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The best gelato shops in Rome

Italy is the queen of ice cream. Period. There is no walking tour in the squares of Rome without ice cream (just one?) and you must not miss the ice cream in Rome. Not even for a joke. The competition is insane, and with a new gelateria opening on every street corner, it’s essential to know where the ice cream experience will be perfect. In Rome, you can find a variety of great gelaterias. Dreamyouritaly.com wants to recommend the best gelaterias in Rome located in the city center.

Our criteria for selection are very simple:

We seek the original – not the franchise

A variety of flavors

Creativity in flavors

Our subjective taste – we’ve been and tasted

The order of the gelaterias is suitable for a walking tour in the city center starting in the picturesque MONTI neighborhood and ending in the lively Trastevere neighborhood.

Allora? We’re off!

Fatamorgana

Why? Because there are insane flavors here that you won’t find anywhere else.

Every visit to one of the FATAMORGANA stores (8 in central Rome) at this excellent gelateria is a new adventure for your taste buds, almost like magic. One of the first gelaterias in the city to offer natural-based ice cream, made from a few simple ingredients and mainly, flavors from the creative mind of the owner, Maria Aneza, who never stops innovating. Looking for crazy flavors? This is the place: rice gelato with rose petals, basil ice cream with walnuts and honey, avocado gelato, white wine and lime, and a host of other flavors that will send your palate soaring. You can also find sugar-free or dairy-free ice cream, as well as gluten-free wafers.
Additional locations in the city center:
Via Leone IV, 50 (Prati, Vatican Area), Via Roma Libera, 11 (Trastevere), Via Laurina, 10 (Via del Corso), Via dei Chiavari (Centro Storico)

Gelateria La Romana

Why? Because an ice cream parlor that opens branches in more and more places in Italy, and receives nothing but compliments from the locals, must definitely be amazing!

The excellent gelateria LA ROMANA (which is also a fantastic pastry shop) comes to Rome from Northern Italy. It was born in the Adriatic resort city of Rimini in the Emilia-Romagna region in the late 1940s and is named after the owner’s daughter. The various flavors are based on recipes that the family has preserved over the years. The four main ingredients are: eggs, sugar, fresh cream, and organic milk. The ZUPPA INGLESE is incredible, and for the sorbets made with 50% fruit, definitely try the persimmon. Just amazing!

Gelateria Dei Gracchi

Why? Because if it makes it to the recommended list of the leading Italian gourmet guide, GAMBERO ROSSO, there must be a reason.

When Alberto arrived from the town of SAN TEODORO on the shores of Sardinia to Rome with the idea of opening a gelateria, he also brought with him the principle of zero kilometers, a philosophy of freshness that only uses local ingredients. Gelateria DEI GRACCHI ensures it adapts to the seasons, thereby guaranteeing top-quality ice cream. The flagship flavor of the place is pistachio ice cream – a must-try. Other flavors that will sweeten your shopping trip in the VIA DI COLA RIENZO area include dark chocolate ice cream with orange, apple and cinnamon ice cream, and roasted almond ice cream with orange.

The current gelateria, located not far from the Vatican, has another branch close to Piazza del Popolo, at VIA DELLA RIPETTA 261.

Giolitti

Why? Because this is the institution, with a capital ‘I’, for ice cream in Rome.

If we have to point to one of the best gelaterias in Rome, you’ve certainly arrived at the most famous one in the city. When the Giolitti family began supplying milk in 1890, they quickly became the primary supplier to the Italian royal family, as quality and prestige demand it. From there, the family’s descendants continued with a vegetarian restaurant, and adjacent to it, right in its current location, they opened a gelateria, the recipes of which the family insists on keeping secret to this day. It is rightfully regarded, not just as another excellent gelateria, but as a true institution. Situated in the most central location you could ask for, there is hardly a tourist passing by the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps towards the Pantheon who doesn’t stop by. Chances are, you will too…

Gunther Italian Gelato

Why? Because when a carpenter and a ski instructor meet a Roman woman on the slopes of the Dolomites, the gelato is perfect….

