The Best Places to Get Ice Cream in Edinburgh

Girdy has been to many but not all of Edinburgh’s best ice cream shops and gelato parlours (the difference being less cream and egg), and all in the selfless quest to guide hungry people to delicious frozen treats.

There are more places to visit, and those not on the list here either didn’t make the list of the best places to get ice cream in Edinburgh or are yet to be visited. Make suggestions in the comments below.

These ice cream parlours and dessert specialists are in rough order, but we are whimsical and fickle; plus, sometimes the best ice cream is simply the one you can get too right now!

Ice Angels

Broughton Road.

Canonmills’ Ice Angels is my absolute to-go for ice cream, sundaes, waffles, crepes and Edinburgh’s only chocolate kebab. I recommend the kebab because why come to Scotland and not try the full range of food?

Ice Angels open late, after school, from about 4 pm to (sometimes) after 9 pm, but it depends on the season. You can find it on delivery services.

The little family shop tops my list because of quality, quantity (the most generous in Edinburgh) and price (the most affordable in Edinburgh). Additionally, there’s angel wings on one wall so with a quick pose you can make your Instagram friends jealous.

You’ll find a few little tables here, enough room to park a toddler or two or, in my case, sling your backpack off your shoulder for a bit.

Joelato

N W Circus Place

Without much doubt, Joelato has some of the very best gelato in the city!

The catch? You may just have to queue for it and accept whatever is left over from the initial swarm of hungry locals and tourists attracted by the crowd.

Joelato’s fine food is made at Over Finlarg Farm in Perthshire, so it’s a treat we can even trace back to the cow. You can taste the difference. While a visit to Stockbridge won’t break the bank, there is a cost downside to this quality.

There’s a second, not hidden, but underused Joelato in Edinburgh! You can find the other source of (just as good) gelato relatively nearby in the St James Quarter. It’s a good option!

Scoopz

W Nicolson Street

Birdy’s favourite, so I had to check the place and confirm. Scoopz stays open late, which makes sense given its student and super-central location while opening from lunch on Friday and the weekend.

Scoopz looks humble but purple, enough from the outside, and perhaps is showing a little wear and tear inside but is still clean and friendly. There are milkshakes, candies and all the delicious things you might succumb to after a trip to a city centre pub.

I’ve found it especially handy during the festival, although queues are always a gamble, because West Nicolson Street is often a cut through to your next show and ice cream is an eat-and-walk solution!

There’s a Scoopz in Granton, too, but we’re yet to check out that venue.

Sweet Paradice Desserts

Comiston Road

The award-winning Sweet Paradice Desserts can be found pretty much opposite Morningside Primary School, which I imagine is handy for it.

There’s no doubting the impressive range of ice cream and related treats on offer in this multi-page menu, and one tip is to check out the options online first and avoid decision paralysis if you pop in.

If you’re in a hotel or BnB up in Morningside or Braid Hills then Sweet Paradice is your go-to stop for an ice cream treat but it’s on various delivery platforms. I’ve walked across the city for my visits and never regretted the decision.

Mary’s Milk Bar

Grassmarket

Undoubtedly, many people will put Mary’s Milk Bar at the top of their list. I’ve been several times and never been disappointed. I am always impressed by the range of exotic flavours.

However, I’ve also picked my visit to try and avoid the huge queues which can form outside. There have also been times I’ve wished to eat in, and that’s another logistic task entirely!

Mary’s Milk Bar sells gelato bricks! That’s my language. These are 0.5 and 1-litre smash-ups of gelato of your choice, and (I’ve not tested this) they reckon you’ve two hours to get the block back to your freezer. Mind you, they also say it’s good for a dinner party gift, which seems to imagine giving their gelato to someone else and not eating it all for yourself.

Alandas Gelato

Forrest Road

Alandas Gelato has a fantastic location on Forrest Road, the super-highway, during the festival, Christmas, and any other tourist season. As a result, the queues are often out of the door and sometimes around the block.

