I really enjoyed this post from Anti-mega on Soho's 'Gelato Triangle', and as this summer seems to be sticking around, I've found many opportunities to indulge. I wonder how well they'll cope in a normal London perennial winter, but still... A good opportunity to compare the ices in the big smoke with Boho Gelato's slightly Blumenthal-ish flavour mechanics.
We took in Gelupo first and something in this place just feels a bit off. Archer Street is ritzy on one side (The side with Bocca Di Lupo) and seedy on the other (The back of the Apollo Theatre and a sex shop), and Gelupo is situated on the seedy side. A distinct lack of any solid or simple flavours, there are instead overly picky options such as Pine Nut with Fennel Seed. Having said that, the flavours do change, so maybe we just picked the wrong day.
But this post is to recommend Scoop, which, although it does have an air of poshness about it, is definitely more relaxed and welcoming than Gelupo.
SCOOP
40 Short's Gardens
WC2H 9AB
scoopgelato.com
In all honesty, we just stumbled upon Scoop because it had the biggest crowd outside, out of anywhere in the street, although, since this is an ice-cream parlour with limited seatin, that's not a huge surprise.
The first thing I saw were the CONES. Gelupo doesn't have swish chocolate-dipped cones, but once I had sampled one at Boho Gelato in Brighton, there was really no going back. Scoop's cones also add nuts which obviously gives a pleasant crunch to go along with the sweetness of the chocolate and the wafer.
A big part of any gelato place is the display, and you can see from the picture below, the gelato is sitting in these weird waves, almost unnatural looking, but hell of inviting. Gelato on the right and sorbet on the left. You can see that a lot of the trays are almost empty, which makes sense as the place was absolutely rammer-jammer with folks.
The scoops are pretty small, which means that the value for money isn't exactly exceptional. Its about right for Soho though. I opted for the large chocolate and nut cone, with 4 flavours. £4.50. You're probably not going to want to pay this unless you're A. - Rich, or B. - have had some drinks. I went ahead and checked option B.
Apologies for the blurry pics but it was dark. This wasn't massively gelato-y, in that it made me think more of ice-cream as it wasn't as runny as I expected, but it was insanely delicious. I think if you're going to go with the cone instead of a tub, it has to be a good one. These ones are good. That is all.
OH WAIT. Bonus point for the giant tub of Nutella next to the waffle section!
Shouldn't you have checked option A and B, Rich?
ReplyDelete