One thing is certain, there is no shortage of gelato and ice cream shops in Shanghai. Looking for the best scoops of ice cream or takeaway tubs for all occasions? This list will have you sorted.
From Italian gelato to classic American style, featuring single origin chocolate, matcha, funky flavors, froyo, and more. Plus, plenty of new flavors from old favorites.
Gelato Dal Cuore
Azabuya
Luneurs
Amuni Gelato
Mimilato
Dip In Gelato
Bonus
Buco
Spoooon
Dallatte Gelato
Gelato Dal Cuore
View the listing for the flagship on Shaanxi Road.
View the listing for the Zhangyuan location.
Gelato Dal Cuore’s excellent quality gelato has garnered some serious fandom from gelato addicts. It’s known for inventive seasonal flavors, one-day specials (like the Durian Musang King), and Singaporean/Malaysian-inspired creations, all of which are made on-site. It’s my favorite gelato place, and I order them by the tub as often as I can.
They do some truly creative combinations with flavors that really pop like the Shanghai Scallion Noodle (holey moley, does it taste like 葱油拌面) as well as classics of Salted Caramel, Amarena Cherry, and Chocolate Fondant 72%. This season’s must-try new flavors include Avocado Coconut Gula Melaka, Rice Wine, and the savory Mozzarella.
How Much: ¥38 for a double scoop, ¥48 for a triple scoop, to-go tubs are ¥160/500g, ¥240/800g. Available on Eleme.
Azabuya
View the listing for the Wulumuqi Road location.
View the listing for the Yongkang Road location.
Azabuya is a Japanese cafe and ice creamery that’s all about MATCHA! It’s possibly the best matcha ice cream I’ve had in Shanghai.
If you like matcha ice cream, you’ll be pleased that to find that they have 3 intensities of matcha on offer. Level 1 matcha is good, but Level 3 matcha is amazing. Though, one whole serving of Level 3 matcha is lot to handle. They also have flavors of cookies and cream, black sesame, black chocolate, raspberry, etc.
Azabuya actually opened its first location in 2017 at Kerry Parkside Pudong. But this is the first I’ve heard of it! They have two locations, the tiny cafe on Wulumuqi Lu location where they have ice cream, crepes, and galettes, and a bigger space in Taikoo Hui, where they serve a full menu of noodles, soups, and rice dishes.
How Much: ¥34 for a double, ¥38 for three, and ¥40 for two in a cone.
Luneurs
View the Bund location listing.
For other locations, check their WeChat official account or mini-program.
Luneurs Boulanger & Glacier is an uber-popular French bakery and ice cream shop. The counter display of baked goods, streams of strong quality coffee, and artisan ice creams are all cause for their success. That, and their devotion to providing quality products. They now have 13 locations! I like going to the Huashan Lu location, especially when I can get a seat on the terrace.
Their signature flavors are salted caramel, chocolate, and vanilla. New flavors coming soon: coconut pandan, banana lychee sorbet, and cherry sorbet.
How Much: ¥35 for a single scoop, ¥50 for double scoop. Plus, you can order tubs for delivery, ¥168/438g via their mini-program.
Amuni Gelato
View the listing for Amuni Gelato.
Amuni Gelato a gelateria founded by Alex aka Alex雷, a Sicilian gelato maker and KOL. The shop is cute, dressed in sunny yellows and vibrant greens. It also has a spacious patio. Flavors: tiramisu, pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate, mint, matcha, dragon fruit, watermelon, peach, etc. They also do ice cream cakes, ice cream brioche sandwiches, and coffees, affogato, etc.
Mimilato
Address: 1251 Changle Lu, near Huashan Lu 长乐路1251号, 近华山路
Tel: 17317619656
Hours: 12pm-9pm
Mimilato is a hole-in-the-wall shop on Changle Lu that specializes in flavors that utilize ingredients sourced from around China. They have about ten ice creams and sorbets that rotate seasonally, including Wanpee (a fruit from Guangxi), fermented tomato sorbet, fig and Tokaj Hungarian sweet wine, porcini (mushrooms from Yunnan), stracciatella with mint and chocolate, and more.
How Much: ¥35 for two flavors, ¥50 for three, add ¥10 for a cone. Boxes are ¥180.
Dip In Gelato
Address: 205 Fumin Lu, near Julu Lu 富民路205号, 近巨鹿路
Tel: 18901970512
Hours: Tue-Sun, 12:30pm-10pm
Address: 644 Weihai Lu, near Maoming Bei Lu 威海路644号, 近茂名北路
Tel: 18041104119
Hours: 12pm-9pm
In addition to their tiny store on Fumin Lu, Dip in Gelato has now expanded to include a second location on Weihai Lu.
They do small batches of often funky combinations and obscure flavors that rotate seasonally, including green apple and dill, baobab, Hokkaido white wine and white chocolate, black sesame and ginger, and pineapple-lime-cactus. They have the standards, too (pistachio, pistachio, chocolate) and also do sugar-free and vegan sorbets.
How Much: ¥35 for two flavors, ¥45 for three in a cup; ¥40 for two flavors in a cone. Takeaway tubs are ¥120/350g, ¥135/380g, and ¥160/500g.
Bonus
Address: 243-3 Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, near Wuyuan Lu 乌鲁木齐中路243-3号, 近五原路
Tel: 17316580877
Hours: 11am-9:30pm
Cornerstone ice cream shop Bonus does some inventive and bold flavors, mixing in things like peppercorn, salted egg yolk, coconut and papaya, and cheese with fig. Some also have a touch of alcohol. Flavors rotate.
How Much: Single scoops start at ¥25/single scoop, two scoops from ¥40.
Buco
Address: 20 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu 东湖路20号, 近淮海中路
Tel: 33565118
Hours: 11:30am-midnight
Buco is an ice cream window attached to Alimentari Grande. There are eight flavors, including pistachio, hazelnut, chocolate (non-dairy), blueberry or Amarena. Single scoop for ¥25, two for ¥40. Favorite: pistachio.
Pro-tip: Sign up as a Popolo Group member on WeChat, the restaurant group does kickbacks with their point collection system.
Spoooon
Address: 59 Yongjia Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu 永康路59号, 近襄阳南路
Tel: 54109870
Hours: 8:30am-10pm
Located on Yongkang Lu, Spoooon does frozen yogurt, plain yogurt and fresh Greek yogurt with all the toppings of nuts, sweets and fruits. I actually like their Greek yogurt the most—it’s way cheaper than the store bought variety, and according to them, it’s made fresh. Their frozen yogurt is pretty good, too.
How Much: Froyo is ¥18 per cup sans toppings, tubs of 250ml for ¥39, 500ml for ¥73, and 1L for ¥142. Available via delivery.
Dallatte Gelato
Address: 170-3 Jiashan Lu, near Yongjia Lu 嘉善路170-3号, 近永嘉路
Tel: 13918063862
Hours: 10am-10:30pm
A small gelateria serving up to a dozen flavors at any given time. Among their best sellers are pistachio and hazelnut. I tend to go for the lemon sorbet.
How Much: Tubs are ¥180/500g. Available via delivery.
