16 Spots For The Best Gelato In NYC

They don't teach you in schools that gelato first arrived in the U.S. by way of New York, but according to gelato historians, that's how we ended up with this Italian delight. Rumor has it that Giovanni Basiolo, an Italian immigrant, traveled to New York in 1770 and brought his recipes for gelato with him. At that point in the history of this frozen confection, he would have known how to make a basic version of sorbetto by using fruit and ice, and an early version of gelato that was made by mixing milk with one of four primitive flavors: coffee, cinnamon, pistachio, or chocolate.

Unfortunately for our country, gelato's introduction was soon overshadowed by the invention of the hand crank freezer in 1843, which meant that gelato's fiercest rival, ice cream, skyrocketed in popularity. As a result, gelato's deep New York roots have been written over. In the New York City of today, the streets are littered with ice cream shop after ice cream shop, with fewer gelaterie farther between. To be fair, ice cream is faster and easier to make — but if you want a real decadent treat, slow-churned gelato is still the way to go. It's thick, creamy, and luxurious, not to mention reminiscent of far-off Italia. Fortunately, there are still plenty of great places to find some in New York City.

A Sicilian man named Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli is credited with having popularized gelato worldwide. Way back in the 1600s, dei Coltelli moved from Palermo to Paris, where he opened a dessert shop that was so cutting-edge that it singlehandedly started trends. One of these trends was a refined gelato, which dei Coltelli served in egg cups; this delicious dessert ended up launching gelato's success on a multinational scale. Even now, gelato owes a lot to Sicilian enterprise.

For this reason, L'Arte del Gelato is very proud of its Sicilian heritage. It's also purposefully aiming for a stuck-in-time aesthetic: The cheerful, sweet pinks and bright, peppy font choice are all inspired by the gelaterie of the 1970s, which were a "beacon and a symbol of Italian post-war prosperity," per the shop's site. Here, you can get your traditional flavors in a cup or a cone, or even on a small brioche — a specifically Sicilian way to serve gelato. There are several locations of L'Arte del Gelato throughout NYC, located near or inside touristy landmarks like the Oculus, the High Line, and the American Museum of Natural History. 

Anita la Mamma del Gelato is a chain that arrived in New York from Tel Aviv, where it's the defining gelateria. According to its website, Anita Avital started making gelato in 1998 in a roundabout way — her specialty is homemade jam, which her youngest son Nir would mix into an ice cream base. In 2002, the duo began to serve these jammed-up ice creams to neighbors and friends. Next, word spread, and in only a matter of time, the family began operating a multinational chain.

There are only two Anita locations in NYC — one is on the Upper East Side, and the other is in NoMad. There are many flavors available at Anita's, which are divided into cream-based flavors, vegan, sugar-free, and frozen yogurts. The most exciting flavors at Anita are the ones that bring in unexpected new ingredients, like salted bagel, or popcorn with honey and caramel. Additional points for creativity go to Anita for the presentation of these flavors: Several of them are displayed with a layer of hardened chocolate, on top of which the gelato creators have created tantalizing works of marbled art.

Amorino is a French chain that was founded in 2002 by childhood friends Cristiano Sereni and Paolo Benassi. The coolest thing about Amorino, and likely the thing that launched its international fame, is the presentation. At this gelateria, gelato is formed into a flower shape when served on a cone — the gelato servers use their paddles to scoop up petal-shaped gelato slices, and then painstakingly manipulate those petals to encircle the cone, ending up with a result that looks surprisingly like a rose. 

At Amorino, if you order the rose-shaped cone, you can stick with just one flavor, mix and match (see above), or even choose a different flavor for each petal. You can also top the cone with special, gelato-filled macarons to add some extra, posh style. There are just shy of 30 flavors offered on the website; in the store, you'll find them displayed in beautiful, colorful heaps behind a glass counter.

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe has been operating since 1892. This Little Italy staple was originally named "Caffè à Ferrara," or "coffee in Ferrara," after the smaller Italian city just North of Bologna, but now it's just called Ferrara. It's one of the earliest-established pasticcerie and espresso bars in America. In fact, back in the late 1800s, this space was used by operagoers to gather and discuss the arts. 

