Alba Gold Ice Cream and Gelato Mio (Review)

"Just one Cornetto, Give it to me, Delicious ice cream from Italy"

Many moons ago, I thought the pink, white and brown of a Neapolitan block was the height of ice cream sophistication.

"Gelato" was just something Homer Simpson would squeal; I had only the vaguest notion of what it was.

Thankfully, these days the Gelato Revolution is in full swing, and the recent hot weather has given me excuses to indulge in offerings from both Gelato Mio and Alba Gold.

The first has branches in Charing Cross and Holland Park, the second mainly supplies restaurants but also has its own little shop in Acton.

GELATO MIO

Here I went for Bacio (hazelnut and chocolate gelato) and Fior Di Latte (pure milk gelato) in a sugar cone.

Hubby had Cioccolato (chocolate) and Caffe (coffee) in a paper cup.

The Bacio was rich and deeply chocolatey with lots of whole hazelnuts embedded within.

The Fior Di Latte was something I'd wanted to try for a while - pure milk ice cream - and it was as clean and creamy-tasting as I'd hoped.

The Chocolate was even more intensely cocoa-ey than the Bacio without being bitter and the Caffe was toasty with illy Coffee and delicious.

I can't wait to try the others especially the Cocco (coconut) and Biscotto (cookies and cream) but we've had the same flavours twice now because they were that good.

Gelato Mio: 1 scoop £2.00, 2 scoops £3.00, 3 scoops £4.00

(but the guy who served us both times is uber-generous)

ALBA GOLD

I found Alba Gold Gelato at the Covent Garden Thursday Market.

The flavours all looked so enticing I had to go for the four scoop option.

The four I picked were Clotted Cream, Pine Nut, Alphonso Mango and Amalfi Lemon.

The Clotted Cream was like the Fior Di Latte, but with the milkiness amplified several notches - really, really good.

I was a bit scared of the thought of the Pine Nut, but the slight savouriness of the nuts went wonderfully with the creamy base, and there was a multitude of pine nuts dotted within.

The Alphonso Mango was less impressive - like disappointing kulfi - though you could at least tell that real mangos had sacrificed themselves for the cause.

Last and definitely least was the Amalfi Lemon which made my face pucker up with acid-induced pain. Far too sharp and sour, I ended up eating around it.

I was also a bit perturbed by the spoon she gave me - a chunk of the spadey bit had been snapped off.

Alba Gold: 2 scoops were £2.50, 4 scoops were £4.50.

Alba Gold supply places like Carluccio and will be setting up online orders direct to the public soon.

Though I didn't much like their sorbets, their gelati are the business so keep an eye out.