Unique Ice Cream Shops Around The World

My guilty pleasure when travelling, is ICE CREAM!  I have no shame in admitting that I’m the pig that’ll go for the 3+ scoops every time and often have more than one a day just because I can!  Gelato is amazing, whippy ice cream is yum, cone, tub, I’m not fussed!  I’m always on the hunt for cool ice cream shops, here’s a couple of the more unique ones I’ve found!

Unique Ice Cream Shops

Gelarto Rosa – Budapest, Hungary

The cutest little ice cream shop opposite St. Stephen’s Basilica.  They specialise in serving their ice cream in the shape of a rose, layering up the different flavours to make petals!  Speaking of flavours, they offered an interesting mix, for example, one flavour I chose, was white chocolate and lavender combined and it was amazing!  Also on offer is thick hot chocolate that tastes EXACTLY like melted chocolate, chocolates in the shape of lego bricks and for those wanting something fancier than just a cone, there’s a whole menu of rose shaped ice cream desserts (even paired with French Macarons!).

Marshfield Farm Ice Cream – Illfracombe, UK

JUST LOOK AT THE SIZE OF IT!!!!  It has SEVEN whippy ice creams (2 strawberry, 2 chocolate, 3 vanilla) along with a flake, a GIANT waffle cone…and a small regular wafer cone hidden inside….well we can’t have everything, they can’t fill the whole cone with ice cream can they now?!  Easily ate the whole lot, was a bit cold by the end of it but it was worth every mouthful!  Just a standard little ice cream kiosk alongside the harbour in Illfracombe, Devon that sells typical British made soft scoop ice cream and normal sized whippy cones.  I visited here the year of the 2012 London Olympics, someone walking by looked twice and said “oh! I thought you were holding the Olympic torch!”.  Maybe it was just a special while the olympics were on, I hope not, it made a fun challenge!

Eyescream and Friends – Barcelona, Spain

Located by the harbour, on the way to Barceloneta Beach…you need eagle eyes, it’s literally just a door between restaurants!  The flavour isn’t amazing compared to other places, it’s all in the delivery here!  There are 7 gelato flavours to choose from which then gets ‘shaved’ into a bowl (a fairly generous blob!), then they add 2 little hard sugar eyes so it looks a bit like a splat monster!  To top it off, you then pick two pots of toppings, which they have plenty off!  Such as: sprinkles, chocolate drops, cookie pieces, gummy bears, various sauce flavours…I had kiwi sauce just because I was intrigued to know what it tasted like!

Eyescream and Friends is even open during the winter in Barcelona too!

Pan N Ice – London, UK

So far we’ve had rose ice cream, then shaved ice cream…how about rolled ice cream?! Rolled ice cream is an Asian food trend that spread around the world!  Pan N Ice is a food truck located in Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, London (they also travel around the various events)!  They offer several flavours that are smashed up and rolled up in the mix…I had Ferrero Rocher in mine!  Pan N Ice like to spread 3 life lessons that everyone should live by: Be Kind, Be Yourself and Smile More.  Ice cream definitely makes me smile 🙂

Chin Chin Labs – London, UK

Chin Chin makes their ice cream in a special way, they use liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze it!  They usually offer 3 permanent flavours: vanilla, chocolate and caramel, but sometimes add temporary specials.  They have 2 locations in London, one in Soho and one in Camden.  I’ve been to both, Soho tends to have the larger menu.  The ice cream is topped with an edible chocolate logo and there is a selection of toppings to choose from!

Dylan’s Candy Bar – USA

I can’t have an amazing ice cream parlour list without featuring at least one freak shake! Technically a milkshake…but my milkshake also had an ice cream cone in it too so it counts!  It also had a whole heap of other stuff in it too, candy floss, sweets, whipped cream…AMAZING!  People’s eyes even popped out of their head when I was served it!  So very worth it!  These are only served at the Dylan’s Candy Bar Cafe locations.  I originally visited the Chicago location, however it no longer has a cafe and is just the candy shop now.

Island Vintage Shave Ice – Waikiki, Hawaii USA

OK, so this one snuck onto the list, technically it’s not ice cream, it’s Shave Ice.  BUT the taste is simply amazing and lovely and refreshing in the Hawaiian heat!  I’ve had snow cones before and was disappointed, I may as well just been crunching on some ice cubes…I like slushies too, but Island Vintage Shave Ice, just smashed it out the park.  The serving size was ginormous and as they dish it up, they layer the flavour so it covers ALL of the ice rather than just pouring it on the top and hoping it soaks through.  They use thick real fruit flavoured syrup and then top it with fruit, the texture is awesome!

There is a huge selection and lots of different combinations to try.  It gets served on a wooden plate, but it melts pretty quick!  I’m so annoyed at myself for not getting a photo of it, but when something tastes that good, stopping to get the camera out just isn’t an option!  Located on the main road outside the Royal Hawaiian Centre, just before you hit Waikiki Beach!

Unique Ice Cream Flavours I Have Tried

Poppyseed (absolutely grim)

Aloe Vera (surprising fruity and doesn’t taste like AfterSun location)

Parma Violet (a UK candy, and I LOVED it…Wikipedia describe Parma Violets as “sweet with a soapy or floral taste” LOL)

I’m always on the look out for new awesome places to get ice cream, do you have any suggestions?

Last Updated on August 6, 2022