I tried ALL the Gelaterias of Zurich: Here are my top 3!
I went on a mission to try every gelato spot in Zurich: I discovered some hidden gems, others were really nice, others completely disappointing. Here’s the "full scoop" for all the Zurich ice cream lovers.
by Marco Azzari
Zurich Food Explorer
published on:
The Top 3 Gelaterias
Let's start with the Top 3 Gelaterias of Zurich, not in any particular order.
Raffael's Bistro
Raffael's is quite known for their pastry and chocolate, less for the ice cream. Still their products are really amazing on the Zurich panorama. An absolute must try.
Address: Torgasse 3, 8001 Zürich (Maps)
Price: 5.- per Scoop
Taste: 3/3 Incredible flavor, each single one shines through clearly. Not overly sweet, with distinct balanced aromas. Smooth, powerful, and perfectly balanced on the palate.
Structure: 3/3 Deliciously smooth and velvety, it melts effortlessly in your mouth. Soft, airy, yet keeps it shape while you eat it.
Presentation: 3/3 Beautifully served with a spatula instead of scooping, giving it an artisanal touch I'm looking for. Comes with a crisp and crunchy waffle.
Experience: 3/3 Cozy and welcoming shop where you can select your preferred taste. Nice variety, but not too much choice including fruit options. The ice cream is freshly served straight from the barrel of the Machine. You can have it as take away, or sit down in the store, inside or in the patio outside.
La Serenata Gelato
Just recently opened in spring 2024, La Serenata is already an enstablished gelateria in Zurich, bringing the italian style in Zurich. Everything tastes homemade, with a lot of new flavors to discover.
Address: Birmensdorferstrasse 118, 8003 Zürich (Maps)
Price: 4.50 x 1 flavor, 7.50 x 2 flavors
Taste: 3+/3 Rich, authentic Italian-style, I particularly love the flavor combination that are just the usual "chocolate" and "pistachio". All the flavors are a taste worth trying, each with a unique intensity.
Texture: 3/3 Really really creamy and smooth, really fine and well done gelato.
Presentation: 3/3 Big and abundant gelato, one of the few spots that use the spatula instead of the scooper.
Experience: 3/3 A warm, authentic ambiance with friendly service, you can sit inside or outside on the benches. The shop is full of different desserts and cakes.
Rosso Arancio
One of the most famous gelaterias near Stauffacherplatz. Huge ice cream, pure italian style, nice flavors and really great staff.
Address: Stauffacherstrasse 37, 8004 Zürich (Maps)
Price: 4.50 small size, 7.50 medium size
Taste: 3+/3 The richest and most delightful gelato of Zurich. Like the typical italian ice cream. I really love their pistachio.
Texture: 3/3 Super creamy and smooth with a rich, full texture that fills your mouth. Really satisfying to eat.
Presentation: 3/3 They use the spatula and not the scoop, crunchy cone, big and full cone.
Experience: 3/3 Nice shop near stauffaucher, you can see easily all the flavors exposed, a good range of choice without being overwhelming and not only the standard choices.
Another special one
Eisvogel Zentrale für Gutes
It is not really a gelateria, but more a "quartier shop" where you can taste just few flavors daily made by the owner. Really amazing flavors and combinations, I would suggest to try it once, but do not expect the vast choice of any other gelateria.
Address: Ottostrasse 15, 8005 Zürich ( Maps )
Price: 4.50 x 2 flavors, 7.50 x 3 flavors
Taste: 3+/3 A unique combination of flavors, each one shining through clearly. With few options available, it stands out for its distinct, well-balanced aromas—rich, powerful, and perfectly harmonious on the palate.
Texture: 3/3 Smooth and velvety, freshly produced, soft and with the right texture.
Presentation: 2/3 Nice and crispy cone, the ice cream is scooped. Good portions for the price
Experience: 2/3 Cozy neighborhood shop, a warm atmosphere and personal touch, the shop is really small, and they have only a few tastes to try.
The worst 3 Gelaterias
Everybody loves a bit of roasting, so here are 3 Gelaterias to avoid.
Confiseur Bachmann
Address: Bahnhofstrasse 89, 8001 Zürich Zürich (Maps)
Taste: 1/3 Simple flavors, made witfh cheap artificial flavors.
Texture: 1/3 Really bad texture, too soft and airy and gummy.
Presentation: 2/3 Standard cone of Zurich, ice cream scooped into the cone.
Experience: 0/3 Most unpolite and horrible person behind the counter, nice shop on the other side.
Gelateria Adea
Address: Theaterstrasse 10, 8001 Zürich Zürich (Maps)
Price: 4.- Per Scoop.
Taste: 0/3 Full of Artificial Aromas, you cannot distinguish the flavors if not for the colors.
Texture: 1/3 Nothing impressive, melts in the mouth, without freezing your brain.
Presentation: 2/3 The ice cream is scooped and not "spatulated", still the cone is nice and big, but not so large that you need a spoon to eat it.
Experience: 1/3 Ok. You just buy from the window, but at least you can see the different Gelato flavors.
Dieci
Price: 4.50 x 1 flavor, 7.50 x 2 flavors
Taste: 0/3 The ice cream just tastes of sugars and flavorings. The worst ice cream of Zurich.
Texture: 1/3 Really icy cone, it was difficult to eat as it was completely frozen.
Presentation: 0/3 The cone is the cheapest waffle of Zurich, not good at all, the ice cream simply scooped into it.
Experience: 0/3 You have on the street, grab your cone and go away.
What About All the Others?
You can find all the gelaterias I tried marked on the map below:
In the map there are 50 ice cream shops, I tried them all, and you can read a specific review for each of them (read it here).
