It was one of those disgusting summer days in London. Muggy and oppressive, the air was soggy and warm and made my clothes stick to my body. It felt like I had walked into someones bathroom just after they had taken a long, hot shower. So naturally, my first instinct when I left work was get some gelato in me. I had read about Gino Gelato in a recent review of London’s best ice cream stores in the Evening Standard, so my expectations were fairly high. I trudged down Piccadilly past the fat American tourists outside Fortnum & Masons, elbowed my way down Haymarket and pushed through more over-sized tourists in Trafalger Square. In a pedestrian street just before Charing Cross station I found Gino Gelato.
Store: I walked into the store with a slightly demented look in my eye from the heat, dehydration and general unpleasantness of London that day, hoping to be greeted by a cool, calm interior. Instead, the store was even hotter than outside and more like a Finnish sauna. I expected men in towels to appear and start beating each other with birch branches. AC obviously not working and decor also looked a bit tired. Cracked tiles, a bit dark and generally not very inviting.
On offer: A good selection of gelati and sorbetti (about 8 flavours of each) and espresso. You can also design your own gelato flavour combinations. Just give them 3 days notice and they will make almost any flavour you can imagine. Celery and parmesan gelato anyone?
What I had: Coffee gelato and peanut butter gelato. Both dissapointing. Coffee was lacking flavour and just tasted a bit sweet and as if someone had sprinkled a few cofffee granules over the container. Peanut butter was watery and thin although had a good nutty flavour.
Verdict: A shame really. Perhaps I was unlucky and chose the wrong flavours. They claim their staff were all trained by award-winning gelatieres, Palmiro Bruschi, and only the finest ingredients are used, so the gelato should be top notch. Sadly it isn’t, but I feel I should give them a second chance. Only once they’ve fixed their AC though.
3 Adelaide Street
London
WC2N 4HZ
020 7836 9390
