Creative flavours, inventive toppings - London's soft serve ice cream options this summer are spot on.
Bake Street
Clapton - 58 Evering Rd, Lower Clapton, London N16 7SR
They may be best known for their creme brulee cookies, but there's always been an interesting soft-serve option available at this East London bakery. Most recently they celebrated Kesar mango season with a mango soft serve with Iranian saffron.
Follow them on Instagram @bakestreetldn
Big Jo
Finsbury Park- 324 Hornsey Rd, London N7 7HE
There's always a soft serve offering at this outpost of the Jolene group. The flavour changes every other week - it's usually a seaonsal fruit flavour and most recently they've been serving up a sun sweet melon soft serve.
Follow them on Instagram @jolene_hornseyroad
Soft & Swirly
E5 Bakehouse and Quince Bakery
As the name suggests it's all about the soft serve here. The team responsible for the innovative creations are Farah Kezouh and Sam Lowry (ex-Toklas and Leila's respectively). Recent flavours this summer have included buckwheat made with sobacha from Postcard Teas and a loganberry & sheep’s ricotta option. Check their Instagram page to see where and when to find them.
Follow them on Instagram @soft_n_swirly
Korean Dinner Party
Carnaby - Top Floor, Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW
Up at the top of Kingly Court, you'll find Korean Dinner Party which has two always-on soft-serve offerings on its menu. Right now your choice is between a cup of milk ice cream drizzled with gochujang syrup and topped with caramelised cornflakes and a pocky stick or a cone sprinkled with matcha green tea.
Follow them on Instagram @koreandinnerparty
Taiyakiya
Chinatown - 20 Newport Court, London WC2H 7PR
In the heart of Chinatown Taiyakiya are worth checking out for flavours you might not have tried before including lychee rose and ramune (Japanese cream soda). Have those in a cup or - our preference - in one of their signature taiyakis. The Little Mermaid option is particularly Insta-worthy.
Follow them on Instagram @ilovetaiyakiya
Rosslyn Coffee
City of London - various sites
Award-winning coffee group Rosslyn Coffee are back with their summer coffee soft serve. It's made using Happy Endings vanilla soft serve which has been infused with 24-hour steeped cold brew and then generously dusted with Mörk cocoa powder.
Follow them on Instagram @rosslyncoffee
Tsujiri
Camden and Chinatown
Chinese dessert tea house Tsujiri specialises in matcha so, of course, they offer that as one of their soft serve options, along with houjicha (roasted tea) or kinako (roasted soy flour) flavours. Add tapioca pearls and red bean paste for very Insta-friendly soft-serve sundaes.
Follow them on Instagram @tsujiri_uk
Soft Serve Society
Boxpark Shoreditch and Seven Dials Market
As the name suggests, Soft Serve Society are ALL about the soft serve, whether that's as part of a freakshake, in a sundae pot or just as a cone. Flavour combos change all the time and the toppings are particularly inventive including Oreo crumbs, brownie bites, mochi balls or apple stew.
Follow them on Instagram @softservesociety
Milk Train
Covent Garden - 12 Tavistock St, London WC2E 7PH
For the blingiest soft serve in town option, head to Milk Train where their cones feature a skirt of candy floss just in case your blood sugar levels are critically low. Start with a base of vanilla or matcha soft serve and then level up with toppings like rainbow sprinkles and puffed rice before adding a ‘cotton candy cloud’.
Follow them on Instagram @milktraincafe
NAC
Mayfair - 41 N Audley St, London W1K 6ZP
The always-on (and always delicious) dessert at this Mayfair cafe features a layer of warm crushed milk chocolate cookies topped with Frosties soft serve. It's on the large side, so this is definitely a treat to share with your bestie.
Follow them on Instagram @nacmayfair
Bears
Brook Green - The Pavilion, London W6 7BL
English/Icelandic couple, Phil Harrison and Vera Thórdardóttir are the brains behind Bears which has two parlours devoted to soft serve. Customers are encouraged to get creative with more than 40 toppings for their Jersey soft serve which can then be dipped, rolled or smashed into the ice cream. Flavours include Dark and salty - vanilla soft serve with brownies, dark chocolate shell, popcorn and Maldon salt.
Follow them on Instagram @bearsicecream
Dappa
Ely's Yard Food Trucks, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
If you’re after a plant-based soft serve, then probably the best option in London is Dappa over in Brick Lane. Their thick, creamy soft serve is blended from almonds and cashew; a recent addition is a Biscoff special topped with Biscoff sauce, Biscoff crumb and a Lotus Biscoff biscuit.
Follow them on Instagram @dappa
Plus, look out for these soft-serve freebies...
If you’re after a mini soft-serve treat then these London restaurants offer them as free desserts at the end of a meal.
- Flat Iron - the originator of this great trend, a steak dinner currently ends with a Tahitian vanilla mini cone topped with Cru Virunga chocolate shavings.
- Black Bear Burger - all meals here end with a custard-based teeny soft-serve cone.
The Hot Dinners guide to summer
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