attractions in Soho. But just which ice cream venues and which tasty treats are we talking about, here…?
Udderlicious
(24 Earlham Street WC2H 9LN)
Thanks to its status as an independent gelateria, this is a, yes, udderly excellent place, not least because it allows its customers to choose which flavours of its delicious ice cream it sells each day. And not just its regular customers at that; if you’re looking to enjoy one of those getaways in London, then you can take part in choosing, too; just go to Udderlicious’s website to cast your own three votes for the next day’s ice creams and, naturally, go in the next day and get the flavour of your choice. But what flavours exactly? Why, everything from banana caramel to malt and crushed Maltesers to dark chocolate and seal salt sorbet, of course. Udderly delicious.
Chin Chin Club
(54 Greek Street W1D 3DS)
When you hear there’s an ice cream parlour that creates its delicious treats via liquid nitrogen, you’ve got to check it out, right? That’s exactly the deal at Chin Chin Club, where the ice cream (courtesy of said liquid nitrogen) is marvellously smooth and entirely crystal-free. Moreover, who could say no to trying a Choux-wich – a Persian pistachio-packing Choux pastry sandwich with olive oil ice cream – or ‘miracle cones’, whose free-of-sugar ice cream somehow tastes sugary thanks to, first, popping into your mouth a ‘miracle’ berry pill? Who, indeed!
BAO
(53 Lexington Street W1F 9AS)
What’s better than this? An ice cream-atorium where not only can you order takeaway but, Italian-like, can actually sit down and enjoy the gelato on the premises. Yes, BAO’s where to go to take a pew with whatever you order (how about trying a fried Horlicks ice cream bun?). A word to the wise, though, you might want to be bear in mind that, of course, we’re living in the ‘new normal’ of our present pandemic times, so you may wish to be cautious and social-distance, seating-wise (just as you might want to check up on any Montcalm Covid-19 update at whichever hotel you book, before checking in).
Bubblewrap Waffle
(24 Wardour Street W1D 6QJ)
Finally, as gelaterie go, this one’s pretty self-descriptive. That’s because it wraps its ice cream delights in bubble waffle. And you can’t say fairer than that, given the fact these concoctions are ridiculously delicious. Concoctions, schmoncoctions, though; after all, ice cream’s nothing without fabulous flavours, so what’s on offer here? Oh, well, only the likes of dark chocolate, pecan and fudge; matcha, mocha and red bean; Oreo, salted caramel and strawberry cheesecake. Yep, we’re pretty sure that’ll do nicely enough, all right.