As with their local rival in the Grassmarket, Alandas lives up to their reputation. I’ve tested thoroughly and never been disappointed, but the prime location and high demand means there’s scant chance of getting a discount deal.

Alandas often make use of street food cabins during the festival, and they’re often a genius decision when the weather is fab and can sometimes supply hot chocolate the rest of the time! That’s a signature drink with Belgian milk chocolate, whipped creams and marshmallows to make it divine.

Moo Pie Gelato

St. Mary’s Street

Moo Pie Gelato is on a sabbatical but promises to return in March. They better be!

The titular “Moo Pie” is a serving of gelato between two cookies, but the establishment also offers freakshakes of smores under a doughnut topping or some other mouthwatering treat.

Moo Pie is just off the Royal Mile, which makes it attractive for tourists, and I’ve never been able to visit without having to queue outside for quite a while to get served. It’s always been worth the visit. I’ve never eaten inside, and I’m not sure it is possible, either.

I’m eager for Moo Pie to re-open because, at the time of writing, this feels like the ice cream shop in this list which most needs a return visit.

S. Luca Ice Cream

Morningside

S. Luca Ice Cream must be part of Morningside history, and I remember the ice cream parlour being there back when I was a schoolboy. That was about a million years ago.

Not only is the Edinburgh location friendly, clean, and not too expensive, but the mixture of ice cream includes classics and ranges into the more daring, like red velvet ice cream, espresso and Turkish tablet.

You’ll find many Edinburgh restaurants and cafes that sell S. Luca Ice Cream and their little purple tubs and popular freezers throughout the city.

However, S. Luca’s most famous location isn’t in Edinburgh, but in the nearby Musselburgh. I’ve seen people ask, on Facebook, for the “best place to get ice cream in ___” and where the blank is the local neighbourhood in Edinburgh and for more than one person to recommend S Luca Musselburgh.

SoftCore

Edinburgh Street Food

There’s a lot to be said for the warm cookies and artisanal ice cream of SoftCore. I’m a fan.

SoftCore’s strength and challenge is its location in Edinburgh Street Food. This food court is attached to the Omni Centre, and it’s a competitive venue. As a result, the high-quality ice cream you get from SoftCore can be beaten in quantity by some of the other venues without prime location rates to pay.

A big plus for SoftCore is that you can add it to your order of other sexy street food that’s on offer at ESF.

A glaring hole in this summary is SoftCore’s candy floss cones, which this reviewer has failed to test. We’ll have to do something about that.

Crolla’s Gelateria

Leith

Crolla’s opens just after lunch on the weekdays, from noon on the weekend, and like many fellows in the ice cream family, it opens late. As a result, this makes Crolla’s Gelateria one of the best places for a late-night coffee in Leith.

In addition to a fantastic building with round windows that look out over the Water of Leith, Crolla’s has generously sized tables, and it’s a fantastic place to bring students, kids and indecisive relatives. You can park small tribes safely at the tables and take your time with your ice cream or hot food order.

I’ve been to Crolla’s many times, sometimes finding it closed when I thought it should be open, sometimes pleased that it is open when it looks closed, and I’ve Deliveroo’d from it even more times back when I lived in Leith.

Baskin Robbins

Holyrood Road

What’s a big franchise doing on this list? Well, I think Baskin Robbins deserves to be. It’s open every day from noon to 10 pm, making it an absolute gem of a place to retreat and fuel up on sugar.

I’ve used Holyrood Road’s Baskin Robbins as a festival oasis for many years.

Baskin Robbins is a large building with huge glass windows, many seats, and a large service area. It’s pretty common to have multiple staff on order looking after many people simultaneously, so the service is quick.

The quality? It’s good enough. I think the venue goes through ice cream rapidly enough to always be fairly fresh. No complaints from me!

Where would you add to this list?