Italy. The land of art, culture, history, espresso, pizza and gelato. Yes, gelato. Creamy, sweet and rich.The sweet tooth in me craves it. Hence my quest for the best gelato on my recent trip to Italy in June 2018. I took my mom and sister along for the adventure.
I did some research before my trip and had a few top spots to check out. Now gelato is a dime a dozen and can be found literally everywhere in Rome, especially around the main tourist attractions. To be honest, its hard to find “bad” gelato in Rome but when you taste natural, world-class and artisan gelato for the first time, your taste buds can certainly detect the difference between the “great” and “mediocre”.
And I was certainly on a mission to find the great.
And great I did find but it was a bit of a trek from Rome city center. I almost ended up not going but after visiting the Vatican in the morning and early afternoon, we had the entire day free to wander around and explore. So why not try to find some amazing gelato on our last full day in Rome? It took a metro ride followed by a bus ride and then a short walk.
I can’t remember how long the entire trip took but it was totally worth the “hike”. As a reference, the neighborhood is called Flaminio and its north of the tourist center in Rome. You definitely get a sense of being outside of the main city area; Flaminio has a more local vibe scene – more trees, greenery and fewer buildings cramped together. Maybe Queens versus Manhattan as a comparison?
So what’s the name of the gelato spot that won both my heart and taste buds? Neve di Latte.
The name literally means milk snow and the spot serves the most natural, creamy and milk snow like gelato at an affordable reasonable price.
The staff at Neve were friendly, kind and warm. They were generous with the samples unlike other places which are stingy with samples like only one sample per customer allowed. How rude! The only downside of liberal samples is the desire to get a cone with every flavor which is almost impossible unless you want to eat five cones in one sitting. Probably not a wise decision, though. Needless to say there were abundant flavors to choose from. I went with two pistachio specific flavors (one traditional, one made with milk cream and a delicious berry jam) and cafe (coffee). I LOVED them as well but especially the pistachio flavored ones. Pistachio a common gelato flavor but this one was clearly the best I’ve ever tasted which goes to show just how amazing Neve is. Also let’s talk about the price – an affordable 3 euros for a big cone with three flavors plus a generous dollop of whipped cream.
For me, Neve was a top attraction and worth the long commute. It’s also a place where you can see the work of art of gelato making. There’s a public workshop area where one can find fresh ingredients and tools to prepare the excellent gelato you’re about to eat. If you’re lucky, you may witness the process live in action! You also see many locals at Neve which again validates the quality of the place. No surprise that locals only go to the best spots and steer clear of overpriced, low quality tourist traps. I am a tourist at heart but there’s definitely value in listening to locals when it comes to food choices.
There’s plenty of indoor sitting and some interesting internal decor and design. There are seats and benches outside if you want to enjoy your gelato outdoors, weather permitting.
So if you’re in Rome and love ice cream like me, definitely make the trip to Neve di Latte. It was easily my favorite gelato place in Italy and I did manage to visit quite a few during my trip in various cities (Rome, Sorrento, Florence and Milan). Let me know if you go and what flavors you try. I’d love to go back and try some more innovative flavors in the future. Fingers crossed it happens! Happy gelato eating!