Florence in Summer: Must-Try Ultra-Rich Italian Gelato!

Text & Photos byPaperclip. Food & Photography Joy

When eating in Taipei, I might do a bit of research, but when traveling abroad, I’m actually less picky—I usually just check Yelp on the spot for good food. These two gelaterias were found that way.

First, I recommend this gelato shop called Neri, located on the way from the Uffizi Gallery to Santa Croce Church. It’s ranked among the top 10 gelaterias on Florence’s tourism website and is even ranked #3 on TripAdvisor. The shop has only a few tables and a small standing bar where you can eat. Besides gelato, they also serve coffee.

There are so many flavors to choose from. Once you’ve picked a flavor you like, you can ask the staff for a sample—or tell them what flavors you enjoy, and they’ll recommend something. The staff member I met that day spoke pretty good English, and we had a nice chat.

Here’s how ordering gelato works: unlike how we order by the number of scoops, you first decide how much you want—options range from 1.8€ to a cup for 6€. I boldly pulled out my 5€ and went with that size. The smiling server told me I could pick up to four flavors.

I only got three flavors. First, I chose a “crema,” which was recommended by the staff. As the name suggests, it blends milk with rich cheese as ingredients, resulting in an incredibly, incredibly, incredibly indulgent flavor that melts in your mouth. Another one was pistachio. This is a fail-safe choice I always get in Italy, and Neri’s pistachio is even more fragrant than any I’ve had before. Its color isn’t overly bright green, but rather a natural brownish-tea hue. The last one was passion fruit, which balanced the richness of the previous two flavors. The tangy sweetness of the passion fruit was refreshing!

The staff at Neri were incredibly friendly and adorable. When I said I wanted to take a photo of him, he immediately struck a cute pose with a “YA” gesture. I put on a disappointed face and asked why everyone loves that gesture—even Italians? He then gave me a more serious look for another shot. He was really easygoing.

Neri’s gelato, especially the crema and pistachio flavors, are truly unforgettable to me to this day.

The other one is in a very quiet alley where almost no tourists go—it’s called Gelateia della Passera, located in the area between the Ponte Vecchio and the Pitti Palace.

It seems to be a family-run, independent shop, and the owner makes different flavors of gelato each day.

Here, the price is based on the number of scoops. One scoop is just 1€—super cheap!

Besides ordering single scoops, you can also get gelato to add to your coffee. The top section shows which flavors pair well with milk coffee, and the bottom section lists those for black coffee.

That day I ordered mint tea and almond flavors. The mint tea one was unique—you can actually taste the mint leaves, fresh and fragrant. Normal mint gelato often comes in that oddly bright green and has an artificial cool-mint flavor, but Passera’s mint gelato felt very natural!

Since I’m no longer young, and past the age of worrying about my health from eating ice cream, although people say you can’t visit Italy in summer without eating gelato every day, I still restrained myself and only tried a few places. These two in Florence were truly excellent—recommended to everyone!

[info]
Gelateria dei Neri
Via Dei Neri 9/11R, 50122, Firenze
+39 (0)55 210034
9:00~0:00

Gelateria della Passera
Via dello Sprone, 16, 50125 Firenze
+39 (0)55 291882
12:00~0:00

Paperclip 'Food & Photography Joy
Love should be timely, love should be immediate, love should be well-timed
Paperclip 'Food & Photography Joy Blog、Fan Page