Alandas

1 Forrest Road
An East Lothian success story, Alandas ‘sculpts not scoops’ smooth fresh gelato in this elegant Old Town ice-cream bar. Made using local dairy products, flavours change daily but Piedmont hazelnut is particularly special. The Belgian milk chocolate has also won awards, which just goes to show you really can’t order badly.

Ciccetta’s 

26 Bruntsfield Avenue
This banana-yellow Bruntsfield newcomer has certainly got tongues wagging as well as licking, thanks to small batches of hand-churned gelato with unusual flavours. Their sundaes steal the show, particularly the campfire smoke which comes loaded with toasted marshmallow and pecans, or go banana split if you’re having retro feels.  

Joelato

31 North West Circus Place and Bonnie & Wild, St James Quarter
This Stockbridge gelateria is perfectly positioned for a wander by the Water Of Leith with a cone. The company began in pretty Perthshire and there’s still a strong connection, with rich milk, cream and fresh berries arriving from the county, plus coffee from Aberfeldy’s Glen Lyon. Try their rhubarb-custard crumble or blackberry sorbet.

Mary’s Milk Bar

19 Grassmarket
You’ll likely spot the queue first at this sweet little ice-cream bar; it’s well worth joining and moves quickly. Mary makes the gelato daily, with a few unusual choices joining the classics: think chocolate with cayenne and cinnamon, or mango and cumin. Every day is different so a good excuse to get back in line.

Oscar’s

3 Brighton Place and Portobello Promenade
You can’t have a day at the seaside without a cone, and Oscar’s delivers perfect scoops from their Porty High Street shop and their truck on the prom. Traditional choices are nicely done: try raspberry ripple, rum and raisin, or straight-up chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. Sticky faces mandatory. 

SoftCore

Edinburgh Street Food, Leith Street
Creamy soft-serve ice-cream, made from fresh milk and cream with none of the nonsense. The sundaes are outrageously good: try miso and caramel ice-cream with salted caramel sauce and honeycomb. Matcha and white chocolate is also pretty special, as are the warm cookies. Sugar rush here we come. 

Also try… Luca’s is Edinburgh’s ice cream OG: find them in Musselburgh and Morningside. Moo Pie Gelato does a mean line in gelato, hot chocolate and cookie sandwiches, while Considerit’s ice-cream range is fully vegan

This TipList is taken from Eat & Drink 365, our sister mag recommending the best in restaurants, bars, cafés and more across Edinburgh. Want a copy? It’s available online or across all good stockists in Scotland’s capital.

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