The six best places to get an ice-cream in Dubai

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream! As you can see, this particular foodstuff conjures pretty strong emotions in the LovinDubai office. Whether you’re partial to fancy flavours and finishing touches, or a plain old heap of vanilla – here are some of the best places to get your scoop on.

Coldstone Creamery…

Chances are, you’ll have seen the staff at Coldstone doing all sorts of crazy things with a spatular from afar during a trip to Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates. Once you’ve selected some of their crazy flavours (birthday cake, anyone?) they ask you what ‘mix-ins’ you’d like – such as chocolate nibs and crumbled Oreos, and will then smoosh it all together by slapping it about on the counter and throwing it into the air. For real. Theatrics aside, the ice-cream itself is toe-curlingly good – just be careful not to go too mental with the flavours or you’ll make yourself sick. Prices start from AED 15 for one scoop with one mix-in.

Scoopi…

If you go down to Jumeirah Beach Road today, you’re in for a big surprise. Here you’ll find an ice-cream parlour with a difference – a liquid nitrogen machine that freezes your chosen scoop before your eyes. This is gourmet science, and boy does it taste good. Alongside desserts such as the new sea salt and caramel ice-cream, which is served with popcorn dipped in liquid nitrogen, you can also choose to partake in the most expensive sundae in the world: the ‘black diamond’. Costing a mere AED 2,999 it is comprised of the finest madagascan vanilla, saffron, black truffle and 23 carat edible gold. It is then served in a Versace bowl, with matching spoon, that you get to wash up and take away. Bargain.

Morelli’s Gelato…

This is one for all you frozen delight snobs – some of the finest gelato you’ll find this side of Lake Como. For those who haven’t experienced this Italian delicacy, it’s a lighter, purer version of the ice-cream we all know and love, and comes in refined flavours such as pistachio, banana and of course, Nutella. For those with a serious craving to satisfy – try the ‘Bacio’ sundae (AED 37): chocolate, hazelnut and soft vanilla gelato is served with a chocolate truffle, Piemonte hazelnuts, magnum chocolate and hazelnut sauce in a chocolate cup topped with lashings of cream. Pass. The. Spoon.

Tiramisu Cafe…

Situated slap bang in the middle of Emaar Boulevard downtown, Tiramisu Cafe is a popular spot with the residents in that part of town. Yes, they serve a mean cup of coffee but it’s their traditional Italian gelato that keeps the pavement outside busy with customers until late at night. The strawberry dream sundae (AED 40, pictured) is a LovinDubai favourite and is made up of strawberry and vanilla gelato, fresh strawberries and tons of whipped cream. With all that fruit it’s kind of good for us…no?

Grom…

This Italian chain of gelato parlours are known for being inventive when it comes to their flavours. With options such as caramel and Himalayan pink salt and ‘stracciatella’ (madagascan vanilla with Colombian ‘Teyuna’ chocolate chips) it’s a far cry from your bog-standard chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. And with prices starting at just AED 19, you can expand your palette without expanding your wallet too much. Now that’s what we’d call a win win. Find them in Box Park and at Mall of the Emirates.

The Majlis Cafe…

Here’s one for the adventurous folk – camel milk ice-cream. Yes, you read that right – and it comes served as a soft scoop in both vanilla and chocolate flavours (AED 18). Known for it’s healing properties, camel milk is an ingredient as intrinsic to the heritage of Arabia as sand and pearls, and is having something of a renaissance in recent years. This cafe is as opulent as one would expect, and can be found in the Souk in The Dubai Mall as well as Jumeirah Grand Mosque and most authentically of all – in the middle of the desert as part of the Arabian Adventures tour. Give it a whirl.

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