At the top of this page you found my top 3, but there are many more worth trying.
There I classified all of them in three groups: must try, nice to try, forgettable.
Where is Gelateria di Berna?
Gelateria di Berna, is the Gelateria of Zurich, full stop.
Everybody has tried their gelato, somebody loves it somebody hates it.
I personally like them a lot, especially because they don't use the scoop (more on this later).
Year after year they keep increasing the quality and the choice of flavors.
They popularized "Mare di Berna", the old italian "pinguino" taste, vanilla ice cream with chocolate ganache on top .
Should belong to this top? Probably. But I preferred giving space to less known gelaterias.
There are many more gelaterias in Zurich. Some are good, some are not.
If your favorite is missing, I understand. The list is ranked based on my personal evaluation.
You can find all my ratings by clicking this link.
Did I miss one? Possibly. Feel free to write me an email, and I’ll try to check it out.
How Did I Choose the Gelaterias?
These are the criteria I used to decide which places qualified for this list:
- I only included gelaterias that serve cones of ice cream within the city of Zurich.
- If a place offers only cups or plated desserts, such as restaurants or pastry shops, I excluded them.
- Ice cream must be served by a human employee and portioned fresh at the counter. Therefore:
- Shops selling only prepackaged ice cream (Frisco, Nestlé, Mövenpick, etc.) were not considered.
- Shop selling soft serve ice cream, just extruded from the machines, were not considered.
How Did I Grade the Ice Cream?
Ice cream is not wine. It doesn’t have that level of complexity.
Still, when it’s done well, it brings real joy. When it’s done poorly, it results in brain freeze and endless thirst.
To evaluate fairly, I created a 4-pillar system that reflects the process of making and serving gelato.
In short, making gelato involves:
- Creating a flavored base.
- Churning and freezing it into gelato.
- Serving it in a cone to the customer.
Each of the first three steps corresponds to a specific pillar:
- Taste
- Texture
- Presentation
Taste reflects the quality of the base. Texture shows how well it was transformed into smooth gelato. Presentation evaluates how it’s served in the cone.
But the experience doesn’t end there.
It also matters what happens around the product. How the shop feels, how friendly the staff is, and how easy it is to order.
That’s the fourth pillar: Experience.
Each pillar receives a score from 0 to 3.
You can view all scores here.
Each pillar is judged independently. A gelato can have great texture but poor flavor. Or a great product served by a soulless staff through a window.
That’s why I chose not to sum up all scores into one total. It wouldn't reflect the reality of the experience.
Ice cream is something we eat mainly for taste.
A good ice cream in a horrible shop served by a grumpy waiter, it is still much much better than the opposite.
If you need a single number to classify a gelateria, look mainly at that.
One Final Consideration on Zurich Gelaterias
After tasting so much gelato, a few thoughts came to mind that I’d like to share.
Too Shiny Colors
I’ve noticed that many ice cream shops use extremely shiny and artificial-looking colors in their displays.
I’m not here to analyze ingredient lists or break down the chemistry of each flavor.
But even just by looking, something becomes clear: some colors are simply too shiny to be natural.
Bright green pistachio, fluorescent pink strawberry, and even blue ice cream — do we really need blue ice cream?
These colors don’t reflect nature. Real pistachio varies by origin: green in Bronte (Sicily), more yellow or brown in Turkey.
Strawberry is a soft red, not neon pink.
For many customers, brighter colors probably look more appealing. But that doesn’t mean it’s good gelato.
The world doesn’t need another artificial-looking flavor just to catch the eye.
Death to the Scoop!
Almost all gelaterias in Zurich serve ice cream using a scooper.
I’m not saying that’s completely wrong — but it’s not how gelato should be served.
Professional gelatieri use a spatula, adjusting their technique depending on the creaminess of each flavor.
Gelato should be gently layered onto the cone, not compressed into a ball.
Yes, scooping is quicker. You can train someone in minutes and it requires no real skill.
But that’s exactly the issue: serving gelato is part of the craft. And that includes how it’s portioned.
If your focus is speed and simplicity, you’re not serving true gelato — just cold dessert.
Scooping compresses the product, damaging the texture and mouthfeel.
Gelato is not ice cream. It’s softer, with less air, and more delicate ice crystal structure. That’s what gives it its smoothness.
Making great gelato doesn’t stop in the kitchen. The people serving it are part of the experience too.
This is why I talk often about the Zurich Standard Cone: ice cream simply scooped into the cone.
The death of ice cream and good service.
Too Boring Flavors
This might be the most frustrating observation of all.
Nearly every gelateria offers the same basic lineup:
Chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut, strawberry, lemon, mango.
That’s it.
I get it — these flavors are safe, and they sell. But there’s no creativity, no personality.
Anyone can do this. It makes me wonder if everyone’s just ordering from the same industrial supplier.
Come on, Gelatieri!
The great masters of gelato aren’t known just for quality — they’re known for their imagination and their unique flavor combinations.
To be clear: I’m not asking for caramelized onion or unicorn tears.
But please, go beyond the basics. Surprise us.
A Dream of Ice Cream
In recent years, Zurich’s ice cream scene has started to grow and evolve.
More and more gelato shops are opening. Not all are excellent, but many show clear improvement compared to just a few years ago.
There’s more attention to ingredients, texture, and technique. Some newcomers are clearly trained — and it shows in both the product and the experience.
The average quality has gone up. That’s a fact.
We’re still far from cities like Milan or Bologna, but Zurich is catching up — slowly but surely.
Yes, there’s still too much average product, and some shops feel stuck in the past. But the trend is encouraging.
If this momentum continues, Zurich could become a real gelato city.
We’re not there yet.
But for the first time, it feels possible.
Marco