Luckily for big Ferrara fans, the gelato from Ferrara Bakery & Cafe will soon be available to order online; according to Goldbelly, soon you'll be able to get a delivery of four gelato pints in the most classic flavors, along with all the accouterments necessary to pretend that you're actually at the real Ferrara, like stamped napkins, serving cups, and plastic spoons. Unfortunately, the price is staggering and you don't get to choose which flavors you get, so it's probably still a better bet to come in yourself and breathe in a little history as you enjoy your gelato.

It was a foregone conclusion that L'Albero Dei Gelati would make it to this list — after all, it made our list of the best ice cream shops in America first. This Park Slope gelateria's name translates to "tree of gelatos," and its space is tiny, consisting of just a small counter that opens onto Fifth Ave. 

L'Albero Dei Gelati was founded by a family with roots in Lombardy, a Northern region of Italy. What's particularly great about L'Albero Dei Gelati is that its gelato is made in a highly traditional manner, but the creators aren't afraid to experiment with Italian ingredients to create new, radical flavors that are often savory. For example, the burro e sale flavor here is made with butter and salt — it's not a flavor you'd ever see in another gelateria, because it isn't naturally sweet, and doesn't actually sound that appetizing. Yet it's fantastic, especially when paired with a deep chocolate or a bright fruit flavor. The same goes for the olive oil gelato and the saffron gelato. These are old-school ingredients repurposed in a savory way that breathes new life into the tradition of gelato.

Let us spell this one out, for those of you who don't want to zoom in: That's A-v-r-i-l-i-l-i-l-l-y, pronounced Av-ril-i-lil-ly. Avrilililly's is a Harlem-based gelateria that also specializes in elaborate, flowery cakes. This shop came into being because, like so many other American gelateria dreamers, founder and co-owner Avril Lekic traveled to Bologna, got hooked on gelato, and decided to bring a little taste of Italy back to Harlem with her. The shop, which is named after both Avril and her daughter Lilly, opened in February of 2022, and has been churning out very-Instagrammable gelato scoops and cake slices ever since.

The presentation here is showy, which is part of the charm here. The fun flavor names like "Sugar Mama" and "Pick me Up Harlem" combined with the ostentatious look of this gelato as it drips out of a cone ... Avrilililly's gives you everything, including more letters than you bargained for.

Biddrina Gelato isn't quite a full gelateria. Rather, this Prospect Heights gelato is sold straight from a cart located right outside its mother restaurant, Locanda Vini e Olii. The gelato cart made its debut in May of 2023, after slyly experimenting with adding gelato to the dessert menus at Locanda. Its name, Biddrina, is a reference to a mythical creature that resembles a mix between a crocodile and dragon that was thought to live in Caltanissetta, Sicily.

Come to Biddrina's cart for its innovative flavor combinations. We've all had watermelon sorbet, but have you ever had watermelon with fennel and smoked sea salt mixed in? How about chocolate gelato with green cardamom and marshmallows? Or, if that doesn't float your boat, how about turmeric with Amarena cherry? Each combo is more bizarre than the last, yet somehow it works. There are six dairy options and three vegan sorbetti on offer, and you can't really go wrong — we just wouldn't recommend mashing up two flavors and accidentally creating a monstrous Biddrina of your own. 

"Gentile" means "nice" in Italian, and this gelato is very nice, indeed. Gelateria Gentile is an Italian chain that has been open since 1880, originating in the southern Italian city of Bari. Today, there are several NYC locations: three in Lower Manhattan and one in Williamsburg.

The gelato at Gelateria Gentile isn't placed out showily, unlike its treatment at most other American gelaterie. Instead, stored in those silver jugs that are considered synonymous with good gelato for real Italians. As a result, the gelato is kept at the perfect temperature to retain the ideal consistency — this gelato is perfectly creamy and just on the point of melting, and when you pick it up with your spoon, it stretches. The flavors on offer aren't translated from the original Italian, so you might have to ask for a bit of clarification on what you're ordering. The cioccolato here is quite good, as are the sorbetti.