The Best Ice Cream in Lisbon
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Are you craving ice cream in Lisbon? Discover five great ice cream shops in Lisbon plus recommendations for each shop.
Our unrelenting obsession for creamy gelato has fueled our travel around the globe. We’re not exaggerating. Thanks to this sweet obsession, we’ve licked luscious ice cream cones in cities like Cincinnati, Girona and Cape Town as well as in Bologna, gelato’s motherland.
But what about Lisbon? Before we moved to Portugal’s capital in 2019, we weren’t sure if we’d find great ice cream in our new home city. After all, the pastel de nata is the number one Portuguese dessert in Lisbon, one of Portugal’s most culinary cities.
Discover the best things to eat and drink in Portugal and our tips for eating them all.
Our worries were unfounded…
Lisbon has great ice cream if you know where to find it. After licking cones all over the city, we found five spoon-worthy ice cream shops that we keep returning to again and again.
Eating Ice Cream in Lisbon
After five years and many scoops eaten for ‘research’ purposes, we’re happy to report that Lisbon’s ice cream and gelato scene is booming. Locals and tourists queue for sweet treats both on weekends and during the week after eating brunch at Lisbon cafes, pizza for lunch or dinner at one of Lisbon’s best restaurants.
Read our Lisbon restaurant guide with our dining tips and our Lisbon cafe guide with our favorite coffee shops.
When we think about it, this popularity makes sense. Not only does an ice cream cone make an ideal treat after a day of walking up and down Lisbon’s hilly streets, but it also serves as a cooling antidote to warm Lisbon temperatures.
Fun Fact
The Portuguese translation for gelato is gelado. This translation is as easy to remember as it is to pronounce.
The Best Lisbon Ice Cream Shops
While the city has more pastelarias (bakeries) than gelaterias (gelato shops), finding ice cream in Lisbon is the opposite of a challenge. The key is knowing where to achieve gelato bliss while avoiding wasted calories.
Many tourists flock to global chains like Grom and Amorino. However, as Lisbon locals, we prefer eating artisan ice cream and hand-crafted gelato. You can call us ice cream snobs. We’re okay with that label.
Read on to find our picks for the best ice cream shops in Lisbon:
1. Nivà
Daniel Rivolta brought his family’s gelato traditions to Lisbon when Nivà opened in Lisbon in 2015. An Italian gelateria with serious craft and sourcing behind its wonderful creamy gelato, it wins our title of best ice cream in Lisbon.
Nivà’s roots are in Turin and date back to 1988. Lisbon’s original shop, located in Lisbon’s upscale Príncipe Real neighborhood, channels the family’s Italian heritage with its serene al fresco ceiling and serious approach to the craft of making gelato.
As Rivolta explained to us, Nivà’s hand-crafted gelato is more expensive due to the cost of importing quality products to Lisbon. These products include milk from Trentino, chocolate from Switzerland, hazelnuts from Piedmont, pistachios from Sicily and coffee from Turin. Trust us, the small extra cost is worth paying once you taste flavors like chocolate ganache, white chocolate with crocantes and pistachio fig.
Pro Tip
With the exception of Coconut, Nivà’s fruit sorbetti are dairy-free. Seasonal flavors include lemon, mango, melon, peach and fig.
Nivà has two locations in Lisbon. We typically visit the gelato shop located at Rua da Escola Politécnica 41, 1250-099 Lisboa, Portugal.
2. Gelato Davvero
Filippo Licitra, an original partner of Nannarella (see below) opened the original Gelato Davvero with partner Riccardo Farabegoli in 2015. The duo now has several locations in Lisbon including one at the Time Out Market.
Gelato Davvero lives up to a name that directly translates to really gelato. This gelateria stands out thanks to the quality of its traditional Italian-style gelato served with a spatula into crunchy cones. Free whipped cream and a comfortable dining room are two more reasons why we return again and again.
Expect to choose from dozens of flavors ranging from the traditional (chocolate, pistachio and stracciatella) to the sublime (basil, cassata and ricotta with walnuts and fig). Since Davvero sources fresh fruit at the nearby Mercado Ribeira, fruit flavors like Strawberry, Melon and Avocado are also worth a try.
