Top Places for the best gelato in Rome
1. NEVE DI LATTE
Neve di Latte is in a class by itself. I lied when I said these are not in order. This one is tops (sorry next 9)!
A real working laboratory is right there so you can see the gelato being made.
Also, the master gelato maker himself, Simone Romano, is often on hand to tell you all about the gelato, if you ask.
But you can tell just by looking at the gelato in the bins, what high quality it is.
They use the best quality ingredients (milk from Piemonte, Parisi eggs, Amadei chocolate), and like at Gelateria Otaleg (number 8 below), you can see these ingredients on display.
But it’s not just the ingredients: there is something about the way it’s made that gives it a smoothness, consistency of texture and flavor, and creaminess, that is perfect and irresistible. You cannot stop eating it and when you are done, you want more.
The gelato at Neve di Latte is worth going out of your way for (it’s not far from Piazza del Popolo, and right near the wonderful modern art museum Maxxi and the Rome Auditorium.) And, as of 2019, they have a second location at Piazza Cavour, in Prati. Still sort of out of the way, and still worth going out of your way for.
Details | Via Federico Cesi:
- Address: Via Federico Cesi, 1
- Phone: +39 06 3260 9829
- Opening hours: Monday-Thursday: 08:00-23:00 | Friday-Saturday: 08:00-24:00 | Sunday: 08:00-23:00
- Metro A Lepanto, or one of many buses that stop at Piazza Cavour
Details | Via Luigi Poletti:
- Address: Via Luigi Poletti, 6
- Phone: +39 06 320 8485
- Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 12:00-23:00
- Tram 2 from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Mancini
- A perfect stop before or after visiting Maxxi Museum
2. I CARUSO
At gelateria I Caruso, they have very few flavors, but whatever they have is always amazing. I sometimes try to get their “flavor of the day”, but often find myself getting the simplest ones, because my mouth starts watering for them when I go in: pistachio and fior di panna (gelato made with the best plain cream. And that’s it. So it had better be amazing or you will know it.)
They make the “perfect” pistachio: nutty, more brown-green than green, and super rich and creamy without being heavy. And it tastes just like smooth cold pistacchio nuts, as it should!
Fior di panna is not a flavor you find in every gelateria in Rome. Just the very good ones. And here, it’s one of the best.
This is also the only gelateria in Rome where I will get the strawberry gelato (in season only). It is not pink and milky, it’s deep red and juicy and tastes like a bowl of frozen strawberries. It’s simply outstanding.
At i Caruso, like many artisanal gelaterie, they also sell frozen gelato treats, like these chocolate-covered gelato popsicles.
Details:
- Address: Via Collina, 13-15
- Phone: +39 06 4549 4898
- Opening hours: Monday-Thursday: 12:00-22:00 | Friday-Saturday: 12:00-24:00 | Sunday: 12:00-21:00
- Just off via XX Settembre or via Piave, near Piazza Fiume
- Metro line A Termini or Repubblica
3. GÜNTHER ROHREGGER GELATO
By now I have become a huge fan of this gelato by maestro Günther Rohregger. It has become Alessandro’s new favorite gelato in Rome (unlike me, he is not a gelato maniac, preferring pizza and fried goodies, but he loves this place, which says a lot!)
Everything here is wonderful, but the flavors that grab me the most are the buffalo milk gelato with pink pepper corns from Madagascar (yes, trust me!!); the caramel with Himalayan salt; and OMG the Indonesian cinnamon! I never knew I could be such a huge cinnamon gelato fan! Oh yeah, and the buffalo milk with chocolate nibs and black cherry.
I first discovered how amazing this gelato is when I was invited to a (press-event) “vertical gelato tasting” there – yes that is as decadent as it sounds.
We started with the non-milk products, which were pretty much fruit sorbets (although there was a pistacchio and also a chocolate non-milk gelato, too.) Then we worked our way up to the creamier, denser and more complex flavors. I think I tasted over 25 flavors (they were little bites but still.)
Why is this some of the best gelato in Rome? As Günther Rohregger explained: he is from the very north of Italy, and this is where the best milk and the best water are from. He uses only those products, and the very best ingredients to make his gelato.
One of the most amazing things about this gelato is their website: There, you can browse the flavors. Once you pick one that sounds good to you, they will actually tell you what other flavors go with the one you chose! It’s really genius and unique! (Site is only in Italian but it’s full of photos so easy to figure out.)
Lucky for us, there are 3 locations in central Rome!
