Where to find the best gelato in Rome city centre

Where to find the best gelato in Rome center? This is our handpicked, tried and tested selection of the best places for real gelato in Rome (and some tips on how to spot a good shop).

Each of these gelato addresses has been tried and tested by our reliable team of tasters: Mama (creams), Dada (fruit), Mr M (stracciatella connoisseur) and Little Ms E (Chocolate fanatic).

We have chosen these places based on taste and texture and we have been strict about only getting gelato artigianale (see below), so you can be sure that when you are tasting gelato in Rome, you are having the real thing!

I hope you enjoy this selection and you find yourself testing and tasting many of these while strolling around Rome!

Where to find the best gelato in Rome

Gelato is ubiquitous in Rome.

You find gelaterie (gelato shops) everywhere and very much in all seasons, the weather in Rome hardly ever being cold or bad enough to dissuade anyone, local or visitor, from a gelato stop.

However, not all gelato is created equal and you can very well come across disappointing shops and well as amazing ones.

I am not usually a food snob but on some things I am fussy and gelato is one of them (coffee is another one).

I believe that gelato needs to be smooth, not overly cold (this may sound silly but it’s a big factor in what makes the real thing

different from ice cream) and made with genuine ingredients.These are some gelato shops I recommend.

Best gelato in Rome: top picks

Our top picks for gelato in Rome historical centre are:

Gelateria in Gracchi, best gelato in Rome for me!

Gelateria I Gracchi is an institution in Rome.

They made a name for themselves years ago for genuine ingredients and amazing taste and, since then, they have kept up their good reputation with gelato that is made with fresh, seasonal ingredients and attention to special dietary requirements such as lactose-free flavors.

They are in several locations in Rome and their shops are bare but efficient: you go, you eat (at the bar or on the small benches available), you pay, you go.

My favorite flavor here Orange Infused Chocolate, Cubano and Zabajone, but they have many more flavors and cater to customers with food intolerances with a good list of allergens in Italian and English and lactose free and flavors.

I invite you to taste many so you can pick yours. Address: Via di Ripetta 261 (near Piazza del Popolo)  and Via Pantaleo 61 (Piazza Navona)Also in: Address: Via dei Gracchi 272 (Prati) and Viale Regina Margherita (Trieste area)

Gunther, great gelato near the Pantheon

Gunther has several gelato shops in Rome, including one in the stellar location of Piazza Sant’Eustachio.

I first came across this Gelateria during an expresso and gelato tour I took out of curiosity (as a local, I wanted to spy what tour guides recommended to visitors!!).

It was love at first taste!

Gunther, as the name suggests, is from the Dolomites and stays true to his roots only using Plose water from that area. He also has some special flavors such as pine which recall the beautiful landscapes of the Alps, as well as all the traditional ones.

We love Gunther’s gelato.

Gunther has many flavors, all creamy and delicious, fresh and never too sweet.

You can have them in coni or coppette, with or with our whipped cream and they come with a crunchy biscuit on top.

As well as delicious gelato, Gunther also has very pleasant staff and a fraction of the lines of better known but, in my opinion, less worthy gelato places in Rome city center.

I hope you try it and love it as much as we do! In the city center, this is one of our favorite addresses, especially their lemon cream!

Address: Piazza Sant’Eustachio (near the Pantheon)

Gelateria del teatro, best gelato near Piazza Navona

In the area of Piazza Navona you have several good addresses, one of which is the above mentioned ‘I Gracchi’. Another one is gelateria del teatro.

Gelateria del teatro,  makes this list for the quality of their gelato but also for their scenic location.

Piazza del teatro and,  specifically, the corner this gelateria sits on, is one of the most charming of Rome and one that graces many instagram accounts. In summer, try their fruit flavors for a refreshing bust of gelato pleasure!

If you are here, make sure you get adventurous and try some of their more unusual flavors such as pear and ginger.

They are not for everyone and somewhat heavy on the spices but some are delicious: most of the staff is open to give you a small mini taste of the most unusual flavors before you commit to buying.

A nice touch. Address: Via dei Coronari, 65/66

Fata Morgana, great gelato in Monti 

Gelateria fata Morgana made a name of itself a few years ago for imaginative and innovative flavors and is now a well known and respected address for good quality gelato.

The one we are most familiar with is the shop in Trastevere but they also have addresses in Monti, which is a lovely area and convenient if you are visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

If you are adventurous, this is the place to be although you can safely come here with fussy eating kids too as they do have classic flavors too and they are every bit as delicious as the creative one Address: Piazza degli Zingari, 5 (Monti)

Come il Latte

Gelateria Come il Latte is on the edges of Rome city center, close to famous Via Veneto but in a quiet and residential area.

This gelateria is the one you see in the photo above and it is lovely, in my opinion, especially for cream flavours that are well made, creamy and not too sweet.

Address: Via Silvio Spaventa, 24/26, 00187 Roma RM

Best known gelato in Rome: Giolitti

Maybe the best known of all gelato places in Rome in Giolitti, a historical address in the city centre, just being the parliament.

I feel that because of its notoriety I had to include it in this list but if I am to be totally honest, I am not sure what all the fuss is about!

Sure, it is nice and properly made, but the queue outside the shop would make you think this is an out of this world gelato experience while it is simply not.

It is nice, authentic gelato, and this is just all there is to say about it.

However, if you are in the area and you happen not to have to queue for too long (consider that you have to queue twice: to pay first and to order next) do drop in this is proper gelato and you can rest assured it will be made with good, genuine ingredients.

How to spot a good gelato in Rome

Having addresses for gelato is handy but what happens if you are nowhere near the places I recommend? No worries, you can yourself learn some of the signs to spot what is likely to be good place and what should be avoided.

1. Gelato must be made with seasonal ingredients: peaches, strawberries and other summer fruits do not grow in Rome in winter so a place that sells those flavors in the wrong season is using frozen fruit or food coloring and flavorings.
2. Gelato is better made fresh and this is easier to achieve if you only have a few flavors on offer. Like on restaurant menus, a huge choice often means huge waste or not so fresh ingredients: this applies to gelato too so go for small but high quality rather than big and industrial
3. Natural ingredients tend to have natural colors so crazy gelato flavor that are neon blue or green are unlikely to be genuine.
4. Mountains of gelato overflowing from their containers without melting are likely a sign of a product that is too cold and too fatty. Real gelato melts very quickly and this is why the best places tend to have containers of it that are half empty rather than half fool: to guarantee it stays at the right temperature.
5. Gelato is smooth and doesn’t contain ice crystals. Real gelato is closer to a cream that to the industrial ice creams you get in supermarkets. You can spot this creamy texture in the shop before it is even served and you will definitely feel it once if your mouth: anything crunchy means the gelato is at too low a temperature and therefore not in its ideal state.

I hope you enjoyed this article and it helped you answer the question: where can I get the best gelato in Rome city centre?