When Gunter Rohrger, a young guy from South Tyrol, who dreamed of being a carpenter, realized he was allergic to wood dust, he became a ski instructor. He never imagined that he wouldn’t last long in his new profession either. One winter, on the slopes of the Dolomites, he met someone who would drag him all the way to Rome, where his beloved’s family owned gelaterias. Gunter immediately recognized the potential and got to work. He imported from the Dolomites one of the secrets of his gelato ingredients: water. When you combine rustic raw materials, such as milk from the Po Valley and bergamots from Sicily with mountain water like PLOSE from the ALTO ADIGE region, the results are quick to follow. The gelateria he opened and the gelato-making workshops in Rome have become renowned. Gunter’s gelato varieties are excellent and come in every type. On one hand, you’ll find classic flavors like his special dark chocolate, or pine needle infusion gelato, pure pistachio gelato, and zabaglione gelato. On the other hand, there are unique flavors like dark chocolate with gorgonzola cheese. A special visit to a unique gelateria.

Gelateria del Teatro

Why? Because when you rely on no one but yourself and choose the right location, the result is amazing…

Stefano and Silvia’s great passion for ice cream led them to search for the ultimate ice cream flavor; they wandered throughout Italy until they made a bold decision – to make the best ice cream themselves. Their gelato lab has become one of the best in the city. The couple opened their ice cream shop near the staircase of TEATRO DEI CORONARI, a small and intimate local theater from which the shop derives its name. A unique location calls for a special ice cream. In 2013, the owners expanded the shop and added another lab, featuring a storefront on the street, where passersby are invited to assist in creating new flavors. Their philosophy of making gelato is precise and uncompromising. “Why should I use frozen fruits instead of fresh ones?” GELATERIA DEL TEATRO brings the finest raw materials from all over Italy, such as pistachios from the town of BRONTE in Sicily, lemons from the town of AMALFI in Campania, strawberries from the town of TERRACINA in Lazio, and nuts from the town of ALBA in Piedmont. Recommended flavor: rosemary, honey, and lemon.

Gelateria Frigidarium

Why? Because ice cream is an art…

Just a few meters from Piazza Navona, the gelateria FRIGIDARIUM creates ice cream in the ARIGAINALAE style, blending traditional and modern techniques to craft quality flavors. Like artists, here the passion for the craft is one of the key ingredients. As in any quality gelateria, the long line is a hallmark, but believe us, the wait is worth every lick. The pistachio and cream are a must-try. So is the Florentine cream, and don’t forget to ask for your ice cream to be dipped in their chocolate sauce, creating a chocolate shell that will leave you wanting more.

Otaleg

Why? Because the flavors here are already at a culinary level.

For many Romans, OTALEG Gelateria is not just the antithesis of what gelato is supposed to represent, but a synonym for the word GELATO. Many gelato experts in Italy claim that the Roman institution brought to life by gelato maker (GELATAIO) Marco Radicioni is the best in the city. The use of fresh seasonal ingredients, daily local production, and simplicity are the recipe for success. The unique flavors that Marco, the owner, brings to his kingdom are truly a step up towards unexpected culinary directions. Savory gelato is already his signature. Homemade mayonnaise gelato with rosemary, spicy ketchup gelato, or dried fruit gelato: every fruit is picked at a different time, dipped in a bit of honey and ultimately mixed with his perfect milk. If you really want to get into Marco’s head, you should try the licorice gelato. Championship quality. Back to the classic flavors, you must try OTALEG’s pistachio. He has it in a variety of flavors, depending on the country of origin – Turkey, Iran, but the highlight in our opinion is the pistachio gelato he brings straight from the town of BRONTE at the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily. A dream come true. And before you finish dreaming with Marco about gelato, also try the peach sorbet. And one last bonus – don’t miss watching the gelato being made behind the glass at the front of the gelateria. A show.

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