Only a couple of years ago we would have scoffed at the concept of luscious, indulgent ice cream fashioned from almond, coconut or soy milk. ‘I’ll just have the fruit plate’ was a familiar refrain, uttered with resignation and despair by vegans across the land. But oh how times have changed. Now, the world of dairy-free, delicious ice cream is positively flourishing.
Gone are the days when the vegan community would helplessly watch from the sidelines as frozen sweet season hits the streets of London, with the past few years seeing the steady rise of dessert parlours offering vegan alternatives – from the over-the-top Freakshakes to the Asian tea-inspired boba popsicle. This year, vegan ice cream is poised to take the city by storm once again. Don’t believe it? We’ll let the long queues and viral social media posts do the sweet talking.
If you’re in the capital and have a craving, check these out; our 5 IDEAL places for the best vegan ice cream in London.
SNOWFLAKE GELATO, VARIOUS OUTLETS
Before reactionary boomers hijacked the term, ‘snowflake’ denoted beauty and uniqueness, something to be appreciated and savoured. Fortunately, if you head to any one of Snowflake Gelato’s seven London outposts, Piers Morgan won’t be loudly chastising you for your fragility. Instead, you’ll simply find some of the finest vegan ice cream we’ve tasted on the planet.
Though the entire business isn’t plant based, there are five awesome dairy free flavours to choose from, with an attention to detail meaning their vegan offerings are way more than mere afterthought. We particularly love their banoffee ice cream, made with rice milk and served at the perfect minus 12 degrees; soft serve with no brain freeze, they promise! We can confirm.
When it comes to original dessert creations, locals think Snowflake Gelato is in a league of its own—and it’s easy to see why. These ice cream connoisseurs are known for their creative, crazy concoctions, such as the Avolato – an avocado-based vegan ice cream served in a real avocado shell with an edible stone made up of Pip & Nut peanut butter, soya milk, flax seeds, almonds, brazil nuts and walnuts. They’re definitely the Willy Wonkas of London’s vegan ice cream scene.
Website: snowflakegelato.co.uk
YORICA, SOHO *now sadly closed*
It’s meant to sound like eureka, right? But the noise we’re making when trying their fantastic vegan ice creams, which are also gluten, dairy, egg and nut free, is more x-rated. In fact, their soft serve offering looks faintly obscene too, though we can’t quite put our finger on why. Anyway, the product is effing delicious; go for the salted caramel if the paradox of choice truly grips you.
They also have a wide variety of frozen yogurt, shakes, and smoothies behind the counter that has the frozen-foodies and bloggers and plain ol’ sweet tooths all tripping over themselves.
BLACK MILQ, HACKNEY *now sadly closed*
Based in Hackney and found at pop events across the capital, Black Milq’s plant based, dairy free, vegan ice cream is award winning. They channel the power of cashew nut and coconut milk for a creamy, decadent finish which will have you wondering if you ever need dairy again. The flavour combinations are inventive and different; there’s miso, cardamom, all sorts, with the honeycomb and pine nut ice cream scooping (sorry) a Great Taste Award in 2018. The real star of the show here, though, is their ice cream sandwich; two coconut and pistachio cookies housing a scoop of the good stuff. Now that’s indulgent.
UDDERLICIOUS, COVENT GARDEN
Hmmm, struggling with the name of this one, can’t deny. Do they mean ‘utterly delicious’? Is it an exclamation ‘uh!’, before a conclusion, ‘delicious’? Is it another word altogether? Anyway, despite the animal parts getting their props, there are some cracking vegan ice cream options on offer at Udderlicious. Just look for the ND (non dairy) denotation on their blackboard menu and dive right in. You can go for timeless favourites like chocolate and pistachio, or if you’re feeling a little adventurous, try the more gorgeous apple and blackberry crumble.
The Convent Garden ice cream parlour is also a wonderful place to kick back in, and their dark chocolate and sea salt sorbet (vegan, naturally) has a well earned cult following. If you’re partial to cake, have the best of both worlds with some of their homemade ice cream cake in mixed flavours. If you’re partial to cake, have the best of both worlds (or rather, your cake and eat it) with some of their homemade ice cream cake in mixed flavours.
Website: www.udderlicious.co.uk
Address: 24 Earlham St, London WC2H 9LN
LICK, SOHO
Lick, eh. A little bit naughty, a little bit nice, and that’s exactly what you want from vegan ice cream, right? Actually, we’re here for the sorbets, which utilise the fresh fruit to produce stunning results, and enough to brave the infamous queues for. Signatures flavours such as the Sicilian mandarin and Mediterranean lemon are clearly the work of dessert wizards. Though it might be impossible to imagine it right now, the tropical fruit sorbets on a sticky summer’s day (it’s coming, trust us) are just made for London days in the sun.
Address: 55 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 3DT
There you have it—our quick round up of the most finest vegan ice cream London has to offer. No matter the season, feel free to treat yourself to a guilt-free scoop or two. But honestly, who’s counting?