14 Vienna ice cream places you absolutely need to try

Described before our ice cream melts: La Romana became a legend and a favourite in Vienna as soon as it opened. The sweet-looking Gelateria on the shady Stiftgasse in Vienna’s 7th serves up some of the most super smooth gelato you’ll ever bury your face in.

The creamy goodness kept in traditional lidded pots behind the front counter are all made in the old time-honoured way, with no nasty stuff included.

They’ve got a couple of things that make them stand out from the crowd, beginning with the caramel and chocolate that you can fill your cone up with, or drizzle over the top of your ice cream. Not to mention the ice cream brioche sandwich.

This may be a global chain, nevertheless, there’s no denying the creamy smile-inducing ice cream they serve up here.

Our favourite flavour: Crema dal 1947 – it will make you rethink what you thought of vanilla.

We love… the chocolate and caramel on tap

Described before our ice cream melts: Under an eye-catching chandelier, Tuchlauben hosts both businessmen in suits and sandal-wearing tourists, all looking for an indulgent moment on a hot, sunny day in the 1st district. Here, they all become children for a moment as they lick at, what some consider, the best ice cream in the city.

Our favourite flavour: the fatty, creamy nougat that they apparently keep in the back in a special fridge and only bring out for connoisseurs. Or the apricot… or the dark chocolate… or the lemon sorbet – ok, just try all of them. At the same time on one singular cone – we’d love to see that ice cream tower!

We love… that the waiters have been there for decades, even before management changed. It gives a very homey, familiar feeling to the place.

Described before our ice cream melts: This 19th district favourite takes you back to your childhood, especially if you spent a big part of that on family holidays along the Italian Riviera.

Classic ice cream cups like the Peach Melba, the Amarena-Becher and Heisse Liebe will surely make you want to take out your camera before digging in.

Our favourite flavour: Mango. And Peach. And blueberry. And any fruit really, since they only use fresh fruits to enhance the colours and flavours. On second thought, just try the fruity madness that is the “Eispizza” fruit cup.

We love… the fact that this place has been around since 1938 and reminds us of that neighbour you’re always happy to see.

Described before our ice cream melts: “We make traditional Italian ice cream out of fresh, natural ingredients. No artificial additives. No ifs, ands, or buts,” reads the Leone’s ethos on their wall, and one lick will convince you that they live by this creed.

That’s right, the vanilla flavour is made from real vanilla beans, and the coconut with real coconut milk.

Our favourite flavour: Coconut and the vegan dark chocolate is just heavenly.

We love… that they also offer vegan flavours, but only for the sake of taste.

Good to know… that from now until the end of August, Leones will also have a pop-up gelateria in the 2nd district (Praterstraße 16), with a focus on slow food and regional ingredients. Daily from 12pm–9pm.

Check out our full review of Leones, here.

Lockdown info: Leones in the 8th district (the other locations are closed due to construction until the end of April) is open for takeaway daily from 12pm until 7pm.

Described before our ice-cream melts: These guys not only invented the famous Eis-Marillen-Knödel (an ice cream version of the Austrian apricot dumpling dish), but it also seems they invented the time machine.

Their legendary ice cream creations (like Spaghetti Eis), or the simple ice cream in a cone, or cup, is served by motherly waitresses in white-and-pink-striped dresses.

It all transports you to a world in which a scoop of ice cream makes everything better.

Our favourite flavour: the Eis-Marillen-Knödel – they’re so creamy … we mean crunchy … we mean fruity. Wait, what?

We love… the seemingly hidden salon in the back, with its unexpected stained glass door and ceiling.

Described before our ice cream melts: “Allo, howa are you,” said in his sharp, innocent, charming Italian accent. He doesn’t know our name, and we don’t know his, but it doesn’t matter. We love him like a regular at a pub loves the barman. He’s our iceman.

This is one of the third district’s most beloved ice cream parlours. A mama and papa family business, this place is like a birthmark in the district – it’s always been there, holds memories, and unusually long strands of hair grow out of it (ok, maybe not the last one).

Every single delicious flavour at this old-timer ice cream salon is made out back with fresh ingredients, and your tastebuds would know this fact even if we hadn’t told you.

Our favourite flavour: lemon sorbet or the fruit cup (Fruchtbecher)

We love… the orange and purple décor which has a look somewhere between a 60’s nightclub and a game show set.

Check out our full review of Osvaldo Bortolotti Eissalon, here.

Described before our ice cream melts: Gelateria Hoher Markt’s owner, Fabio De Prophetis, has been making handmade gelati for over 20 years.

It’s situated at the square it’s named after – Hoher Markt – right across from the famous Anker clock.

Our favourite flavour: chocolate (meant to be one of the best in Vienna by real ice cream experts … who wear white lab coats and lick, taste and spit ice cream for a living)

We love… Fabio’s charming wife Marina who hails from Rome.

