The Best Gelato in Rome? Here are Our Twelve Favourites!

May 5, 2023

In Italy, everything to do with food is eagerly debated (see our post on Roman pastas for the incident we caused by suggesting a pork-substitution). That’s no different for gelato, obviously, and everyone has a favourite flavour and a favourite place to eat it. For gelato, though, it’s even more complicated: there are chocolate + nuts nuts, those who prefer fruit, and those who are seduced by wacky things. (At least, those are our divisions.) And each of the really good places specializes in particular things. We are chocolate people ourselves, but we’ve broadened our tastes over the past weeks in order to serve the full range of our readers. Our reward was discovering a whole slew of tastes we’d never have tried if left to our own devices!

Gelato Basics: First Controversies

You probably know that gelato is ice cream with less air and less butterfat. (That practically makes it a health food!) What you may not know is that Italians have strong feelings about whether a cup or a cone is better, and even suggest that particular flavours are inappropriate for one or the other, or that gelato from particular locations is better with or without a cone. So yes, they’re judging you here, too! We don’t know these rules, so we just do what we like. We sometimes like the crunch of a cone, especially if there is no crunch in the gelato flavour itself.

Then, size: for at-least-once-a-day-consumers like us, the piccolo/a is the best option; this gives you two flavours without weighing you down. But we see lots of genuine Italians with cones as big as your head containing five flavours, so don’t be shy if that’s what speaks to you.

Flavour is your next difficult decision. Typically you will have a couple dozen to choose from, but in some places it’s over a hundred. No doubt you already know what you like, so we encourage you to experience those flavors in gelato form. But also, why not try something different? We have mentioned our preference for chocolate-based, but we’ve been expanding into other arenas, with significant success.

Then there are other choices. Some places offer chocolate-dipped cones. Or various toppings on the gelato, including chocolate syrup. But the most usual one is a big dollop of cream on top. We usually skip all of these, being purists. Plus we need to watch our girlish figures.

Finally – or actually, first of all – there is the time of day. Where we come from, ice cream is a sometimes food, usually after dinner as dessert. And you will see Italians eating gelato then. But they also eat gelato after lunch, before dinner, and even sometimes before lunch. There are no rules here, which is good, since it’s hard to go three blocks without seeing a tempting gelateria. Also, it’s hard to get bad gelato in Rome; even the most-touristed locations, the ones Italians scorn, will leave you happy.

Our Favourite Gelaterie in Rome

Naturally, much of this is personal preference: we usually avoid cream-based flavours, and we tend to like things that aren’t over-sweet. So too, despite really putting in the hours, we haven’t yet managed to try all the flavours at all of these places. (Extra thanks to our many visitors for helping out as tasters!) For each gelateria listed, we recommend one or two of the more adventurous gelato flavours we really liked.

Fassi (Palazzo del Freddo, near Termini). Located in a beautiful old building, with tons of flavors and ample space to sit down. #1 for historical value. Our pick: vanilla bourbon – creamy and smooth, with a nice finish.
Come Il Latte a small place not far from Termini, very shiny with friendly staff. Our pick: chocolate orange – an excellent combination of sweet and tart, and the orange pieces pack a punch.
Giolitti, near the Parthenon. Also a historic place. Always too crowded for our liking (you will have to fight your way up to the counter), but still a solid choice. Our picks: caramelised fig or limoncello. The fig was really figgy, with a sophistication added by caramelisation. And the limoncello tasted just like limoncello, which is never a bad thing. (Note: we tried these together, which wasn’t the best idea.)
Gelateria La Romana (near the Praetorian Camp): Homey; feels like the kind of place you could hang out all day. Especially if your day includes a lot of gelato. Their other goodies, including a coffee mug of ice cream covered in chocolate, look fabulous. Our pick: crunchy cherry, with the crunch coming from some kind of biscuit – not too sweet, but very fruity, and the crunch gives it that extra something.

Gelateria del Teatro near Piazza Navona, with another branch along the Tiber. A small place with very interesting, but not over-the-top, flavour combinations. We think they do a better job with the fruit palette. Our picks: pineapple and mint or chocolate and nero d’avola (a Sicilian wine). The first is about the most refreshing thing we have ever eaten, and the second is dark and mysterious.
Gunther Gelato, in the Jewish Quarter, run by a man obsessed with gelato. Our pick: mountain pine – but it’s not for everyone; pistachio is also a solid choice.
Gelato San Lorenzo near La Sapienza University: less sugar than other gelati, plus lots of vegan and celiac-friendly flavours. Our pick: walnut with linden honey, which was fascinating.
Fata Morgana: there are three of these across Rome, and they have lots of inventive flavours, like black garlic and white chocolate or chocolate and lapsang souchong. Plus an array of more traditional choices. Our pick: apple, walnut, and cinnamon – a perfect combination!

Otaleg in Trastevere: A foodie favourite, in a trendy part of town, and often packed. Our pick: gianduia 3.0, hazelnut and chocolate, with pieces of hazelnut. Crunchy, creamy, goodness.
Gelateria dei Gracchi : three locations. Our pick: caramel pear, two great tastes we would never have tried together. (We’re glad we did.)
Gelateria della Palma: near the Parthenon, and always crowded. They boast 150 flavours, so don’t even think about going in if you have trouble making up your mind. Our picks: basil and ginger, ideally together. Perfect on a hot day, or if your mouth has fallen asleep from all of the pasta you’ve been eating.
Frigidarium near Piazza Navona: not very big and usually not very crowded. This one is our very favourite, so don’t tell anybody else about it, ok? Our picks: bacio (the candy from Perugia) and dulce de leche.