Pro Tip
Not sure what to order? No problem. This gelateria doesn’t limit the number of flavors regardless of the size of your cup or cone.
Gelato Davvero has multiple Lisbon locations. Our favorite is the shop located at Rua Ribeira Nova 36, 1200-377 Lisboa, Portugal.
3. Nannarella
Popular with locals since it opened in Lisbon’s São Bento neighborhood in 2013, Nannarella achieved international fame when Phil Rosenthal filmed a segment of Somebody Feed Phil at the gelateria in 2018. The opposite of a hidden gem, crowds queue all day, every day to eat this popular gelateria’s Italian-style gelato.
The gelato here rivals the scoops served at Gelato Davvero (see above), which isn’t surprising since Constanza Ventura opened the shop with former partner Riccardo Farabegoli who now co-owns Davvero. The two shops are similar in many ways including their natural flavors, spatula serving techniques and complimentary puffs of panna montata (Italian whipped cream).
We’ve never eaten a bad flavor at Nannarella whether we’ve ordered Italian classics or seasonal flavors. During our most recent visit, seasonal flavors included chocolate sorbet, cheesecake, banana, blueberry and fig. Not surprisingly, many locals consider Nannarella’s ice cream to be the best gelato in Lisbon.
Pro Tip
Although Nannarella has a small dining room, you can enjoy your gelato on a bench at nearby Praça da Constituição de 1976.
Nannarella is located at Rua Nova da Piedade 64A, 1200-299 Lisboa, Portugal.
4. Santini
Known for its red and white striped decor, Gelados Santini has been a local ice cream favorite since Attillio Santini channeled his Italian heritage and opened the original Estoril location in 1948. Yes, Santini is yet another Portuguese ice cream operation with Italian roots.
Today, Santini has multiple Portuguese locations in the Lisbon metropolitan area and as far north as Porto. Each shop serves a dizzying number of artisanal flavors, all of them 100% natural and prepared without preservatives. And, as a bonus, all fruit flavors except coconut are dairy-free.
Pulled like a magnet by the shop’s distinctive red and white stripes, we first tried Santini’s ice cream in Cascais and have since returned multiple times to the shop located a few blocks from our Lisbon apartment. Our nephew Max gave Santini a big thumbs up during his inaugural visit, validating Santini’s inclusion in this list. He liked it even more when he returned for his second and third visits.
Pro Tip
Sample a few flavors before you decide what to order. Word on the street is that strawberry is Santini’s most popular flavor. Our personal favorites include honeydew melon, pineapple, raspberry and marabunta (i.e., chocolate chip).
Santini has multiple gelaterias. Our go-to is the shop located at Rua do Carmo 88, 1100-581, Lisboa, Portugal.
5. Gelados Conchanata
Summertime is a happy time in Lisbon’s Alvalade neighborhood because this is the season when Conchanata is open for business. It’s true. The popular Lisbon ice cream shop takes an annual winter break every year.
Quintilio and Alfo Tarlattini (a father-and-son duo of Italian descent) opened the Italian-style gelateria more than 70 years ago. Still in the same family, Michele Tarlattini runs the shop today.
Conchanata’s flavors skew traditional compared to flavors found at other Lisbon gelato shops. Guests can choose from wholesome flavors like chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut as well lactose-free flavors like strawberry, pineapple and mango.
Pro Tip
Splurge and order a Conchanata Cup. A party in a bowl with four ice cream scoops and lots of strawberry syrup, this dish is Conchanata’s signature sundae. If you don’t like strawberry syrup, splurge on a Banana Split instead.
Gelados Conchanata is located at Avenida da Igreja 28A, 1700-237 Lisboa, Portugal.
Additional Lisbon Ice Cream Shops
We totally get if you want to eat even more ice cream in Lisbon. If that’s the case, check out these additional sweet spots:
🇵🇹 Lisbon Travel Checklist
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