Described before our ice-cream melts: This organic ice cream joint with its country-side, we-keep-a-cow-out-back kind of concept can be found at various locations in the middle of the city and each location always comes with a queue of people looking to satisfy their sweet tooth out front. Partly because the place is tiny, and partly as one needs time to decide on the flavour with the interesting options on offer – elderflower, goat cheese or poppyseed, and so the list goes on, just as unusually.

Our favourite flavour: The pumpkin seed oil ice cream – this is the taste of Austria at its best!

We love… the fact that they get the milk from their own cows.

They also have… two other stores, one in the 6th district (Mariahilfer Straße 33, 1060) and another one in the first district (Schottengasse 7, 1010)

Described before our ice cream melts: The Molin Pradel family has owned this bonafide Italian gelateria since 1886, making it perhaps the oldest in Vienna.

Silvio’s great-grandfather, Arcangelo, a talented ice cream maker, came from the Venetian Zoldo Valley to Austria in 1885, bringing with him the secrets of the traditional handmade ice cream.

The pistachio and lemons come from Sicily, and the vanilla is made with real beans.

Our favourite flavour: Nocciolone, which is Gianduia chocolate with real Piemonte hazelnuts (also delicious: the Nocciolone vegan version)

We love… all the fruit flavours (and we do like the vegan version, too).

We also suggest… having the affogato (espresso with a vanilla ice-cream scoop) or the famous iced coffee served up here.

Described before our ice cream melts: Life is good at Schelato – pronounced with a sharp ‘shhhh’ (please don’t try pronouncing it with a mouthful of ice cream).

The ice cream is organic and the flavours are outlandish which first strike you with their colours and odd ingredients, and then hit you with their unusual, yet delicious flavour. Beetroot and poppyseed warrant our first, hearty WTF?! Followed by the flavour containing avocado. But damn is the taste outstanding. And they’re not just scoring points for their originality.

Even the more plain sounding flavours like lemon sorbet, buffalo milk, the mango and French caramel inspire a moment of silence after the first spoonful.

Our favourite flavour: salted caramel

We love… the mad ice cream science happening downstairs in the cellar laboratory where the ice cream is made.
We also love… how the sunset streams down Lerchenfelder Straße, and hits Schelato like a sweet spot.

Check out our full review of Schelato, here.

Described before our ice cream melts: One of the cheapest ice creams in town can be licked at Eissalon Daniel.

It’s not the prettiest, but neither are you when you have their ice cream dribbling down your face when lapping at it like a thirsty dog’s tongue.

The ice cream is the real deal here, with all flavours made by hand, from fresh ingredients and a secret family recipe that has been around since 1928.

Our favourite flavour: You have to go for any of the plentiful ice cream cups here. Try and fit your whole face in one like we did.

Described before our ice cream melts: While cream, strawberries and ice cream are being piled high in our ice cream cup at De Rocco’s Gelateria, we’re shaking our hands at our sides like a seal having a fit.

De Rocco has been around forever (it seems since the dawn of time… or at least the invention of gelati) and it caters for all types – including diabetics, those in need of lactose-free, and vegans. It also has a secret weapon – the Schokoguss (a milk chocolate topping which becomes a hard shell in seconds). Technology these days.

Situated on the corner of a pleasant market in the 18th district, we’d recommend you get your ice cream to go and explore the surroundings.

Our favourite flavour: Bacio – it’s out of this world!

Described before our ice cream melts: Veganista ensures that vegans are walking around with a summer ice cream smile, as well. But while this is a vegan Gelateria, it’s earned itself a huge fanbase amongst non-vegans, as well.

This is the only gelateria solely dedicated to vegan ice creations in Vienna, and it’s more than worth you and your tongue checking it out, even if you’re not of the vegan persuasion.

From the no-milk-product approach, creative flavours are born. And they’re always mixing it up at Veganista, with a menu that adapts to the season, which is full of flavours that you’d struggle to think up even when under the influence of a Veganista ice cream sugar high.

Our favourite flavour: there are too many, but try cookies, maple pecan, basil, matcha or Marillenknödel.

We love… the tiles on the floor of the Neustiftgasse, Veganista

Described before our ice cream melts: This is the real deal, people! Gelato, freshly made by a family of Italians who love what they do. And there’s no messing about here with any additives – it’s all natural. And, oh, so, creamy!

Like every Italian gelataria that’s worth a visit, their Pistazie gelato is drool-worthy, while their dark chocolate, well, we’d be surprised if you don’t end up with it all over your face.

Oh, and did we mention their ‘Cassata Siciliana’ creation (involving candied fruit in a ricotta and chocolate ice cream – this listing of deliciousness could go on as long as our tongue is right now.

Our favourite flavour: The pistazie won our hearts here

We love… that everything in those gelato tubs is made fresh daily out the back of the store