Location near Pantheon (called “Punto Gelato“):
- Piazza Sant Eustachio, 47
- Monday-Sunday: 12:00-23:00
Location near Campo dei Fiori (called “Punto Gelato“):
- Via dei Pettinari, 43
- Monday-Thursday: 11:30-01:30 | Friday-Saturday: 11:30-02:30 | Sunday: 11:30-01:30
Location near Spanish Steps (called “The Taste”):
- Via Due Macelli, 108
- Monday-Sunday: 12:00-23:00
4. FATAMORGANA
Fatamorgana is a local chain of gelato in Rome. They are in tucked away in little spots all over the city, thank goodness! That way I can multiply the number of times I can visit them.
I do a lot of taste-testing at Fatamorgana in January, when there is (almost) nobody else there. One winter I tried the seasonal flavor of panettone (typical Italian Christmas cake), which was a bid odd – it tasted exactly like panettone and frankly by January I am done with Christmas cakes. But that’s an interesting concept and at Fatamorgana they are always experimenting and coming up with fascinating flavors.
Another neat flavor is banana-lime: holy-wow! Both the banana and the lime jump out in one bite. A keeper.
Recently I tried these two gelato flavors together: baklava (the greek/middle-eastern honey-nut pastry), and seadas (a traditional Sardinian dessert, which is a cheese filled pastry, fried and covered in honey, o.m.g.) Both flavors were swoon-worthy by themselves. Together, it was heaven in a cone!
And if you want to be adventurous (and have tried just about all the other flavors so are open to experimenting), go for some of the not-sweet flavors. On another evening outing I sampled these two flavors: Olive taggiasche (black olives), and basil-walnut-honey. The flavors were perfect! It felt like I was having a cold aperitivo. Was only missing a nice aperol spritz to go with it!
Of course I always love their nutty flavors like almond or pistacchio. And their Madagascar chocolate is just as delicious as it sounds. (I have yet to venture to try the wintery “Kentucky” flavor of chocolate and tobacco. Maybe I will one day.)
Monti location
- near Colosseum and Cavour Metro B stop
- Piazza degli Zingari, 5
- Monday-Wednesday: 15:30-22:30 | Thursday-Saturday: 15:30-23:00 | Sunday: 15:30-22:30
Trastevere location
- near viale Trastevere tram line
- via Roma Libera, 11
- Monday-Saturday: 12:30-21:30 | Sunday: 12:30-22:30
Piazza del Popolo/Spanish Steps location
- Metro A stop Popolo or Spagna
- via Laurina 10
- Monday-Sunday: 12:00-21:00
Campo dei Fiori:
- via dei Chiavari, 37
- Monday-Thursday: 12:00-23:00 | Friday-Saturday: 12:00-23:30 | Sunday: 12:00-23:00
Check the Fatamorgana website for all their locations.
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5. GELATERIA DEI GRACCHI
I used to think that Gelateria dei Gracchi was a bit too out of my way to get to enough. But as it turns out, three things happened since I discovered them several years ago:
- Every single time I am anywhere near the Vatican, I beeline to this place, even going out of my way. And I am more than happy to wait my turn in line, because I know what awaits me.
- They opened a location right near the Spanish Steps/Piazza del Popolo.
So now let’s talk about why I love this place. The gelato. It’s amazing. All made from scratch daily, with all fresh ingredients. The kind of gelateria that always has a line out the door, and people willing to wait. Try it, you will see.
Vatican location:
- Via dei Gracchi, 272
- Metro A Lepanto
- Monday-Thursday: 11:00-24:00 | Friday-Saturday: 11:00-00:30 | Sunday: 11:00-24:00
Spanish Steps/Piazza del Popolo location:
- Via di Ripetta, 261
- Metro A Flaminia
- Monday-Thursday: 12:00-21:00 | Friday-Saturday: 12:00-23:00 | Sunday: 12:00-21:00
A more local Rome neighborhood:
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- Viale Regina Margherita, 212
- Monday-Sunday: 12:00-24:00
6. GELATERIA DEL TEATRO
When you first approach Gelateria del Teatro, you can already see why it’s going to be good. There is a window on via dei Coronari, with many of the fresh ingredients used in their gelato, on display. Then you can see a guy right there chopping ingredients to make the gelato. The laboratory takes up half the store and you just know they are making serious gelato in here.
I love this gelateria because they have some of the best of my go-to taste-test nut flavors: pistacchio, almond, hazelnut.
But they also get creative, with wonderful success. So sometimes I try their seasonal or experimental flavors and am always happy I did. (Although the pumpkin flavor in January was a bit too Thanksgiving-y for me by then.)
