Oddono's pistachio; Scoop's stracciatella; Freggo's toffee and raspberry

I meant to do this post ages ago. Like, back in June or something when it was actually warm. It was supposed to be a teeny tiny guide to the handful of places in London that sell this delectably frozen treat also known as ice cream (ok, not just ice cream, we’re talking gelato, sorbets and fro-yo as well), and my five cents worth about it all.

But we all know my cents are only worth half as much as what I sell them to be.

And now that this post is a ridiculous 3 months overdue, I think I owe you money for actually reading this crap.

So let’s make this post relatively short. Short, like me. Short, like the span of London-time that you can actually spend eating ice cream. Short like… like I can’t really ever write a short post, we know that already.

In a nutshell, Odonno’s and Scoop WIN. Scoop gets extra brownie points for the prettier website and we all know how important perception is, right? Perception (along with some furious marketing and spewing love across twitterverse) is what gets the customers in. The product is what brings them back.

And I know this because I’d never had the urge to try Odonno’s, but with a number of recommendations from trusted foodies, I traipsed on down one day and had me a scoop of pistachio gelato. And Dear Lord, am I dead? Did I finally submerge my head in a tub full of gelato and is this heaven? Wow. Creamy to the nth degree and packing a flavour punch so full that it felt like eating a handful of pistachio nuts. But creamy and cold, of course. I had to give it to them, one scoop and I was sold.

Not to say they out did Scoop, who has been providing me with sugar-sensory-overload for the past year. The flavours and texture of Scoop‘s gelato is on par with Odonno’s, the pricing is similar (£2.50-ish for a small cup) and they both jam as much gelato into the cup as humanly possible. If polygamy were legal, I’d marry them both.

And then there’s Freggo. I was a greedy fool and fell for that swanky cool website (it was the padded purple walls that did it. I mean, padded. purple. walls.) but urgh, was that one of the most hideous gelato experiences ever? Firstly, you don’t get to see the ice cream. I can’t even begin to express how wrong this is! Ice cream to me is a multi-sensory thing, or at least dual-sensory. The way a mountain of gelato looks through the glass partition (which keeps me from dunking my whole head in) plays an enormous part in my decision and takes me half way to falling in love. Taste brings it home.

But at Freggo, they keep the ice cream in hidden tubs behind the counter and expect that you order off a list of indescriptive names. So I did anyway and double whammy ~ a small cup is £3.95.  Ye-ouch! Triple whammy ~ it’s really small. Quadruple whammy ~ it was so sickeningly sweet that I didn’t get anywhere near finishing the tiny cup. 

So my theory: their perception drew me in, but their product will not bring me back. FAIL.

Itsu's strawberry sun; Snog's green tea with blueberry

Moving right along now because this post was meant to be uh… short. Frozen yoghurt, endearingly known as fro-yo, for days when I kid myself into think I’m on diet. Easy one. Itsu fro-yo win! Light and tasty with a bunch of delicious flavours, they used to make one size at £2.95, but now they also make a teeny tiny cup for £1.55!

And Snog, well clever marketing strikes again! Great website, great shop front, decidedly dodgy tasting fro-yo and £3.55 for a small. Flip flap frick frack fecking ridiculous.

Ok! That’s me done! And now, it’s too cold to have ice cream anyway, so keep my cents in your front pocket ready for next summer.

Oh by the way, if you’re in London and are in need of an ice cream/music/crazy cool fix,  check out The Ice Creamists at Selfridges’ Ultra Lounge. They’re there til Nov 1, the pricing is a tad exorbitant but the ice cream is delish and they are simply too kool 4 skool

theicecreamists

I really like… I really really don’t like…

Oddono’s
14 Bute Street
South Kensington, SW7 3EX
0207 052 0732
website

Oddono on Urbanspoon

Freggo
27-29 Swallow Street 
London, W1B 4QR
0207 287 9506
website

Freggo on Urbanspoon

Scoop Gelato
40 Shorts Gardens
London, WC2H 9AB
0207 240 7086
website

Scoop Fine Italian Gelato on Urbanspoon

Snog
9 Brewer Street
Soho, W1F 0RG
website

Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt on Urbanspoon

Itsu
They’re everywhere!
website

7 Thoughts on “and just like that, ice cream season is gone: the good, the bad & the too kool 4 skool

  1. Don’t forget Frae! Tried them out on Friday and they were far better than Snog.

    http://www.frae.co.uk/

  2. thanks for the tip carmen! Frae is on the list and will check them out very soon. Not too difficult to be better than Snog. Snog’s green tea fro-yo did not taste anything like green tea!

  3. You’ve completely put me off Freggo! Every time I walk past it, I now think of you…

  4. oh god no Helen, don’t think of me every time you walk past Freggo! LOL that’s awful!! 🙂

  5. Love my icecream so will have to check out Odonno’s and Scoop. If you’re ever in Camden/Chalk Farm then check out Marine Ices. It’s a bit 1950’s and old school but the icecream is fab and they do wicked sundaes. I wandered down for a last one of summer on Saturday and wasn’t disappointed!

  6. Craig: thanks for the tip re Marines Ices.. I think I can handle ice cream even in winter so I’ll definitely make my way down there!

  7. The ice season will be back again soon!

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