Ricotta, sugar, saffron, orange and lemon peel. They are the essential ingredients of the pardula filling, the Sardinian dessert par excellence Cagliari It is also found in the form of ice cream. Here they are best ice cream shops in town according to our ice cream parlor guide 2024.
The best ice cream shops in Cagliari
Chiccheria
Chiccheria is the Sardinian branch of the ice cream shop of the same name in Marina di Grosseto. Manuele Presenti, a master ice cream maker well known nationally, decided to open a place in Cagliari that reflected in every way great attention to detail and the search for great quality. The spaces are decidedly small in size, but well-kept and very welcoming and offer the possibility of taking a tub of take-away ice cream or enjoying it sitting on one of the benches on the pavement, near the entrance. What Chiccheria offers is a very high quality ice cream. Pistachio, hazelnut and chocolate are very valid choices, but those looking for a bit of novelty will certainly be satisfied by flavors that follow local recipes such as pardula, a Sardinian dessert with ricotta and saffron enriched with almond brittle. There is no shortage of very greedy, but always very balanced flavours, such as caramel and salted peanut.
via D. Alighieri, 5 – 348 5669008 – www.chiccheria.com
I Fenu Ice Cream and Pastry Shop
The Fenu not only offer a very high quality ice cream, the result of raw materials selected and processed in-house, totally free of preservatives and semi-finished products, but also an ice cream where (almost) all the ingredients are strictly Sardinian, from small artisans in the area. The proposal is, therefore, firmly anchored to the territory, with the exception of chocolate or vanilla. The flavours, apart from a few evergreens, change continuously, following the seasons, but also the inspiration and creativity of Fabrizio (he is the ice cream maker, while Maurizia takes care of the desserts and yeasts). The pardula, a typical Sardinian dessert of saffron and ricotta, is superb, the Vernaccia di Oristano cream is very good, the quince and red wine flavor (produced by Federico, a winemaker friend of Fenu) is particular and convincing. Even the cones are home-made: crunchy brioche wafers to be filled at the moment. Panettone and colombe, better and better every year.
piazza G. Galilei, 35 – 070 4655045 – www.ifenu.it
Aresu Ice Cream
A small shop in the dynamic and lively San Benedetto neighborhood a few steps from the famous market. For years the management has been entirely female, by the Aresu sisters, Caterina and Elisa. Welcoming and well-kept, the ice cream shop has a few seats where you can sit for a quick breakfast, drink a good coffee or enjoy an ice cream in peace. The latter, well made, properly creamed and with the right amount of sugar, is available in a list of flavors that range from classic creams, to fruit ones (following seasonality), up to more particular combinations. The traditional custard is very good, as is the fiordilatte or the pardula, but among the most popular flavors the Bronte pistachio or the PGI hazelnut from Piedmont stands out. Among the most original proposals, orange and chilli pepper, delicious in its delicate spiciness, or yogurt, honey and pine nuts, light and tasty, convinced.
via V. Monti, 58 – 366 5271048
Federico’s ice cream factory
Small, simple and well-kept laboratory, properly managed by Federico (in cover photo), a great ice cream enthusiast who wanted to put his name on the restaurant’s sign. Here we focus entirely on local products, follow the seasons and create very well-made ice creams, with the right creaminess, respectful of different tastes and creamed properly. The origin of each ingredient, especially fruit, the real must of the place, is indicated and this is how you can taste the strawberries from Arborea, the figs from Pula, the melons from Flumini or the peaches from Villacidro. And also persimmons, prickly pears, yogurt, without forgetting some exotic flavors such as coconut or coffee. A menu that creates a real territorial “marketing” that arouses curiosity, but above all delights the nose and palate. The service is friendly and there is no lack of speed and availability.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 185 – 392 1799421
Soncini
For more than forty years Luca and Luisa Soncini have poured a lot of passion and skill into their restaurant. Great quality is created in this small artisan workshop. The right amount of sugar, an impeccable temperature, together with expert creaming give a creamy and balanced consistency of great harmony. Speaking of flavours, if the great classics such as hazelnut, stracciatella and chocolate remain well-executed evergreens, there is room for creative and surprising combinations such as the Mille voglie (zabaglione and caramel cream) or one of the most popular of the house: the malaga, cream with variegated egg with raisins soaked in zibibbo. Amazing. There is no shortage of local flavors with S’aranzada, a tribute to a typical dessert from the Nuoro area based on orange peels, almonds and honey.
via D. Alighieri, 123 – 349 6405314
The Stefini Ice Cream Artisans
This one in Cagliari is the second ice cream shop opened after the original location in Bologna and Stefini Artigiani del Gelato has now been a point of reference in southern Sardinia for more than ten years. Once operating in a delightful little square in the Marina district, they had to change location due to a closure of the road section where they were located for reasons of exceptional restructuring of the entire area. The range of flavors is limited, but the goodness of both the ice creams and the sorbets is great and is perceivable from the first taste. The ice cream is creamy, velvety, measured in the quantity of sugars and available in well-interpreted great classics such as zabaglione, pistachio and hazelnut. The chocolate, delicious and authentic, is also worth discovering in the sorbet version. The latter, water-based in the version with fruit, especially in summer with seasonal products, is a guarantee. It happens to find the Stefini around the city, thanks to a small bee or bikes with built-in carabiners.
via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 194
Tags: ice cream shops Cagliari chosen Gambero Rosso