Let’s talk about their white chocolate with fresh basil. It’s sublime. The basil gets cooked down so it’s not sharp, and so you can taste both the herb and the white chocolate side by side. This is one of those gelato flavors that actually does have a bright green color, but naturally, not from any dye or additive. Truly artistic gelato in Rome!
In summer, I’ve also tried their lavender and white peach gelato, and fig almond. Um, yeah both those flavors are as outrageous as they sound!
If you are here at the end of summer, and they have these flavors, give them a try.
Via dei Coronari location:
- Via dei Coronari, 65
- Between Piazza Navona and the Tiber River
- Monday-Sunday: 12:00-24:00
A second, smaller location:
- Lungotevere dei Vallati, 25
- Not far from the Isola Tiberina
- Monday-Thursday: 11:30-23:30 | Friday-Saturday: 11:30-24:00 | Sunday: 11:30-23:30
7. IL GELATO DI CLAUDIO TORCÈ
Claudio Torcè is known among Rome foodies (I really don’t like this overused term but what else to call all the people who seriously follow and write about food in Rome?) as the head honcho of gelato.
I first visited his flagship store several years ago in EUR (a city/suburb just south of Rome), by chance, before I even knew how special it was.
This was also before the new trend of treating gelato like a gourmet food.
I was amazed at the flavors listed there: wasabi; rice with cinnamon and honey (this was yummy, even if mild); cashew and beer (I will have to try that another time), and so many more, sweet, savory, spicy, cheesy, you name it!
They also have many classic flavors, but in huge varieties.
There are more chocolate flavors than even I know what to do with!
He’s really the one who put interesting gelato on the map, going to new lengths to create new, strange and wonderful flavors that didn’t seem feasible.
Only at Claudio Torcè can you try the gelato flavor of hotdog (wurstel), ketchup and mayonnaise (no I have not brought myself to try that one yet.)
What I can tell you is that when you see a gelato flavor here, like carbonara, expect the gelato to taste Just. Like. That.
Details:
- Viale Aventìno, 59
- Metro B Circo Massimo
- Monday-Tuesday 11:00-21:00 | Wednesday-Sunday: 12:00-24:00
For more locations a little more outside Rome center, visit their website.
8. OTALEG
Otaleg (“gelato” spelled backward), may be one of the places for the best gelato in Rome when you’re looking for original flavors.
The master gelataio (gelato-maker) Marco Radicioni has taken gelato-creation to new heights of inventiveness and outrageous deliciousness.
If you are looking for parmesan + balsamic gelato, you’ve come to the right place.
Along with the other maestro of gelato, Claudio Torcè, these may be the two most interesting gelaterie in Rome if you really want to take taste-testing to another level.
Or, you can just have a cup of pecan gelato and salty hazelnut honey crunch gelato, topped with freshly whipped panna, like I did on my last visit. Swoon city.
Details:
- Address: Via di San Cosimato, 14/a
- Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 12:00-24:00
9. CIAMPINI
Ciampini has long been the secret vice of Romans in the know. After a recent renovation, they’ve expanded and now have a second gelateria, literally a stone’s throw from the first.
You may want to pop into the where-everyone-knows-your-name cafe (if you’re a local, that is!) right on the piazza.
Or, you can visit the dedicated Ciampini Lab, just on the corner.
Either way, you will be treated to gelato at its simplest and at its finest.
Ciampini:
- Address: San Lorenzo in Lucina 29
- Phone: +39 066 876 606
- Opening hours: Monday-Saturday: 08:30-22:30 | Sunday 09:00-22:30
- CLOSED winter
Ciampini LAB:
- Address: Via Del Leone, 12
- Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 12:00-18:00
10. LA GOURMANDISE
Even if you are not staying anywhere near this gelateria, find a way to go out of your way.
Like Neve di Latte and Otaleg, La Gourmandise is not in the historic or touristic center of Rome. And like those two, it’s unlike any other gelato you will try.
It’s not just that the ingredients are the best quality possible, like Maltese goat’s milk (which makes their milky gelato flavors easier to digest than gelato made with cow’s or sheep’s milk), and Valrhona chocolate.
It’s not just that they make special flavors, using fruits and herbs in season.
It’s the way they combine these flavors, in unique and surprising ways that produces gelato flavors you wouldn’t have thought possible.
Not to mention their scrumptious little parfait cups and gelato bon-bons, which alone are worth the trip.
- Address: via Felice Cavallotti 36B, Rome, Italy
- Phone: +39 06 9603 9081
- Opening hours: Monday CLOSED | Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-22:00
- In Monteverde Vecchio, just a bit past the hustle and bustle of Trastevere, a 20-minute walk from Santa Maria in Trastevere (there are also buses that reach it.)
