Artisanal Gelato
Near Leicester Square.

Leicester Square is one of the most visited corners of London. It is home to major cinema premieres, the TKTS booth, and a constant churn of visitors navigating the West End. It also contains, it must be said, a significant concentration of mediocre food and drink aimed squarely at foot traffic rather than at flavour.

For genuinely exceptional gelato near Leicester Square, the answer is to walk four minutes east to Rose Street in Covent Garden, where Gelatone has been making everything from scratch every morning since it opened. It is not a long walk — and it is entirely worth it.

The West End is built around anticipation and experience. Theatre-goers in particular understand this — the hours before a show are part of the event itself, and the right meal or snack sets the tone. Gelato fits this ritual perfectly: it is light enough not to compete with dinner, distinctive enough to be memorable, and quick enough not to rush the evening.

Post-cinema or post-show, the same logic applies. After two hours in the dark, a small cup of Pistacchio di Bronte or a citrus sorbet is a clean and satisfying end to the evening. Many of our visitors combine a show at one of the Shaftesbury Avenue theatres with a visit to Gelatone — the geography makes it almost inevitable.

The gelato sold in and around Leicester Square is, almost without exception, made from industrial paste bases. These products are convenient to produce, consistent in output, and identical in character regardless of who makes them. They are not gelato in any meaningful sense of the word — they are a confection designed to be recognisable and inoffensive.

Gelatone uses no industrial pastes. Every flavour is built from a named ingredient from a known source. Our pistachio comes from Bronte in Sicily — a town where the pistachio has been cultivated since the Arab occupation of the island, producing a nut with a flavour profile found nowhere else. Our milk is sourced from Somerset. Our hazelnuts are from Piedmont, grown in a region that has been producing them for the Italian confectionery industry for generations.

The result is a flavour in every cup that is traceable, distinctive, and honest. The difference is apparent from the first taste.

From Leicester Square tube station, walk east along Long Acre for two minutes, then turn onto Rose Street. You will find Gelatone at number 23. The walk is straightforward and takes you through some of the most pleasant streets in the West End, away from the tourist congestion of the square itself.

Alternatively, from the Covent Garden tube station, it is a three-minute walk south along James Street and then a left turn onto Rose Street. Both routes pass interesting shops and restaurants that reward a leisurely pace.